So you know you want to buy an Amazon Fire TV Device but you’re not sure which one? I can help you. In this article, we’ll review the key differences between the Fire TV Stick, the Firestick 4k, the Fire TV Cube, and the Fire TV Recast so you can complete your decision and buy the right Fire TV device that’s best for your family.
This article assumes you’ve already made the decision that an Amazon Fire TV device is right for you and that you just need help on choosing which model is best.
Amazon Fire TV Table of Contents
- Video Review
- How to Decide which Fire TV Device to buy
- Know the options available.
- Know what YOU want the device to do.
- Buy the Fire TV device(s) that’s best for you.
- Fire TV Accessories
- More Tips
Buy a Fire TV Device with Confidence
The Amazon Fire TV Devices (as a group) are our #1 recommended option for people who are trying to cut the cord and ditch their cable tv. If you want to EASILY stream tv online, the Amazon Fire TV devices are your best bet.
Compared to Roku, Apple TV, Smart TV, and other digital media players, the Amazon Fire TV Devices are the easiest to set up, the easiest to use, and the easiest to find content on.
This is especially true for older adults (over 40) who are new to the world of streaming tv online.
Fire TV Options – The VIDEO
How to Decide which Fire TV Device is Right for You?
It’s really a simple 3-step process.
- Know what Fire TV Devices are available.
- Decide what you want the Fire TV Device to do
- Make the purchase
Step 1: Know the Fire TV Device Variations
To get started we first have to know the various Fire TV devices that are available. They are…
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Step 2: What Do You Want the Fire TV to Do?
This is the key section of this article. I’m going to keep it short and sweet because again I’m assuming you already know the basics about the Fire TV and just want to make the final decision. Here’s how to pick:
Buy the basic Amazon Fire TV Stick if…
- You want the absolute easiest option in terms of setup and use.
- You don’t care about 4k content.
- You don’t care controlling other devices with your Firestick remote.
- You are on a limited budget and/or you have multiple tv’s you want to put a fire stick on.
- You are new to the world of cord cutting.
The basic Amazon Firestick is not only the lowest cost option but it’s also the best option for older adults new to online streaming tv. Buy one or more of these and you won’t be sorry. I personally own 5+ of these devices for all my non-4k tv’s and have them on most of our tv’s and travel with 1 of them pretty much all the time.
The Amazon Fire TV Stick forms the foundation of our cord cutting tv system for my family.
Buy the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4k if…
- You want a fire stick that is as easy to use as the basic fire stick but you want to be able to also watch 4k and UHD content.
- You don’t care controlling other devices with your Firestick remote.
- You are new to the world of cord cutting.
- If you happen to see it on-sale for the same price as the basic fire stick – which is a promotion that Amazon often runs.
If you don’t care about 4k content, then just buy the basic Fire Stick.
Buy the Amazon Fire TV Cube if…
You want all the features of the Fire TV Stick 4k AND you also want to be able to control other Alexa-enabled devices with a single system. So, for example, with the Fire TV Cube you can…
- Use either the Fire TV remote or just your voice to turn on the TV, dim the lights, and play what you want to watch.
- You can control your soundbar, A/V system, cable box, DVR, etc.
- You want the combination of a Fire TV Stick 4k and an Amazon Echo all in one device.
The Fire TV Cube is like a powerful universal remote in a single system.
Buy the Amazon Fire TV Recast ONLY if…
You already have a Fire Stick, Firestick 4k, or Fire TV Cube AND an HD Antenna AND you want to be able to record shows and watch them on your fire-tv compatible devices.
Do not buy a Fire TV Recast as your first Fire TV device!
The Fire TV Recast is basically a DVR to record over the air content. It is not a streaming stand-alone device.
Keep in mind that you can’t record streaming app content on this device. That means you can NOT record Sling, Hulu, DirecTV Now, etc content with a Fire TV Recast – you’ll need to use the DVR that comes with those apps.
To be clear, in order to use the Fire TV Recast you need ALL of the following:
- HD Antennae to access over-the-air content.
- Fire Stick, Fire Stick 4k, or Fire TV Cube or Echo Show.
- TV or mobile device that can access the Fire TV App.
If you have these things AND you want to be able to record over-the-air content onto a DVR (i.e. the Fire TV Recast) then this is a great option.
Step 3: Make the Purchase
Now that you know which Fire TV devices are best for your specific needs, go ahead and pull the trigger.
If you are going to cut the cord, ditch cable tv, and move to online streaming tv like I did, then the Amazon Fire TV Devices can help you make that happen.
Read all my tips for Cutting the Cord and then buy the various Fire TV Devices you need for each tv.
Although it sounds like a lot of upfront costs if you buy a Firestick for every tv, if you do the match it’s really a no-brainer because the purchase of the Amazon Fire TV devices is a ONE-TIME COST while the cost of all those cable boxes (on average $8-20) is an ON-GOING MONTHLY COST. Do yourself a favor and get rid of all those costly cable boxes!
Here’s my setup:
- For all my non-4k tv’s I have the basic Amazon Fire Sticks – that includes my kids’ rooms, guest rooms, and outdoor tvs. my 4 year old watches tv with his Fire Stick. My 75 year old mother-in-law also watches on her Fire Stick.
- For my 4k tv’s I have the Fire TV 2nd Gen device which is no longer available and has been replaced by the Fire Stick 4k.
I do not currently have the Fire TV Cube (it wasn’t available when I made my original purchases) and I don’t need the Fire TV Recast (because I get my local channels from my streaming tv app and therefore don’t use an HD Antennae. Instead I use the DVR inside my streaming tv app from DirecTV Now). That said, if you would benefit from the Fire TV Cube or Fire TV Recast, by all means, go for it.
If you’re ready to buy, check the latest prices here. We are proud to be an official Amazon Affiliate. Good luck!
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Fire TV Accessories
One or more of these may benefit you…
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Have it. Love it!
This is basically a universal remote that your Fire Stick remotes fits inside – it’s easy to use and easy to set up.
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Best-selling HD antennae on Amazon. For more choices check out these other HD antennas.
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