The Amazon Fire TV Stick HD is the cheapest way to turn just about any television with an HDMI port into a smart TV. Plug the small black stick into the back of the TV, plug the included power cable into a wall outlet, run through a quick setup with the Alexa Voice Remote, and you’re streaming Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, YouTube, and a few hundred other apps within ten minutes. It works with any HDTV, an old hotel TV, the dusty bedroom set you stopped using when streaming apps disappeared, or a portable monitor for travel.
A reliable streaming stick you can take anywhere
The Fire TV Stick HD has a 1.7 GHz Quad Core Processor, 8 GB of Storage, and Wi-Fi 5. Video Output is capped at 1080p at 60Hz. So, if you’re looking for 4K output, you’ll want to take a look at one of the more advanced Fire TV products. In addition to standard video formats such as HDR-10, HDR-10+, and HLG, supported by content providers, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital+, and Dolby Atmos audio are also available on this device when connected to a compatible surround system.
The Alexa Voice Remote is one of the better parts of the package. Press the microphone button and say what you want to watch, and Alexa searches across every installed app at once instead of making you open each service one at a time. Dedicated power and volume buttons work with most modern TVs, soundbars, and receivers via HDMI-CEC, so you can control the entire entertainment setup with a single remote and stop hunting for three remotes in the couch cushions.
The Fire TV interface puts every installed app on a single home screen, with Continue Watching rows for shows you’ve started and quick tiles for live TV through services like Sling and YouTube TV. Free ad-supported channels on Tubi, Pluto TV, and Amazon Freevee give you access to hundreds of thousands of movies and TV episodes without any subscription, which is useful if you’re already paying for two or three services.
Smart home control is built into the same remote. If you have Alexa-compatible lights, cameras, doorbells, or thermostats, you can dim the lights, check the front porch camera, or change the temperature without leaving the couch. The stick also works as a portable streaming device for travel, since it weighs almost nothing and connects to any hotel TV with an HDMI port and Wi-Fi.
The Amazon Fire TV Stick HD is on sale for $20 instead of the usual $35. For an old TV in a guest room, a kid’s bedroom, a basement, or a garage workshop, this is the cheapest path to modern streaming without buying a whole new television. Two of them cost less than a single month of cable.
