We hit Staples yesterday. I wanted to buy a HDMI cord to use with my laptop and the tv in the bedroom for streaming. We now have Amazon Prime (bought it when it was on sale the other week) and I did watch the first two episodes of The X Files on my iPad.
Staples has the Fire Stick, ChromeCast, Roku Streaming Stick, etc. Since we have Prime, we went with the Fire Stick. Staples price is $39.99. With my Rewards coupons (I'm a big Staples customer), I was able to get the Stick for $23.31, including tax. Essentially what it does is, it turns your tv into a Smart TV (kind of).
Hooking it up was easy. Simply put it together, plug it in to the HDMI port on the tv and then plug the other end into the electric recep. I had to put the Stick's MAC address into the router, then give the network password to the Stick. And voila! I watched six episodes of The X-Files last night.
Of course, nothing is ever really simple; there is a Blue Screen of Death with the Stick, as well as the Roku, ChromeCast, etc. And I got it last night. After Googling for a while, it seems that it's rather common and, with the Fire Stick, it happens quite a bit when using the extender to the HDMI plug that goes into the TV. I removed the extender, plugged it back in and it worked fine. I don't know if it will continue to work OK as it seems to be quite a common thing with these gizmos. But we'll see.
Rick and I normally watch different types of tv shows and movies. But when we want to watch something together, he can either come back to the bedroom or we can connect the Fire Stick to the tv in the living room. Supposedly you can take it with you if you're traveling....it works on any HDTV. I'm going to download the remote control app to my cell phone, too. The app might be available now for iPhones, too.
We went to Staples for the HDMI cord. But since we already have the wireless network in the house, this made more sense in the long run. And it was actually quite a bit cheaper than buying a 12-foot cord.
So far, I'm pleased. It wasn't expensive (cheaper than an HDMI cord) and it's doing the job. I thought I'd mention it just in case anybody was thinking of going that route. Comparison articles say Roku is better in the long run because it offers more. But since we already have Prime, we went with the Fire Stick. Watching movies and tv and streaming music and such will cut down the cost of our Prime considerably, we think. (Oh, and I've also signed up for the Kindle First, which allows you to grab a free new book before its normal release date. I took my first book on Saturday.)
Staples has the Fire Stick, ChromeCast, Roku Streaming Stick, etc. Since we have Prime, we went with the Fire Stick. Staples price is $39.99. With my Rewards coupons (I'm a big Staples customer), I was able to get the Stick for $23.31, including tax. Essentially what it does is, it turns your tv into a Smart TV (kind of).
Hooking it up was easy. Simply put it together, plug it in to the HDMI port on the tv and then plug the other end into the electric recep. I had to put the Stick's MAC address into the router, then give the network password to the Stick. And voila! I watched six episodes of The X-Files last night.
Of course, nothing is ever really simple; there is a Blue Screen of Death with the Stick, as well as the Roku, ChromeCast, etc. And I got it last night. After Googling for a while, it seems that it's rather common and, with the Fire Stick, it happens quite a bit when using the extender to the HDMI plug that goes into the TV. I removed the extender, plugged it back in and it worked fine. I don't know if it will continue to work OK as it seems to be quite a common thing with these gizmos. But we'll see.
Rick and I normally watch different types of tv shows and movies. But when we want to watch something together, he can either come back to the bedroom or we can connect the Fire Stick to the tv in the living room. Supposedly you can take it with you if you're traveling....it works on any HDTV. I'm going to download the remote control app to my cell phone, too. The app might be available now for iPhones, too.
We went to Staples for the HDMI cord. But since we already have the wireless network in the house, this made more sense in the long run. And it was actually quite a bit cheaper than buying a 12-foot cord.
So far, I'm pleased. It wasn't expensive (cheaper than an HDMI cord) and it's doing the job. I thought I'd mention it just in case anybody was thinking of going that route. Comparison articles say Roku is better in the long run because it offers more. But since we already have Prime, we went with the Fire Stick. Watching movies and tv and streaming music and such will cut down the cost of our Prime considerably, we think. (Oh, and I've also signed up for the Kindle First, which allows you to grab a free new book before its normal release date. I took my first book on Saturday.)
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