AndroidPCtv
  • NEWS
    • Android TV
    • Mini PC
    • Smart TV
    • Laptop & Ultrabook
    • Projectors
    • Consoles
    • Wearables & Domotics
    • Electric Vehicle
    • Tablet & 2-in-1
    • Smartphone
    • Processors & SoC
    • Robots & Vacuums
    • Development Boards
    • Others
  • REVIEWS
    • Android TV
    • Mini PC
    • Laptop & Ultrabook
    • Tablet & 2-in-1
    • Smartphone
    • PC Components
    • Apps & Software
    • Others
  • TUTORIALS
    • Android TV
    • Mini PC
    • Tablet
    • Smartphone
  • DEALS
  • FIRMWARES
  • DEVICE SHOPPING GUIDE
    • BEST ANDROID TV-BOX
    • BEST MINI PC
    • BEST SMART TV
  • CONTACT
No Result
View All Result
  • NEWS
    • Android TV
    • Mini PC
    • Smart TV
    • Laptop & Ultrabook
    • Projectors
    • Consoles
    • Wearables & Domotics
    • Electric Vehicle
    • Tablet & 2-in-1
    • Smartphone
    • Processors & SoC
    • Robots & Vacuums
    • Development Boards
    • Others
  • REVIEWS
    • Android TV
    • Mini PC
    • Laptop & Ultrabook
    • Tablet & 2-in-1
    • Smartphone
    • PC Components
    • Apps & Software
    • Others
  • TUTORIALS
    • Android TV
    • Mini PC
    • Tablet
    • Smartphone
  • DEALS
  • FIRMWARES
  • DEVICE SHOPPING GUIDE
    • BEST ANDROID TV-BOX
    • BEST MINI PC
    • BEST SMART TV
  • CONTACT
No Result
View All Result
AndroidPCtv
No Result
View All Result

REVIEW: Fire TV Stick 2020, new cheap TV-Stick for Full HD 1080p Streaming

Kim by Kim
10/02/2020
5
Fire TV Stick 2020 is the new Amazon TV-Stick of which we present today in his review. The new 3rd generation Fire TV Stick is small device that is identical to the Fire TV Stick 4K but limited to Full HD 1080p resolutions and that comes to replace the Fire TV Stick Basic Edition that already had a very outdated hardware. Without a doubt a product designed to fight against the Xiaomi Mi TV Stick that is its maximum rival. This new Stick has two versions, one denominated Fire TV Stick Lite that in its Alexa remote does not have controls for TV’s and another identical  NonLite that if it has control buttons for the TV and IR emisor. Let us see in our review how this device behaves and how it defends itself with respect to its rivals.
  • Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite with Alexa remote and NO TV control keys is available at Amazon.com for $29.99
  • Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa remote and TV control Keys available at Amazon.com for $39.99.

Table of Contents

  • PRODUCT DETAILS
    • Unboxing
    • Description
  • SYSTEM AND PERFORMANCE
    • Environment and Android system
    • System
    • Network, storage, RAM and ports
    • Power and performance
  • VIDEO AND AUDIO TEST
    • Video playback test
    • Streaming services
  • CONCLUSIONS AND BUY LINKS
    • Score
    • Opinion
    • Where to buy
    • Add-ons
fire tv stick 2020 n00a min

PRODUCT DETAILS

Model Fire TV Stick 2020
Basic Specs SoC: Mediatek MT8695 Quad Core A53 @ 1.69 GHz (64bit) / GPU PowerVR GE8300 MP4 / 12 nm
OS: Fire OS 7 based on Android 9
RAM, storage and network: 1 GB RAM DDR3 + 8 eMMC / Wifi ac MiMo + BT 5.0
Ports: HDMI 2.0 / microUSB OTG
Extras: HDMI Extender / Manual / DC Adapter 5,25V 1A / USB cable / Alexa BT remote / AAA batteries
Materials and dimensions: Plastic / 38 x 142 x 16 mm / 43,4 gr

Unboxing

The small Android TV-Stick Fire TV Stick 2020 comes in a generic cardboard Stick with a image of the device in the top, inside we found the TV-Stick, Alexa BT remote, HDMI extension cable, Manual and a DC 5.25V 1A adapter and two AAA batteries.

fire tv stick 2020 n01 min

Description

On the front of the Fire TV Stick 2020 it maintains the identical design to the 4K version, it has a really compact and simple size. On the front we only have the male connector HDMI 2.0b limited to 1080p video and is compatible with HDR information. In one of its sides the only micro USB 2.0 OTG port that allows us to connect some peripherals.

fire tv stick 2020 n02 min

This version of the 3rd generation Fire TV Stick has been introduced with two versions of the BT Alexa controller. One is called Lite and has a slightly trimmed control without buttons for the TV. The normal version offers us the control with buttons to control our TV thanks to an IR emitter that it has in the frontal part and that we can configure with our model of TV.

