Chromecast HD or Amazon Firestick 4K Max

by EragusTrenzalore

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering which streaming stick, Chromecast HD with Google TV or the Amazon Firestick 4K max is better given that they are on sale for around the same price at the moment for around $50 on Amazon Australia. I want to get it as a Christmas gift for my parents as they have a 1080p TV with no streaming/ Smart capability.

The specs seem very similar and I've read that whilst the remote for the Firestick is better, as it has Prime Video as a button and buttons for volume control, the Chromecast HD is newer, is more responsive and has USB C so I can plug in storage (e.g. family videos) and a keyboard and mouse if necessary through a dongle.

Thanks for the assistance.

pawdog

The Fires Stick 4k Max is a better device. Even for a 1080p TV you want to avoid the non 4k devices. The Fire TV remote is much better as you have stated and the device itself is going to be faster. Google went with a slower processor than on their 4k device. You can add a hub for all the things you mentioned also if you want.

MikePatton75

I have a Firestick 4K Max and I have never had an issue with it in over a year. It runs everything I need it to without issue. Never buffers streaming on the apps I use. Netflix/Amazon Prime/TiviMate, etc... all run great. I've never had the Google device so I can't comment on that, but it would be hard for me to switch with how the Firestick 4K Max has performed for me.

cantwejustplaynice

I've never used a fire stick but I've had the 4k Google TV since it launched and I love it. I recently bought the HD version for my bedroom TV. They seem to perform identically. I'm thinking I'll get another for my kids tv to replace an old NVIDIA shield since it's only a 1080p panel anyway.

Fents_Post

Is it still possible to update the launcher on a FireStick with the updated firmware?

ikschbloda270

I've had problems with the 4K Max and HDR/Dolby Vision content being way too dark all the time and audio being too low in both Netflix and Disney+ (even though Bitstream Passthrough was enabled).

The CCWGTV 4K solved these issues and has all the manual options for format preferences I wished for. The remote is worse as it lacks a dedicated Play/Pause button though.