These days, modern TVs offer numerous features for gaming, streaming, and more. But what if you have a television that is already several years old? Do you have to buy a new TV for a lot of money? MeinMMO editor Benedikt Schlotmann thinks: No, because he significantly improved his TV for 30 euros.
New hardware is currently expensive. And if prices for graphics cards and consoles aren’t soaring, then it’s currently energy prices and inflation that are worrying many.
For just 30 euros, I was able to not only improve our now rather old TV affordably but also save a few euros on electricity costs per month. At least the second reason might appeal to some of you.
A TV stick for 30 euros makes everyday life much more pleasant
What’s the problem? We use a roughly 9-year-old TV in our household. For most purposes, the device is still completely sufficient, as you can connect the Switch or the PS5 without any issues. It is also enough for a cozy movie night.
However, watching series becomes a bit difficult. Because the Samsung model offers hardly any “smart” features. You can use a Netflix app, but the performance is abysmal, and the video regularly cuts out. Additionally, the TV’s hardware is now somewhat slow.
Given current prices, I didn’t want to invest several thousand euros in a new TV. An interim solution for a few hundred euros was out of the question because it wouldn’t have been worth it.
What was the solution? The simpler and cheaper option was actually a streaming TV stick. These devices are slightly larger than a USB stick and connect to the TV via HDMI. The setup is no more complicated than logging into Netflix on a PS5 or on your mobile phone.
I bought a “Fire TV Stick 4K” on sale. At the time, it was available for under 30 euros.
The TV stick also expands the functionality of the 9-year-old TV. This way, many streaming services and other apps can be used much more conveniently and with significantly better performance than if you installed them through Samsung’s own platform.
What alternatives are there? I could have considered alternatives as well. After all, Amazon is not the only provider that makes such TV sticks:
- The Xiaomi Mi TV Stick looks almost like the “Fire TV Stick” and costs a few euros less on average. The big advantage: Xiaomi lets you freely choose which account to log in with on the stick.
- The Google Chromecast is also a well-known alternative. The only downside: Without a Google account, it’s hardly usable.
- The Roku Express 4K offers you 4K for 39 euros, significantly less than Amazon. However, there’s no Dolby Vision. Roku uses its own operating system (Roku OS) and is very user-friendly.
- The Apple TV 4K offers you powerful hardware and access to “Apple TV+”. However, the high MSRP of 199 euros is a downside.
- The MagentaTV Stick offers live TV, media libraries, and streaming services for around 70 euros. Thanks to Android, you can theoretically install more apps. It also includes HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Atmos, and Dolby Vision.
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Amazon Fire TV Stick mit Alexa-Sprachfernbedienung (mit TV-Steuerungstasten) | HD-Streaminggerät* | Zu Amazon |
*Affiliate-Links. Wir erhalten bei einem Kauf eine kleine Provision von Amazon. Vielen Dank für Eure Unterstützung!
I use the TV stick instead of the PS5 for streaming and save energy
How do I save energy? Until now, I used my PS4 or PS5 for streaming Netflix and more. However, game consoles consume a lot of energy when you’re “only” streaming. That’s why there’s also the recommendation, that you shouldn’t use the PS5 for Netflix and other streaming services.
Since we’ve been using the TV stick to watch Netflix or Prime Video, the energy consumption has significantly decreased:
- According to nrdc.org, the PS5 consumes an average of 70 to 80 watts while streaming. Not counting the TV.
- A TV stick consumes significantly under 10 watts: An Apple TV 4K uses about 6 watts, and a Chromecast Ultra only 3.4 watts.
On average, I save 60 to 70 watts when using the TV stick instead of the PS5. If my girlfriend were to stream for about 2 hours a day, that would save us about 4 kilowatt-hours a month. Since according to NDR, the prices for one kilowatt-hour are currently around 0.54 euros, we would save about 2 euros a month.
Prices are expected to rise sharply before winter. If you stream for about 5 or 6 hours a day or 8 hours on weekends, and if prices double, you can quickly save 10 euros or more a month.
For whom is it worth it? For me, the purchase of such a TV stick was worth it because I can bypass the weak hardware of the TV and save energy when I don’t use my console for streaming.
If you own an old or very cheap TV that is somewhat lacking in power, I can recommend such a stick to you. There are plenty of alternatives that all offer similar performance and a comparable range of functions. Only Apple’s device is by far the most expensive with an MSRP of 199 euros.
More on the topic of PS5: If you want to know more about energy prices and gaming, check out the following article. Here we explain how much money you need to spend if you want to game regularly on your PS5:
PS5: Is gaming with the console making you broke with the current energy prices?
