Almost each TV in the marketplace right this moment is a great TV, however not each working system is a winner. A media streaming machine permits you to pair whichever consumer interface you like with nearly any display that has an HDMI port. In some circumstances, equivalent to with older or cheaper sensible TVs, a streaming stick or dongle may even be speedier and fewer glitchy than your TV’s built-in system.
At residence, these helpful devices make it simpler for twine cutters to observe the thousands and thousands of hours of content material streaming companies present with out cable. And whereas touring, a streaming participant permits you to watch your most well-liked content material on lodge units (with out painstakingly typing in a bunch of passwords or activation codes). We examined out streaming gamers from Roku, Google, Apple, Amazon and extra, gauging the usability and the efficiency of every to give you our listing of the perfect streaming units you should purchase.
Editors’ notice (October 2024): Google’s newest streaming machine, the Google TV Streamer (4k) will substitute the Chromecast with Google TV dongle. It wasn’t accessible when this information was final up to date, however we are going to quickly try it out and add our findings right here.
What to search for in a TV streaming machine
Working system and interface
Google’s Chromecast, the Apple TV 4K, Amazon’s Fireplace TV Sticks and Roku units are the most well-liked gamers within the house. Three of these manufacturers additionally come constructed into TVs, equivalent to Fireplace, Google and Roku TVs, however the Apple TV 4K does not come pre-loaded on any set. Every one has a singular working system and interface. This can be the largest deciding issue for many individuals, because it determines how the content material you need to watch is organized and introduced. We go into element for every platform under, however all of them include residence screens that, to various levels, collect your apps in a single place, current the films and TV reveals you’re at the moment watching and offer you options of different media streaming choices.
Almost all streaming units include a distant that permits you to search and do different operations utilizing your voice, eliminating the necessity to hunt and peck at on-screen keyboards. All of them provide “universal search,” by which looking for a title takes you to whichever app has it accessible. If you wish to watch Barbie however don’t know the place it’s taking part in, simply push the voice button on the distant and say “Barbie.” (We found simply saying the title or the genre you want sometimes works better than saying “Show me…” or “Search for…”) From the search results, hit the play button and the correct app will open and start playing — assuming you’ve previously logged into that app and, in most cases, have an active subscription.
Connectivity
Most streaming sticks connect to the internet via Wi-Fi, with the majority of them supporting Wi-Fi 5 or 6 protocols. Set-top boxes can also have Ethernet ports, so you can hardwire your internet connection to the device, which is always faster than wireless. Streaming media players connect to your TV through an HDMI port, and most sticks hide behind the screen, while set-top boxes sit on a surface nearby. Nearly all units also plug into an AC outlet for power. Some sticks used to work by pulling power from a USB port on the TV, but increasingly, these devices are designed to plug into the wall.
Video and audio features
If you have a screen that can display 4K content with Dolby Vision and HDR10, you’ll want a streaming device that supports those high-end formats. Of course, even the most top-shelf streamer can’t make a 1080p TV display content in 4K. The series or movie also has to be transmitted in 4K and, increasingly, companies restrict higher-quality streaming to more expensive subscription plans. In short, every element needs to support the video or audio feature, otherwise the highest quality you’ll get will be the lowest of any component in the chain.
Voice control
In addition to helping you find stuff to watch, streaming devices from Apple, Google and Amazon can answer questions about the weather, sports scores and general facts using built-in voice assistants. They can also act as smart home controllers to turn off connected smart bulbs or plugs and show feeds from smart cameras. Just remember, as with all smart home devices, compatibility is key. Fire TV devices work with Alexa-enabled smart home equipment; Chromecasts let you control Google Home devices; Apple TV 4Ks play nice with HomeKit; and Rokus grant power over Roku’s smart home products.
Below are some recommendations for the best streaming sticks and other budget-friendly options. We also included suggestions for set-top boxes and devices geared toward gamers.
Finest streaming units
Photograph by Amy Skorheim / Engadget
Working system: Android TV | Distant: Sure | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Show: No | Voice management: Sure
When you subscribe to numerous streaming companies and need you possibly can discover one residence display to rule all of them, Chromecast with Google TV 4K is the dongle for you. I’m not typically shocked by the efficiency of a UI, however whereas testing this one I really stated, “Wow, this is pretty good.” When you’ve added your streaming subs, the homepage organizes your content material in a helpful, egalitarian method. Up high is featured/sponsored content material, adopted by a line of app icons. Subsequent is the Proceed Watching row full of the upcoming episode of collection you’ve began. After I’d streamed from just a few totally different apps, I began seeing my next-up reveals from Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV+, Peacock and elsewhere, which made it tremendous simple to dive again in.
