Chromecast, Roku Streaming Stick+, or Fire TV Stick 4K are great ways to access popular streaming services on your TV, but choosing between these choices can also be a challenge.
The good news is that we’ve gone through all the options for you and categorized them based on how easy these products are to use, their processing power, games, video quality, and other important factors that can influence which product you end up buying.
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Ease of use
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Although they allow you to access the same content, Chromecast and Chromecast Ultra work quite differently than the other devices on this list. Because Chromecasts use your mobile device or computer to “cast” content to your TV, they are devoid of the traditional menu-based user interface, remote control, and built-in storage. In fact, in the world of smart devices, Chromecast may be the dumbest of them all.
But in terms of simplicity and ease of use, it’s a very good thing. Chromecast devices leave all the smarts to your mobile device, simply acting as a channel through which your TV can access content. Find what you want to watch or listen to on your personal device, “cast” it to Chromecast with the touch of a button and, voilà, it’s on your TV. This includes any content you can put in a Chrome browser window, i.e. anything on the web. It’s not that the other options here are complex — in fact, they’re all pretty manageable, and some of you may be more comfortable with the traditional remote user interfaces you’re probably already used to — but Chromecast takes the top spot here for overall intuitiveness.
Winner: Chromecast, Chromecast Ultra
Processing power
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Well, technology moves fast, so the winner in this category is generally the product that was released most recently. As of our latest update, it would be the Roku Premiere+ and the Fire TV Stick 4K, but since the Fire TV Stick 4K has a bit more power, it’s our pick. Let’s move on!
Winner: Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K
Games
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Of course, Roku devices will let you play Angry birds and a handful of other sweet games, but the Fire TV Stick 4K has access to a huge library of more advanced titles (like Machinarium and Minecraft). These games are very attractive to casual players and represent more than just novelty. Chromecast games are good, but you won’t find much to satisfy the console crowd. Most are multiplayer party titles such as Risk, Scrabbleand Monopoly. Amazon recently dropped support for its own game controller in newer models, but you’ll find third-party solutions if you really want to get your game on with your Fire TV Stick 4K.
Winner: Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K
Application library
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When it comes to the sheer number of apps available (not counting games), Roku devices, with access to thousands of apps (or channels, as Roku calls them), win hands down. You can also use the official Roku app to select content on your smartphone.
Chromecast apps (“Cast Enabled” apps) also now number in the thousands, but support for the streaming platform between PC, Android, and iOS devices varies, which can be frustrating. The good news is that, unlike Roku and Amazon Fire TV, any Android or iOS app can be Cast-enabled if the developer so chooses, making for a growing selection.
Speaking of making that choice, Amazon and Google recently ended their feud over video services, and the latest update to the Amazon Prime Video app now natively supports Chromecast. In contrast, and perhaps more importantly, you can now download the YouTube app to Amazon Fire TV. Despite this announcement, Roku is still king of the app mountain.
Winner: Roku Premiere+, Roku Streaming Stick+
User interface
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We’ve owned one Roku device or another for the past few years, but we’ve also spent a lot of time testing Fire TV set-top boxes and streaming sticks. Now that we’ve started using both the Roku and Fire TV interfaces regularly, this has become a difficult task. The Roku interface is extremely easy to use — some might even call it “bubbly” or “boring” — while the Amazon Fire TV interface has a bit more techno-flash, but is still very capable of taking care of business. While we generally prefer the service-agnostic Roku interface, Amazon uses Alexa for all sorts of voice control functions that Roku can’t compete with, though Roku does support rudimentary voice-activated requests via any separate Amazon Alexa device and Google Assistant. have.
For its part, the Chromecast has decent functionality via the Home app, but doesn’t really have a traditional user interface, per se. Instead, you’ll navigate apps and content libraries from your phone, tablet, or PC. While that works technically put it behind other devices, as long as you’re comfortable with your streaming device of choice, Chromecast is incredibly easy.
Winner: Roku Premiere+, Roku Streaming Stick+ and Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K (tied)
is looking for
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When it comes to finding what to watch, where to watch it, and how much (if anything) it will cost you, Roku devices win. They can search by text or voice, whether using a remote control or a mobile app, in a vast library of channels.
Consistent updates have made the Fire TV a serious contender here, and Amazon boasts that it has “the broadest provider search of any streaming media player.” It will show you where the video you’re looking for can be found among the streaming service’s options. Still, Roku is more transparent in its search for costs, and Amazon’s broader searches leave something to be desired.
