Want more from your television without having to buy a new one? You need a streaming box. Here are five of the best on the market.
Now TV
Cost: £15
One of the cheapest and best media streamers around. It is a rebranded Roku 2, which costs £70, with Wi-Fi and ethernet connectivity.
The black box, which is 18cm sq, sits on top of almost anything, but needs its own power adapter. It is fast and outputs video in 1080p and audio in Dolby Digital Plus.
It requires a Now TV account and is limited to Sky’s excellent Now TV movies, entertainment and sport services, Sky’s pay-per-view store and a select number of catchup services, including BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, All 4 and Demand 5.
There is no support for Netflix or Amazon’s Prime Video streaming services.
Verdict: excellent value for money, but limited support for streaming services.
Amazon Fire TV Stick
Cost: £35 or £45
The Amazon Fire TV stick looks like a USB flash drive and plugs directly into the HDMI port at the back of the TV. It is powered by a micro-USB cable, but needs to be plugged into its own power adapter.
The remote can be pointed anywhere and the setup is incredibly easy: if bought from Amazon it comes with your details pre-loaded. There’s a simple how-to video when it is first installed too.
The interface is slick, it needs an Amazon account and works best with Amazon’s £79 Prime service, which includes a video-on-demand service with a solid selection of movies and TV and a music subscription service with access to 1 million tracks.
Other apps are available, including Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Spotify and more from the Amazon app store. The streaming quality is good, there’s a smartphone app for voice searches and if you own an Amazon Fire tablet you can mirror its screen on the TV.
It also plays games such as Minecraft, Sonic, Tetris and Crossy Road and supports an optional Bluetooth games controller.
Two versions are available, one with a voice-controlled remote and one without, with a £10 difference.
Verdict: best for Amazon subscribers, but good value and support for most other services.
Chromecast
Cost: £30
This takes a very different approach to turning your TV smart. It acts as a receiver for your smartphone, tablet or laptop, using Google’s Cast service across your home network.
It beams whatever is on your phone screen on to the TV, then uses the phone as a remote. There is no real interface for the Chromecast without a phone or laptop, beyond displaying background pictures, and so requires compatible apps such YouTube, Netflix and BBC iPlayer to work.
Hundreds of Chromecast-compatible apps are available for Android and iPhone.
It’s another small stick, which plugs straight into the HDMI slot on the TV, and can be powered by the USB port on your TV, unlike the Amazon Fire TV Stick.
Verdict: simple to install and use, but requires a smartphone, tablet or computer.
Apple TV
Cost: £59
One of the oldest streaming boxes available, the third generation Apple TV is currently available for £60, but a new version will be available in November for around £140 with a motion-control remote, voice search and apps.
The current incarnation of the small black box can be controlled using a slim metal remote or via the Remote app on the iPhone or iPad, which makes entering text easier.
Built around iTunes, the Apple TV is the only device here that can play movies and music from Apple’s digital store, but also supports Netflix, Sky’s Now TV service, YouTube and a small selection of other services.
The Apple TV supports AirPlay, Apple’s version of Google Cast, which streams video using your home network from an iPhone, iPad or Mac and a compatible app, such as BBC iPlayer.
Verdict: best for Apple users who want iTunes content on their TV and can’t wait till November.
Roku 2
Cost: £70
The same as the Now TV box, but with all the limitations removed. It is the Swiss Army knife of streaming boxes, with hundreds of apps and services called channels available in the Roku store
Netflix, YouTube, Google Play movies and TV, Spotify and many more are available, including all the catchup services such as BBC iPlayer, Sky’s Now TV and Sky Store and even the Firefox browser.
Apps and games are available, including Pac-Man and Fieldrunners, while local media playback via the microSD card slot on the back is also good. The Roku can play content streamed from a home-media server too.
The Roku’s universal search helps you find what you want to play and its movie recommendation service monitors what you watch and suggests other things you might like.
The remote feels a little cheap and its reach isn’t very far for infrared, but the interface can be customised and is easy to navigate, even if it isn’t slick.
The one thing missing is Amazon Prime video, which is available in the US Roku store but not in the UK. That might change soon.
Verdict: the do-it-all streamer.
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