Why Not Another Chromecast
Bought the Amazon Fire TV Stick for US$39 (S$54) just to attempt it out since I already selected shopping for the Amazon Echo (subsequent post) and my kitchen’s tv needs a media casting device. Why not another Chromecast? It's because I needed to try a brand new gadget and I think Chromecast is due for a refresh soon as it has been nearly 2 years since it was launched. Both the Amazon Fire TV Stick and Amazon Echo doesn’t ship to Singapore instantly, so I shipped it by way of HopShopGo and delivery from HopShoGo to Singapore costs US$29.99 (S$42) via DHL Express. In terms of specs, the Amazon Fire TV Stick has a dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. In comparison, the Google Chrome has solely a single-core processor with 512MB of RAM and 2GB of storage. The Wi-Fi on the Amazon Fire TV Stick is also a lot faster, it supports twin band/twin antenna (MIMO) Wi-Fi and yes you may connect with a 5ghz wireless network unlike the Google Chrome.
Amazon Fire TV Stick is focused at customers who're subscribed to Amazon Prime which is able to price you US$99/yr (S$138/yr). When you find yourself an Amazon Prime member, you get access to Prime Instant Video, Prime Music and Prime Photos. Since, I'm not a main member, all these are not really useful for me. Hence, the three features I'll probably be using on the Amazon Fire TV Stick will likely be Netflix, Plex and casting my movies from my system to the tv. That is similar to what Apple does when you buy Flixy TV Stick their merchandise together with Apple Care. Amazon Fire TV Stick has its own App Store which is mainly a section beneath Amazon Appstore for Android. From there, you possibly can obtain apps like Plex or Netflix in your Amazon Fire TV Stick. A fast browse on the Appstore shows me principally paid apps. If the app you want is not in the Amazon Appstore, it's also possible to consider sideloading the APK.
I read the tutorial on Sideload FireTV and it really works positive for me. Amazon Fire TV Stick helps casting utilizing the DIAL protocol. DIAL stands for DIscovery And Launch. It is an easy protocol that second-display screen devices can use to discover and launch apps on first-display units. This protocol was co-developed by Netflix and YouTube. Initially, Google’s Chromecast uses DIAL, but they moved away from it and now they created their very own Google Cast. I can understand why Google moved away from it because it is quite horrible. So as to solid one thing onto the Amazon Fire TV Stick, both the system casting and the receiving gadget must have the app put in. I've so much drawback trying to forged my YouTube videos but ultimately it doesn’t work as a result of there is no such thing as a official YouTube app on Amazon Appstore! I tried sideloading the YouTube app downloaded from APKMirror but it doesn’t work because Amazon Fire TV Stick doesn’t come with Google Play Services.
And once i tried to sideload Google Play Services, it says minimal API error. I suppose the one method is to root it (which isn’t possible proper now) and use Google Play Store as a substitute. I even have problem casting Netflix movies as effectively. That is because I live in Singapore, I'm unable to obtain the Netflix app from Amazon Appstore. I tried sideloading the traditional Netflix app, however it doesn’t work because it got caught on the choosing profile display screen after logging in. I think it needs a contact/mouse input reasonably than input from the distant control. The one app that I've successfully casted is Plex, paid US$4.99 (S$7) from Amazon Appstore and it works flawlessly. There are a few apps on the Amazon Appstore you could buy so that the Amazon Fire TV Stick can emulate Apple’s AirPlay. I have not tried it yet, however possibly one day I will and hopefully that will make the casting a lot simpler if the app works as marketed. Amazon Fire TV Stick additionally does assist Miracast, but (a very massive but) plainly lots of people have problems getting it to work as well. Looks just like the Amazon Fire TV Stick will not be what I expected. If you are like me and dwell exterior the US, listen to my recommendation, keep away from Amazon Fire TV Stick and buy Flixy TV Stick get a Chromecast as a substitute.