  • Fire TV Stick Lite brings us a BT Alexa remote but it does not have keys for TV of volume, mute and power on/off.
  • Fire TV Stick brings us a BT + IR Alexa remote with all the buttons to control the TV.

fire tv lite remotes n01

As the only port we have a microUSB OTG connector that allows us to connect extra peripherals thanks to a special microUSB cable. On the motherboard we can see the Wifi aC MiMo + BT 5.0 chip and an internal antenna to get coverage. If our TV has a USB with 5V 1A power we can try to connect the TV-Stick without the power adapter, but if the system restarts or shuts down in the middle of the use we will have to use the official power supply.

  • Remote Control: BT control without IR in Lite model / NO Flymouse / YES microphone
  • Alternative control: We can connect a flymouse, mouse, gamepad or bluetooth keyboard or adapter, although the mouse is not seen on the desktop of Fire OS only when entering into apps such as Kodi or a browser.
fire tv stick 2020 n03 min
fire tv stick 2020 n04 min

SYSTEM AND PERFORMANCE

Environment and Android system

We connect the Fire TV Stick 2020 and it starts automatically, the system indicates us how to configure it. After configuring it we arrive at the Fire OS launcher based on rows of rectangles where we have very little customization and the upper row is where we have our most used apps. We have few apps installed by default, basically a few streaming services. We check that Fire OS 7 performance is good if we do not demand speed in the change of apps but for a normal use we can say that it is enough.

  • Launcher: We can’t use a alternate launcher / Android UI rendering at 1080p.
  • Multitasking and access: Multitasking NOT available / NO lower or upper Android bar.
  • Languages and apps store: All the international Android languajes / Amazon Fire OS store for apps.

Fire TV Stick 2020 review g01 min

Fire TV Stick 2020 review g02 min
Fire TV Stick 2020 review g03 min

System

We check the system data and the options it includes as far as root is concerned, we also observe what ignition systems this device allows us. When starting the TV-Box we have to install several updates via OTA that correct errors.

  • On / Off: Only Sleep Mode / Off NOT configurable in settings.
  • Version and root: Fire OS 7 based on Android 9 (32 bit) / NO root / Build P7223/1740 / Model sheldonp.
  • Support: Amazon Official Support / Firmware only upgradeable by OTA.

Fire TV Stick 2020 review g04 min

Fire TV Stick 2020 review g08 min
Fire TV Stick 2020 review g07 min
Fire TV Stick 2020 review g06 min
Fire TV Stick 2020 review g05 min

Network, storage, RAM and ports

The small TV-Box Fire TV Stick 2020 has 1 GB RAM DDR4 and for internal storage we have 8 GB eMMC. It has a single micro USB 2.0 OTG port. In the network section it has a wireless adapter Wi-Fi AC MiMo + BT 5.0, we can connect an Ethernet adapter via USB. As we see in the tests the results give good figures, the wifi reach a good speed with an acceptable range for an internal antenna.

Fire TV Stick Lite test eng 03 Streaming min

  • Storage: Total 8GB  – Free 4GB / Not xpandable with a USB or SD external memory.
  • RAM: Total 1GB – Free 400 MB / DDR4.
  • Network: Good speed with one internal wifi antenna / Range 38dBm, OK. / Bluetooth OK.
  • We recommend reading our Tutorial SAMBA on Android networks if we are going to use files from our network PC.
USB 2.0 USB 3.0 microSD SATA
Read / Write 21/17 MB/s – – –

Fire TV Stick Lite test eng 01 Disk min

Power and performance

In terms of performance the mini TV-Box Fire TV Stick 2020 has the SoC Mediatek MT8695 Quad Core with ARM Cortex-A53 processors at 1.7 GHz and in the graphics section a PowerVR GE8300 MP4 GPU that is in the medium range. This SoC is manufactured in 12 nm, as we have verified the cooling system is adequate and the temperatures are low, the chip scales correctly the speeds and maintains the performance with no problem. In general we have enough power for usual streaming apps or KODI.

  • CPU performance: Min 700 MHz / Working  1.2 GHz / Max 1.7 GHz
  • Check our Mediatek MT8695 SoC Comparison against all SoCs in the sector for more details.

Fire TV Stick Lite test eng 06 GeekBench min

Fire TV Stick Lite test eng 07 Antutu min
Fire TV Stick Lite test eng 04 3DMark min
  • Thermals: Min. 51ºC / Working 62 ºC / Max.68ºC / Maintains performance up to 93% / Heat zone on the top / Noise 0db
  • Consumption: Off 1.1W / Min 1.2W / Working 1.9W / Max. 2.9W
  • Games and emulators:  NO possible to play titles such as PUBG even with low settings / Emulators up to Wii / YES Vulkan support.
  • Controls: Compatible with Gamepads with cable.

