Digital entertainment in the home has quickly evolved over the last decade, and cable is gradually phasing out. Streaming devices have gained popularity due to their combination of comparatively cheap pricing and the incredible value they offer. This article will discuss other popular forms of digital entertainment and what they can offer.
Amazon Fire TV
This platform is owned by Amazon and is an altered version of Android designed to provide Amazon’s content. The Fire TV devices have Prime Music, Prime media, and Prime Video heavily featured on the menu. Other streaming services available on Fire TV include YouTube, Sling TV, Hulu, and Netflix via built-in apps.
With Fire TV, you have an able virtual assistant in Alexa that is programmed into the device. It enables you to use voice commands to navigate the media on your device once you activate the voice recognition. The new version of the Fire TV is the Fire TV Stick 4K. It is priced at just $50, which makes it affordable, and it supports 4K media with both HDR10 and Dolby Vision capabilities. With Fire TV Recast and Fire TV-powered OTA tuner with a DVR, you can watch local programs and DVR recordings of shows. Sites like troypoint.com allow you to make the most out of your Amazon Fire TV.
Google TV / Android TV
Android TV was developed by Google and was a precursor to Amazon Fire TV, a heavily modified version. It has been upgraded to Google TV and still offers all the apps and services aired on Android TV. So you still have the streaming basics such as Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video and apps such as YouTube. The new additions include Google Cast, which enables local streaming, and Google Assistant to work with voice control.
Apple TV
Though it looks like the Apple TV will gradually phase out, it makes this list because it is still trendy. With the Apple TV app and its streaming services readily available on all Apple devices and other smart devices, it is believed that Apple wants its content to be more accessible to people who do not use Apple devices. This step might be a purely marketing decision to keep people using Apple TV as this device is much more advanced than its competitors. Taking the device out of the equation levels the playing ground somewhat.
Roku TV
This streaming device is popular because of the numerous choices of channels that it offers. The Roku Channel Store has all the leading streaming names such as Hulu, Netflix, Sling TV, Twitch, and Amazon prime Video. It has other user-friendly apps that offer extra value services such as sports, weather, movies, and news. Roku has the Streaming stick+ that supports 4K video and HDR10, and the Ultra that supports the same version is more expensive because it supports a wired connection and comes with a headphone jack for the remote.
All the streaming devices in this article are great choices to stream digital content at home. Perhaps your choice will have to be based on resolution, and all these devices have versions that offer 4K video and support HDR10. Pricing is what may determine which version you settle on.