Are you "experienced"?

If not, it could take a while to get that way.

Amazon said Thursday that its new (well, sorta new) Fire TV "Experience" upgrade is "rolling out" to second-generation Fire TV Sticks with Alexa-enabled voice remotes. This announcement comes one day after Amazon said that the OS upgrade is also being deployed to Fire TV-powered smart TVs and soundbars. 

It was all the way back in September when Amazon announced big upcoming changes to Fire TV, with the "latest Fire TV experience" being the operating system's biggest update yet. User profiles were added, as was a simplified main menu bar. Users now have the ability to "pin" their favorite apps for quicker access to them. 

Other new features include app peeks, which let users explore content within the UI without actually launching the app; and "Find," which allows users to discover content by categories like "free," "TV shows" and "movies."

In March, Amazon announced that the upgrade was "now available" on "Fire TV Stick (2nd and 3rd Gen), Fire TV Stick Lite, Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV Cube (1st and 2nd Gen), Fire TV (3rd Gen, Pendant Design), and Fire TVs."

"To clarify, the blog was just updated to include the new devices and the list of devices on the blog is reflective of what’s been announced, sorry for the confusion!," an Amazon rep told us. 

Roku is no longer the low price leader when it comes to streaming sticks. 

In its latest broad-ranging product rollout event, which unfurled virtually on Thursday, Amazon unveiled the latest version of its Fire TV Stick, which included an HD-only “Lite” version that retails for $29.99. This matches the MSRP of the Roku Express HDMI stick. 

The non-Lite Fire TV Stick is still priced at $39.99. The 4K/HDR-capable device features a 1.7 GHz quad-core processor, dual-band and dual-antenna WiFi with support for 5 GHz networks. It also supports 60fps, Dolby Almost and Alexa voice, and it consumes 50% less power than previous Fire TV Stick iterations. 

The new devices will include a redesigned home screen and overall user experience, which will roll out later this year, but won’t be available when the new sticks start shipping next week. 

The Amazon event also featured the introduction of cloud gaming service Luna+, which will carry an introductory price of $5.99 a month. 

After previously integrating 4K and HDR capabilities into its more expensive Fire TV and Fire TV Cube devices, Amazon has rolled out the $49.99 Fire TV Stick 4K.

Not only does the device support Ultra HD, but also all three versions of High Dynamic Range—HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. The Fire TV Stick 4K also comes equipped with a quad core, 1.7GHz processor. Amazon bills it as 80% more powerful than the previous iteration of its Fire TV Stick, released in 2016.

In its latest product announcement, Amazon included the launch of the next generation of its Alexa Voice Remote, which has dedicated power, volume and mute buttons, and gives users control over their TV, soundbar and other AV equipment.

Related: Amazon’s IMDB Unit Reportedly Set to Announce AVOD Platform This Week

Amazon, however, stopped short of officially announcing a new advertising-based video on demand service that CNBC said would imminently roll out this week.

The news org said it has heard from at least five sources at media companies being approached by Amazon for content targeted to the platform, which Amazon has yet to confirm. CNBC said the platform could be officially announced at this week’s Advertising Week convention in New York.

> In late-August, The Information reported that Amazon is developing an AVOD platform called Free Dive. The streaming video platform would be similar to the Roku Channel, an increasingly popular non-subscription video channel existing within the Roku ecosystem, offering archival movie titles and TV series.

Starz has launched a version of Starz Play, its authenticated TV Everywhere app, for the Amazon Fire TV box and Fire TV Stick.

In addition to the Fire TV and browsers, Starz has also built and launched Starz Play apps for iOS and Android mobile devices, Kindle Fire and Nook tablets, and the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. It has also optimized the app to run on the Chromecast, Google’s streaming adapter.

Starz said the app currently offers more than 450 monthly selections, including about 300 movies and more than 150 episodes from originals such as Power, Outlander, Survivor’s Remorse, Black Sails and Spartacus.

The premium programmer also announced that has begun to offer a live, linear feed of the flagshp Starz channel via Starz Play on PCs and Macs. Starz has not announced when it might bring live feeds to its other TVE platforms.

The programmer’s two other TVE apps – Encore Play and Movieplex Play  – are offered on Web browsers, iOS and Android devices, the Kindle Fire, Nook tablets, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, and via the Chromecast.

Amazon’s Fire TV platform supports several other TVE apps, including HBO Go, Showtime Anytime and WatchESPN, among others.

In addition to switching on support for Sling TV, Amazon also announced Thursday that its Fire TV platform has launched access to Fox Sports GO as well as a mix of new apps and games, including TED, CBS News, WSJ Live, and Game of Thrones – A Telltale Game Series.

Fox Sports GO joins a small but growing lineup of authenticated TV Everywhere apps offered on the Fire TV box and the Fire TV Stick, a group that also includes WatchESPN and Showtime Anytime. HBO GO is slated to join the Fire TV lineup this spring.

Amazon has not released shipment and sales figures for its Fire TV devices, but has said that the Amazon Fire TV was the best-selling streaming media box on Amazon.com during the 2014 holiday season, and has called the Fire TV Stick the fastest-selling Amazon device ever. Amazon Fire TV was also the “most wished-for item” by Amazon Prime subs in 2014.

“Adding FOX Sports GO to Amazon Fire TV is a great next step in enhancing our distribution and connecting with more sports fans," said Clark Pierce, SVP, mobile and advanced platforms at Fox Sports, in a statement.

