Help me get Amazon Prime video on my TV

OK. I have a Vizio 55" HDTV (XVT553SV) that is about 6 years old. I just recently joined Amazon prime, and am figuring out how I should watch Amazon prime video on my TV. The TV is a “smart” TV, but it doesn’t have an Amazon video app. Neither does my bluray player or Tivo player. As best I have figured out, I could:

a: buy an Amazon fire stick and plug it into one of my TV’s HDMI ports. This would apparently cost me about $35. I have no idea how easy it is to use.

b: stream video on my laptop, and hook it up to my TV with an HDMI cable. This would be free, I guess, but my chair is farther from the TV than my HDMI cable.

c: buy a bluetooth dongle to plug into my laptop (it doesn’t have bluetooth) and stream to my TV using bluetooth. The bluetooth adapter is cheaper than the firestick, but I’m not sure about the reliability of bluetooth streaming to my TV. I just tested my TV and it couldn’t find my phone by bluetooth, so I don’t think this is an option. I think my TV doesn’t have the features it is supposed to, as it is supposed to have bluetooth capability.

Are there any other options I should consider? I don’t really mind spending the $35, other than I already have OnDemand, Netflix and a bunch of stuff on my Tivo, so I don’t know how much Amazon video we would watch. I am kind of hoping a free or cheap solution will let me check out the service.

What does everyone watch on Amazon prime that is worthwhile?

If you can’t add the Amazon app to the Bluray player then I say go with the Firestick. They’re purpose built to play Amazon Prime programs and it’s less messing around with HDMI and cables and your laptop.

My TV came with Hulu and Netflix built in, but the firmware sucks so bad on it I just went ahead and bought a desk top to dedicate to my TV.

Best decision I ever made!

So now I post on the Dope, play on the internet and stream all of my media through my 55" TV. And all with out having to worry about bugs or comparability issues. Or the dreaded buffering I was getting from the firmware that came with my TV.

PCs/Laptops are certainly the most flexible but there’s more to go wrong.

For simplicity Roku is what I would recommend. Fast and tiny box with lots of different video sources including Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, Crackle, and much more.

I expect the Amazon Fire stick would be fine too but I think the Roku does more.

Second Roku - a standalone model 3 if the extra expense over the Stick isn’t too much.

The Roku does do more, but it’s Amazon app is pretty crappy. If the OP is generally going to watch Amazon Prime the most, it makes more sense to go with a Fire TV or Fire TV Stick (Fire TV can also show Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, etc).

But he says he watches other services, too, and I can only see the list growing. A single device that does a good job with all of them (to varying degrees) would be a good move. Yeah, you can use three or four different devices, each with one or two good apps, but it gets to be a PITA pretty fast.

The Roku stick is a good value and easily transportable, which makes it great for the apartment/social crowd, but for a fixed installation the few more bux spend on the fixed Roku 3 will pay off, I think. The Amazon interface isn’t bad, just not as smooth as Amazon’s own.

It seems like you should be able to add the amazon app. This talks about a via app store.

If you aren’t able to, I would spend the extra money for the fire tv instead of the fire tv stick. Menu navigating speed alone makes it worth it.

ETA:

Your tv is on thislist.

I used to use the App on my Blu Ray to stream Amazon but one day Amazon just decided to stop supporting it. As a birthday gift I got a Roku stick and love it. I use it all the time to watch Amazon, Netflix, YouTube and Twitch on my TV.

TiVo has an Amazon app. Which TiVo version do you have?

I’m a technology idiot. Love my Roku. It’s easy to set up and easy to use. I watch a lot of Amazon Prime and YouTube with it.

^^ this. Both my old Tivo (Premiere?) and the new one (the weird-shaped white one, maybe Bolt?) include a great Amazon app.

ChromCast is easy to stream the laptop to the TV. It does seem to have issues with AmazonPrime, though.

Roku also makes a stick. We have one on one of our TVs and it’s fantastic and completely invisible.

Are you me? Well, I didn’t get a desktop to replace anything but I did switch from a regular monitor to the big screen from the living room (no one was watching tv in there anymore).I have this huge antique desk (it came from a bank, I think) and I set the big screen on the ledge at the back so I am not too close to the screen.

I’m watching the various StarGate series right now interspersed with movies I hadn’t seen on Netflix. We just got rid of Directv after 23 years of service. Too many commercials and never anything on. It’s cheaper having the 2 streaming services than the basic package we had.

Yeah, my TV is on the list (I looked at it over the weekend), but Amazon Video is not one of the loaded apps, nor one that comes up to install. It simply isn’t there, despite what Amazon indicates. The apps on the TV are pretty clunky. Although I can access Netflix from either my TV or cable Tivo box, it works much better from Tivo than the TV.

I have a Tivo Romeo from my cable company, Atlantic Broadband. It has Netflix on it, but not Amazon or Hulu. I’m guessing Amazon didn’t make a deal with the cableco.

Is ‘Yahoo! Connected TV Store’ one of the loaded apps you can get to?

Well, hence, which service is he most interested in watching? If it’s Amazon and Netflix, then Fire TV is likely the better option. If its exploring all of the possible streaming services, then Roku.

And yes, Tivo has the new Amazon Video app. I tend to watch Amazon Video off my Tivo (Roamio) much more than my Roku because of the crappy Roku app (I tend to watch Netflix and Hulu from Roku or Chromecast because they are faster than the Tivo apps).

Do you have an Xbox? That’s how I watch Amazon Prime content on my TV.

I’m not at my TV now, but I think it does have that. I will look this evening (and report back). Thanks!!