Upgrade Firestick or not?

Box Brownie

Box Brownie

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We have a 1st Gen Firestick and there is a discount price for the Firestick 4k Ultra HD @£29.99

Now we don't currently have a 4k TV and no plans to get one yet. The TV is a 1080 one (42inch Panasonic Plasma) and working very nicely too...............when the PVR is in use we can watch the terrestrial HB channels in HD grade and they are great :) So the TV can display/play HD........so will it actually show such higher picture quality from the newer Firestick?

The info and reviews do seem to indicate that the new Gen Firestick has better features and better picture quality(?) even on a 1080 TV but it has Alexa built in and I have no wish to have a voice assistant active in the house. So has anyone got the newest Alexa enabled Firestick and can you disable it or turn off that function?

TIA for any user insights :)
 
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We have a Firestick 4k Ultra HD - I bought it on a similar offer a couple of years back, and we use it to provide signal to a 'dumb' TV that doesn't have a aerial or satellite feed available.
At the time, the reviews basically said that the 4k version was better even for just HD, as it had a more powerful processor, so was more fluid in operation.
Regarding Alexa, we actually have several Echo's, so having it built in was not a concern - but I've never used the facility to control the TV, the menu system is fine.
A quick google on disabling it in the firestick revealed;
There are no settings or ways to disable Alexa on an Amazon Firestick. But, there's good news. On the Firestick, Alexa only turns on if and when you hold down the microphone button. If and when you let go of the button, Alexa automatically turns off and tells you on-screen that if you want to use Alexa, you must hold down the button while you talk. So, if you're worried about Alexa streaming stuff to the cloud without you knowing, then you're safe because the Firestick microphone WILL NOT OPERATE unless you're holding the button down.
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Biggest advantage with the 4K stick is the additional speed it has a better processor.
 
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Thanks chaps, I've been looking at getting one of these for ages as the speed of my ageing TV's software has been driving me nuts just lately. :banghead:

I also can't get Now or Disney without using my laptop, but that only gives stereo which sounds dreadful through my surround sound system.

Problem solved - at a discount too.

Thanks again. :D (y)
 
They have got so much faster version to version. I have 4 ( 3 at home and one in our camper ) including a version 1 which is just so slow that I keep thinking it’s broken when I attempt to use it.

I believe you have to press and hold the mic to get alexa . I read that it does NOT listen continuously.

We have alexa on a number of devices but almost never use them. We have an echo dot in one room but that listens continuously unless you pull the plug.
 
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Thanks all for the insights.

I think I will get one and see how much better it performs. The other function I noted was that it is so to speak 'smart' as in it can control some of the basic TV functions i.e. volume control....if that does what it says on the tin that in itself will be good as with the 1st gen you need it and the TV remote to hand!
 
Just looking and found these

This one seems to be the one on the current Firestick push advert

But also found this apparently better and the above ones 2021 replacement and for less money

Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote (includes TV controls) | HD streaming device : Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote (includes TV controls) | HD streaming device : Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo
www.amazon.co.uk

The description also says HD streaming though not 4K or Ultra HD ???

I am torn now as to which one is 'best' to get???
 
Today I took delivery of the '21 release for £24.99 (I don't need 4k or Ultra). It took all of five minutes to plug in and set up as you'd expect and it works so much faster than my seven year old Samsung TV can manage - the software is better too. I'm also impressed with the easy remote and being able to ask Alexa instead of trying to 'type' in the search box. I don't want a microphone listening all the time, so it's nice that it only works when you press the button. (y)

Worth the money at twice the price, but I'm glad I got it at half-price.

Thanks again for the heads up BB. :)

I'm off to go and put it through its paces now to see how it holds up. If there's anything worth mentioning, I'll tell you tomorrow . . .
 
Sky said:
Today I took delivery of the '21 release for £24.99 (I don't need 4k or Ultra). It took all of five minutes to plug in and set up as you'd expect and it works so much faster than my seven year old Samsung TV can manage - the software is better too. I'm also impressed with the easy remote and being able to ask Alexa instead of trying to 'type' in the search box. I don't want a microphone listening all the time, so it's nice that it only works when you press the button. (y)

Worth the money at twice the price, but I'm glad I got it at half-price.

Thanks again for the heads up BB. :)
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Thanks for your new user insight.........................I am now more tempted, though still unsure about the one you bought (linked above) or the higher 'grade' one with 4k :thinking: :thinking: :thinking:

PS did you find the controller adopted the volume control of your TV, as I think I read elsewhere that it/they were now able to do???

PPS in some ways I like the quick link buttons but not all usefull as we don't subscribe to NetFlix!
 
