Fire TV Stick 4K Max streaming device (newest model) supports Wi-Fi 6E, free & live TV without cable or satellite

I had become exasperated trying to get by using a "smart" Sony Bravia TV for all my streaming services. It sort of worked but didn't work well. Slow, cumbersome, and prone to freezing up (especially with Hulu for who knows what reason.) I had previously used Directv streaming, which was functional but expensive. I then had a brief flirtation with a Tivo streaming stick, which had potential, but needed rebooting more times than could be counted. I was reluctant to go with a Fire because of its alienation from Google and the wondrous Play Store. But I finally decided to give this a try -- partly because I have had recent good experiences with Echo devices and Alexa. The 4k Max seemed like the best choice because of its larger storage. I reconfigured my system somewhat by plugging the Fire into a Yamaha receiver HDMI rather than the TV. I believe this helped achieve success -- with a more straightforward audio integration. The installation process was very smooth. Hulu, MAX, Apple, Peacock, Paramount+, Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney all installed and fired up without a hitch. I was annoyed that Google Play wasn't available and that a key mapper for the remote was apparently forbidden. But navigation and app loading were delightfully fast, and the stick quickly became friends with my Echo Dot. Alexa made changing between streaming services easy, and a more social experience -- albeit artificial. VLC was available and worked perfectly with my network storage drive. I was wary of the wireless network connection, but a test showed ample speed. I have had no internet glitches so far, and no freeze ups or weird behaviors in general. I want to get a remote with a few more shortcut buttons, but the supplied one works fine. Overall a better experience than I had dared to hope for. So far so good.

For various reasons, I decided it was time to at least try a different streaming device, and I figured a FireTV Stick would be the obvious solution.I wanted a responsive device, and to try to ensure this, I figured I might as well go for the top model of the FireTV Stick, so I ordered the 4K Max. This device does not at all disappoint in that regard! It is very snappy while navigating through the UI and the various streaming apps I utilize, so I'm very pleased with that.It comes with a short HDMI extender, which is a great touch because it makes using a "stick" form device such as this not interfere with being in the way of your other HDMI ports.Make sure you use the power adapter it came with (or a USB adapter capable of outputting 2 Amps) because you will run in to problems quickly if it doesn't detect enough amperage. I rather wish it came with a longer cable, as it is not uncommon these days for a TV to be wall mounted, but that's just my own opinion.Setup is very easily done and has nice guidance every step of the way. Even getting the remote to work with my TV was super easy and included in the first time setup guidance. The remote ended up only being able to control my TV's power and volume, which is not a big deal, and I'm sure most individuals who buy this intend to use it as the main source of media to play on their TV.Streaming from various services is an absolute blast and I've had no issues there.I rather wish there were more big name options for aftermarket remotes, it seems like there are for every other major streaming device, but on the other hand I've never personally heard of anyone's FireTV remote having issues.If you have a non-smart TV or an aging smart TV that is getting laggy, the FireTV Stick will serve you well for years to come, go for it!The FireTV Stick 4K Max also has an option for a service that allows you to play games from your PC on your TV, I am intrigued to try the trial of that at some point just to see how it is.***For Plex users:**** This is in no way, as far as I can tell, any fault of the device itself. Certain movies will get stuck and after a while make an error pop up, and certain shows will result in the audio playing but the screen being stuck black when the auto play starts the next episode. I have tried everything, and I mean everything. Everything else has never given me this issue. I have gone so far as factory resetting the FireTV Stick, rebuilding my media libraries, cold starting every device on my network, and gone through every single setting in the Plex app. This has resulted in my second issue with the autoplay being seemingly resolved, but again I do not think it is the device itself, or anything on my network, because I have installed what is essentially a media player that can connect to network shares and everything plays with no issue that way. So, yes, it seems to be an issue with the Plex app itself. Unfortunately, it seems forums are full of Plex users experiencing such things on FireTV devices. Again I cannot fault the device or Amazon for this in any way. Unfortunately though it leaves me trying to decide if I should just continue using the player application on my FireTV Stick, which is connected to the only TV I use, and that is mostly what I use when I'm watching anything. If I do that, I have very little reason to run Plex, but I like its layout and I've put a lot of time and effort over the years in to getting it just the way I like it. I can hope that an upcoming update fixes things, I could buy a Plex Pass and see if this improves things, I could switch to Emby and pay their monthly charge, or I could purchase a different streaming device.....it's a tough spot....

With the firestick 4k max there is no miss, the price is right (holiday), the performance is what is needed, Netflix and prime work ok, this version with the programable remote made my old remote to be almost retired, the only button that I would love to have in this device to stop using my OEM remote is the "Input" so I can switch in between cable and the firestick (HDMI ports) for now I have the OEM for that button only, maybe in the future they can have an app with a programable button or something, that will be sweet. The Performance is great. For the first time setup, I would recommend that you go through all the updates at once until there is none pending, so no bugs may be seen, one feature that was amazing is to clone one of your old devices config during the first time setup, I retired my firestick 1st gen as it was sluggish and i got my config back and effort was almost none, apps were installed like it was before. As many other users, I would love if this thing has a browser that works (Opera, firefox, chrome, edge any that works ok) and the option to install the Google Playstore but that is something amazon don't like so if you would like to have this then you will need to find out how to. Game controllers work ok via Bluetooth and the device runs cool. I will buy another one in my next purchase to start upgrading my 2nd gens that it seem that they started to go slow and overheating. Good purchase overall

I guess I must have been using the original Firestick. It was pretty slow loading the aps and started not responding at all when I would push the buttons on the remote. It also had some challenges loading the Paramount Plus ap. I would have to try it 3 times to get it to load. The Disney Plus ap also had issues and would totally lock up after a commercial would run. Audio would drop out completely sometimes as well I decided to try this one. I have to say that it works quite a bit better. It is pretty fast when I select something. The audio has stopped dropping and actually sounds a lot better. No issues with the Paramount or Disney ap either. I guess I also have a slightly better picture too. Overall I am having a lot better experience with this upgrade