Hello,
I’m new here & I really do not know where to post this topic. If I’m in the wrong forum, my apologies. I have an old Fire stick and view Cine max every once in a while. I’m planing to invest in the new fire stick, however I do not pay any subscription at this time to Amazon. If I purchase the new fire stick, do I have to pay a subscription to Amazon? Or would it be better to download the Kodi onto my computer?
You can buy a Firestick and create a new account on Amazon to set it up.
Then are free to install what ever apps you want - no need to pay Amazon any subs if you do not use prime services to watch any shows or movies.
Use Troys guide to install one of his kodi forks
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You can stay with a FS if you like but I am moving away from them to Android boxes. Amazon will eventually have their own OS either later this year or next and who knows what restrictions it will have.
Since you arent in the Amazon $ pit Id start the transformation away from it.
Low level Onn boxes at $20 from Walmart to high end Nvidia Shield tv pro at $200 and a bunch in-between.
Look at reviews to better fit your need.
Ive made the switch and glad i did. I have 1 FS left but the others are gone and not missed.
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Hello MikeN,
I appreciate your info and will check on this.
Hello JPM69,
I appreciate your response back, and will start to look at the options you mentioned. When you say Android boxes are you referring to Hulu and Roki?? or something else?
No problem. When I said Android boxes i meant streaming devices that use Andriod as their OS. FS does use Android but has work arounds you need to do. And they are going away from this sometime in the future.
Hulu is a paid service that you can stream on probably every device (android or not). It is like Netflix or Disney+.
Roku is a streaming device but I dont believe it is as user friendly as others. It uses its own OS.
Search this site and you will find Troys reviews on them.
If you just want to test the waters away from the FS i suggest the Onn box. It is only $20. It is low end but does the basic stuff. It will give you an idea of how the set up is.
From there you can buy more expensive models based on your needs. Or the Onn might be all you need.
Good luck.
Firesticks are Amazon and require an Amazon account to register the sticks or cubes for updates etc. They use the Amazon App store. They do not have “Prime” Which is google, another company entirely. Firesticks and cubes are the Fire TV OS, a heavily forked(modified) android OS. Amazon has multiple libraries and account registrations such as Canada, USA, and UK to name 3. Each allow access to specific apps from those regions and some apps are not in every Amazon app store. I use Amazon.com accounts as Amazon.ca have less content. Now that is a very basic comment on Fire devices. There are other devices that use different OSs and different libraries/stores for content. Android, Android Mobile, Android TV, Google TV and on and on. Google devices have their own registration process but with some the System is much more open and not nearly as locked down as Amazon. It’s all about what you want and want to do. For anyone starting in this hobby, and due to the possibilities of Amazon changing to their own “New” OS I would highly recommend that new hobbiests buy a $20 Onn 4K box to learn on and then as your skills and needs evolve you will learn of other devices that may serve your needs better.
Read the rules to post on this website first. Then search using the little magnifying glass on top look for anything that’s specific to learning how to jailbreak certain boxes either fire stick or the OWN box. Then go through make sure you know where troypoint.com website is it has a lot of videos that would really help you out on how to get your system going. I’ll stay away from Kodi and until you understand what streaming systems all about.
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I guess the long term prospects for the Amazon Firestick as an “unverified” source streamer are up in the air because of the threatened (?!) change in operating system. As such, I think the recommendation to try a generic Android box is a good one. I certainly won’t be getting any more Amazon devices until the dust settles.
I dont think it a “threatened” change. They are changing their OS. Its called Vega.
Full details to follow but do you think its going to give you more access and greater freedom to do as you like? Doesn’t sound like the Amazon way. They made the FS a task to add things outside their realm. Once they have more control it will probably be harder.
You can’t count on Amazon to do as they say, or should, or will. They’ve thrown away millions of dollars, in dev, on projects before, that were then cancelled, at the last minute. Nothing is written in stone with Amazon.
Trust me they dont throw away money. They dont take risks that they can’t afford. Some pay off others they write off.
In fact I’d be more skeptical of them if they were more open source than before. Like they are laying a trap for more people to sign up. But thats just me. Lol
Well, until it happens, we won’t know, will we. But I think we are in violent agreement that it’s not in Amazons best (financial) interests to have an open system.
um yes Amazom does throw away money. They are well known for it.
I guess we will agree differently. What you see as throwing money away. I see as a cost of doing business.
I’m not saying they don’t waste money but its all part of their business model.
I’m simply pointing out that Vega is not a done deal. Amazon has spent millions on developing projects only to close them down. Call that the cost of doing business or throwing away money, if it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, and lays an egg like a duck, it isn’t a cow no matter what you call it. But that is irrelevant. The point is, until vega actually rolls out across their entire streaming platforms, there is no guarantee it ever will, they can simply shelve or close the dev. They’ve done it before.
Yes I agree.