Google Chromecast devices include both text and voice search, but they’re still pretty laggy. However, like Fire TV, Chromecast search prioritizes content from certain apps and services, especially proprietary ones. So unless you really love the Google Play Store, finding the best place to watch what you’re looking for here can be a bit of a hassle.
It’s pretty close any way you slice it, but we still think the Roku is the best here.
Winner: Roku Premiere+, Roku Streaming Stick+
Remote control
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When it comes to included remotes, both Roku devices and Fire TVs offer plenty of functionality, including power and volume buttons for your TV. However, the Roku is a little easier to use, including shortcut buttons for some of the most popular apps for Netflix, Hulu, and more. Both platforms offer free remote apps for iOS and Android, but here again, Roku has the edge thanks to slightly better usability, as well as the ability to listen to headphones directly from your phone or tablet for private listening. As mentioned, Chromecast devices do not use a dedicated remote, so they are not pictured. The Fire TV gets an honorable mention here, if only for its cool voice features like, “rewind 20 seconds,” for those moments when you miss a piece of critical dialogue.
Winner: Roku Premiere+, Roku Streaming Stick+
Broadcasting, mirroring, sharing
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When it comes to the reproduction of content that does not work coming from a streaming service, Google Chromecast and Chromecast Ultra win. While it’s just as easy to stream Netflix, YouTube, or Hulu to a Roku device, sharing personal videos or photos on Android is a little easier with Chromecast. For iOS users, the process of casting personal photos or videos to Chromecast requires the use of a third-party app, while Roku users with iOS devices must share within the Roku Remote app.
When it comes to mirroring, all four streamers are pretty close, but Chromecast is the easiest — for Android, anyway. Thanks to Miracast, screen mirroring is a no-brainer for Android and Fire users (though iOS users will need to use a third-party app). Chromecast users can easily and quickly mirror their desktop to put anything and everything they can find on the internet (legally, of course!) onto the TV screen from a PC or Android device. Although mirroring isn’t available through iOS devices, Chromecast streamers still win here.
Winner: Chromecast, Chromecast Ultra
Video and audio quality
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The only device on this list that doesn’t support 4K UHD or HDR video is the third-generation Chromecast, so for the most part it feels like we’re starting on a level playing field. When it comes to the quality of streaming content, the biggest factor is often the quality of the connection, not the specifications of the device. But unless your home network supports the latest and greatest standards, it probably won’t make much of a difference.
Like the Chromecast Ultra, the Roku Streaming Stick+ and Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K also support dual-band a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, making them well-equipped to handle 4K streaming provided your home network is up to the task. This leaves out the Roku Premiere+, which is limited to b/g/n connections. However, the fact that Chromecast supports Dolby Vision (in addition to HDR10) and Fire Stick 4K supports all HDR formats (HDR10, HDRO10+, HLG and Dolby Vision) gives them a (very) small advantage (for Dolby Vision support TV owners, that it is).
Winner: Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, Chromecast Ultra (tie)
Value
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The Roku Premiere+ matches the Fire TV Stick 4K when it comes to price, and while the Fire TV Stick 4K offers the nifty Alexa voice search and a host of other Alexa functions, the Roku Premiere+ was simply easier in our testing, with fewer hiccups and more intuitive controls. On the other hand, the Roku Streaming Stick+ adds potentially faster, dual-band Wi-Fi that’s likely to do better in homes with multiple users, and costs just $10 more. All told, both Rokus offer a low price, a better selection of apps, and a more intuitive interface to win this category.
Winner: Roku Premiere+, Roku Streaming Stick+
And the winner is…
Roku Premiere+ and Roku Streaming Stick+
As far as we’re concerned, the Roku Premiere+ and Roku Streaming Stick+ are simply the best streamers you can buy right now. Priced at $50 and $60 each, both offer easy streaming with everything you need and nothing you don’t. While Alexa makes it easy to use your voice to control multiple devices, Rokus will do almost everything you need while offering better search, more apps and, for our money, a better overall interface. However, if you have a TV with Dolby Vision support, we suggest you go with the Fire TV Stick 4K instead, which is a very good and feature-packed streamer in its own right.
What’s more, you really can’t go wrong with any of the picks on our list. If you regularly use your phone, tablet, or PC to stream, you might want to grab a Chromecast and simplify your viewing experience (and, again, if you want a 4K-capable version and don’t mind paying extra, there’s the Chromecast Ultra). When everything is said and done, the decision is yours and yours alone. Choose wisely.
Chromecast in
Editor’s recommendations
Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn