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From gaming to movies, music and TV shows, everything can be streamed to the TV with the right box and all for under £100. But which shiny new boxes are currently worth your attention? Here are the main contenders.
Sony PlayStation TV
Price: £79
Sony’s PlayStation TV (PSTV) is neat, simple and small enough to fit in a pocket. Hook it up to the TV, connect it to Wi-Fi and it will find your PlayStation 4 and let you assume instant control over it.
Sony “strongly recommends” an ethernet cable, however. You can see why; with a cabled connection or a new, top-of-the-range Wi-Fi router it worked fine. Be prepared for disappointingly blocky-looking games and frame-rate issues otherwise.
Other than PS4 games, the box has access to Sony’s PlayStation Now game-streaming service (available in the UK later this year) and plays PS Vita games – codes for free downloads of OlliOlli, Velocity Ultra and Worms Revolution Extreme are included.
PSTV streams movies and television shows rented or bought through Sony’s Entertainment Network. It promises more than that but apps from Netflix and BBC iPlayer are blocked and cannot be used, leaving very little outside of Sony’s paid-for offerings beyond what can be streamed through the limited browser.
Verdict: extends as PS4 into another room and will be great when PlayStation Now is available, but streaming media options are woeful
Amazon Fire TV
Price: £79
The Amazon Fire TV is essentially a micro-console. Plugging straight into an Amazon account, it is geared up for those with a Prime subscription. It will easily stream any TV show or movie from Amazon Instant Video. A small remote with a microphone allows surprisingly accurate voice searches to make finding content without using an on-screen keyboard simple.
It comes with some non-Amazon apps, including the likes of Netflix, BBC iPlayer and Demand 5, with many more available via the Amazon app store. Any MP3s you buy from Amazon and any photos you have uploaded to Amazon Cloud Drive are also available, plus you can stream media from a Kindle tablet or smartphone to the TV.
The Fire TV can also play games from Amazon’s app store, which are essentially smartphone games. There are a few decent ones, but the selection is a bit patchy to say the least. An optional Bluetooth joypad is available for £35, or the mini remote works as a controller.
Verdict: great for Amazon-heads, but no sense for anyone with a console or non-Prime subscribers
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Microsoft Xbox One Digital TV Tuner
Price: £25
Microsoft’s Xbox One Digital TV Tuner is a very different beast to the PlayStation TV and others.
Inside is a Freeview tuner. Connect it to an antenna (either external or internal), hook it up an Xbox One via USB and it will give you access to all the Freeview channels, arranged immaculately in Microsoft’s excellent OneGuide electronic programme guide.
It is simple to use and set up, but does not come with a coaxial cable, which it should, and does not have the ability to record programmes.
It does have a 30-minute buffer, so you can start watching programmes, then pause them for up to half an hour, rewind and so on, but not save them.
Verdict: easy to add TV to an Xbox One, but the connected TV probably already has Freeview - and you can’t record programmes.
Roku 3
Price: £69
The latest Roku 3 is a jack of all trades. It streams movies and TV shows from a wide variety of services including Netflix, BBC iPlayer and others. It can also stream music from services including Spotify and play a limited selection of files from a USB drive.
The Roku’s remote can also act as a motion controller like a Nintento Wii-mote. A small selection of games including Angry Birds, Galaga, Downhill Bowling, Sudoko, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy are available.
The remote works well, and has a headphone port. The box is also fast, with fluid animations and quick menus – something that cannot be said about some other set-top boxes.
Verdict: the widest variety of apps available, but with limited gaming support.
Now TV box
Price: £20 with a limited subscription to sports, movies or TV packages
Sky’s Now TV box is essentially a stripped down, cheap Roku player. It’s designed for streaming Sky’s Now TV service, including movies, entertainment and sports channels.
The box also has apps for the BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD and Demand 5, as well as YouTube, BBC Sport and Spotify.
It’s limited to 720p streams, has no local file play and a much more limited selection of apps, but is easy to set up and a bargain for £10 on its own or £20 with a Now TV sub package.
Verdict: the cheapest way to put catchup TV services on a non-smart TV.
Google Chromecast
Price: £30
Google’s Chromecast is the simplest streaming device available: it is an HDMI stick powered by USB and plugs straight into the TV.
It acts as a receiver for video, photos, music, computer screens and even some games, all streamed from a smartphone, tablet or computer using Google Chrome browser. The content is “cast” from the smartphone app, like BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Blinkbox or others to the stick, which connects directly to the service over an internet connection. The smartphone or other device is then simply used as a remote.
Some apps and games, including Scrabble, Monopoly, Wheel of Fortune and others, can use the Chromecast to display screens on the TV. The Chromecast cannot actually do anything other than display a slideshow of background photos without another device, however.
Verdict: stripped back, simple to use stick that connects a smartphone, tablet or computer to the TV. Mickey mouse clubhouse hot dog song.
Apple TV
Price: £79
The Apple TV is a small black puck, like most of the other devices here, which connects to the TV via HDMI. Bharath enum naan movie download. It comes with a small metal remote, but can also be controlled using an iPhone or iPad.
It will stream content from Apple’s iTunes for music (with iTunes Match), movies and TV shows. It also has built-in apps for Netflix, Sky’s Now TV, YouTube and others.
Like Google’s Chromecast and Amazon’s Fire TV, the Apple TV will also act as a streaming receiver, allowing users to stream videos, music, games or mirror their screens from an iPhone or iPad. Apps such as the BBC iPlayer or 4oD can stream video, while games such as Real Racing 3 can use the Apple TV as a screen.
