Best streaming devices 2024 — including Sky, Amazon, Apple and more
As a seasoned gamer and tech enthusiast with years of experience navigating through clunky smart TV interfaces, I can wholeheartedly say that streaming devices have revolutionized my living room experience. They’ve transformed the once cumbersome task of finding something to watch into a breeze, thanks to their sleek designs and user-friendly interfaces.
In 2024, while many individuals regularly pay for top-notch streaming apps and modern TVs often come equipped with smart interfaces to access them, these smart TVs are not always intuitive and can be somewhat cumbersome to maneuver around.
Streaming devices crack that problem, giving you one simple system fully loaded with all the top TV and movie apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Now. More often than not, they come with some handy extras too, like voice search, personalised recommendations, and some even have smart home control.
With these smart devices at hand, locating something engaging to stream on your home television will be effortless. Whether it’s immersing yourself in a series such as “Presumed Innocent” from Apple TV+ or catching up on a movie like “The Avengers” through Disney+ during the weekend, you simply need to connect them to the back of your TV.
How Digital Spy tests streaming devices
As an enthusiast, I personally test out various media streaming devices by linking them to my television and activating my preferred streaming platforms. I assess their usability, focusing on how straightforward the interface is to navigate and whether search functions efficiently help me find desired content. Design, convenience, and speed are crucial factors I consider as well. My top picks for the best media streamers, which are based on both my hands-on experience and thorough research recommendations, can be found below.
Do I need a streaming device for a smart TV?
If you’re satisfied with just using Netflix, iPlayer, and YouTube, and they’re already available on your smart TV, then there’s no necessity to invest in an additional device. However, some smart TVs may have a complicated user interface, confusing remote controls, or limited access to newer services like Apple TV+ or Britbox. In such cases, a standalone streaming device could address these problems. Moreover, these devices often allow voice search and control over playback, making navigation around your TV more convenient.
How to pick the best streaming device
When it comes to streaming devices, there’s no shortage of options. Before making your purchase, here are some important factors to take into account:
Form factor
This will come down to personal preference and what fits behind your television or in front of it. Streaming sticks look a bit like bigger flash drives with a built-in HDMI connector to plug directly into the port on your TV. Streaming boxes, on the other hand, connect to your TV with an HDMI cable and will need their own space in your TV setup (although some, like the Roku Express models, are box-shaped but tiny enough to hold in the palm of your hand). Both types need to be plugged into mains power and all but one in our roundup (the original Chromecast) come with their own remote control.
Apps and services
Currently, a multitude of devices provide an array of popular applications such as Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, NOW, Amazon Prime, and access to major TV on-demand services like BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, and All 4. Notably, NOW has not always been compatible with the Amazon Fire TV platform, and the Now TV Smart Stick does not allow for additional apps to be added. To ensure you have all necessary applications, it’s advisable to confirm their availability before making a decision.
Streaming quality
When choosing the ideal streaming device for yourself, you’ll encounter terms like HD, 4K, and HDR. These terms refer to the level of image quality they can display on your TV. If you own a high-end Ultra HD (UHD) 4K TV or are planning to get one soon, it would be beneficial to opt for a streaming device that offers 4K streaming and provides detailed visuals in both extremely bright and dark scenes, known as High Dynamic Range (HDR). If your television is older and only supports HD, you can save some money by selecting an affordable streamer that doesn’t support UHD. In our list, we’ve specified the maximum resolution each device can handle.
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2024-08-13 18:19