In terms of hardware and capabilities, the Fire TV Stick HD is simply a Fire TV Stick Lite, which itself is almost exactly the same as the Fire TV Stick. All three have quad-core 1.7GHz processors, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of storage. For connectivity, you get Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0. They all support high dynamic range (HDR) content in HDR10, HDR10+, and hybrid log gamma (HLG), but not Dolby Vision. 

The one thing that differentiates the HD and the Lite from the third-generation Fire TV Stick is that the latter can decode Dolby Atmos spatial audio content. This isn’t as dire an issue as it sounds, however, because you can still listen to Dolby Atmos audio via the Fire TV Stick HD. Like the Lite, it has HDMI audio pass-through for Dolby Digital signals (including Dolby Atmos). This means that the media streamer doesn’t decode the signal but rather sends it along. If you have a TV or soundbar that can handle Dolby Atmos, they can then decode the signal.

When I loaded Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness through Disney+ on the Fire TV Stick HD, my soundbar immediately detected that it was receiving a Dolby Atmos signal. So, whether what you want to watch has Dolby Atmos or not, the Fire TV Stick HD ultimately offers the same experience as the Fire TV Stick.

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

The Fire TV Stick HD’s interface is generally quite responsive, though its performance isn’t to the level of the Fire TV Stick 4K. The latter has double the RAM (2GB) and supports the faster and more stable Wi-Fi 6 standard. I noticed a bit more choppiness and sluggishness in testing the Stick HD. Switching tabs can occasionally cause hiccups with the menus, and libraries take a few seconds to populate. Of course, whether the difference in Wi-Fi support will affect your experience depends on your home environment. My apartment in Brooklyn, filled with Wi-Fi devices, can benefit more from Wi-Fi 6’s better handling of crowded bands than a more spacious house in the suburbs, for instance. The slower connection speed isn’t necessarily an issue for loading 1080p video, however, since it requires much less bandwidth than 4K video.