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Making the most of your TV viewing no longer means watching what’s on now. Streaming media players give you lots of options beyond traditional TV channels.
You can connect to services such as Netflix and Hulu, use apps, play games, see photos, listen to music and even use your TV as a second computer screen.
But with all of the choices you may be confused about which one to get. Each of the three streaming media players has a new upgraded version. Each of these has its advantages and disadvantages. The key is to find the one that works best for you.
Features to Look for in a Streaming Media Player
Price/Budget
As with buying any tech, you need to balance your desires with your budget. The good news is that media players are available for a wide range of prices so you can decide whether to splurge on the best one for you or compromise and perhaps get multiple players for multiple TVs.
Future
You may have this player for a while so plan for the future as well as for today. While you may not feel you need 4K now, you may want it in the future if 4K becomes the standard, much as HD is now. If the player you like best doesn’t have a lot of apps yet, you may want to wait to see which apps become available.
Remote
These players come with remote controls. Your relationship with your remote may become important to you if you’re dependent upon it to use the player.
Consider how easy the remote is to use, especially in the dark, and whether it offers voice control. What happens if you lose the remote? Some players come with remote apps so you can operate them from your phone or tablet.
Apps
Do you want your streaming media player to do more than stream media? Consider getting one that has apps so you can do things like shop, play games, plan travel and more.
Games
If you like to play games, be sure to get a player that offers game apps. Check which games are available and read the reviews for those apps.
What to Watch
Think about what you like to watch. If you’re a Netflix fan then you can get any player. If you like to watch Amazon Prime Videos or iTunes movies, your choices are more limited.
The Players
Apple TV
Apple TV has been available for a little over a month with new features such as voice control, Siri voice assistant, and search across apps. Ask Siri to search for a movie or TV show and you’ll see where it’s available on your apps.
=> See my full review, Apple TV 2015 Review – Siri, Apps + More!
The App Store has Apple TV apps for videos, gaming, travel, shopping and more. You can connect to apps such as Netflix, Hulu, HBOGo, Showtime Anytime and more for plenty to watch. You can also play games using your Apple TV with the included remote or pair a 3rd party controller.
The app selection is a bit limited now but you can expect more apps to arrive in the App Store in the future. Amazon Prime Video isn’t available on Apple TV, at least not yet.
You can wirelessly connect your Mac computer, iPhone and iPad to use the Apple TV to stream what’s on your screen onto the TV.
The remote control for the Apple TV has a glass touch screen that you swipe and click, plus a few buttons to help you navigate. The remote isn’t backlit, which can make using it in the dark a bit tricky.
Apple TV doesn’t currently connect to Apple’s Remote app for your iPhone and iPad. You can connect a 3rd party remote control though so you’re not totally out of luck if you lose the remote.
Apple TV does not display video in 4K resolution.
Price: Apple TV is available for $149 for 32 GB and $199 for 64 GB of storage. Storage is not expandable.
Pros
- Voice Control
- Siri Voice Assistant
- Apps
- Games
- Search across apps
- iTunes
- Apple Music
- Can connect 3rd party game controllers and remotes
Cons
- No app for remote control
- Not many apps yet
- No 4K
Unique Feature
What Did They Say? – rewinds 15 seconds and turns on closed-captioning when you missed hearing what was said on screen.
Best For
Apple TV is best for those who have other Apple devices such as Mac computers, iPhones and iPads.
Fire TV
Amazon’s streaming media player the Fire TV was upgraded in September and now offers voice search, apps and more. This Fire TV comes with Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant first introduced on the Echo.
=> Check out my full review of the Fire TV: Amazon Fire TV 2015 Review – What’s New?
You can use the Fire TV app on your phone and tablet as a remote, including the voice feature.
Amazon says Fire TV has over 3000 apps available to download, but those include some apps built for Android phones that don’t work ideally on the Fire TV.
The Fire TV comes with the ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction) feature. ASAP learns what Amazon movies and shows you like and pre-loads them onto your Fire TV so they’re ready for you to watch without waiting.
Price: Fire TV is available for $99.99 with 8 GB. A gaming edition is available with a gaming controller and a 32 GB micro SD card for $139.99.
Pros
- Alexa Voice Assistant
- Amazon Prime Video
- Expandable storage with Micro SD card
- Apps
- Games
- 4K video display
- Amazon Music
- Can connect Bluetooth keyboard and mouse
- Remote app, including voice search
Cons
- Some apps not made for Fire TV
Unique Feature
ASAP — Advanced Streaming and Prediction, that preloads videos for you to watch.
Best For
Fire TV is best for those who are Amazon Prime members.
Roku 4
The Roku 4 is the latest version of the streaming media player that introduces upgraded hardware and 4K video. The Roku 4 has over 2500 channels, including Amazon Prime Video.
This version has a handy feature called Remote Finder, a button on the player that plays a sound on the remote. No more lost remotes!
The remote is also handy because it has a headphone jack. Plug headphones into the remote and listen to the TV without bothering others in the room.
Roku does have an app for your phone or tablet that you can use as a remote. You can use voice search on the remote or Roku app to find your shows.
If you want to use apps on your streaming media player, then the Roku 4 isn’t your best choice. Roku 4 is mostly about streaming media. Roku has a few apps, including games, but not many.
Price: Roku 4 is $129.99.
Pros
- 4K video display
- Voice search
- Amazon Prime Videos
- 2500+ channels
Cons
- No voice assistant
- Not many apps
Unique Features
- Remote finder button
- Headphone jack on remote
Best For
Roku 4 is best for those who want to watch shows, not use apps on their TV.