Fire TV Stick 2020 review g09 min

Fire TV Stick 2020 review v19
Fire TV Stick 2020 review v11

VIDEO AND AUDIO TEST

Video playback test

For the video playback section, the Fire TV Stick 2020 has the Mediatek MT8695 SoC which has a VPU that can decode H.265 / VP9 and has HDR modes supporting HDR 10, HDR10+ and HLG. It does not have video quality settings but the image quality is good. We can use players like KODI or PLEX, to install KODI we will have to do it manually with your APK. As for audio we can play Dolby sound up to 7.1 by the HDMI port, no support for DTS.

  • Video Settings:  NO image quality settings / RGB and SDR / HDMI-CEC available, see manual / Native automatic refresh rate option
  • Audio Settings: HDMI up to 7.1 audio.
  • Media sharing: GoogleCast No* / Miracast YES* / DLNA with BlubblePnP / Airplay NO.
  • LibreELEC: This model is NOT compatible with LibreELEC or CoreELEC.
  • Tutorials: Install add-on in KODI / Judder effect, how to fix it / Multi-channel audio guide / Correct dark video playback in Android.
  • We recommend reading the Setup Guide of our TV to get the best picture quality.

video test review z09 min

Fire TV Stick 2020 review g10 min
Fire TV Stick 2020 review g11 min
Fire TV Stick 2020 review g12 min
Fire TV Stick 2020 review g13 min

Video results

Formats Result
h.264 / 1080i / 8bit OK
h.264 / 1080p / 4K / 8bit OK
h.264 / 1080p / 10bit (anime) Frameskip (SW)
h.265 / 1080p / 8bit OK
h.265 / 1080p / 10bit (anime) OK
h.265 / 4K@24fps / 8bit OK
h.265 / 4K@60fps / 10bit HDR OK
VP9 P1 / 4K@24fps / 8bit Frameskip
VP9 P2 / 4K@60fps / 10bit HDR Frameskip (SW)
VP9 P2 / 8K@60fps / 10bit HDR Frameskip (SW)
AV1 / 4K@24fps / 10bit Frameskip (SW)
Max. Bitrate 100 Mbps = 12.5 MB/s.
  • The maximum bitrate depends on the port used to connect or the limitations of SAMBA Networks.
  • SW = does not have hardware acceleration and may have have some frameskip in very heavy files.

Audio test results

Formats DD / DTS 5.1 DD+ / DTS MA DD True / DTS HR DD Atmos / DTS X
HDMI OK / PCM OK / PCM OK / PCM OK / PCM*
Optical – – – –
  • PCM – Stereo only doing downmix from DD or DTS
  • Core – Only the core of the format is played back with what we passed to the Dolby / DTS base system, more info.
    * Our AV receiver does not support these native formats but we verify that it is played back to 7.1

Streaming services

We perform several tests on streaming services to check how the most popular services work. The 3rd generation Fire TV Stick has all the necessary certificates for most streaming services. We can easily install Prime Video, Netflix, Youtube, Disney+ and others to use them up to 1080p. In the case of HBO we must manually install its Android TV APK which is fully compatible.

  • DRM: Google Widevine L1 / Microsoft Playready
  • Audio certification: Yes Dolby, no DTS
  • Tutorials: Change the size of the captions and the mouse pointer on Android / Install Addons in KODI in a simple way
Streaming service Video / Audio Result Manual
Youtube FullHD (1080p) / Stereo OK. –
Google Play Movies FullHD (1080p) / Stereo OK. –
Netflix FullHD (1080p) / 7.1 OK, installing the apk with mouse Netflix on Android
HBO FullHD (1080p) / Stereo OK. HBO on Android
Disney+ FullHD (1080p) / 5.1 OK. Disney+ on Android
Amazon Prime Video FullHD (1080p) / 5.1 OK. Amazon Prime video on Android
DAZN FullHD (1080p) / Stereo OK. –
IPTV FullHD (1080p) / Stereo OK –

prime video fire tv n02 min

Fire TV Stick 2020 review v12
Fire TV Stick 2020 review g14 min

CONCLUSIONS AND BUY LINKS

Score

Fire TV Stick 2020

0.00
Fire TV Stick 2020
7.1

Design

6.5/10

Hardware

7.0/10

Conectivity

6.5/10

Support

7.5/10

Price

8.0/10

Pros

  • Small
  • Cheap
  • Streaming apps support
  • Alexa BT Remote
  • Amazon Support

Cons

  • Fire OS
  • KODI and HBO only with external APK

Opinion

After testing the new Fire TV Stick 2020 we can say that we facing a clone of its brother Fire TV Stick 4K with some downgrades. This small device has enough hardware for multimedia use up to 1080p, use players like KODI, PLEX or for IPTV streaming. The system is Fire OS moves properly and as we know this system has many limitations compared to Android TV, a point that we will have to take into account if we want more or less freedom when installing different applications.

