What is the best "Firestick" equivalent?

StevieP

StevieP

StevieP

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I'm after a Firestick/cube/Roku or other device to use with a TV in our home office.

Ideally I'd like something that can be powered through the TV's own USB because its mounted on the wall!

The TV does have Android built in but for some reason I can't seem to get ITVX installed and the old ITV Hub doesn't let the missus watch live ITV (only catch up!?)

Any suggestions??
 
There are different grades of USB port. All make 5 volts, but the amount of current they supply depends on the port standard. You might want to have a look into that and what your TV has.

Fire TV sticks are good, and if you have an Android phone then stuff like navigating Play Store for new apps is the same. I have a 4K Fire TV stick plugged into my TV, and I can confirm that ITVX has the 'play live TV' feature, so it does work.

Roku is also good, but it's not Android. It's Roku's own ecosystem, so any new apps you might want to add have to be featured in Roku's own app centre. I havent noticed the Internet flooded with folk moaning about that, so it doesn't seem to be a big issue.
 
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I've not had any trouble with powering 4K and 4K max firesticks off the USB port off both my 5+ year old LG OLED TV's I would imagine most modern TV's would be fine.

Both are also running of ethernet using the adapter.
 
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I have had issues of powering the 4k firestick max off all my units. Samsung lsp9t, lg E8 Oled and a hisense 2021 model so I understand what the problem is. You can buy an adapter on Amazon which allows for it to be power through usb (mission usb power cable)
 
Biffa said:
Both are also running of ethernet using the adapter.
Click to expand...

I thought this was BS because the Fire Stick port is blocked 100 down 10 up so I took the plunge and bought this - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07R6P6MM8?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
I've now bought two and can confirm I'm getting 320mbps.


firestickethernet.jpg
 
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SexyGreyFox said:
I thought this was BS because the Fire Stick port is blocked 100 down 10 up so I took the plunge and bought this - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07R6P6MM8?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
I've now bought two and can confirm I'm getting 320mbps.


firestickethernet.jpg
Click to expand...
Yes, good catch mate. You are correct that if you want more than 100Mbs you will need the Cablematters one you linked to. But seeing as I can't get faster than a 25Mbps internet connection where I live, being limited to 100Mbs isn't an issue. I also found that even though I can get wifi on my firestick, I get less buffering with the ethernet adapter.
 
Biffa said:
Yes, good catch mate. You are correct that if you want more than 100Mbs you will need the Cablematters one you linked to. But seeing as I can't get faster than a 25Mbps internet connection where I live, being limited to 100Mbs isn't an issue. I also found that even though I can get wifi on my firestick, I get less buffering with the ethernet adapter.
Click to expand...

Same here, I can get 250mbps on WiFi but the cable is more stable even if it was a 10th that.
 
Absolutely love my new fireTV cube. I had a shield and while technically, the shield is more powerful, I just find as a streamer, the whole Fire TV ecosystem is much more intuitive and pleasurable to use. I think the cube has to be mains Powered though, which is a bit of a nuisance
 
robfosters said:
Absolutely love my new fireTV cube. I had a shield and while technically, the shield is more powerful, I just find as a streamer, the whole Fire TV ecosystem is much more intuitive and pleasurable to use. I think the cube has to be mains Powered though, which is a bit of a nuisance
Click to expand...

Also had a Shield and Cube for a while but for my needs the Fire Stick works perfectly.
I've been asked many times why I have 5x Fire Sticks.
I run an Enigma2 satellite system that can record at least 8 channels at once, the Fire Sticks can access the E2 receiver from any room using KODI and an E2 plugin.
The wife moves from room to room and used to have a PVR in each one but now just needs one E2 box and Fire Sticks.
 
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