[zulfi hansi]

Has anyone tried to install Xstream app on fire stick? In my plan Airtel has given me Xstream for free but I can only access it on my mobile or on my laptop, maybe I m wrong. Xsteam has some good stuff if I can access it on fire stick, otherwise it hardly has any utility, for me at least.

[vshankarhere]

When I had this conundrum in mind, I had initially thought of purchasing Amazon FireStick based on general feedback. Then I happened to come across Mi Box 4k. It had very good reviews and hence I went for it in August. So far, it has been excellent; based on Android 9, it is very sleek, the UI is uncluttered and most importantly the performance is very smooth. The android ecosystem gives the option of downloading a lot of apps optimized for Android TV OS. Few other apps, not supported by Play Store, too can be sideloaded. While most apps load instantly, Amazon Prime takes its own sweet time to load (not heartbreakingly slow but definitely slow). Even though I have connected it to my 25" monitor which supports only upto fullHD, it is reassuring that it would be able to support videos with resolutions upto 4K. It ships with a remote with separate buttons for Netflix, Prime and Google Assistant. For Rs.3,499, it is an excellent buy!

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by zulfi hansi

Has anyone tried to install Xstream app on fire stick? In my plan Airtel has given me Xstream for free but I can only access it on my mobile or on my laptop, maybe I m wrong. Xsteam has some good stuff if I can access it on fire stick, otherwise it hardly has any utility, for me at least.

Yes! I just installed and checked, it works. But Airtel has massively downgraded the complimentary XStream subscription. I don't think there's any free channels, the kind you'd actually want to watch.

[Fury]

I can understand why most would pick the Firestick now compared to Chromecast but do keep in mind that the latest Chromecast with Android TV support has already launched internationally. Once thats launched in India, i think that would be best choice among the 3 since it too will have a remote and in-built apps along with the convenience of Play Store. Once launched that would be my pick.

[snappysam]

For me Firestick ticks most boxes. I've using the FHD version since 3 years now on my Panasonic (non-smart) TV. Since the TV has a Optical Return, I connect the Optical output of the TV to my AVR and enjoy 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus. And there's plenty of content to satisfy Surround Sound movie buffs.

Interface is top notch, and as an added advantage, sideload a bunch of Apps onto the Firestick. And Firestick is what prompted me to cut the cord.

Despite some others pointing out lag in YouTube app, so far I've personally never had any issues with it.

It makes more sense for me to stick on with Firestick since I am already a Amazon Prime member.

Oh! and Alexa works quite well too.

The only gripe is that the bundled remote has sort of worn out, rather the Right Selection button now has only intermittent connection. So I've simply loaded the FIRESTICK REMOTE App on all our Android phones which solves the problem with the.physical remote. Once again, the added advantage is the availability of Keyboard on the Remote App, in case you don't want to use Alexa.

Yeah! In short, Firestick is a boon and will soon be upgrading to the 4K version

[vigneshnr]

Hi

Voted : Others - MiBox 4k here

I have been a long term user of Google's Chromecast. Even today it works flawlessly (~4 years). Simple fuss free dongle.
My TV developed some issue & the device stopped working with it. So went looking for a streaming device.

From the voting, I understand this is not popular yet. But let me say that this device is versatile, highly user friendly & loaded with features, features and more features - and a remote. MiBox does everything a chromecast does plus apps can be downloaded to watch and play. The remote voice assistant works great.

Now my chromecast also works, but sticking to MiBox 4 as I dont have to pick up my phone at all.

[ajayc123]

Long time back when smart TVs were in their infancy (& possibly streaming devices were just coming out or not there), I had purchased a Sony Bravia smart TV, along with a custom adaptor to connect with the WIFI. Initially a few things worked clumsily, but gradually even those stopped working, as there was no focus on upgrading the firmware / software. So ultimately the smart TV slowly turned into a dumb TV. Not a single Smart TV feature works as of today, whereas at the time of purchase I had thought that I should be buying a future ready TV, and paid about 20% premium for the so called "smart" features, but it did not work out. The lesson learnt is avoid buying the integrated product, rather buy a mainstream streaming device like one of these by the OP along with a regular TV. A TV manufacturer will never focus as much on the streaming aspects, as would a streaming device manufacturer. So it better to have a modular approach here, in my opinion.

[Biker Ram]

Having used both Chromecast and Firestick my vote is for Firestick. Besides the convenience of a remote, streaming quality is lot better on Firestick. I never realised this until I actually made the switch. Visited a friend recently who uses only Chromecast. Streaming quality was evidently poor but my friend having never used a FireTV didn't see anything amiss in quality.

