Here’s an open secret: Every cheap streaming stick is bad. Yes, it’s great that people can access so many shows and movies on devices that cost under $50. That’s great the best of them no longer makes you suffer with constant lag and performance hiccups. But over time A Faustian bargain what we’re doing with these things is becoming more and more obvious. We save cash upfront, then pay off the debt through poor user experience.
I’ve been thinking about it since I bought it Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K Max a few months ago. This is a good example of a handshake: this was on sale for $40 over the last few months and at that price its hardware it’s a big deal. It’s fast, works with major HDR formats and Dolby Atmos, and supports all the necessary apps.
But Amazon’s Fire OS is shamelessly hyped. Large noisy ads dominate the UI, most of them hosting Amazon services like Freevee or MGM+ or Prime Video – still Blockbuster a bargain box of streaming services – front and center. Some ads promote products that you can buy directly on Amazon. Dude, you haven’t seen a dystopian future until a third of your 55-inch TV is suggesting you buy a KitchenAid espresso machine. Once I’m actually streaming something, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max is great. But I have to resist to mentally block out all the ads it sells me, parts of the device I bought with my own money, to get the most out of it.
So why did I still buy one? The thing is, I’m not using it the way Amazon intended. Instead, I use it to emulate old video games, which takes forever the easiest way to my heart. Today it is possible to run retro games on almost everything, of course, PC, or iPhonea million different handheld devicesa refrigerator and more. You can do the same with other Android broadcasters like Google Chromecast or Amazon’s cheaper Fire TV Stick 4K also. The Delta emulator has just been released on iOS, and you can too buy With Apple TV, albeit via AirPlay instead of native connection. I decided on 4K Max just because of that I think there is performance is a safety net over other low-cost broadcasters. And it’s cheaper than a high-end box like the Apple TV or NVIDIA Shield.
Regardless, having a dedicated device for TVs is convenient in a way that non-streaming sticks are not. I’m not lugging a giant gaming PC from my desk to my living room, and I’m not paying extra for a mini PC when I can spend a lot less on a dongle that does a good enough emulation. Official consoles like the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 have plenty of retro games in their libraries, but it’s far from everything. While I’m a collector who has spent way too much money on consoles and games over the decades, this is the process of getting this original hardware to work properly on a modern TV. famous hard worker. Sometimes I just want to play for half an hour NHL ’94, Ken Griffey Jr. Presenting Major League Baseball or Chrono Trigger Without having to pull out the SNES (or Genesis), uplifting and a pile of cables from my closet. (Related: I’d like a bigger apartment, too, but NYC is fine.) Emulating on a Fire TV Stick isn’t as reliable in terms of image quality as the real thing, but it’s certainly playable and generally less so. just a hassle to turn on and use.
After building it, that is. Turning a Fire TV Stick into a retro gaming hub isn’t particularly complicated, but it does require some preparation. There are tons of tutorials out there that will teach you the full process, but here’s how I got it. First, I needed a few accessories: a Bluetooth controller, of some sort USB memory stick (any older USB 2.0 model will do) and one OTG adapter with a microUSB connector that can power the Fire TV while connecting external storage. I have used it this old SNES style 8BitDo controller, for a more period-appropriate feel, though a PS4 or PS5 gamepad will also work. The USB drive holds the ROM and BIOS files for the games and systems I want to emulate. Here I remind you that Engadget does not condone piracy, and while emulators are perfectly legal, sharing ROMs on the internet is not possible, so tread lightly. But it’s only for personal use to back up the files of the old games I’ve already purchased at least more fluently.
After formatting my thumb drive and loading it with my games, it was just a matter of loading the popular frontend. RetroArch I downloaded the “cores” for each console I wanted to emulate in RetroArch from Amazon’s app store, pointed the software to the correct folders on the USB drive, and configured my gamepad’s controls. I’ve done this on dozens of devices over the past few years as I’ve delved deeper into the retro-gaming rabbit hole, so the whole process took me over an hour. It would take me another 1,000 words to divulge the secrets of RetroArch, so I’ll divert you This is a great video tutorial From the Retro Game Corps. It’s long, but this work always takes a little pain and I think it’s worth it. Turning such a device into something completely different makes me feel like I’m getting rid of something. It’s exciting, even though it means I’m done looks like this guy.
As for what can actually be played on this thing, I’ve found 4K Max to run the best console emulations up to the original PlayStation. Games from the PS1, NES, SNES, Game Boy, GBA, Genesis, and older arcade machines have been consistently smooth. this technically It’s possible to run stuff from the N64, Dreamcast, PSP or Nintendo DS, but they’re more hit or miss, so I wouldn’t trust them unless you’re a sadist who enjoys futzing with the resolution scale and cycling between them. emulators. Still, that leaves me with hundreds of games to enjoy. Some are important (Donkey Kong), some have been lost to time (UN squadron), some make me want to defend myself (Dolphin Ecco) and none of it is live service nonsense designed to disrespect my time.
I realize this is a strange, niche search. Emulators are scary at first, and many old games feel like relics for some reason. Still, in a small way, turning this clunky, data-sucking streamer into a mini retro console felt like reclaiming ownership of the gadget I paid for. The ads are still there and my home screen will force me to watch Anne Hathaway movies The ultimate rom-com on Prime Video. (My wife and I caved; it was fine.) But with a little trickery, I bent it to show what’s more. I want to see – and got an easier way to engage in some nostalgic fun in the process.
