If you happen to still be rocking a 10+ year old flat screen TV, then it’s likely it doesn’t have the smarts of a new model.

If that’s the case, there’s no need to head out and replace when Amazon has the perfect solution to bring your tele in to 2023 with the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max.

In the box you’ll get everything you need to get yourself up and running in no time.

Set up requires you to power the Fire TV Stick 4K Max via USB and plug it in to one of the TVs spare HDMI ports.

I recommend here that you get the Alexa App for your smartphone. This makes set up easier and future customisation by way of features and options ensured.

You’ll need to use the Fire TV Stick 4K Max’s remote to go through the onscreen guide, get the unit connected to your home’s WIFI and before you know it, your aging but still good tele has all of the smart features of a new one, in 4K.

Now it is true that you ideally should have a 4K TV to actually get that crispy high res picture. And while most 4K TVs are already newer smart TVs, 4K monitors aren’t. So yeah, you can use a monitor just as effectively as you use a home TV.

On offer is a smorgasbord of apps with streamable content. Netflix, YouTube and of course Amazon Prime.

Whichever you subscribe to, log in and begin your content streaming.

There’s more to the Fire TV Stick 4K Max though.

With built-in Alexa you can control your Fire TV Stick 4K Max with voice, and as mentioned, if you get the Alexa app you can integrate the Fire TV Stick 4K Max with your phone.

The Fire TV Stick 4K Max also has Ambient mode. You can have artwork across your screen when the TV is not in use for series or movie marathons. There’s Alexa Widgets too, which offer up nuggets of info that pertain to you. Again it is up to you to personalise the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (and Alexa app) to your liking.

For only around a hundred bucks the Fire TV Stick 4K Max is a fantastic device that’s designed to breath new life in to older or cheaper non-smart flat screen TVs or stream content on 4K monitors.

Stream like you mean it and give Alexa the control of your TV time with the Fire TV Stick 4K Max.

The post Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The days of expensive set top boxes cluttering your TV unit are well and truly over.

As we all progress in to smart TVs in our homes and gaming dens, depending on your particular model, you’ll find there’s an App for everything.

But not all smart TVs have all of the apps, and cannot install everything – or do not have any apps at all.

Amazon have the answer here with their Fire TV Stick 4K Max.

Yep, it’s 4K, but if your tele isn’t 4K don’t stress it will still work at a lower resolution.

From the box you’ll have all of the bits you need. The Fire Stick 4K Max, an HDMI extender, remote and USB AC power adaptor.

I recommend setting up using the HDMI extender as most TVs HDMI ports are notched in to a hard to reach and sometimes fiddly placing.

Plug it in to a spare HDMI port and power the Fire Stick 4K Max up.

The Fire Stick 4K Max has a built-in 1.8GHz Quad-core processor which prevents any lag (Android based smart TVs can be notorious for needing full restarts), it’s quick and super responsive.

Setting up is via an on-screen guide, recommend you use or get the Amazon app, and Amazon have embraced the future of home WiFi and added WiFi 6.

In a few clicks you’re good to go and now turned perhaps an ageing tele in to a whole new device of smarts.

Your usual suspects are already there, Netflix for example and of course Amazon’s very own Prime. And Alexa is your smart assistant. Mirror from your Android smartphone and even play mobile games on the Fire Stick.

You can use the Fire Stick 4K Max to watch local channels digitally, these are generally free.

Visual enhancements such as Dolby Vision, HDR 10, HDR10+ are built-in as well as Dolby Atmos to bolster sound. For Dolby Atmos though, I do recommend using an external soundbar or similar that is compatible to really get the audio experience.

If an app that you want isn’t already there, most likely you’ll be able to download it from the store real quick.

My setup included using WiFi 6 and with that and due to the processing power of the Fire Stick 4K Max I’ve not had any lag, drops or needed to restart the device at all.

If your TV has an ARC3 port, use that. As the remote will then be able to control your TV as well as the onscreen entertainment.

The Amazon Fire Stick 4K Max comes in at around $100 (NZD) and is super charged, super quick and not only breathes new live in to an older flat screen TV, it also offers up a wealth of options and features that your current model may not offer.

The post AMAZON FIRE TV STICK 4K MAX REVIEW appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

 It’s clear that Huawei had big ambitions for its P30 series with the tag line “rewriting the rules of photography.” The latest entry of the Huawei flagship series in Paris on March 26th, 2019 showed the world what smartphone innovation looked like and now it’s time to look at how it lines up against its competitors.

Launching just over a month ago, the Samsung Galaxy S10+ achieved the same DxOMark Mobile rating as last year’s P series version, the P20 Pro, with 109 points. It seems hardly fair to compare its photography features with the newer P30 Pro as it just topped the DxO Mark list at 112 points, but the specs seem to do most of the talking.

Both brands have put in extensive effort to upgrade the zooming capabilities of their smartphones, but the longer the distance, the more noticeable is the difference between the two camera phones. The P30 SuperZoom lens 5x zoom with foldable optics is hard to beat, especially when compared to the 2x tele-lens scores that the S10 offers.

Samsung S10+                      Huawei P30 Pro

The wider aperture of the P30 Pro lets in more light for better low-light performance, offering the capability to capture well-exposed images in near darkness. Combined with Huawei’s SuperSpectrum sensor, ISP and Dual-NPU, and supported by the new HUAWEI AIS+OIS solution, the phone can record a frame taken across a long exposure and showcase excellent colours, dynamic range and clarity while producing a more authentic and vibrant photograph. While the Samsung S10 is strong in reducing the noise levels in all light conditions, its photographs still result in a loss of details in low-light and indoor scenarios.

Samsung S10+ (10x Zoom)                Huawei P30 Pro (50x Zoom)

The P30 Pro features a specialized HUAWEI Time Of Flight (TOF) camera, which captures depth information and resulted in an upgrade bokeh effect. The HUAWEI TOF Camera has rich bokeh and sophisticated, depth information-capturing capabilities. It is supporting multi-level, depth-of-field effects and accurate 3D modelling to deliver a highly-realistic, AR photography experience.

Comparatively, the S10+ camera is capable of capturing beautiful bokeh images, but the bokeh picture prioritises the lighting in the picture over the blurring of the background, resulting in a duller background with less details.

Samsung S10+ (Low Light)                   Huawei P30 Pro (Low Light)

The ultra-wide angle lens on the P30 is fitted to the phone to add a spacious feeling and 3D effect to the photos. The Samsung offers a 123-degree field view, but the outer corner shows some image distortion known as the fish-eye effect.

Samsung S10+ (Macro)                      Huawei P30 Pro (Macro)

Fans of the Huawei Leica camera know that the macro photography capabilities are unbeatable and the new P30 camera can capture photos as close as 3cm. 

It’s no secret that the P30 is unbeatable when it comes to photography capabilities, but the other specs of Huawei’s latest flagship device show that it’s rewriting more than just smartphone photography, it’s rewriting smartphone capabilities across the board.

Samsung S10+                      Huawei P30 Pro

Specs Comparison of P30 Pro vs. Galaxy S10+ vs. iPhone XS Max

The post Huawei P30 Pro vs. Samsung S10+ – Photography battle appeared first on Shane the Gamer.