Top 5 Best Streaming Device 2015

The holidays are here and all of the major players in TV-based set top streaming devices -- Roku, Amazon, Google, and Apple and also earlier this year NVidia with the introduction of the Shield – all announced their brand-new gadgets they also continue to sell their older ones as well. Resulting is an Overwhelming amount of choices that will leave even the most discerning shopper to scratch their heads in confusion.

Set top streaming devices are not created equal, and there are plenty of reasons to choose one over the other. So we took it on ourselves to do a thorough review of all the major streaming media player available so that we can help you determine which one will work for your viewing needs.

This is not one of those long drawn out reviews that will put you into a coma before you get the valuable information that you need to make the right choice before you go off and invest in the latest streaming media player, we will give you the pros and the cons of each and also tell you which one works better for each specific need.

These are the top 5 on everyone’s list right now. NVidia Shield, Fire TV 2^nd generation, Roku 4, Apple TV 4^th generation, Google Chromecast 2^nd generation and this is how they stack up.

NVidia Shield Console

If you are looking to buy the ultimate media streaming device that gives you access to all your favorite content providers like Netflix, Hulu, crackle, and HBO Go… Then The NVidia Shield Android TV box is the best that money can buy right now, but that doesn’t mean that it don’t have its short comings, here is what you need to know.

The Nvidia Shield is an awesome gaming system, it’s able to deliver stunning 4K content to your 4K capable TV without breaking a sweat, but it is currently limited by Android TV's lack of native apps and Bias for paid content.

The Shield is the first streaming device that's capable of handling Ultra HD, Which means that you can actually connect this to a 4K TV in your home, throw on Netflix or YouTube, and be treated to stunning 3,840 x 2,160 resolution content at 60p, but one caveat if you’re an Amazon prime instant videos or iTunes subscriber you need to look for another streaming set top box because you won’t get them here.

The Shield running Android TV does not support either of them, so if you buy the shield you may never get to use your iTunes movie collection or prime instant video collection which means that you would have to buy them all over again.

The Nvidia Shield Specs:

Processor	NVIDIA Tegra X1 processor with 256-core Maxwell GPU with 3GB RAM
Video Features	4K Ultra-HD Ready with 4K playback and capture up to 60 fps (VP9, H265, H264)
Audio Features	7.1 and 5.1 surround sound pass through over HDMI High-resolution audio playback up to 24-bit/192kHz over HDMI and USB High-resolution audio upsample to 24-bit/192hHz over USB
Storage	16GB or 500GB
Wireless	802.11ac 2x2 MIMO 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi Bluetooth 4.1/BLE
Interfaces	Gigabit Ethernet HDMI 2.0 Two USB 3.0 (Type A) Micro-USB 2.0 MicroSD slot (supports 128GB cards) IR Receiver (compatible with Logitech Harmony)
Gaming Features	NVIDIA GRID streaming service NVIDIA GameStream™

Pros:

• Powerful Device
• Sleek design
• Great game selection
• Fantastic Interface

Cons:

• More expensive than competitors
• Android TV prioritizes Google Play contents
• There’s additional cost to get the remote and the stand for the unit
• Does not support iTunes and Amazon Prime instant videos  

Amazon Fire TV (Second Generation)  

Amazon decided to release an updated version of their already popular set top box just One year after they announce the first generation, and boy did they pull out all the stops for this one, now supporting 4K Ultra HD as a result of an upgrading to faster CPU and graphics processor, and now with the addition of Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant, the new version of the already formidable Fire TV is even better than before.

If you already own a Fire TV and decide to upgrade, you’ll find that the new Fire TV looks exactly the same as the previous model except for the addition of a MicroSD card slot on the back and the removal of the optical digital audio port other than that everything else is identical.

For $100 you get the standard Fire TV, the package comes with the set-top box, a voice-recognition remote, and a power supply. If you’re a big gamer on the Fire TV you can spend another $40 for the gaming edition, which is bundled with a console-style game controller, two games, and a 32GB microSD card.

There are a few caveats though, the Fire TV has a huge bias toward amazon’s content and it only support 4K at 30fps. And now with the removal of the optical digital audio jack from this second generation it simply means those who want to connect the Fire TV to a sound bar will be forced to buy an AV receiver and use it or use some other creative option.

