Amazon Fire TV Stick $19 for Prime Users 2 days only

i've got XBMC on mine... but something about the IQ is just "not right".... still much prefer the HTPC... trying to move past it but i just can't...
 
I'm pretty disappointed with the Fire TV Stick and it has nothing to do with the lack of power, the video quality isn't all that great and I'm using 5Ghz and sitting right next to my router and the main reason I got it for when I'm working on a PC and don't want to run my PC to listen to music I can just shuffle my Amazon music library (since that is where I bought most of my music), but I bought a new album and it just would not show up on the Fire TV Stick. I even added a Amazon Prime Movie to my viewing list and it just showed up, but music takes about half a day to show up, even with manually refreshing content. I got a "caster" app for free over Christmas and now I just stream my music from my iPhone, but even basic AirPlay or ChromeCast isn't supported, just their Fire Mirroring. I'm wishing I'd have just waited for a Nexus TV (or even Razer Forge, both of which support Chromecast). I already own 2 Chromecasts and an Apple TV and only got this because of the discount, am still holding out for a new generation Apple TV.
 
Yeah, I agree I just dont really use the stick anymore. I have using my chrome cast more since it looks so much better. I wonder if they have any plans to update some of the apps like twitch and youtube?
 
hmmm.. as far as the video quality goes I thought it was pretty decent.. I watched Trading Places recently and it looked really nice on our 60" plasma. I can't comment on anything but watching movies and tv with prime or netflex with it because that's all I use mine for.
 
I ordered mine during this sale. use it everyday at work, no issues, smooth play back etc.
all stock.
 
I am going to fire mine up sometime soon. They have the iOS app for it now so you can do the voice search.
 
After playing with the settings in Plex, it works fine for me now. Had some stuttering issues on movies/shows with certain audio codecs...but now I got it working great. On 1080p movies it still has to buffer somewhat if I pause it/unpause it...but I think that may be due to the server hardware that Plex is running on.
 
carnageX said:
After playing with the settings in Plex, it works fine for me now. Had some stuttering issues on movies/shows with certain audio codecs...but now I got it working great. On 1080p movies it still has to buffer somewhat if I pause it/unpause it...but I think that may be due to the server hardware that Plex is running on.
Click to expand...

I read about your changes in the previous posts, but I have to ask if you changed anything else to get these new results.
 
Kenworth said:
I read about your changes in the previous posts, but I have to ask if you changed anything else to get these new results.
Click to expand...

I'll double check what settings I have setup on the Fire Stick and Plex server when I get home from work tonight and post them here. I know lowering the local quality to around 4Mb helped quite a bit.
 
Kenworth said:
I read about your changes in the previous posts, but I have to ask if you changed anything else to get these new results.
Click to expand...

Here's my settings:

Code: 
Fire Stick 	
	General 
		Device Media Profile
			Android
		AC3 - On
		DD+ - On
		DTS - On
	Video
		Audio Boost - none
		Transcode unsupported subtitles - On
		Prefer local subtitles - On
		Use Legacy Transcoder - Off
		Use Experimental Player - On
	Advanced
		Player
			Direct Stream - On
			Direct Play - On
			Prefer synced content - On

Plex Server settings 
Web (not sure if these settings matter or not...)
	Player
		Local - 8Mbps
		Remote - 4Mbps
Server
	Library 
		Update automatically - Off
		RUn a partial scan when changes are detected - Off
		Update periodically - 12 hours
 
I got mine, and despite having to access amazon via web browser I just use my HTPC still.

I was interested in plex before I relazied I had to pay. Then I wanted to try casting my phone like you can on the chromecast, and realized you have to pay for that as well. So far It feels like a money grab.

Basically I'm not really sure in the point of this thing other than to get 5.1 working for prime, which I shouldn't have to buy a special device for, since I'm already paying for the service.

I haven't tried plex but I'm guessing it won't be as nice an interface as XBMC, and I can already stream movies off my phone by just browsing to the folder on the network and then casting them with chromecast.

But I still have the least issues with just using my HPTC and dealing with the non 5.1 sound.
 
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Justintoxicated said:
I got mine, and despite having to access amazon via web browser I just use my HTPC still.

I was interested in plex before I relazied I had to pay. Then I wanted to try casting my phone like you can on the chromecast, and realized you have to pay for that as well. So far It feels like a money grab.
Click to expand...

Plex is pretty much free...
 
Robstar said:
Plex is pretty much free...
Click to expand...

Just the Android app isn't. Unless you buy a Plex Pass. Though the Plex app goes on sale for free/dirt cheap several times a year on Amazon's AppStore...so there's that. That's how I got it.
 
Robstar said:
Plex is pretty much free...
Click to expand...

When it is free I'll circle back and try it.

Actually right now the only way I get surround sound is through my HTPC. My receiver is very old but still works great. It only has analog inputs!

I still plan to use the fire TV when camping though, watching prime and netflix out in the dunes will be nice.

Unfortunately for chromecast, the netflix app for both of my andorid devices has an audio lag / out of sync issues. Plus chromecast and requires 2 mobile devices to control it while camping (its intended purpose). One for the wifi hotspot, and one to act as the controller. Sucks you can't use the wifi hotspot and control the chromecast with one device (it is capable as I have tried the hack! The hack works for about 2 minutes until it disconnects because the software thinks it never finishes establishing the connection to the phone, even though it is already streaming content).
 
ND40oz said:
Plex is free. Some of the Plex clients you have to pay a few bucks for and certain features are restricted to Plex Pass subscriptions while they are still in beta.
Click to expand...

How do I add it to the firestick? When I looked it up to install it said $5.
 
Justintoxicated said:
How do I add it to the firestick? When I looked it up to install it said $5.
Click to expand...

You have to buy the client through the Amazon App store, you'll have it for all of your Amazon devices once purchased. Just use some Amazon coins to get it for free.

The Plex server is free, using the webclient is free, the OSX and Windows Home Theater clients are all free.
 
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