Additional down the web page, algorithm-curated lists counsel genres like cartoons, crime reveals, Emmy winners and thrillers together with “If you like…” options. In contrast to different companies (ahem, Fireplace TV and Apple TV), Google TV doesn’t appear to offer preferential therapy to anybody service, pulling slightly evenly from those you employ. In fact, there are many options for YouTube content material and, because you check in along with your Google account, Google TV is aware of which movies you’re more likely to watch, however these have been confined to their very own rows and might be simply ignored.
Navigation is fast and the 4K model of the dongle helps 4K HDR, Dolby Imaginative and prescient, and allows you to solid from Chromecast-enabled apps in your smartphone or pill. You additionally get a superb quantity of free content material together with a Reside TV information that has loads of channels and also can incorporate any paid live TV streaming services from Sling, Philo and, of course, YouTube TV. It’ll even fold in over-the-air stations you get from a digital tuner.
As for flaws, they’re minor, such as a remote with no dedicated play/pause button. It instead relies on the center d-pad button, which actually caused more than a few incorrect inputs on my part. Curiously, if you press the Assistant button and say “search for No One Will Save You” you’ll be fed results for YouTube videos related to those terms. But just saying “No One Will Save You” correctly takes you to the movie on Hulu.
My biggest gripe is Google Chromecast’s five-minute pause timeout. For me, making mid-episode air fryer nachos takes at least seven minutes. But after five minutes, a paused show reverts to Ambient Mode. Pressing the back button returns you to the details page for whatever you were watching, so it’s only an extra button press to get started again. Still, I wish there was a way to delay the timeout. — Amy Skorheim, Commerce Writer
- Unified home screen
- Suggests content across all major platforms
- Supports 4K, HDR and Dolby Vision content
- 5 minute pause timeout
- No devoted pause button
Will Lipman Pictures for Engadget
Working system: Roku OS | Distant: Sure | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Show: No | Voice management: Sure
Imagine it or not, the streaming world has sufficient free content material to maintain even probably the most voracious watchers entertained — and the Roku Streaming Stick 4K might be one of the best ways to entry it. Roku’s interface is uncluttered, with a easy listing on the left and an app grid on the correct. Two of these listing objects, Reside TV and Featured Free, are filled with free content material, each on linear channels and video-on-demand (VOD) companies. The Roku Channel app provides hundreds extra collection, movies, Roku Originals and dwell channels to observe with out subscribing to a dang factor.
Roku makes seven totally different streaming units, together with sticks, set-top containers and some Streambars — all will get you that free content material. The $50 Streaming Stick 4K is the perfect mixture of value and options. It hides behind your TV, helps 4K, HDR10+ and Dolby Imaginative and prescient and has an extended vary Wi-Fi. When you don’t want the longer vary or Dolby Imaginative and prescient, and don’t thoughts a barely bulkier machine, it can save you $10 and get the Roku Express 4K+. Both players support Apple AirPlay 2 and can control your set’s power and volume.
I found the universal search function to be accurate when looking for specific titles; pushing the Voice button and saying “Poker Face” brings up results for the Peacock show, the Russell Crowe movie and a poker documentary from a free channel. Saying “Succession” gets you the show from Max as well as listings for other series and films with “success” in the title. It was pretty good at finding suggestions for more general searches, like “police procedural shows” and “Idris Elba,” though it had issues with recommendations for kids movies (not enough Disney+ results, in my opinion).
Navigation is speedy with minimal load times between apps. The remote has a nice layout with a large back button and the volume rocker on the side. The handy Instant Replay button jumps back 10 to 20 seconds and can even show subtitles for the replayed portion, if the app supports it. The only thing I didn’t love was the What to Watch menu, which was overwhelmingly populated with free content and had a minimal amount of titles sprinkled in from my paid apps. But since free content is where Roku really shines, I can’t be too miffed. — A.S.
- Built-in access to tons of free content
- Accurate universal search
- Supports 4K, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision content
- What to Watch menu ignores content material from different streamers
Amazon
Working system: Fireplace TV OS | Distant: Sure | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Show: No | Voice management: Sure
If value is of the utmost significance and also you don’t want 4K, Amazon’s Fireplace TV Stick Lite is an honest different. At $30, it’s one of many most cost-effective streaming sticks in the marketplace and it’s additionally regularly discounted, too. It helps FHD streaming with HDR and, identical to its higher-end siblings, comes with an Alexa voice distant.
One of many causes that is thought of “Lite” is that this explicit Fireplace TV Stick can’t management your TV; you continue to have to make use of your tv distant to energy it on and off or to regulate its quantity. That’s not that large a deal, particularly if it helps prevent a couple of bucks. Compared, the usual Fireplace TV Stick usually retails for $40, whereas the Fire TV Stick 4K costs $50.
