Amazon Fire TV Stick Review: Better Than Google Chromecast?

The Amazon Fire TV Stick has finally made it to the UK after launching in the US last year, but was it worth the wait?

Priced at just £35, the Stick is a cheap way of turning any TV with an HDMI port into a 'smart' TV, offering access to online catch-up players such as BBC iPlayer and Demand 5 as well as subscription-based options like Netflix. And of course the main draw here is Amazon Prime Instant Video - the maker's own streaming service.

Is it worth the shelling out for? And it is better than the rival Roku Streaming Stick (£49.99) and Google Chromecast (£30) Read on to find out.

Price: £35
Release date: 15 April 2015

Amazon Fire TV Stick specs:
Dual core processor
1GB memory
8GB flash storage
Dolby Digital Plus certified surround sound
Dual band/dual antenna Wi-Fi
HDMI video out (up to 1080p, 60fps)
84.9 mm x 25.0 mm x 11.5 mm
25.1g

Amazon Fire TV Stick verdict:

The tiny Fire TV Stick is about the size of a USB stick and easily plugs into the HDMI port on your TV. A small extender is supplied in the box in case the HDMI port is in an awkward spot. You'll also need to hook up the Stick to the mains via the supplied power adaptor.

Once connected, turn on the TV and you'll be prompted to choose your language and connect to your Wi-Fi. If you purchased the stick using your usual amazon email address then it will already be registered to your account. If you received it as a gift, then you'll need to register it manually when prompted. And that's all there is to it - it's one of the easiest setups we've ever experienced.

An animated demo video fires up automatically, talking you through Fire TV's features and how to use them. You'll also be given the option of setting up a PIN for parental controls.

As the stick is so portable, it's easy to move around to different rooms or even take away on trips with you to use at friend's houses or in hotels. Amazon has even included a workaround to dodge the pop-up screens that you see on many hotel TV room sets - something that its rivals don't offer. However, it's possible that not all of the services on the Stick will work outside of the UK.

The Fire TV interface is intuitive and simple to navigate - it's easy to browse TV and film categories and to filter down to titles that are included in the Amazon Prime Instant Video selection (there are around 15,000 to choose from) or look solely at the 50,000 titles that can be bought or rented.

Amazon's diminutive remote control is equally easy to use, and offers a slightly smoother experience than using the Roku or Google streaming sticks.

Our only annoyance is that when scrolling through a category, when you reach the last film or programme, you have to work your back through what you've already looked at if you want to go back. We would prefer to be able to loop straight back to the beginning.

Along with the supplied remote, Amazon offers a free Fire TV Remote app - available for iOS, Android and Fire OS, which enables you to use the touch screen instead of hard buttons.

This is also where you'll find the voice search function. Simply drag and hold the microphone icon on the app, speak into your smartphone's mic and Fire TV will do the searching. Voice recognition is notoriously patchy, but Amazon's app works surprisingly well, even on 'difficult' words (we were amazed that it recognised 'Matthew McConaughey' - we're not even sure how to say it properly).

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While both the touch control and voice search work extremely well, we'll probably stick to the traditional remote to conserve our phone battery.

Like the Roku Streaming Stick, the Fire TV Stick sports dual band Wi-Fi, compared to the Chromcast's single band Wi-Fi which should, in theory, make it faster. While we never had any major problems with speed on either the Roku or Chromecast, the Fire TV Stick is certainly zippy with no obvious lag or buffering.

The selection of content for Amazon Prime Instant Video is impressive, including numerous exclusives such as Ripper Street, Extant and Alpha House. And while there's definitely room for improvement on the film selection, there's a decent amount to choose from including some fairly obscure classics. It's easy to select titles you want to watch later by adding them to your 'Watchlist'.

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If you're not already a Prime Instant Video subscriber, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial, though be warned, if you decide that you don't want to carry on the service after 30 days is up, Amazon will start to charge unless you cancel it.

Non-Amazon services such as Netflix are available as apps and while the comprehensive range includes big players like Spotify, Sky News and Vimeo, there are some notable ommissions such as ITV Player, All4 (formerly 4oD) and Sky's Now TV.

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Amazon told us that the goal is to include as many different services as possible on the Stick. We'd expect to see more catch-up services added gradually, though there's no news as whether Sky will be agreeing to include Now TV.

If you're into gaming, the Fire TV Stick comes with a solid selection, some of them free and there's even a controller that you can buy separately (£34.99).

You can also access music from your Amazon Music library and view any photos that you've uploaded to Amazon Cloud Drive and you' you can also mirror content from your Amazon tablet or compatible Android devices.

Should I buy the Amazon Fire TV Stick?

The Amazon Fire TV Stick is a great little product with a reassuringly reasonable price tag and using it couldn't be easier.

If you're an Amazon Prime Instant Video subscriber, then this is the cheapest way to ensure that you can watch content on your TV, making the Stick an absolute must-have.

If you're not a subscriber, it's still a bargain but Roku's Streaming Stick argually has access to more services at present, though it is slightly more expensive. Chromecast is cheaper, though it doesn't currently offer Amazon Prime Instant Video.

Rating: 4/5