Firecube Gen 3 or Shield Pro

[JCKST1]

I am looking for a new streaming device, mainly just for TV apps. Our Firestick is getting pushed to the limit, almost full, starting to lag a bit and I think we need to upgrade.

I originally wanted a Shield Pro but looking online it seems the newer Fire Cube is better spec?

What do you all recommend, I just want something which is reliable, fast and good quality.


Thanks

[clockworks]

I've had a Shield TV for a few months, no problems.
I went for the "basic" model, as I don't need the extra storage, and don't use it for gaming.

Also got a Firestick 4k on a spare TV, and that works fine too. Not sure it'll be upgradeable/supported for future video/audio standards, but relatively cheap to replace.

The Shield is more flexible/customisable, but was 3 times the price.

[dxg]

GoogleTV chromecast thing. Got a few around the house, plus an original Shield, now updated to the same interface.

The Sheila is smoother, even at this age, but the Chromecasts (even there 4k ones) can't be beaten for value for money.

[random_username]

The Shield (or Chromecast with GoogleTV) doesn't support All4 - not sure if that affects your decision.

But it has the 'nicer' google UI compared to the nasty FireTV one.

[JCKST1]

random_username said:

The Shield (or Chromecast with GoogleTV) doesn't support All4 - not sure if that affects your decision.

But it has the 'nicer' google UI compared to the nasty FireTV one.

Ah thats not ideal, I live abroad so need something reliable for UK apps and TV, we watch quite a bit of C4 to be honest.
Hmm, maybe best looking at the Firecube then, the firestick is okay but we need something a bit more powerful.

[JCKST1]

What are people thoughts on the Apple 4K box, is that similar to a firestick in a sense you can load on apps to watch TV?
Is it worth the extra?

Looking at reviews online people dont seem to be happy with the new Firecube, however were only using it for fairly basic streaming and apps so presume it should handle that ok?

[random_username]

I've got a fire TV Cube in a different room (although the previous gen model, not the current one). It seems to work fine, never had any problems with it. I prefer the Shield/Google vanilla UI, but if you have a stick then you are already used to the amazon interface. If you don't need built in Alexa standalone home assistant then the latest 4K Max stick is probably as good but significantly cheaper. Prime day is coming soon, which will probably mean big discounts on the Amazon hardware.

I also have an AppleTV 4K (latest model) - the UI is probably the nicest of all of them, and the app support is very good for 'legitimate' apps, but if you are after apps for hooky streams then apple are pretty strict on that kind of thing. I had some issues with lip sync and my amp, which appears fairly common, and it doesn't support some of the lossless audio formats for blu ray rips, but that probably won't be relevant if you are just using it for streaming.