TV Menus: more design flexibility, use Amazon Fire TV Stick
Why a Fire TV Stick is better for your TV Menus, both now and in the long run
- They're much cheaper (~$20 - $30) than PC Sticks (~$130). You may currently have a PC Stick, but they don't last forever. When it comes time to replace yours, Fire TV Sticks are much, much cheaper.
- Chromebits have been deprecated. This means Google is no longer offering software updates for them, so they'll soon be obsolete. When this happens we can't guarantee our TV Menus will continue working.
- Fire TV Sticks don't require a wireless keyboard and mouse combo for setup. You can just use your Fire TV remote. You can do setup all on your own and it'll only take ~10 mins from the time your Fire TV Stick arrives in the mail.
- Related, you only need to enter a 4-digit code to launch your menu, not an entire URL.
- Because of this, it's way easier to relaunch your TV Menu if necessary (e.g. power goes out).
- And, perhaps most beneficial, if you use a Fire TV Stick for your menu, it'll be a lot easier to take advantage of our new customization settings.
New customization settings
Prior to this update, whenever you wanted to make a design update to your TV Menus you often had to reach out to BeerMenus support and wait for us to make the updates.
With the new customization options within your TV Menu settings, you're able to make those changes on your own in just a few clicks!
Options include:
- Choose how many items to include per screen
- Choose number of columns
- Build your own header or footer
- Choose your fonts and font colors
- Add a watermark image to the background
- Add your own background image
- and a whole lot more!
Learn more about all new customization options for TV Menus.
Here are some screen grabs of the new settings available to you:
FAQs
Do I have to use a Fire TV Stick to power my menus? Can I keep using what I'm currently using?
No, you don't have to use a Fire TV Stick. If you're happy with how things work now, then by all means stick with what you're doing. But when/if your current hardware fails, you should definitely switch to using a Fire TV Stick (as noted above, they're way cheaper than PC Sticks and Chromebits will soon be obsolete).
If you're looking to get ahead of the game, we'd recommend moving to the Fire TV Stick whenever you're ready. If you use a Fire TV Stick, you can customize your brand new TV Menu design with all the new settings, and it'll be incredibly easy to get that new design live in your business.
Which Fire TV Stick do you recommend?
The Fire TV Stick Lite. There are some more high octane Fire TV Sticks out there (here are all the options), but you really don't need anything beyond the Lite.
I have a Fire TV. Do I need a Fire TV Stick too?
Nope. If you have a Fire TV you can just run your TV Menu through your Fire TV settings.
How does using a Fire TV Stick work?
Conceptually it's very similar to how your TV Menu works currently (the hardware connects your TV to the internet so that updates get pushed to it whenever you change your drink list on beermenus.com), but it's a lot simpler all around. Learn more about setup.
I have some questions. What's the best way to get in touch?
If you need a hand or just have some questions, drop us a note at support@beermenus.com, give us a call at 347-927-1574, or schedule a call with us. We're here to help!