Amazon Fire TV Specs:

Processor	MediaTek Quad-core up to 2 Ghz Dual-core @ 2.0 GHz + Dual-core @ 1.6 GHz
GPU	Power VR GX6250
Storage	8 GB internal
Memory	2 GB
Wi-Fi Connectivity	Dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi (MIMO) for faster streaming and fewer dropped connections than standard Wi-Fi. Supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi networks.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.1 + LE, with support for the following profiles: HID 1.0 , SPP 1.2, HOGP 1.0, GATT, A2DP 1.2, AVRCP 1.0
Voice Support	Yes, with Fire TV Voice Remote (included) or free Fire TV Remote App (available for download on Fire, Android, and iOS)
Game Controller Support	Yes, optimized for Amazon Fire TV Game Controller and most games are compatible with other Bluetooth controllers
Cloud Storage	Free cloud storage for all Amazon content
Ports	DC Jack, HDMI output, 10/100 Ethernet, microSD slot, USB 2.0
Audio Support	Dolby Audio, 5.1 surround sound, 2ch stereo, and HDMI audio pass through up to 7.1 (Dolby Audio coming soon to Netflix)
Content Formats Supported	Video: H.265, H.264, Audio: AAC-LC, AC3, eAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus), FLAC, MP3, PCM/Wave, Vorbis, Dolby Atmos (EC3_JOC), Photo: JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP
Output Resolution Supported	2160p up to 30fps; 720p and 1080p up to 60fps

Pros:

• ·         Very responsive UI.
• ·         Supports 4K content.
• ·         Improved voice search with Alexa voice assistant.

Cons:

• ·         Extreme Bias towards Amazon Contents
• ·         Won’t work with all 4K Ultra HD TVs
• ·         Only support 4K 30fps
• ·         Heavily favors Prime subscribers

The New Roku 4

Ever since the introduction of the first HD version of the Roku set top box the device has been the reigning King of streaming media set top boxes and for good reasons to, The Roku 1, 2, 3 and the Roku streaming stick were really exhilarating in what they delivered to your living room entertainment.

And what was good about those older but still cable generations is now even greater in the latest version of the Roku 4, which promises to deliver a visual rush of true 4K Ultra HD streaming with amazing detail, and access to over 2,500+ channels on demand offering 300,000+ movies and TV episodes for your viewing pleasure. You will be able to enjoy all your favorite channels Amazon Instant Video, Crackle, Google Play, HBO Go, Hulu, Netflix, YouTube and thousands more channels in brilliant crisp 4K Ultra HD detail.

Roku is exactly what you would expect from a set top Box it’s a solid media box that plays well with all the video service Content providers. On the back there's an optical audio port, microSD slot and Ethernet jack, alongside the HDMI connector. One particularly useful addition is a button on the top of the box that locates your missing remote -- a simple, yet ingenious feature.
  
The new Roku 4 Specs:

Networking

                                       802.11ac MIMO dual-band wireless

                                       10/100 Base-T Ethernet

Video Outputs

                                       4K UHD (3840 × 2160) on 4K UHD TVs

                                       1080p HD (1920 x 1080) on HD TVs

                                       Up-scales 720p to 1080p HD on 1080p HD and 4K UHD TVs

                                       Up-scales 1080p HD to 4K UHD on 4K UHD TVs

                                       4K UHD 60 fps HEVC Playback

                                       4K UHD 30 fps VP9 Playback (YouTube)

                                       Playback from USB drives

Audio Output

                                       Dolby Digital plus 7.1 surround sound via HDMI or optical output

Storage Expansion

                                         MicroSD card port for additional game and channel storage

                                         USB port for personal media expansion

Remote Control

                                          Enhanced remote with voice search, point anywhere use,

                                          headphone jack, and motion- control for gaming.

                                          Player includes IR receiver, compatible with various universal remotes.

