The mini PC I use has a 4TB external hard drive connected to which I copy all the photos and videos I take with my mobile to have them always at hand. I also have my personal library stored in MP3 format and I can access it from any device, whether mobile or PC. If I need to download content via Torrent, I do it directly on the computer to play it as soon as I download it.
With a controller it’s a video game console
Another limitation that the Fire TV Stick offers us is that we cannot use it as a retro video game console. Being a fan of this type of video games, being able to play on the big screen was essential and what we can do by downloading any console emulator and retro games and connecting a controller via Bluetooth (via the cable you run the risk of someone passing by and pulling it).
In addition, we can also play the large number of video games available in the Microsoft Store, including those in the Amazon Store and which are designed for Android, provided that the device is managed by Windows 11.
Surfing the Internet
Although it is true that one can install a browser on Amazon Fire TV, interacting with the keyboard is a tedious and very slow task and does not always correctly reproduce the content of web pages, since the available browser is generic and It’s not exactly designed for navigationbut to download applications in .APK format to install them.
To interact with the PC, I use the Logitech K380 Bluetooth keyboard, a tiny keyboard that fits anywhere next to the Logitech M240 mouse. This allows me to visit any website on the Internet the same way I do at the computer, whether it’s studying with my son, searching for information as a family to plan the next weekend, or finding on which platform I can watch a movie. or series on concrete.
Other reasons
The reasons explained above are the main ones that prompted me to change the Fire TV Stick for a mini PC, but they are not the only ones.
Missing applications
Since my arrival in Europe, I have always subscribed to HBO, a platform which for me, although it does not offer the same level of premieres as others, is the reference platform for enjoy quality content. For some reason, the HBO app is not available on Amazon Fire TV, so I was forced to download the APK to install it (using the generic browser I mentioned above) and be able to access the content.
This poses a problem when consuming content, since It’s not 100% optimized to work with this device, so there were several times where the application ended up closing or crashing directly, forcing me to restart the device from scratch and continue playing at the same point, for however long that I remembered it, because most Sometimes this information was not retained.
User interface
The Fire TV Stick’s interface has deteriorated over time. Even though I only used access to Amazon Prime and Netflix, the home screen showed me suggestions for other platforms I wasn’t interested in it, so it took me more and more time to find the app I was looking for. This is no longer a problem with the mini PC I use, since on the desktop I have direct access to my favorite platforms, so accessing them only takes me less than a second.
To access the content that I have stored (photos, videos and music) I use Kodi, an application that allows me to access all the content stored on my PC in an orderly way and with a very good graphical interface that does not has nothing to send to anyone other than another video streaming platform. I also use Plex as a server, especially for accessing movies, because I like its user interface better than the Kodi solution.
More versatility
With the Amazon device, I can send my mobile signal or tablet wirelessly from iOS and Android, although it is necessary to install an application if it is an Apple device. With a mini PC, I can also do exactly one of the various free applications available in the Microsoft Store, or a video player like 5K Player, and which gives me superior playback quality, especially when it comes to videos. In the case of iPhone, if Kodi is installed, there is no need to install any applications.
In addition, we can connect any type of accessory such as, for example, a webcam video conferencing with our family and friends in a big way (which would undoubtedly have been very useful during the last coronavirus pandemic) or audio system 5.1 or 7.1 to enjoy the best possible sound quality.
This is the mini PC I use
As a mini PC, the model I use is the NiPoGi Mini PC, a device managed by the Intel N100 processor accompanied by 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of SSD storage. This device has two HDMI outputs, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 4.2 and has 2 USB 3.2 ports and 2 USB 2.0 ports. I opted for this model for fantastic value since it also includes Windows 11 Pro pre-installed.
As I mentioned above, the keyboard I use is a Logitech K380, while the mouse is the Logitech M240. One option that I considered was to buy a controller with keyboard and mouse, the one that can be found for SmartTV, however, I do not always need the keyboard to interact with the PC, since the mouse, in in most cases, is more than sufficient.
Although it is true that the price difference is very high between using a mini PC or an Amazon Fire TV Stick, the mini PC offers a series of additional advantages which, for some users, may be more only sufficient, as was my case.
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