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Upgrading your media streaming device can give your TV a new lease of life – here’s how to find the right one
You might think your smart TV is the best media streaming device you already own, but while most modern televisions support popular apps like Netflix and BBC iPlayer, having a dedicated streaming stick or box comes with some big advantages.
For one, your smart TV’s operating system is built right into the hardware and can become obsolete long before it’s time to buy a new TV. Having a separate plug-in streaming device like the Amazon Fire TV stick (£39.99, Amazon.co.uk) or the Roku streaming stick (£39.05, Amazon.co.uk) means you can easily upgrade your TV’s capabilities and performance without having to replace the entire set.
Whether you choose Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon or Nvidia, your plug-in streaming device is also going to give you a better experience than your basic TV interface. The app selection is wider – ideal for fans of more obscure streaming platforms – and because they’re built for performance, streaming devices are faster to load, with more intuitive interfaces and smoother, more responsive menu navigation.
The best streaming devices also come with their own dedicated smart remotes, which can roll your existing TV and soundbar remotes into one, reducing clutter and simplifying your TV watching experience. The Nvidia Shield even lets you ask Alexa to find the remote control for you, so you’ll never lose it down the back of the sofa again.
Which streaming device is best for you can also depend on the type of phone you use. The Apple TV 4K is a more expensive streaming box that doesn’t work well with Android phones, but it integrates so neatly into the Apple ecosystem that brand loyalists will find the frictionless setup and unique features hard to beat.
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On the other side of the fence, Android-based streaming devices like the Amazon Fire TV stick, Nvidia Shield (£149.99, Amazon.co.uk) and Roku are more open platforms and support VPNs. If you’ve got the technical know-how, these devices play nicely with peer-to-peer media players like Plex, Kodi and other streaming apps, which can be used to access TV shows, movies and live sports from around the world (though not always legally). All of the VPNs in our list of the best VPNs in 2022 are compatible with Android TV and Android streaming devices.
We used each of these streaming devices to watch a selection of our favourite shows and movies on Netflix, Now TV, Prime Video, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, All 4 and more. Unsurprisingly, “watching TV” wasn’t a particularly challenging test for any of these devices, so we were paying close attention to other factors such as the ease of menu navigation, missing apps, the quality and features of the remote, whether the storage was expandable, compatibility with phones, and bonus features like smart home integration and upscaling.
We also reviewed each device’s capabilities when it came to more specialist use cases, such as streaming media over our local home network, and streaming PC games with the Steam Link app. Here’s our list of which devices are the best of the bunch.
The Nvidia Shield TV pro is the best streaming device you can buy, with the major caveat that this superpowered Android box is overkill for anyone looking for a simple, straightforward dongle to watch a bit of Netflix every now then. It’s more like a small computer than most other entrants in our list, and offers features beyond what you’d expect from a streaming device, such as gaming and AI-powered upscaling.
For a more traditional streaming stick, we recommend the Roku streaming stick 4K. Our favourite stick-style device, it squeezes a whole lot of performance and 4K HDR video into a sliver of a package, comes equipped with a simple-to-use yet versatile remote, features an intuitive, customisable interface and boasts the most extensive selection of apps and streaming platforms you can find.
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