Amazon’s Fire TV supports nearly all of the major streaming services, including Netflix, Hulu, Max, YouTube, YouTube TV and Hulu, among others. The Live page features Twitch out of the box as well. While you can’t use Alexa to control the TV, the Fire TV Stick Lite does let you use Alexa to search for shows and ask general questions like the weather forecast or the latest scores for your favorite sports team.
Despite its low price, the Fire TV Stick Lite is a decent streaming dongle. It comes with the updated Fire TV interface that adds features such as user profiles, a new main menu navigation bar with show recommendations, plus a scrolling list of your favorite streaming apps. The layout isn’t as unified as Google TV’s and is more complicated than Roku’s, but it’s still easy enough to figure out. That said, the interface prioritizes Amazon Prime Video content, and there are a lot more ads than on other streaming platforms. — Nicole Lee, Senior Editor
If you do want the ability to control your TV with the remote and are also looking for something that supports improved picture quality, you may want to upgrade to one of the more advanced Fire TV Sticks. At $60 (and often on sale for $45) the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max not only handles Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, 4K and HDR10+, but it also supports Wi-Fi 6E. That means if you have a router that also carries the protocol, you could see better and faster connectivity. The 4K Max has the fastest processor of any Fire TV Stick, and we found it plenty zippy. It’s also the only Fire TV Stick that supports the new Ambient Experience: when enabled, or after the pause timeout kicks in, the dongle will display art (and widgets, if you want) on your TV, giving any screen the look of something like Samsung’s The Frame. — A.S.
- Affordable
- Supports all major streaming services
- No 4K content material assist
- Cannot management TV’s energy and quantity
- UI closely favors Amazon Prime Video content material
Roku
Working system: Roku OS | Distant: Sure | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Show: No | Voice management: No
The Roku Specific has the identical consumer interface because the Streaming Stick+, nevertheless it’s housed in a compact set-top field as an alternative. It doesn’t assist 4K or HDR and the distant management lacks a voice command button. But when all you need is a succesful HD streaming machine, the Specific matches the invoice. When you insist on having 4K, nevertheless, think about the Roku Specific 4K+, which retails for $40. It’s similar to the Specific, besides it carries assist for 4K, HDR and AirPlay, and it comes with a voice distant as nicely. That might nicely make it price the additional cash. —N.L.
- Affordable
- Lots of free and live content
- No 4K streaming assist
- No voice distant
Will Lipman Pictures for Engadget
Working system: Roku OS | Distant: Sure | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet | Show: No | Voice management: Sure
The Roku Extremely has the identical options of the Streaming Stick after which some. There’s a big selection of content material, a easy consumer interface and assist for 4K HDR streaming, AirPlay2 and voice instructions. On high of that, the Extremely provides Dolby Imaginative and prescient assist together with HDR 10+, USB connections, a microSD slot for exterior media, and Ethernet connectivity.
The Extremely comes with Roku’s Voice Distant Professional with headphone jack for personal listening and a few programmable shortcut keys which you can map to particular instructions, like “Launch YouTube” or “Play classical music.” Better of all, the Extremely incorporates a distant finder in case you lose it in between your sofa cushions. The Extremely is unquestionably probably the most succesful Roku machine in the marketplace, however you’ll should pay fairly a bit extra for it. —N.L.
- Voice remote with headphone jack
- Built-in Ethernet port
- Supports 4K, HDR and Dolby Vision content
- Pricier than different Roku gamers
Photograph by Devindra Hardawar / Engadget
Working system: tvOS | Distant: Sure | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet (non-compulsory) | Show: No | Voice management: Sure
When my colleague Devindra Hardawar reviewed the newest gen of the Apple TV 4K upon its debut in 2022, he known as it “the best streaming box by a long shot.” In terms of picture quality, speed, longevity and Apple-engineered extras, that remains accurate. The set-top box supports 4K Dolby Vision and HDR10+, which makes compatible content look, to borrow Devindra’s term, glorious.
The A15 Bionic chip inside enables near-instantaneous loading of and switching between apps. Zooming from the beginning of an episode to the end or anywhere in between is not only quick, but also quite easy to do once you get the hang of the touch-sensitive directional pad on the Siri remote. Apple improved the box hardware over the previous generation, too, with a smaller, fan-less design.
You don’t have to be an Apple devotee to appreciate the streaming box, but having an iPhone makes setup easier, letting you hold your phone near the device to transfer credentials. If you use the Fitness+ app with an Apple Watch, not only can you watch workouts on a big screen, you’ll see live heart rate stats splashed in the corner as well. The app library is extensive, covering all of the most popular streaming services, plus countless Apple Arcade and other games. The remote’s Siri button lets you easily search for stuff to watch with voice commands, and typically gets you to the right app immediately. I found it nearly as good as other devices in suggesting content for more general queries like “sci-fi space movies.”