Have you been thinking of getting a streaming media player for yourself or as a gift? Which features are most appealing to you? Which streaming media player is the best fit for you?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
* Gold image courtesy of Snapwire via Creative Commons
Hi Carolyn,
Informative post indeed 🙂
I wish I could choose one from the streaming media players you mentioned here, as they all look so awesome! However, in our country, things would take a while to reach as people are pretty content with the normal televisions they have and the networks ones connected to.
But if I had to choose, I think Roku 4 would be nice, as I wouldn’t like to use apps on my TV, or perhaps haven’t tried doing so as yet. I hardly get the time to watch television though!
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
Hi Harleena, Yes, watching TV using a streaming media player does feel like the future. You can “binge-watch” shows from the beginning of the series through the end, without having to wait. Now, waiting a week for the next episode or months for the next season seems like an eternity!
I hope these devices do come to your country, Harleena. You may discover some new and interesting shows to watch!
We are in the process of converting our TVs to be Roku based while keeping our Directv for just local channels (yes we still like watching local news). There is a learning curve with streaming media in that you actually have to be mindful of what you want to watch instead of just vegging out and let the networks tell you what to watch….I find that I am starting to investigate the shows that I want to see and then….um…I binge. Today we are actually downgrading our Directv account to the very basic package so, we’ll see how this goes!
Hi Claudia, Yes, watching TV is a different experience with a Roku. You can sign up for the channels you want (some require a paid subscription such as HBO Now) and watch what you want when you want to.
With all of the channels Roku offers you won’t be running out of shows to watch any time soon! I hope you enjoy your new set up for your TVs, Claudia!
Really enjoyed this article. There aren’t that many that compare these three models, and these usually end up being the ones you’re choosing between.
I’d add a few factors to the choices above.
1- How many types of TVs do you have, and what type of viewing is done on them?
6 people live at my house and we watch TV on 8 mobile connected devices. The main two are a modern Smart HD TV by LG and a not-smart HD TV. The not smart HD TV is viewed mostly by the kids but we like to control what they watch, which the old Roku we have helps with. Since the old TV doesn’t do HDMI, my old Roku 2 which uses the AV cables as an option works out well.
2- What types of TVs do you have? I mentioned one of the TVs is a Smart TV. With cable. since the apps were all working properly, we wouldn’t need the Roku 3 we have now. But the Netflix app is sometimesy. And the HBO app is better than the on-demand version that comes with cable. We’re getting another TV, if it’s Smart, the only app we’d be missing is Amazon, which as you say is great for Prime users.
3- Do you have an extensive video library in iTunes, Apple user or not? If you do, your entire prior library would be available to stream, as you can currently stream or download to your computer. If you’ve had iTunes for years and bought movies on that you’d have to pay for elsewhere, that’s a selling point. A roomie and I had bought all seasons of 15 of our favorite shows. Some still aren’t on Netflix or Amazon for free. It’s a nice feature, but not a deal-maker.
However, if you have 2 other sets that use the Roku or TVs that have Smart App enables, you could be getting full coverage with this combo.
4- Do you need to stream or mirror? Some devices do it, others don’t. But if you have gigs of movies downloaded somewhere, it might be useful to choose a tool that will let you access other devices.
Jeez this is long enough to be a blog post! lol Anyway, thanks again for your article.
Hi Tinu, Wow, what an in-depth comment! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.
Yes, if you have a smart TV you may not need a streaming media player yet. On the other hand, you still might need one, even with a smart TV.
As you point out, not all smart TVs have all channels. The YouTube channel was recently updated in a different format which left some smart TVs unable to show YouTube videos.
You’re right, if you have more than one TV you might want to get different devices for different TVs to make sure you have all the bases covered. Some content is only available on one channel, such as The Man in the High Castle on Amazon.
Good point about older TVs. I have an older TV in my kitchen that doesn’t have an HDMI port so I can’t hook up any of these players.
Streaming or mirroring can be very handy when you need a second monitor or want to quickly share photos or videos on your phone with a group.
Thanks so much for your wonderful comment, Tinu!
Hello again Carolyn,
I didn’t mean to imply that with a smart TV you wont want a streaming player. I just think if you have one, it can influence which one you get.
For example, if our Amazon app wasn’t working properly on the smart TV, I’d want a third Roku instead of the Apple TV. Thanks again for this great article and your reply.
Hi,
Well I’m a die hard fan of apple TV but haven’t tried Fire TV or Roku and it seems compelling when I tried your comparison here.
Thanks
Hi Barry, That’s great you’re a fan of Apple TV. If you’re thinking of getting another streaming media player, you might want to consider a different kind to increase the options of channels to watch. Or, if you don’t want to give up any of the features that the Apple TV offers, you could get another one of those.
Thanks for adding to the conversation here, Barry.
I also tried RASPBMC a DIY project for Raspberry Pi Fans. It is definitely awesome but kinda slow.
Thanks
Hi Barry, Yes, that’s a good option for those who want to tinker. But slow can be annoying when you are watching streaming shows.
I’m using many Apple products like iPhone, iPad as well as iMac. So I will choose Apple TV if I have plan to get one. Just because it could work to each other, to share contents and many other things.
Hi Alize, Yes, as an Apple fan you would get a lot of use out of an Apple TV. Plus, any shows you get on iTunes you could watch on all of your devices.