In terms of raw power the Fire TV Stick 2020 we can run the apps or simple games in Fire OS without performance problems but heavy games like PUBG are something impossible because of its OS and his available hardware. The Alexa Bluetooth remote included is simple but practical and we must take into account that the Lite version does not have controls for our TV. This TV-Stick keeps the temperatures very controlled, a positive point that gives security and reliability in the long term.

In short, the Fire TV Stick 3rd generation is an interesting product if we use 1080p streaming apps and if we want a device with long term support, although unfortunately it has Fire OS as operating system.

Where to buy

  • Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite with Alexa remote and NO TV control keys is available at Amazon.com for $29.99
  • Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa remote and TV control Keys available at Amazon.com for $39.99.

Add-ons

  • MicroUSB OTG extension cable, to connect peripherals or external drives
  • USB 3.0 HUB with Gigabit network on Amazon, to connect several USB and stable Ethernet network.
  • USB 3.0 HUB with Gigabit network in Aliexpress, cheaper option from this Chinese store.
  • Logitech K400 keyboard with trackpad control zone.
  • Logitech Basic Keyboard and mouse combo economic and quality.
  • Fly Mouse with keyboard and voice, some with backlight.
  • Fly Mouse with voice, cheap solution with no keyboard.
  • USB 3.0 pendrive to expand internal storage.
  • External hard disk up to 3GB to save media.
  • Bluetooth Gamepad to play games
  • Basic Webcam to do video chat.

fire tv stick 2020 n00 min

Related Posts

Nokia Streaming Box 8010 review p01
Review Android TV

Nokia Streaming Box 8010, review: new box with Android TV and SoC S905X4-K

12/12/2022
rk3568 soc
Review Android TV

Rockchip RK3568, benchmarks Vs all current SoC

11/23/2022
chromecast google tv hd review t08
Review Android TV

Chromecast with Google TV HD, review: economical and simple

10/26/2022
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
guest
5 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Fab
Fab

Hi, in the Video Results section I see h.264 / 1080i / 8bit. So the Fire TV stick is able to deinterlace a local h.264 1080i video? I would like to play interlaced 1920×1080 videos. Thank you!

Reply
Kim
Kim
Reply to  Fab

Hi. Yes.

Reply
Fab
Fab
Reply to  Kim

Thank you!

Reply
Alle
Alle

Automatic refresh rate works only with prime video? No Netflix and youtube like usual? Thanks

Reply
Kim
Kim
Reply to  Alle

Only Prime, Kodi and Plex. NO Netflix or Youtube.

Reply
wpdiscuz   wpDiscuz
Beelink

TOP REVIEWS (last 6 months)

  • Beelink GTR6
    Beelink GTR6, review: mini PC with AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX and RDNA2
    8.5
  • Beelink SER6 Pro 7735HS
    Beelink SER6 Pro 7735HS, review: mini PC with AMD Ryzen 7 + RDNA2
    8.5
  • Nokia Streaming Box 8010
    Nokia Streaming Box 8010, review: new box with Android TV and SoC S905X4-K
    8.4
  • Beelink SEi12
    Beelink SEi12, review: new mini PC with Intel Core i5-1235U
    8.2

LASTEST FIRMWARES

  • X98H PROFirmware for TV-Box X98H Pro with SoC Allwinner H618 (01-06-2023)
  • HK1 RBOX H8Firmware for HK1 RBOX H8 Box with SoC Allwinner H618 (02-02-2023)
  • TANIX-W2Firmware update for Android Box TANIX W2 with AMlogic S905w2 (02-20-2023)
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
AndroidpcTV.com / Privacy Policy and Affiliation Agreement  / Cookie Policy (US) / User Data Policy (EU GDPR)
No Result
View All Result
  • NEWS
    • Android TV
    • Mini PC
    • Smart TV
    • Laptop & Ultrabook
    • Projectors
    • Consoles
    • Wearables & Domotics
    • Electric Vehicle
    • Tablet & 2-in-1
    • Smartphone
    • Processors & SoC
    • Robots & Vacuums
    • Development Boards
    • Others
  • REVIEWS
    • Android TV
    • Mini PC
    • Laptop & Ultrabook
    • Tablet & 2-in-1
    • Smartphone
    • PC Components
    • Apps & Software
    • Others
  • TUTORIALS
    • Android TV
    • Mini PC
    • Tablet
    • Smartphone
  • DEALS
  • FIRMWARES
  • DEVICE SHOPPING GUIDE
    • BEST ANDROID TV-BOX
    • BEST MINI PC
    • BEST SMART TV
  • CONTACT
wpDiscuz