The only place where I'd rate Chromecast higher is it gives you a better chance at browsing and picking nice titles, particularly on Netflix. With a smart phone in hand it's much easier to browse the titles. On FireTV you need to be specific with your search, or be at the mercy of auto suggested titles from the FireTV.

Recently upgraded to a Bravia Android so not much use for FireTV now. At least that's what I thought. But guess what, the expensive Sony doesn't support Bluetooh headphone connectivity that even a FireTV supports!

[anandhsub]

I use a chromecast while I have also used a firestick extensively at my parent's place and I would recommend having both.

For stuff like Netflix/Hotstar/ Prime the streaming quality is clearly higher on firestick. However it is a massive pain to search for movies on the firestick. I have never really gotten comfortable typing using the onscreen keyboard.

Chromecast also wins for the Youtube support. You can keep adding videos to the queue or even autoplay on its own which I dont think is possible on firestick. In fact firestick started supporting Youtube only in the last year or so.

This is very good when you want to play music videos or even kid videos for my daughter. On firestick i need to start a new video each time.

[Utham123]

Firestick for me. Have been using it since two years on LG HD TV. The TV came with in built apps but it was getting terribly slow. The only thing I miss with the firestick is the magic remote which LG provides. Everything else is on par or better.

I am not a fan of Google Chrome cast as it needs your phone to take full advantage of it.

I did not see Apple TV in any of my friend's/relative's house in India, but, my sister's house in US had one. I played around with it for an hour to find out what is special about it. To be honest I could find nothing. I also checked with my brother in law about its features expecting to learn a feature or two which are unique and useful over others. He himself admitted they have Apple TV but, always end up using fire stick. To say it is expensive is an understatement!

[manku]

I use a projector at home and chromecast has worked very well for me. I've actually never used a fire stick, so didn't know about the difference in the streaming quality (chromecast has been pretty good).

The reason I like chromecast over the fire tv stick approach of apps is the on screen keyboard and searching, It is a *lot* more convenient to do the searching on your phone or laptop and then just hit the cast button. A remote would be useful to do the pause/play bits, but I use google home to do that regardless where I did the casting from.

no harm having both given how cheap they are compared to apple tv.

[raksrules]

I love the Fire Stick and have been using since its first version (with small remote) back in 2015. I even bought the Onida Fire TV Edition TV about 6 months back and that makes things far easier as I don't have to fiddle with 2 remotes.

I have a old Sony LED on which I am using a new 4K Fire stick and its remote can be used to turn on and off the TV and volume control. But I also have a 4K stick attached to a MiTV but on that I cannot control the TV since the remote is bluetooth.

[Tucker48]

I have voted for other because I will go for any option except for smart android TV's. It's better to get a smart box and use it with a 'dumb' TV then to get a smart android TV which needs to be changed in 3-5 years. Changing the smart box will be economical when the boxes are upgraded with new tech.
I have been using Airtel Internet TV since last 3.5yrs when it was launched. Interface is good but now it's near the end of it's lifetime. I have done hard reset 2 times in this period to prolong its life. It came with 4k and 2gb ram. I'm waiting for 4gb ram device with latest processor for an upgrade to make sense. Please suggest if there's already one for sale.
After I buy the new device then I will root this device to use it without an active DTH connection just for the sake of curiosity.

[raksrules]

Originally Posted by Tucker48

I have voted for other because I will go for any option except for smart android TV's. It's better to get a smart box and use it with a 'dumb' TV then to get a smart android TV which needs to be changed in 3-5 years. Changing the smart box will be economical when the boxes are upgraded with new tech.
I have been using Airtel Internet TV since last 3.5yrs when it was launched. Interface is good but now it's near the end of it's lifetime. I have done hard reset 2 times in this period to prolong its life. It came with 4k and 2gb ram. I'm waiting for 4gb ram device with latest processor for an upgrade to make sense. Please suggest if there's already one for sale.
After I buy the new device then I will root this device to use it without an active DTH connection just for the sake of curiosity.

When you say "smart box", do you mean those random no name brands that sell on aliexpress and even amazon and such? Because if those don't have actual android tv interface, they usually run tablet version of android and they don't even have L1 DRM in most cases so your popular apps like netflix won't even play HD.

[amol4184]

FireTV and Chromecast both. FireTV though gets the most use on account of it having a remote. I don’t yet have the latest chromecast with Google TV and Remote. Once I get that, I’ll pretty much switch to Chromecast full time. The FireTV interface is not the smoothest and search function very inefficient.

For some reason it never finds installed apps. If I search for complete keyword “hotstar”, it still doesn’t list it. If I navigate the app lis manually I see hotstar and it works. Not something to have a heartburn but is annoying. Thankfully I don’t install many apps.