There aren’t many streaming devices that are localised to New Zealand and Amazon is finally bringing their Fire TV to the local market.
This new version is up there in performance and features. The out-of-the-box experience includes the installation of local streaming services such as TVNZ+, ThreeNow, Neon NZ, Sky Sport Now, Spark Sport all in addition to Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+, Acorn and other services.
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max gets its name from the feature list. This includes support for video up to 4K Ultra HD, HDR, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision – these features combined with a capable TV makes the picture pop in front of you, with more vivid colours and realistic pictures.
With support for Dolby Atmos, you can get powerful sound when paired with a proper sound system – like a soundbar. You find Dolby Atmos content mostly on Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+.
If you have compatible Amazon Echo devices, you can pair those with your Fire TV Stick 4K Max for enhanced sound. In my case I used an Amazon Echo Studio, which supports Dolby Atmos. Using the Alexa app on your phone you link those two devices, and the sound takes a new dimension. Even better, if your TV supports HDMI eARC you can also use this setup for audio output from other sources such as game consoles or disc players.
Thanks to new quad-core 1.8 GHz processor and a 750 MHz GPU, combined with 2 GB RAM makes this a very responsive streaming device.
The total storage is only 8 GB but it is still enough for quite a few apps – in my case the Fire TV stick still had about 50% space available, after installing TVNZ+, ThreeNow, Spark Sport, Plex, Netflix, Acorn, Shudder, Prime Video and YouTube.
The remote control is small and easy to use. It has four keys to get you directly to some services, although these keys can’t be customised. If you have a proper HDMI CEC-enabled TV you can also control the volume from this remote control.
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max is also an Alexa-enabled device. You can “talk to Alexa” by pressing the blue Alexa button on its remote control. You can then interact with Alexa like any other Alexa-enabled device, and most of the times you will have voice answers accompanied by on-screen content.
If you have Ring cameras at home you can also ask Alexa to show their live view on your TV, by saying “Show my [camera name]”. In my case we have cameras pointed at our driveway, deck and front yard so if you get a motion notification you can always ask Alexa to show the live view on your big screen.
This streaming device is also compatible with newer WiFi 6 networks, which gives it better wireless performance in both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. It also supports Bluetooth, which means you can connect compatible devices such a wireless keyboard, which makes it a lot easier to login into different services when setting it up for the first time.
Depending on the position of HDMI ports on your TV the device might not fit directly into the port. In the box you will find a HDMI extension that can be useful in this situation.
The device is powered through a USB port and a small power adapter and USB cable are provided. It is not a very long cable, but any other good quality USB cable will work if your power outlet is far away.
If you have a Prime Video account this is a device that should fit right in. And if you don’t it will work just fine (although you will need an Amazon account to download the apps).
It was a good surprise when I received the announcement and seeing it working with local content providers is great as it adds another option for those looking at expanding their entertainment options.
