With more and more people looking to move away from Firesticks, the first thing that popped into my mind was “what device could be a great replacement for that?”. Troy had the Stream4k in one of his articles, which peaked my interest. I tend to split devices in my mind into the high end, powerhouses for your “main” tv (Shield, Ugoos, Formuler, etc), and then the devices that are more economical but trusty on the “satellite” tvs (bedroom, dens, porches, etc). I just bought the Tivo Stream4k for $29 on Amazon to see if this little device was a valid substitute for a Firestick, potentially for the satellite tvs in your house. My initial thoughts: (I will update if things change as I use it more)
It runs AndroidTV, and seems to do it well. Very reactive remote and snappy interface.
Doesn’t have Wifi6, but I did a speed test and the numbers were more impressive than I expected.
I installed Launcher Manager and Wolf Launcher. Works perfectly!
I don’t love the fact you have to make a Tivo account to activate the device, but it is what it is, I guess. I have an Amazon account the Firesticks get registered to, so it isn’t just them.
No issues loading Downloader, getting onto Troy’s Toolbox. No issue installing Surfshark.
You can “disable” apps like Netflix and Hulu, I wish you could uninstall them. You can’t disable the Tivo app, which annoys me.
Controls the power and volume on the TV with the Tivo remote. This is different than my Mecools, where they have a separate box volume different from the TV.
8gb storage isn’t much, but has a USB-C port to expand with a flash drive or small SSD.
All-in-all, I think this is a solid streamer…especially for the current price point. ($29 on Amazon)
UPDATE:@TP-Dracoo is there a chance we could reopen this thread based on my new issue? I’m having a problem with the Tivo Stream 4k rebooting. I added a usb/ethernet Ugreen adapter and a USB flash drive. It read it, but pretty constantly reboots out of nowhere. This is hooked up to the USB-c port, and if memory serves me well even Troy had issues with that. Has anyone had success with this?
I love my Tivo 4k. The specs are almost identical to the Amazon 4k Max. Here is the problem between the two devices. Across America You Tubers and other tech savvy home programmers have been selling preloaded Firesticks to clients. Amazon owns those people as switching to another device would hurt their feelings and possibly their business and inventories.
Bottom line, TiVo is a great replacement for Amazon 4k Max and at $29 a steal!
I guess “jailbroken Firestick” is the term which more people have heard, sort of like “Kleenex” refers to facial tissue in general now.
JMO, a “jailbroken” Android TV (not stock) OS would be a superior product for both the customer & the “dealer”. (“Dealer” being in the gray area that exists between insurance salesman & drug dealers.)
I moved to the TiVo Stream 4K after I ditched Firesticks. I still have a couple and a couple people I’ve set up are using them. Great device so far. Was always solid for me
I switched to the Tivo Stream 4k for my bedroom tv after Amazon started playing there games.I have A Nvidia shield pro on my main tv. So I am used to the android os.
The Tivo 4k works well added a 128gb sandisk stick for storage. I have grown to like it. I didn’t care for the tivo app but I have installed Wolf launcher. It seems pretty snappy and haven’t had any real issues lately.
I moved from the Firesticks when the games they were playing became an irritation. Also, expanding memory was doable, but tedious. The Tivo 4K’s have played pretty well, and were much easier to expand the memory. They have a few quirks, such one has eaten more of the base memory than the other. I’ve had the itch to upgrade (cause that’s what we do), and was looking to move to Box R 4K Plus, but others here convinced me to go with the MECOOL KM6, and overall I like the box. The only downside (for my wife who loves Netflix), is that it is not Netflix certified. I applied a modified Netflix APK that allows for full 4K Netflix video, but she still dislikes the new menu system. Some folks are never happy (I can say this because she is not standing behind me). In summary, the TIVO Stream 4K is an inexpensive alternative that is superior to the Firestick IMHO. I still have one on the guest bedroom TV.
My wife’s room has a 4k Max with Netflix, Prime, and 10,000 channels. Also the easy to use “favorites” in TiviMate. She won’t go there. Preferring to use the OTA antenna channels (old Crossing Jordan and Cold Case episodes…anyone?) and the Netflix button on her remote (95% of the time). “How do you use the Input button again”?..“how do you use the input button again”? …“how do you use the input button again”?..
i run fire cube for iptv and third party apps kodi etc
i also have rokus on my tvs for nextflix prime you tube and whatever esle roku has
makes my wife happy to have those there and leaves more space availble on cube
I had @TP-Dracoo reopen this thread. I’m experiencing an issue that seems to have been fairly common with this Tivo Stream 4k. It randomly reboots. System is updated, I even tried a new power block and it was even worse. My next trial is to factory reset, but I have been doing some research and others have had the same issue a while back. Sounds like Tivo had put out software updates that were supposed to fix it, but mine is already as updated as it can be and the issue persists. It runs pretty hot, so could be overheating. I just wanted everyone to be aware of this, as up until now my thoughts were very positive to this little device. I had tried to add storage through the USB-c port too, and didn’t work. It has been a struggle. Enough that I had to put my Max back on the porch, so you know I’m frustrated.
often random reboots are heat related, to be honest mine hasnt over heated and does run pretty warm as most sticks seem to do. Is it instant re-boots or after time it re-boots?
My son was trying to watch Scooby Doo (like the old one believe it or not lol). Every 15 minutes or so it would reboot, and he would run into the next room and say the “monster” came back on the screen! Meaning the Tivo icon dude…oh to be in the mind of a 4 year old.
I’m testing a new phone cooler for boxes…not specifically for this box. Will report back. lol