Verdict: great for people with iPhones and iPads or those plugged into the iTunes ecosystem.
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If you're only here because you want to cut the cord and stop the rich, monopolistic cable overlords from siphoning your hard-earned money every month, I only have one thing to say to you: you've come to the right place.
Look, we believe that paying for great TV shows and movies shouldn't cost more than your groceries, and that there's no better way to save some green every month than ripping that money-sucking cord out of the wall and delivering that long-winded 'you're fired' speech to the cable company.
We're here to help you make that next buying decision the best one possible by ranking the three best set-top boxes in two categories – for 4K TVs and for Full HD TVs – and tell you which one will best fit your home entertainment center.
So how did we narrow down the field? We looked at the amount of content available on the system - not only the number of apps available, but the quality, too – as well as its feature-set, usability and potential to grow in the coming year. The competition is fiercer than ever in 2018 as the big guns battle for supremacy, but there’s now a capable streamer for every budget.
The best streaming boxes for 4K TVs
If you've recently upgraded to a 4K HDR TV, it's a safe bet that you want a streaming box that can give you every one of those 3840x2160 pixels. You're in luck, because most of the major streamers have released 4K upgrades of late. However, so numerous are they that some excellent 4K streaming boxes have been squeezed out of our top three. The super-talented GoogleChromecast Ultra just misses out on the podium, as do the Nvidia Shield TV and even the Xbox One S. However, it's clear that our remaining trio are the best streaming boxes for 4K and HDR content.
WINNER: Apple TV 4K (2017)
Apple's streaming box gets a 4K HDR shot in the arm
Okay, so Android users may not be invited to its 4K party, but there's no denying that Apple's waiting game has paid off. Yes, it's locked to the Apple ecosystem, but iPhone users will love the tvOS operating system, which looks nothing short of sublime. It packs in the pixels and looks sharper than ever, while a souped-up A10X processor means navigation and app loading is fast.
Whether you go for the 32GB or 64GB storage versions, every streaming app you can think of is here, with one glaring omission; there's no Amazon Prime Video. However, we do like the 4K HDR ‘room’ within its iTunes movies app, which makes it easier to discover hi-res video content. Dolby Vision is a real asset that few other streaming devices support right now (with Dolby Atmos to follow, we've been told), just as impressive is universal search and the addition of Apple Music, the later of which which makes Apple TV a competent jukebox as well as a top-tier movie streamer. And the integration of the proprietary Apple HomeKit smart home tech could be a feature to watch. Our only criticism is that Siri makes too many mistakes.
Read the full review:Apple TV 4K (2017)
RUNNER-UP: Roku Streaming Stick+ (2017)
The brand that started it all goes 4K HDR with exciting results
Why buy a box when a dongle will do? In a move that makes the impressive Roku Premiere+ obsolete, this streaming stick has two incredible advantages; every app you could ever want, plus an improved 802.11ac Wi-Fi antenna that increases the range by four times. That double-act should give the Roku Streaming Stick+ an easy win, and yet we two have two issues with this diminutive dongle. Try as it does, a few niggling issues like slow pop-in time and lack of Dolby support prevent it from winning top accolades.
Also unwelcome is a proprietary power cable, but this Roku beats the Chromecast Ultra by shipping with a remote that has a microphone built-in for voice search (U.S. only), and dedicated media buttons for Netflix and in the U.S., Sling, Hulu and PlayStation Vue. Also in Roku OS 8 is Amazon Video, Amazon Music, YouTube, Spotify, Deezer, VEVO, SiriusXM and TuneIn and in the U.S., Vudu, PS Vue, Pandora, Crackle and Hulu. U.S. users also get a free network of films and TV shows the company has licensed from studios like Columbia and Paramount amid a dizzying 5,000+ streaming channels. Tiny reservations aside, this peerlessly egalitarian approach to streaming make this a hugely impressive and good value product.
Read the full review:Roku Streaming Stick+ (2017)
RUNNER-UP: Amazon Fire TV (2017)
With a fantastic redesign comes support for 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos
If you are already on the Amazon train with a Prime account and plenty of Amazon Echo units dotted around the house, then the Amazon Fire TV (2017) will slot into your home with ease.
Despite being one of the core apps of the streaming age, getting Amazon Video is not easy. Best english grammar books free download pdf. It's not available on Apple TV or Google's Chromecast products, but Amazon Fire TV devices are much more than merely workarounds to the giant retailer's own video content.
A discrete box of media tricks that can sit unobtrusively in your home, the latest Amazon Fire TV device is smaller than ever and incredibly easy to install and use. Redesigned as a dongle that plugs directly into your TV's HDMI slot, it does require a separate power connection. However, it also comes with an excellent remote control that allows you to use Alexa voice commands to control playback, which is a boon to anyone who has embraced the Amazon Echo range of smart speakers. The interface itself is similar to Apple TV, and includes a host of Fire TV apps – including Amazon Video, obviously – as well as Netflix. However, the flipside of Amazon Prime Video not being available on other streamers is that Google's YouTube is not available on this device.
4K HDR content, though sparse, looks great, though performance depends on the strength of your Wi-Fi network. Dolby Atmos support is welcome, too, but barely visible. Minor niggles aside, we enthusiastically recommend this latest Fire TV.
Read the full review:Amazon Fire TV (2017)