I bought my mom this Amazon Fire TV Stick for Christmas. After I delivered it to her, I stayed to set it up.
- Cinematic experience - Watch in vibrant 4K Ultra HD with support for Dolby Vision, HDR, and HDR10+.
- Home theater audio with Dolby Atmos - Feel scenes come to life with support for immersive Dolby Atmos audio on select titles with compatible home audio systems.
There were many options including the Fire TV Stick Lite, Fire TV Stick, and Fire TV Stick 4K. I picked the 4K option to give her the best picture (4K instead of just 1080p).
Currently, she has cable, but wanted to lower her bill and downgrade to just internet. She's paying $152 per month for basic cable and internet. She can reduce her bill to $95 per month with just internet, saving $52 per month (or $624 per year!).
She had expressed to me that she only watches local news (CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX) and HGTV.
Last week, when I first heard about Discovery+ launching. I knew this would be a great option for her. (By the way, if you're interested, check out my post: Discovery Plus: Everything You Need to Know.)
She also wanted to be able to watch Sunday football. We live in Virginia, so she's a die-hard Washington football fan. Thankfully, she can still watch tomorrow's game on CBS All Access, since the game is on CBS.
Amazon Fire Stick Setup
We unboxed it. It included the Amazon Fire Stick, power cord, HDMI extender, remote, batteries, and instructions.
It really is as easy as the diagram shows. We plugged in the electric cord, plugged the HDMI plug with the extender into the back of the TV, put the batteries in the remote, and connected the Fire Stick to her wifi.
My mom already owns a Kindle, so she already has an Amazon login.
- Entertainment in the palm of your hands - With 7" touchscreen display, 2 GB RAM and quad-core processor, choose between 16/32 GB storage and download books, shows or movies to keep your downtime going.
- Big library, small tablet, more fun - Unwind with your favorite apps like Kindle, Netflix, Spotify and more through Amazon’s Appstore (Google Play not supported. Subscription fees may apply).
Once we logged her in, I added the Amazon Fire Stick apps she wanted and logged in for her:
- Amazon Prime Video
- Paramount+
- STARZ
- Netflix
- HULU
- Disney+
- Discovery GO
- Bravo
- HBO Max
- her local CBS affiliate
- her local NBC affiliate
- News (which offered local weather, too)
When I left, she was watching a Christmas movie on Netflix.
Here are some of the questions my mom asked me:
What channels are free with the FireStick?
This is the one thing that's going to take some time for my mom to get used to. With cable, she only had one service to manage. With the Fire Stick, there are different apps, so she has to switch apps when she wants to watch a different station. I told her about these 30+ Free Movie Streaming Sites she can add to her Fire Stick.
Is there a monthly fee for the fire stick?
No, there is not a monthly fee for the Fire Stick. You own it! The only fees you pay are any subscriptions you have like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, etc.
What does an Amazon Fire Stick do?
It's a streaming device, much like a Chromecast or Roku. It allows you to stream content on your TV using your internet service, instead of cable.
What is a FireStick and how does it work?
The Amazon Fire Stick is a portable streaming device that gives you access to thousands of TV shows and movies via apps. You can watch Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, etc.
Can you get an Amazon Fire Stick at Walmart?
My mom decided she wanted a second Fire Stick for her bedroom. Unfortunately, they are not available at Walmart. I told her she could order one on Amazon and get it in two days (if she didn't want to leave the house in the snow!) or I bought hers at Best Buy (since I waited until Christmas Eve to buy it!).
Do you have a Fire Stick? What do you think?
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