Can I use an Amazon Fire Stick with this TV?
January 15, 2020 6:55 PM Subscribe
I have an old TV, a Sony KLV-S32A10, and a dying Apple TV. The Apple TV was set up by my ex-husband, I don't know anything about it, and I feel totally out of my depth with this stuff. So can you please tell me whether an Amazon Fire Stick will work with this TV?
The fire stick plugs into an HDMI port, from the manuals it doesn't look like you have one.
posted by InfidelZombie at 7:24 PM on January 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by InfidelZombie at 7:24 PM on January 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
Best answer: According to the manual, your TV has an HDMI input on the right side. Assuming your are not using the HDMI input for something else, the Fire Stick would be plugged in there, and there is no reason it would not work (you need to connect the Fire Stick to your WiFi, which is really easy). The link to your TV's manual is here: https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/res/manuals/W000/W0005957M.pdf
posted by gingerjules at 7:25 PM on January 15, 2020
posted by gingerjules at 7:25 PM on January 15, 2020
Unless you've got the first Apple TV, which you probably don't, it will only have an HDMI output, in which case the Fire TV will work fine.
How to tell if you have an Apple TV 1 or a later version:
* the original Apple TV is vaguely the size of a hard cover book, while the newer ones are vaguely the size of a couple packs of playing cards.
posted by wotsac at 8:48 PM on January 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
How to tell if you have an Apple TV 1 or a later version:
* the original Apple TV is vaguely the size of a hard cover book, while the newer ones are vaguely the size of a couple packs of playing cards.
posted by wotsac at 8:48 PM on January 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Yes. The specific instructions on what input to use on the remote are on page 26 of the manual.
As long as you're happy with the picture quality, there's no need to upgrade to something newer, but if that's in your budget and is something that you're interested in, this is an excellent time to look for a used but newer TV, as a bunch of people will have upgraded over the holidays and will be looking to punt older units.
posted by Candleman at 11:00 PM on January 15, 2020
As long as you're happy with the picture quality, there's no need to upgrade to something newer, but if that's in your budget and is something that you're interested in, this is an excellent time to look for a used but newer TV, as a bunch of people will have upgraded over the holidays and will be looking to punt older units.
posted by Candleman at 11:00 PM on January 15, 2020
The Fire TV Stick 4k almost certainly won't work with that TV due to the HDCP (content protection) version as it uses HDCP 2.2 which is not compatible with older devices like your TV (For reference, the best I can tell and judging by the production date it only supports HDMI v1.2/HDCP 1.1).
The 2nd Gen Fire TV Stick might work but I'd also be skeptical since the specs of the TV are pretty old and I'd be surprised if you didn't run into trouble with the handshaking, although I couldn't find anything in the specs to say for sure that it's incompatible.
posted by TwoWordReview at 12:21 AM on January 16, 2020 [2 favorites]
The 2nd Gen Fire TV Stick might work but I'd also be skeptical since the specs of the TV are pretty old and I'd be surprised if you didn't run into trouble with the handshaking, although I couldn't find anything in the specs to say for sure that it's incompatible.
posted by TwoWordReview at 12:21 AM on January 16, 2020 [2 favorites]
Just popped in to mention, if you are planning on using YouTube TV (owned by Google) as a streaming service, the Amazon Fire Stick doesn't play nicely with YouTubeTV, as we found out when we switched from Sling to YouTube. We ended up purchasing a Roku stick to replace the Fire stick, rather than downloading the byzantine software solutions offered by various folks on the Internet as a workaround.
posted by sarajane at 4:11 AM on January 16, 2020
posted by sarajane at 4:11 AM on January 16, 2020
Response by poster: I’m a little confused by some of these answers, which maybe are contemplating that I would use the Fire Stick in addition to Apple TV? Is that correct? I was thinking of it to replace the Apple TV, which has become a recalcitrant balky POS that only comes on when it feels like it. It is in fact wired to the TV, to answer the question, though.
A related question: Suppose I get the Fire Stick that’s not 4K in the hope that it will work so I don’t have to buy a new TV, but it doesn’t. Will that Fire Stick work with a new TV if the new TV is 4K? Or will I then need to buy the 4K Fire Stick?
Thank you for your help with this. I can’t believe how complicated it’s all become.
posted by HotToddy at 11:20 AM on January 16, 2020
A related question: Suppose I get the Fire Stick that’s not 4K in the hope that it will work so I don’t have to buy a new TV, but it doesn’t. Will that Fire Stick work with a new TV if the new TV is 4K? Or will I then need to buy the 4K Fire Stick?
Thank you for your help with this. I can’t believe how complicated it’s all become.
posted by HotToddy at 11:20 AM on January 16, 2020
Yeah, the non-4K Fire TV Stick will still work on a new 4K TV
posted by TwoWordReview at 12:06 PM on January 16, 2020
posted by TwoWordReview at 12:06 PM on January 16, 2020
Response by poster: Update! I just installed the non-4K stick. It was painless and works perfectly. Thank you for your help!
posted by HotToddy at 12:10 PM on January 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by HotToddy at 12:10 PM on January 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
My only experience is with a close-but-different model (KLV32S200A), and the answer appeared to be no (I gave up) so I'm not optimistic.
...and as an aside, a modern 32" smart TV is only 3x the cost of a new Fire Stick and includes the same functionality (plus more): TCL 32 inch
posted by aramaic at 7:24 PM on January 15, 2020 [2 favorites]