From gaming to movies, music and TV shows, everything can be streamed to the TV with the right box and all for under £100. But which shiny new boxes are currently worth your attention?
Here are the main contenders.
Sony PlayStation TV Price: £79
Sony’s PlayStation TV (PSTV) is neat, simple and small enough to fit in a pocket. Hook it up to the TV, connect it to Wi-Fi and it will find your PlayStation 4 and let you assume instant control over it. Sony “strongly recommends” an Ethernet cable, however.
You can see why; with a cabled connection or a new, top-of-the-range Wi-Fi router it worked fine. Be prepared for disappointingly blocky-looking games and frame-rate issues otherwise. Other than PS4 games, the box has access to Sony’s PlayStation Now game-streaming service (available in the UK later this year) and plays PS Vita games — codes for free downloads of OlliOlli, Velocity Ultra and Worms Revolution Extreme are included. PSTV streams movies and television shows rented or bought through Sony’s Entertainment Network.
It promises more than that but apps from Netflix and BBC iPlayer are blocked and cannot be used, leaving very little outside of Sony’s paid-for offerings.
Verdict: extends as PS4 into another room and will be great when PlayStation Now is available, but streaming media options are woeful.
Amazon Fire TV Price: £79
The Amazon Fire TV is essentially a micro-console. Plugging straight into an Amazon account, it is geared up for those with a Prime subscription. It will easily stream any TV show or movie from Amazon Instant Video.
A small remote with a microphone allows surprisingly accurate voice searches to make finding content without using an on-screen keyboard simple. It comes with some non-Amazon apps, including the likes of Netflix, BBC iPlayer and Demand 5, with many more available via the Amazon app store. Any MP3s you buy from Amazon and any photos you have uploaded to Amazon Cloud Drive are also available, plus you can stream media from a Kindle tablet or smartphone to the TV.
The Fire TV can also play games from Amazon’s app store, which are essentially smartphone games. There are a few decent ones, but the selection is a bit patchy to say the least. An optional Bluetooth joypad is available for £35, or the mini remote works as a controller.
Verdict: great for Amazon-heads, but no sense for anyone with a console or non-Prime subscribers.
Microsoft Xbox One Digital TV Tuner Price: £25
Microsoft’s Xbox One Digital TV Tuner is a very different beast to the PlayStation TV and others. Inside is a Freeview tuner. Connect it to an antenna (either external or internal), hook it up an Xbox One via USB and it will give you access to all the Freeview channels, arranged immaculately in Microsoft’s excellent OneGuide electronic programme guide.
It is simple to use and set up, but does not come with a coaxial cable, which it should, and does not have the ability to record programmes. It does have a 30-minute buffer, so you can start watching programmes, then pause them for up to half an hour, rewind and so on, but not save them. Verdict: easy to add TV to an Xbox One, but the connected TV probably already has Freeview — and you can’t record programmes. Roku 3 Price: £69 The latest Roku 3 is a jack of all trades. It streams movies and TV shows from a wide variety of services including Netflix, BBC iPlayer and others. It can also stream music from services including Spotify and play a limited selection of files from a USB drive. The Roku’s remote can also act as a motion controller like a Nintento Wii-mote.
A small selection of games including Angry Birds, Galaga, Downhill Bowling, Sudoko, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy are available. The remote works well, and has a headphone port. The box is also fast, with fluid animations and quick menus — something that cannot be said about some other set-top boxes.
Verdict: the widest variety of apps available, but with limited gaming support.
Now TV box Price: £20
with a limited subscription to sports, movies or TV packages Sky’s Now TV box is essentially a stripped down, cheap Roku player. It’s designed for streaming Sky’s Now TV service, including movies, entertainment and sports channels. The box also has apps for the BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD and Demand 5, as well as YouTube, BBC Sport and Spotify. It’s limited to 720p streams, has no local file play and a much more limited selection of apps, but is easy to set up and a bargain for £10 on its own or £20 with a Now TV sub package.
Verdict: the cheapest way to put catchup TV services on a non-smart TV.
Google Chromecast Price: £30
Google’s Chromecast is the simplest streaming device available: it is an HDMI stick powered by USB and plugs straight into the TV. It acts as a receiver for video, photos, music, computer screens and even some games, all streamed from a smartphone, tablet or computer using Google Chrome browser. The content is “cast” from the smartphone app, like BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Blinkbox or others to the stick, which connects directly to the service over an internet connection. The smartphone or other device is then simply used as a remote. Some apps and games, including Scrabble, Monopoly, Wheel of Fortune and others, can use the Chromecast to display screens on the TV. The Chromecast cannot actually do anything other than display a slide show of background photos without another device, however. Verdict: stripped back, simple to use stick that connects a smartphone, tablet or computer to the TV.
Apple TV Price: £79
The Apple TV is a small black puck, like most of the other devices here, which connects to the TV via HDMI. It comes with a small metal remote, but can also be controlled using an iPhone or iPad. It will stream content from Apple’s iTunes for music (with iTunes Match), movies and TV shows. It also has built-in apps for Netflix, Sky’s Now TV, YouTube and others. Like Google’s Chromecast and Amazon’s Fire TV, the Apple TV will also act as a streaming receiver, allowing users to stream videos, music, games or mirror their screens from an iPhone or iPad. Apps such as the BBC iPlayer or 4oD can stream video, while games such as Real Racing 3 can use the Apple TV as a screen. Verdict: great for people with iPhones and iPads or those plugged into the iTunes ecosystem. Other reviews * Best budget smartphones for under £150 * Which is the best tablet from 2014? * Six of the best noise-cancelling headphones to silence the commute — Guardian News & Media Ltd, 2015
