[Soul_Glo]

I always regret not buying a smart TV but they cost too much back in the day. I found a sweet deal on a 3D capable samsung LED so settled for that. The streaming solution was then catered for by our sony blu-ray... fantastic little box with built in wifi receiver but very slow although beautiful sharp images... and also limited on some apps.

Sooooo... I have breading up on the amazon fire stick... and it sounds ideal as we are prime members so buying into the eco system is not that bad a thing... however... i have been trying to locate information on whether this nifty device would be capable of streaming from my iphone 6 to the tv... cannot seem to find anything.

Has anyone taken the plunge? It looks more well spec'd than the chrome caste although that does have a few pros to it... i'm settled on the fire stick.

Thanks.

[xPETEZx]

Friend of mine has it. Brought it in to the office:

+ve:
It has a neat little remote
Works with Amazon Prime, Netflix, Plex etc

-ve:
The Casting is shit. Tried to cast a YouTube video from Chrome. Fails.


Overall, I think the Chromecast is better.
It has no remote, but you just cast everything from your phone.
I find the Chromecast works really well with my Android phone.
Works ok with the iPad too. even though I have not tried to mirror the iPad screen to the Chromecast.

[Digitalize]

Apple TV is your best bet for compatibility with iOS devices.

I also have a Chromecast and use it for YouTube on my TV.

Apple should be announcing something new fairly soon, so might be worth waiting.

Chromecast can be found for £20 every now and then and for that price it's worth the money.

[Soul_Glo]

I might get both.. the fire stick and chrome caste.. the fire stick is tempting as we are already prime members and have brought some box sets but it has a dual band wi fi receiver to keep a strong signal... and more RAM and memory... on paper it out does the tech spec of the chrome caste but you guys and a few others I spoke with today have informed me that chrome caste is more stable and faster... and generally better. The Apple TV sounds tempting too... I might settle on the chrome and the apple TV... the chrome I only need for a portable solution.. we tend to holiday several times a year in cottages and stay with family in the country side who don't have sky tv... so this could be a life saver in those boring situations. cheers

[Digitalize]

I'd get a Chromecast now. Wait and see how you use it. Rumours are the updated Apple TV will be significantly different to the current offering.

If it even happens that is.

Can you not download the Amazon Prime app to your phone and cast it to Chromecast? I see no point in both.

I only have two as a friend gave me the Apple TV in lieu of money far less than its value.

[Soul_Glo]

Pahhhh a good point! Chrome now on order. Will hold off the fire stick for now.

[BoondogUK]

Chromecast is the better device. The whole Amazon ecosystem is a layered setup which is underpinned by the same tech as the Chromecast. Problem with all Amazon devices is that all their custom os work is just rubbish bloatware. It slows down, restricts and inhibits. Just get a chrome cast. Much, much better all round

[bytejunkie]

Originally Posted by BoondogUK

Chromecast is the better device. The whole Amazon ecosystem is a layered setup which is underpinned by the same tech as the Chromecast. Problem with all Amazon devices is that all their custom os work is just rubbish bloatware. It slows down, restricts and inhibits. Just get a chrome cast. Much, much better all round

clearly hasnt used one. love ours. it gives us prime films and tv, and catch up tv in the bedroom where we can't get a sky cable. i didn't even know it did casting, but i've got apple tv for that. horses for courses.

[BoondogUK]

Originally Posted by bytejunkie

clearly hasnt used one. love ours. it gives us prime films and tv, and catch up tv in the bedroom where we can't get a sky cable. i didn't even know it did casting, but i've got apple tv for that. horses for courses.

Seems a silly thing to say as I have used one... I sold it almost as quickly as I got it. Not sure what your basis for this comment is.

What people don't seem to understand is that the technologies that Prime wrap in their brand aren't actually theirs. From the streaming technology, to the tablet OS technology to their casting technology. They are skinned ecosystems with a logo on them... otherwise known as bloatware.

It is also the main reason why they have warehouses of prime hardware they can't shift.

I was making the observation that anything you can do with the prime caster is capable of being done by the chromecast (minus the remote). IMHO its done better, faster and more consistently. It also can cast a lot more than the prime device.

[bytejunkie]

Originally Posted by BoondogUK

Problem with all Amazon devices is that all their custom os work is just rubbish bloatware. It slows down, restricts and inhibits.

It was actually this statement mate.

My Fire Stick is on wifi on a Time Capsule, using power line networking devices back to the office, which is then connected through a couple of connected faceplates to get it through a wall back to the router.

and even with all that its never anything other than snappy.

I know full well how they rebrand white label services, but they also add their own components. they also allow installation of apps which can consist of all the big players catch up services. and thats more than enough for me for my 35 pounds.

but the comment was around the fact that anything you don't want is bloatware. you might not want it, but its there if someone else does. and if built right, it doesn't make it slow. mine is nothing other than snappy.

I'm far happier with it than the roku, the plex device, the rasperrby pi, the slice, etc that ive all tested.

[Matt123890]

Fire tv is awesome ! I just side loaded kodi on to it and you get live streams of sports and all movies and TV shows avail to stream via a app in kodi called genesis ! Watched the avengers age of ultron earlier and most of the stuff is in hd !

[Soul_Glo]

Playbox hd is a fantastic app for iPhone/ iPad. Been using it heavily.
Comedy I recommend: black Jesus
Drama: Empire.