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Right having looked at the differences between the two linked ones in my post above and at the current 4K TV prices I have decided to order the 4K Firesttick just by way of a little futureproofing.

We have have had the current 1st Gen Firestick since 2015 and the Panny Plasma is way older than that.....so a new TV might be in the offing anytime in the next 5 years and hence likely to be 4k.

@Sky I look forward to hearing how you get on with your purchase.


PS for volume control et al they simply mention "The included Alexa Voice Remote can control Fire TV Stick and certain functions (such as power and volume) on a wide range of compatible IR-enabled devices, including TVs, soundbars and A/V receivers. Note: certain functions may not be available on some IR-enabled devices." so hopefully that will work for us.
 
Box Brownie said:
PS did you find the controller adopted the volume control of your TV, as I think I read elsewhere that it/they were now able to do???
Click to expand...

Yes, it now controls the TV and my amplifier and surround sound. Very easy to set up too. I now have a couple more redundant remote controls in the drawer. :rolleyes:

One annoying thing that I've not been able to figure out though; when scrolling through the thumbnails, it starts playing the trailer by default and that includes sound. I've managed to switch this stupid function off for Prime, but can't see how to turn it off for Netflix. There are various other niggles too that for the price I'll have to get used to, but a new TV is definitely on the cards for next year.
 
Just by way of an update......

I installed the new Firestick 4k and though one step was to restore the older versions personalisation, what it did not do was restore my iPlayer, ITV hub, My5 and All4 registrations. So had to go through all those with forgotten password etc to get them all sorted out!

Though, due to TV position the 5Ghz WiFi is shown as Fair.....but the TV streaming HD is very nice.

The one setting I had to amend from the default of 'automatic' was the display setting. At 1080p 60Hz watching motor racing I could see a very slight jitter, when set to 1080p 50Hz the display was nice & smooth.

Oh, it is way more responsive and quicker to use than the old 1st gen Firestick :D

Edit
Forgot to add, on first start up with WiFi access it went through a software update.......it took around 5-8 mins to complete that step.
 
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Box Brownie said:
Just by way of an update......

I installed the new Firestick 4k and though one step was to restore the older versions personalisation, what it did not do was restore my iPlayer, ITV hub, My5 and All4 registrations. So had to go through all those with forgotten password etc to get them all sorted out!

Though, due to TV position the 5Ghz WiFi is shown as Fair.....but the TV streaming HD is very nice.

The one setting I had to amend from the default of 'automatic' was the display setting. At 1080p 60Hz watching motor racing I could see a very slight jitter, when set to 1080p 50Hz the display was nice & smooth.

Oh, it is way more responsive and quicker to use than the old 1st gen Firestick :D

Edit
Forgot to add, on first start up with WiFi access it went through a software update.......it took around 5-8 mins to complete that step.
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Hi can I I ask what the offer price was on this…..currently out of stock or £49.99 elsewhere……..so might wait…….
 
Canon brook said:
Hi can I I ask what the offer price was on this…..currently out of stock or £49.99 elsewhere……..so might wait…….
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Hi

As mentioned in my OP the 4k Firestick was at £29.99 offer price.

If it was £49.99 I would have hesitated....... though based on what I know now as just how much better it is compared to our 1st Gen version, I just might have bought it.

Therefore if you can wait to get a deal.......but if the GAS strikes, all I can say is I am pleased I bought the new one.
 
Box Brownie said:
Hi

As mentioned in my OP the 4k Firestick was at £29.99 offer price.

If it was £49.99 I would have hesitated....... though based on what I know now as just how much better it is compared to our 1st Gen version, I just might have bought it.

Therefore if you can wait to get a deal.......but if the GAS strikes, all I can say is I am pleased I bought the new one.
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In no hurry and £29.99 sounds a bargain……thanks for the info I missed the price bit……..
 
Would be excellent if I could work Freeview with the stick and control via alexa
 
Sky said:
Yes, it now controls the TV and my amplifier and surround sound. Very easy to set up too. I now have a couple more redundant remote controls in the drawer. :rolleyes:

One annoying thing that I've not been able to figure out though; when scrolling through the thumbnails, it starts playing the trailer by default and that includes sound. I've managed to switch this stupid function off for Prime, but can't see how to turn it off for Netflix. There are various other niggles too that for the price I'll have to get used to, but a new TV is definitely on the cards for next year.
Click to expand...

Bit late, I know. But I have sorted the autoplay on previews.

Log on, online (not through the app), and go to account settings. Scroll down to the bottom, and there`s an autoplay section. Two tick boxes for next episode, and preview. Uncheck preview, and save.
 
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