                                          Speaker for Remote Finder alerts

Pros:

• Fast, powerful and easy to use
• Solid selection of 4K content as more 4K-capable apps than other devices and makes 4K TV shows and movies easy to find
• The remote has voice search, and a unique headphone jack for private listening with headphones
• Remote finder function in case it goes missing in the couch cushions or another room
• A comprehensive search results arranged by Free to price and availability on all content provider platform
• Largest selections of apps on a set top box

Cons:

• User interface needs update
• Doesn't support HDR
• Lacks the robust gaming capabilities of other devices like Amazon Fire TV and NVidia Shield

Apple TV 4^th Gen

The Apple TV for years now have been relatively ignored, compared to its overachieving siblings, the iPhone and iPad. The Design hasn't changed since 2010 along with the old school iPod looking interface that made it seem really dated when navigating it.

Apple finally changed all that with their fourth-generation Apple TV set-top box stepping it up to with more powerful hardware, and a significantly redesigned remote and an operating system that is worthy of  the iconic brands badge.

As far as we can tell the outside design has not change except that it is much taller than its predecessors, but as far as internals it’s almost like they took an iPad or an iPhone 6s plus and crammed it on the inside so that they could now give you access to the genuine app store which finally turns Apple TV into a legitimate platform for entertainment and gaming in your living room.

If you have recently invested in a 4K TV or planning on getting one soon and you love apple products you should know that the new Apple TV only supports up to 1080p HD resolution which means that you won’t get to see all them pixels that your new TV has to offer There is also no optical audio cable port for those with sound bars which means that if planning on getting the new Apple TV you will need to upgraded your home theater setup or be ready to pick up an HDMI/optical cable splitter.

The New Apple TV Specs 

• Output: HDMI 1.4
• Processor: Dual-core A8 chip
• RAM: 2 GB
• Storage: 32 GB or 64 GB
• Max. Output Video Resolution: 1080p
• Dimensions: 98(L) x 98(W) x 33(H) mm
• Weight: 425 g
• Connectivity: 10/100BASE‑T Ethernet, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth 4.0

Pros:

• New interface is refined and attractive
• One of the best remote on the market
• Siri remote is a much-needed upgrade 
• Voice search works well
• Easy to setup

Cons

• No 4K support
• The Apple TV is expensive
• There's no dedicated app for Amazon or any other related video service providers beyond iTunes
• On-screen keyboard is still clumsy
• A limited amount of Apps to select from

Available Here http://www.apple.com/tv/

Google Chromecast 2^nd Gen

The Chromecast originally was a finger-sized video streaming player that looks like a USB stick, or The Magic Stick as would affectionately call it because you could just plug it into the HDMI port on the back of your TV and voila just like that anything you’re watching on your smart phone or tablet could be cast to a big screen TV.

As a streaming device it worked well, but it had its limitations for one you don’t get a remote with it so you have to use your phone, tablet or Laptop to control it, second the Wi-Fi radio inside the device had intermittent connection issues so it often buffer a lot if its far away from the Wi-Fi router.

Google finally decide to fix this problem with the introduction of the second generation Chromecast that now has a cool new look, and few new features up its sleeves, a completely redesigned mobile app that promises to make finding what you want easier than ever before.

The device still only support 1080p video, but now has faster Wi-Fi connection with multiple internal antennas and some internal Wizardry that anticipate what you want to watch and pre-loads it before you select it, so that you don’t have to wait on it to buffer, you get all the usual Apps that are available in the Google play store, Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, Plex, Google Play, YouTube and hundreds more.

Even if you’re already committed to another streamer, the Chromecast’s new improvements and app alone makes picking one up well worth the 35 bucks.

Specs:

• dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz support
• 802.11ac support
• triple-adaptive antenna
• HDMI connectivity
• Fast Play and gaming support
• Colors: Black, Coral and Lemonade

·         Max Output Video Resolution 1080p

·         Micro-USB

Supported Operating Systems:

• Android 4.1 and higher
• iOS 7.0 and higher
• Windows 7 and higher
• Mac OS 10.7 and higher
• Chrome OS (on a Chromebook running Chrome 28 & higher)

Pros:

• ·         It’s Cheap
• ·         Large App selection
• ·         Compatible with Android, Apple phone, tablet an PC
• ·         New design fits any HDMI port
• ·         faster load speeds and has superior Wi-Fi

Cons:

• ·         No remote. which means you always need a smartphone, tablet or PC to control it
• ·         Doesn't have native support for Amazon Instant Video
• ·         Some apps and games are yet to catch up
• ·         No 4K support 

Available Here: Walmart