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4.7 out of 5 stars

Top positive review
1 people found this helpful
So Easy, So Good, and So Complete Cable TV Is Truly At Risk...
By VintageVet on Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2020
I have an older Samsung 3-D Smart TV purchased for its other attributes that were bundled with 3-D only and the Smart part has long since been abandoned by Samsung making the acquisition of Disney+ near impossible and way overly complicated to access if I did manage to pick it up---answer: the newest generation of the Amazon's FireStick TV 4K. First, connectivity: Exactly everything I needed to connect the Fire Stick to my old Samsung was in the box. The thoughtfulness that went into the contents of the box is impressive, especially the HDMI pigtail that was included to provide maximum installation flexibility. Connection is a total no-brainer. Second, set up: At first I was concerned it was going to be a hassle but you just follow the on-screen prompts. The only sorta confusing part was pairing the Fire Stick remote with my old TV and my ZVOX Sound Base but once I realized that was what was going on, it was easy as pie even though I had to suss out the code numbers for my stuff out of the list provided on-screen by Fire Stick. You simply pick your TV model and Sound system (if you have one) and the Stick gives you a code number that you select and the rest happens automatically, including an simple operational test to vet the pairing. Voila, the Fire Stick remote controls my TV's power-on/off, selects the right video input/source HDMI port, and controls the volume level on my ZVOX Soundbase. It took all of three minutes to figure out how navigation works on the remote using the buttons and even less to figure out how to use the remote's built in Alexa voice control module to navigate. Depress the microphone button and talk to it telling it where you want to go in the menu(s) and/or what specifically you want (where to go or what you want to watch). Amazing! Third, performance. The Fire Stick just blows away the Samsung "Smart" modules in both my old Smart TV and newer Samsung Smart BlueRay/DVD player in streaming speeds, buffer capacity, and video playback speed and quality. A few seconds of trial and error navigation and the menu structure becomes almost intuitive and so easy to navigate. Finally, loading the Disney+ application was a no-brainer too as was selection of my subscription type and payment means. I happen to have an Amazon Prime membership and the content included with that membership, Netflix, and now Disney+ means I'll never run out of entertainment options. Lastly, my recommendation. Amazon's Fire Stick is so good I am truly considering dumping cable TV and will likely never purchase a "Smart" TV again. A simple one-time purchase of a good high gain HDTV antenna and I will have all the local TV channels I would possibly need and with Fire Stick TV system by Amazon all the free and premium services I can afford and could possibly want.
Top critical review
4,995 people found this helpful
Fascist app environment, but useful otherwise
By Vedgehammer on Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2018
Let me tell you, I was super excited for the launch of the new FireTV Stick with its leading edge technology and processing power. Well, it’s got that but there’s a couple bug, game breaking problems I have with this thing. 1) The Amazon platform is basically retooled Android, which is a crap interface. It’s cluttered, redundant, and Amazon being Amazon wants you to use all their services over everyone else’s so not only does their menu get in the way but the top third of the home screen is promotions for whatever they want to push. 2) Also because it’s Amazon they want you to use THEIR streaming services to rent movies so much so that there is no Vudu or Google Play app available to install. If Prime Video had a decent selection of rentals (it doesn’t) or a halfway usable interface (it doesn’t) I would have less of a problem. 3) Our FireTV Stick has issues with flickering and sound dropout. Tech support immediately supplied a series of less than helpful troubleshooting tips. “Did you try a different TV? Did you try a different HDMI port?” Despite my Roku working just fine. I elected to return this since I was already fed up with the closed interface and terrible menus. Slightly less of an issue but still annoying is the inability to completely turn off HDR. Its either “always on” or “adaptive” meaning the content dictates HDR which is a problem especially with Netflix (which is calibrated too dark on some TVs) For now I’m happier with my Roku Stick despite less robust HDR support. Edit: updated my review for the following: - Amazon reached out immediately after my review to get additional feedback and to offer more support. That actually means something these days. I’ll continue to monitor for problems - I upgraded to a new TV and this makes the HDR issue better since it actually looks good on this TV. Problem still stands of not being able to disable HDR entirely if needed - The smart controls feature is nice. I can use Alexa to change TV inputs now. - Less flickering on new tv but still have sound dropouts However my issue with not having a way to watch VUDU/UV movies is a huge issue. On top is that, MoviesAnywhere doesn’t tell you which movies were transferred over in 4K. So while the titles may sync, in cases of certain films (eg Deadpool 2) you only get the HD version and not the UHD/HDR one you paid for. Until this is fixed I’ll leave my review at 3 stars.

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