If you were waiting for the “but,” here it is: the Apple TV 4K is expensive. The base model is $129, which comes with 32GB of storage. The 128GB model goes for $149 and adds an Ethernet port and acts as a Thread-enabled home hub, a requirement for certain smart home devices. Also, if you’re looking for lots of free channels and live programming with an all-in-one home page to unify your disparate streaming subscriptions, this isn’t quite it.
The Apple TV app incorporates recently watched series into the Up Next section and your most-used apps appear in the Channels and Apps row. But the homepage is mostly a showcase for Apple TV+ series and movies. And don’t expect to see much in the way of Netflix content in the app either. Possibly due to a continuing grudge match between the two companies, Siri even has trouble finding Netflix shows at all — searching for Lupin only came back with results from the anime franchise and when I asked for All the Light We Cannot See, the AI turned off my smart lights. Finally, this premium streaming device doesn’t come with the HDMI cable required to hook it up to your TV. That’s a minor detail in the grand scheme of things, but it did cause me to fling grownup words in Cupertino’s general direction. — A.S.
- Extremely fast operation
- Apple Fitness+ and Arcade on a big screen
- Support for 4K, HDR and Dolby Vision content
- Costly
- Apple TV app closely favors Apple TV+ content material
- Sub-par Netflix searches
NVIDIA
Working system: Android TV | Distant: Sure | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, microSD card slot | Show: No | Voice management: Sure
For many who need an all-in-one machine that permits you to stream films, run a PLEX media server and play video games, think about NVIDIA’s Defend TV Professional. It at the moment runs Android TV, which is a bit of outdated at this level, however there’s a risk that it might be upgraded to Google TV sooner or later.
Due to its succesful Tegra X1+ processor, the NVIDIA Defend TV Professional can stream in native 4K and it could possibly additionally upscale 720p and 1080p video to 4K with the corporate’s AI neural community. It additionally helps Dolby Imaginative and prescient and HDR10, has 3GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and two USB-C ports. Moreover, there’s a gigabit Ethernet port, an HDMI socket and a microSD card slot. Because it runs on Android, you should use it to play most video games from the Google Play Retailer.
The primary motive you’d select the NVIDIA Defend TV Professional over different machines is that it offers you entry to NVIDIA’s GeForce Now cloud gaming service. So long as you’ve a comparatively speedy web connection, you’ll be able to play top-tier PC video games which can be streamed on-line to your Defend TV Professional. —N.L.
- Helps 4K, HDR10 and Dolby Imaginative and prescient content material
- Offers entry to NVIDIA’s GeForce Now cloud gaming service
- Constructed-in Google Assistant assist
Microsoft
Working system: Xbox OS | Distant: Sure | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet | Show: No | Voice management: Sure
Though each Sony’s PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Collection X can stream video, it’s the Xbox that we expect is the perfect gaming console for the job. It will possibly play 4K Blu-Rays and helps all the regular streaming video apps together with Apple TV+ and Disney+. Nonetheless, the PS5 can’t stream Disney+ in 4K or Dolby Atmos, which is disappointing if you happen to ever need to watch The Mandalorian in all its cinematic glory.
Happily, that’s not the case with the Xbox Collection X. On high of that, the Xbox Collection X (and S) additionally assist Dolby Imaginative and prescient for streaming video, which is particularly nice for folks with newer TVs. In fact, the Xbox can also be a fairly nice gaming machine, and it gives entry to Recreation Go, Microsoft’s subscription service that has a big library of titles. —N.L.
- Offers entry to all main streaming companies
- Performs 4K Blu-Rays
Amazon
Our funds decide from Amazon doesn’t assist you to management your TV with the distant, nor does it assist 4K picture high quality or Dolby Atmos. Amazon’s higher-end not solely handles Dolby Imaginative and prescient, Dolby Atmos, 4K and HDR10+, nevertheless it additionally helps Wi-Fi 6E. The processor is fairly zippy and it even helps a reasonably nice Ambient Expertise, displaying artwork (and widgets) when the display is idle, like on . It additionally lets Xbox Recreation Go Final subscribers by way of the app with out an Xbox Collection X or S console. And Engadget’s Jeff Dunn has gotten numerous use from the stick as a . That’s an honest quantity of utility from a $60 machine (that’s typically on sale for round $45).
That stated, Amazon’s Fireplace TV interface is much less elegant (and fewer democratic) than different UIs, extremely prioritizing Prime Video content material. It’s additionally notably ad-stuffed — selling not simply Amazon’s content material, however merchandise as nicely. — A.S.
- Affordable 4K streaming
- Additional gaming access
- Advert-stuffed interface
- Prioritizes Prime Video content material
