The Chromecast would happily stream Amazon Prime, but Amazon won’t add the ability to their app. Then they stopped selling Chromecasts because it doesn’t support Amazon Prime. :dubious: This is one reason I don’t have Amazon Prime.
You can still watch Amazon through a Chromecast, you just need to start it on your computer in a Chrome tab and cast it to your TV. Don’t know how well it works.
Although you can get the app on integrated devices like TVs and Tivos, the app support often seems like an afterthought on those devices. The user interface will be clunkier, slower, and you may experience more problems.
I would also recommend a standalone Roku box. It will have a very wide support for apps and has a good UI. It will also make it easier for you to ditch cable if you ever want. There are services like Hulu and SlingTV that off a lot of the content found on cable.
I would recommend a Roku over devices from Amazon and Google. Those other devices will be built around trying to make you use their own streaming service as much as possible. If you’re going to buy one device, Roku may give you more flexibility overall. But all those devices are good.
You may already know this, but on regular TiVos there is a menu where you choose which video providers you want to see on the main menu. If you haven’t tried yet, check in Settings & Messages -> Channel & App Settings -> My Video Providers.
They’re all small enough and simple enough to be easily transportable. The stick I would wager is mainly for people that hang their TV on the wall and don’t want to have to find somewhere to place the box.
Just to avoid possible confusion (and the bonus of being pedantic)… The Xbox doesn’t support any streaming services, you need an Xbox 360 or Xbox One for that.
The PS4 and Wii U will also do it. I know PS3 and Wii have Nexflix, not sure about Amazon. I think so but don’t want to swear to it. Wii won’t do HD, though.
Last night I confirmed that my cable company-provided Tivo does not include Amazon video. Their website says to “check back often” for updates on this. Yeah, right.
I also tried the Yahoo Connected Store on my Vizio TV, and Amazon Video is not available as an app. I’m pretty sure Vizio has stopped actively supporting/updating my six year old model, so I don’t expect any change there, either.
I don’t have an Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4 or Wii U.
So, I’m probably looking at either the Fire Stick or Roku Stick to get Amazon Prime Video. Does anyone have any thoughts on buying a used or refurbished Roku Stick on Ebay, vs. a new one?
I bought a Roku stick at Best Buy for $49. Why go refurbished when a new one is so cheap?
One thing I just remembered. Some versions of the Roku, Google, and Apple devices allow screen casting, which is where you can project your phone or computer screen on the TV. It’s really nice when you want to show a bunch of people some photos, youtube videos, or whatever. Everyone can watch on the TV rather than trying to see on your phone. (Maybe Fire does as well?) Apple does too, but only with Apple devices. Not all phones work with all devices. Before you get a device, see which ones support your particular phone.
I would also recommend getting a new device. They’re cheap enough new that it’s not worth saving a few bucks buying used with unknown problems. Especially if it’s your first one and you don’t know what is and isn’t a problem.
Just to clarify since I have the Fire stick, it absolutely plays Hulu, Netflix, HBOGo, and way more. The list of apps, games, etc is endless and I even watch the RNC and DNC conventions without a single talking head or commercial. I bought the first on a whim for some prime deal or another and now every television in my house has one. I also have the Fire TV, the more expensive box, but see no reason for it. The stick is great on its own.
I’m a big fan of the Fire TV stuff. So if Amazon Prime Video (and Netflix and Hulu and …) are your priority, little reason to try anything else.
They’ve sold a huge number of these. With this large of an installation base, the support from Amazon and other app providers is going to be strong.
They are more or less Android devices. You can install a lot of Android apps. You can even install ones that aren’t available on Amazon’s app store (e.g., Kodi).
Amazon is expected to announce very soon new versions of their Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. So the “old” versions are on sale. Save some money with these or wait a little bit and get the latest. (The Fire TV is great. A lot faster and you can do more with it than the Stick. But maybe the next Stick will be better.)
I haven’t tried the Fire stick but we do have a Roku.
They usually work wirelessly but back before we got the Roku, we wound up getting cable splitter, and feeding one cable into the cable box, and one into a cable-to-ethernet adapter - the TV had a wireless adapter but it was wonky enough to make it unusable. The adapter fixed that.
Then Amazon decided it was not going to support that TV’s Amazon app any more, helpfully suggesting we might like to invest in a Fire stick or similar.
Sooooo, right now we have a cable going into the Actiontec box, an ethernet cable from the Actiontec to the Roku, and an HDMI cable from the Roku to the TV :).
The Roku box (vs their version of the stick) is a bit more money than a Fire stick - I think the Roku stick is about the same cost as the Fire stick. Does your TV have USB input? If not, I don’t think either stick would work.
The box doesn’t turn off - meaning there’s a constant (albeit quite small, I imagine) energy drain. The remotes are flimsy - ours quit working within a couple months, though in their favor, Roku sent us a new one free. It’s annoying to have to have two remotes: one for the cable box and one for the Roku, as the “universal” remote that comes from the Veridiots can’t be made to speak Roku. You can use the Roku smartphone app as a remote (and we had to, when the remote wasn’t working).
In theory, you get access to tons of extra channels, but for the most part they’re crap, or require a paid subscription. You can usually get access to network-specific “channels” to watch stuff - I caught up on all the episodes of Lucifer that way, ditto one or two from USA Network.
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I use a WiFi streaming Blu-Ray player to watch Netflix and Amazon video on my TV.
It works shitty, and that’s being kind. I have a Chromecast and there are two networks I’d like to watch (Amazon and WWE) that, for whatever reason, won’t add the Google API. I’ve tried the tab screening, but it was so bad that I switched to HDMI. My older TV could stream Amazon through the Yahoo app, but the interface was horrendous. My new TV has the Amazon app, and that interface is very similar to Amazon Prime on the web - still not very good but much better than the Yahoo app interface. Still have to stream WWE via HDMI or just watch on the computer. One downside to the newer TV is that it doesn’t have HBOGO as an app, but at least that works with Chromecast (though their sister channel Cinemax doesn’t work with Chromecast…go figure).
The 2016 version of the Roku stick is a technological step up from the previous versions, especially in terms of speed. Mine is indistinguishable from my Roku 3 when using it. I’d get the new one just to make sure you don’t get the old model with a refurb.
I’m probably using old technology, but I watch Amazon Prime and similar web-based TV using a wireless laptop hooked up to my TV by a cable (HDMI I think.)
The wireless mouse works from my chair. 