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A CLEVER shopping trick lets you trim the cost of a 4K Amazon Fire Stick to just $24.99.
It’s the perfect solution if you’re looking to quickly upgrade your TV with one of Amazon’s powerful plug-in streaming sticks.
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The device connects directly to your television via a HDMI port, upgrading it with loads of apps, games, and free content too.
Normally the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K costs $49.99, but it’s currently discounted to $34.99.
However, if you pick up the “Certified Refurbished” model instead, it’ll set you back just $24.99.
- Refurbished Fire TV Stick 4K at Amazon for $24.99 – buy here
Read more on Amazon Fire Stick
That’s a massive saving of $25, equivalent to 50% off the listing price.
Better still, this is the newest version of this specific model.
And if you’re worried about buying a refurbished device, don’t panic: it’s restored by Amazon in-house.
“A Certified Refurbished Fire TV Stick 4K is refurbished, tested, and certified to look and work like new and comes with the same limited warranty as a new device,” Amazon explains.
But Amazon adds: “Certified Refurbished Amazon devices may be packaged in generic Amazon-branded boxes.”
STICK WITH IT
This particular streaming stick supports 4K.
So if you’ve got a 4K TV and some Ultra HD content to watch then you’ll be able to enjoy it in its full pixel-dense resolution.
The stick also supports High Dynamic Range formats like Dolby Vision and HDR10+, giving you improved contrast and a wider range of colors.
It serves up a range of premium apps including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and HBO’s Max.
And you can watch loads of ad-supported free content, not least from Amazon Freevee.
I have not had any regrets on getting the Fire Stick at all.
Amazon shopper
But you can also enjoy other apps with free live channels and on-demand content like Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex, and The Roku Channel.
Better still, the Fire TV Stick comes with a free six-month subscription to the MGM+ streaming service.
And the Fire Stick offers the Alexa digital assistant for voice-controlling your TV or asking questions.
STREAM COME TRUE?
The refurbished version of this device is well-reviewed with a 4.3/5 rating on Amazon.
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That’s based on nearly 300 reviews, of which around 75% awarded five-star scores.
And another 6% handed out four-star ratings.
A happy shopper who gave five stars titled their review “JUST BUY IT!!!”
And the review – which is stamped with a Verified Purchase badge – reads: “Set-up took 45 seconds and my Stick, TV and bluetooth speaker all were set up. I was actually shocked how easy it was after fussing with off-brands.”
What is 4K, Ultra HD and UHD?
Here’s an easy guide to what 4K means…
- 4K, Ultra HD and UHD are all different names for the same type of TV screen. 4K refers to the number of pixels on your TV screen – or the “image resolution”
- The pixels are the tiny dots of colour that make up the image you see on your telly. A pixellated image is one where the pixels are really obvious, because there aren’t many. But images with lots of pixels – like a 4K movie – generally look sharper and clearer
- A true 4K screen has 4096 x 2160 pixels. That means on your TV screen there are 3840 pixels across, and 2160 pixels vertically. That’s roughly 8.3 million pixels on the display in total
- 4K gets it’s name because it’s got four times the number of pixels as a standard Full HD TV
- Full HD (or 1080p) screens have 1920 pixels across, and 1080 pixels going upwards – for around two million pixels in total. So 4K just means your TV has many more pixels on the screen compared to a more common Full HD display
- Ultra HD, or UHD, is basically the same as 4K. If you buy a UHD telly in a shop, you’ll be able to watch 4K content on it with no bother
- But there is a small difference. Almost every TV you ever buy has an aspect ratio of 16:9. That means for every 16 pixels horizontally, there are 9 vertically
- True 4K footage doesn’t quite fit in with that ratio, so you won’t often find TVs with 4096 x 2160 pixels. Instead, to fit with the 16:9 ratio, most 4K TVs will have 3840 x 2160 pixels instead
- If it doesn’t make sense, grab a calculator and divide 2160 by 9. Then multiply it by 16, and you’ll get 3840. That’s the aspect ratio working its magic. So when you see an Ultra HD TV, it just means it’s a 4K image with slightly fewer vertical pixels
- If you try watching a 4K video on a non-4K TV, the video will still play – but it won’t be in 4K quality. To watch a 4K video in 4K quality, you’ll need to fork out for a 4K TV. Similarly, if you’re watching standard or HD footage on a 4K TV, it won’t magically become 4K quality
- Some TVs promise “4K upscaling”, which converts your standard or HD footage to near-4K quality. This works by using software to guess what colours would fill the extra empty pixels missing in HD footage, and then filling them in. This creates a 4K-like effect, but it’s not true 4K
Another called it “wonderful”, adding: “I have not had any regrets on getting the Fire Stick at all.”
And one noted that the stick is “much faster than the previous generation”.
- Refurbished Fire TV Stick 4K at Amazon for $24.99 – buy here
All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed.
Always do your own research before making any purchase.
What is HDR? TV tech explained
HDR stands for high dynamic range, and is on most mid- to high-end tellys these days.
In a nutshell, it can bump up the pixel quality on your 4K TV, resulting in better, more accurate colours and better contrast.
First thing’s first – HDR is not an alternative to 4K Ultra HD (UHD), but rather a complementary TV tech that allows you to watch HDR content on compatible sets.
The amount of HDR entertainment out there is growing all the time, and encompasses games, downloadable films and 4K UHD Blu-rays, and streaming shows.
You’ve probably spotted HDR on your smartphone’s camera, but it’s slightly different on video.
While 4K references the amount of pixels in your telly, HDR is all about the quality of those pixels over quantity.
Not only does it improve the TVs brightness, but it also adds more detail to the picture quality.
As a result, 4K HDR TVs boast darker blacks (or what’s known as “true blacks”) and brighter whites (and more contrast in-between) as compared to non-HDR 4K TVs.
