firestick or chromecast?

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

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Hi guys,

Not sure if this is the correct location.

Are firestick and chromecast the same thing?

I know with firestick you can stream tv (eg BBC iplayer) to your tv through the HDMI port. You can also load on 3rd party streaming apps to stream movies and other tv programs. Is this the same with chromecast?

With chromecast, you can mirror your phone screen on the tv is that right? Can you also use it with a pc, eg if I wanted to use my laptop on the tv without a hardwired connection? Does firestick also do this?

Thanks
 
Can't comment on the Fire as I don't have one. I do have a couple of Chromecasts though. The Chromecast allows you to stream media using your phone as a remote, but only media you already own or subscribe to. For example, I can stream stuff from Netflix to the TV or stuff from my media library using Plex. I can also mirror my browser screen to the TV if using Chrome.

They are good little units but limited if you don't have an accessible media library or subscription service.
 
Today I bought a Nexus Player as I had some vouchers for that shop you choose things from a catalogue. It is very good for the price and actually has chromecast built in. Because it is a Google device it gets the updates to android very quickly so it is running android 6.0.1 marshmallow.

Take a look on youtube at what it can do.
 
Chromecast requires another device to feed it the content eg YouTube from your phone or so on.

Firestick can play content itself, it has iPlayer/Amazon Video/Netflix etc. All it requires is an internet connection.
 
Not had a firestick so can't comment, can imagine amazon to advertise there services on it though.

Got the original Chromecast, brilliant bit of a kit when used with a phone, I'm a big user of YouTube and often Netflix. But as others have highlighted you need a device you can Cast from.
 
i've got both, use the chromecast for anything that isnt amazon related. iplayer /plex/netflix/youtube/play music all work fantastically on the chromecast. yes you need a device to tell it what to play but everybody has a phone or tablet etc.

With chromecast, you can mirror your phone screen on the tv is that right? Can you also use it with a pc, eg if I wanted to use my laptop on the tv without a hardwired connection? Does firestick also do this?
Click to expand...

you can cast phone screens yes. it can be hit and miss though, wouldnt use it to watch a film or anything but fine for viewing photos or the odd video clip for example. i know chrome (the broswser) can cast from the pc but ive never bothered to try it. firestick also supports casting but ive not had much luck with it.
 
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i have both. i loved my chromecast at first... i have plex on my computer so it was nice to go on phone and then send it upstairs.

my dad heard of the amazon fire tv and bought it but wanted me to set it up for him. i was lucky enough to keep it for a week. That remote is so much more convenient to select what you want watch. It also has a menu system as opposed to the chromecast which has nothing. With the Chromecast you have to select what you want to watch on your pc, phone or other device and send it there first. The firestick already has bbc iplayer, netflix, and plex on it so i dont have to waste time going on my phone.

Lastly, with the fire tv your are able to install kodi which will bring in loads more features.

When i had to give my dads back and went back to the Chromecast, i found it annoying. I went straight to pc world the next day and bought a firestick
 
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