tis the season for electronic reporting of consumption. It is tempting to focus on phones that have CPUs faster than the desktop computer you bought two years ago, these ads reach your living room as well.
companies are competing to be your media of choice for streaming or gaming solution. All these companies are trying to outdo each other - which is a victory for consumers because it means that you have options.
what media device is right for you? That depends on what features are important to you. Let's get into this depression now.
resolution
resolution seems to be a logical place to start, take you your multimedia device and hanging on to your TV. You want to know what the image looks like.
of all competitors currently on the market, the fire TV Amazon has the advantage in this area. It supports 4K (3840 x 20) video. The 4K video, you can see called Ultra HD, is a variant of what you might see at the theatre on a slightly larger screen.
the importance of this can actually be a minimum for awhile. The factor limiting with 4K, it is to really fast to the Internet broadcast. Consumers are beginning to have incredible Internet speeds available for them (fiber rocket, anyone?) However, it takes time for these things to be deployed throughout the country. For this reason, services such as Netflix and YouTube are starting just their push to 4 K.
new version 4 of Roku has support for 4K video. If you want long-lasting and 4K is important to you, this is a good option.
the good news for scalability is that 4K home is relatively new and support all these devices high definition 1080 p.
Support Services
of the second great thing to worry about is supported for your favorite services. If you have content stuff and especially Apple to stream iTunes, you'll have to get an Apple TV.
software Amazon normally is cross-platform compatible. However, they had problems doing an app for Apple TV and Google Chromecast. That's led to some serious quarrels. (Who needs reality when we have Tech News?)
If you are looking for a player continuously, make sure that your choice, such as Netflix, services are supported.
games
one of the features Apple has been touting recently exceeds the capacity of existing sets of port of the Apple TV. The touchpad on the new Apple TV remote should open more for games. The new version will also support external Bluetooth game controllers.
Apple is just the latest to bring its games platform. All other platforms have had game support for some time now. Amazon offers a special version of its fire TV with a game controller.
the Roku has a motion control remote that has the games feature in. For its part, the Chromecast has some games that you can control through your phone or Tablet while they are displayed on the television screen.
If you're a big gamer, take a look at the PlayStation 4 or PlayStation TV, an Xbox or Wii U. They are specially built for the games, but have a lot of streaming services. It should be noted that these tend to be more expensive than independent streaming media boxes.
his
If your surround sound system is always based on audio optical output, you'll want to examine closely the 4 Roku, which is the only one of these boxes of media which has always an optical audio input jack.
do not forget that each of the other options is based on HDMI exclusively for video and audio inputs.
each of the options box media comes with a remote control remote. If you get an older model Roku, it may or may not come with voice functionality, but this is the norm on TV of the late Amazon and Apple TV.
Apple also has a remote voice on his new Apple TV which integrates Siri. Amazon voice Assistant, Alexa, is available on the fire TV and soon the fire TV Stick.
new Apple TV remote has a nifty feature where you can connect a cable of lightning, just like your iPhone or iPad, to recharge. Apple says months of autonomy.
Chromecast is the only one to drop the remote control completely, opting to allow users to send documents directly from their mobile devices for television. As a user of Chromecast me, it's pretty intuitive and I have not had problems. This could also be an advantage if you're the kind of person who tends to misplace the remote control.
streaming sticks
so far we mainly talked media boxes, but if you're not in the games and do not have a 4 K TV, you should not all this power. They aren't as most laptops.
I would like to present sister cheaper and most elegant of the set - top box product - the stick continuously.
all these work pretty much in the same way. You plug one side HDMI port and the other side in USB on your TV or through a wall adapter power. From there on, hang it in your Wi - Fi, and you're off the coast and running.
the options in this category include Chromecast from Google, the stick of Roku Streaming and the fire Amazon TV Stick.
Let's do a quick comparison.
include them from Amazon and Roku both remote controls. Amazon has even a remote voice bundle, although it will cost you $10. As mentioned above, Chromecast is controlled through your mobile device itself.
the Chromecast and fire TV Stick have also included games.
Note that the Roku and fire TV Stick lose their ability to deliver 4K in the transition towards the smallest form of stick.
However, whatever these streaming sticks lose in ability, they earn at an affordable price.
price
you want to be able to connect to all your streaming services, but you won't have to pay an arm and a leg. After all, he must still subscribe to services such as Netflix, Amazon instant video bonus or Hulu streaming. With this in mind, let's take a look at the variable cost, starting with areas of media.
new Apple TV will sell for $149. Apple is now the old model on sale (for now) at $69.
the Roku starts at $50, but if you want the new version with all the bells and whistles and 4K, it's $130. The streaming of stick version is $ 50.
the top-of-the-line Amazon Fire TV with game controller is $ 140. It is $ 100 for television fire with the distant voice. The TV Stick fire begins to $40, although the voice in remote option will cost you $10 more.
Finally, the Chromecast check $35. Be sure not to be confused with the separate Chromecast Audio product that provides a wireless connection to speakers.
this is a lot of information, but I hope it makes your decision to purchase easier. Have what streaming devices you used in the past? What did you like or that you hate? Share your ideas with other readers in the comments.