Fox Sports GO also runs on Android- and iOS-powered smartphones and tablets, the Kindle Fire, Windows Phone and Web browsers. MVPDs with rights to the TVE app include AT&T U-verse, Comcast, Bright House Networks, Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable, Mediacom Communications, Cable One, Suddenlink Communications, WideOpenWest, CenturyLink, Frontier Communications, Cox Communications, and GCI, among others.

Walmart is nearing the launch ofhas launched the Spark, an HDMI-connected TV streaming stick that shares some of the basic functionalities found in other devices in the category such as the Google Chromecast, Roku Streaming Stick and Amazon Fire TV Stick. 

As first spotted by GigaOm, Walmart has recently launched a Web site for the new product, though there’s still no info posted there about how Spark will be priced. But to prime the pump, consumers who do snap up the Spark when it does go on sale will be in line for a $5 VUDU credit code each month for five months (for a total of $25)...at least until that promo expires on Sept. 1, 2015.

The site does offer some other details, noting that the product will be offered only at Walmart.com and “select” Walmart stores, that it will support up to 1080p resolution, require a minimum broadband connection of 1 Mbps, and come equipped with integrated 802.11n WiFi. The Spark package also includes and a remote control and a USB-based power cord.

It also appears, at least in the early going, that the Spark will limit access to the VUDU service, which lets customers rent and buy from a library of more than 100,000 movies and TV shows.

We’ve asked VUDU for more detail on what other content sources and apps might be offered down the line, but the user manual only features the VUDU service and walks through how consumer can link the Spark to link their existing VUDU accounts or create new ones. In fact, the VUDU app will automatically launch once it's connected to WiFi, according to the document, which makes no mention of any app or OTT service outside the VUDU universe. 

If that’s the way things stay, then consider the Spark merely a vessel for VUDU and not much of a direct threat to any of the far more capable streaming sticks already on the market. But the $25-worth of VUDU credits is a nice perk that might entice some to jump on board, especially if Walmart decides to practically give the device away. 

Update:  A Walmart official confirmed that the retailer started to sell the VUDU Spark in about 2,400 Walmart stores last month. "It’s priced at $24.95 with $25 worth of VUDU credit, so it’s a low-cost way for our customers to access the latest HD movies and TV on VUDU in their living room," the official added in an emailed statement. 

So, there you go. The five months in VUDU credits offered via the promo cover the bulk of the price of the device. And the base price of the Spark, which does include the remote, undercuts the typical sales price of the Chromecast ($35), Amazon Fire TV Streaming Stick ($39, with remote), and the Roku Streaming Stick ($49.99, also with a remote). Time will tell if Walmart makes the Spark a bit more attractive and less limited by expanding the amount of content and apps it can support. 

Update 2: Blogger Dave Zatz visited Walmart  over the weekend to buy a Spark and found that the in-store promo is a tad different than what the retailer is pitching online...$20 in VUDU credits in four monthly installments of $5. So, not quite as sweet, but the promo still covers the bulk of the hardware costs. And Zatz, who found the Spark with the DVDs and Blu-ray discs rather than next to other streaming players, offers a good history lesson on VUDU...I forgot they got off the ground in 2006 (pre-Walmart) with a dedicated device that sold for a lofty $400.

With HDMI streaming sticks from Google, Roku and Amazon still all the rage, it follows that the cable operators will eventually offer set-tops box in this popular form-factor.

While we’ve already seen Alticast trot out demos of an  RDK-based set-top-on-a-stick, Broadcom used this week’s International CES to show a new design, the BCM72502, that will serve as the innards of HDMI sticks capable of providing “operator-level functionality and security.”

As for what’s going inside Broadcom’s design, it will pack an HEVC decoder and HDMI 2.0 (elements that will be key as operators expand into 4K video), 802.11ac WiFi for in-home wireless distribution, and an option for Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) 2.0.

Boiled down, the platform, which is currently sampling, will give MSOs the ability to tap into designs that so far have been relegated to the OTT world, but pack enough punch to deliver “full-featured set-top box functionality.”

According to Broadcom, MSOs will have the option to use the same platform to provide full-service IPTV using a multi-room gateway/client architecture, to a standalone dongle for “entry level” OTT offerings.

So, make room for yet another HDMI-connected, WiFi-fueled video streaming stick – the VUDU Spark.

Though it’s not clear yet if this will be a direct competitor to streaming sticks from Google, Amazon and Roku by supporting a full apps ecosystem, the new device from the Walmart-owned VUDU was spotted by GigaOm in the FCC database, showing several images of the product as well as a user manual. 

We’ve asked VUDU for details, such as pricing, expected availability and if it will support apps other than VUDU’s, but the FCC materials show it working only with the VUDU electronic sell-through platform, which lets users rent and buy movies and TV shows and stream them to an array of connected devices, including the PlayStation 3/4, the Channel Master DVR+, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, Roku, Chromecast, select Blu-ray players and connected TVs, Web browsers and iOS and Android-based devices, among others. 

GigaOm notes that the device is paired with a remote control powered by Zigbee RF, versus WiFi Direct, meaning “you shouldn’t expect Miracast or any similar type of mirroring functionality either.”

If it’s indeed a device solely tethered to VUDU, at least early on, it makes me wonder if VUDU will simply just give this gadget away along with perks like a free movie to entice more people to jump on board as VUDU continues to face off against a competitive EST market that includes iTunes, Amazon, Google, Sony, Target Ticket, Comcast and Verizon Communications, to name just a few.

Update: VUDU confirmed that work is underway on Spark, but that's about all they're willing to share at this time: "We’re always looking at new ways for our customers to experience the  movies and TV shows in their VUDU library. We’re developing a streaming stick and will share more information in the coming months. Stay tuned," a spokesperson said, in a statement.