There’s never been a better time for amazing television shows, but that doesn’t matter if you can’t watch them without hurling a remote across the room due to a shoddy streaming gadget.
Whether it’s the big-budget prestige of shows like Succession and The Righteous Gemstones, or the insane jumble that is Love Island, superb television is now as plentiful as it is accessible. You don’t even need cable to watch any of it; all you need is high-quality streaming hardware.
Do not be concerned, my reader. The only thing standing between you and an obscene amount of binge viewing with any of these amazing and affordable streaming gadgets is the number of hours in a day.
Roku Express 4K+
Let’s pretend you’ve just gotten your first 4K TV (or are on the fence about getting one), and it’s time to put all those pixels to the test. It’s likely that purchasing a new television depleted your money account.
If that’s the case, the Roku Express 4K+ is a breeze to recommend as a gateway to all of your favorite TV shows.
It’s the cheapest of the gadgets we’ll be looking at today, and it’s also the most straightforward. You’ll never have to bother about the gadget again if you plug it into an HDMI port and place it beneath the TV.
With four directional buttons, a choose button, basic playback controls, and several shortcut buttons for different streaming apps, the remote control that comes with every Roku device is as self-explanatory as they come. It also has a user-friendly UI, so even the least tech-savvy broadcasters can use it.
Apple TV 4K (2021 model)
Now let’s look at something on the other end of the price scale. The latest Apple TV 4K streamer is one of the most costly streaming gadgets on the market, starting at $179. There’s the dreaded “Apple tax,” as we all know it. However, if you’ve already invested in Apple’s ecosystem, the Apple TV 4K is wonderful, just like everything else Apple charges arguably too much for.
It has access to all of the major streaming apps, but the Apple TV 4K’s main selling point is its native compatibility for any episodes or movies you’ve purchased on iTunes in the past. If you’re the type of person who has been building a library on Apple’s digital bookstore for 15 years, all you have to do now is set up an Apple TV 4K and log into your account to watch everything.
The Apple TV 4K is a solid streaming device for anyone willing to pay over $200 for it, thanks to its fast speed and simple, no-frills remote.
Chromecast with Google TV
At the end of the day, there’s just one dedicated streaming device that has a fantastic interface, a useful remote, 4K playback, and all the apps you could want without destroying your bank account.
Google’s Chromecast with Google TV is a $50 marvel that should work for just about anyone, no matter what they want to stream…as long as they have a Gmail account to log into.
Google’s streaming dongle fits into an HDMI port and hides behind the TV, allowing you to completely forget about it. The remote includes all of the essentials, as well as a Google Assistant voice search button and YouTube and Netflix shortcuts. With plenty of recommendations from across the app ecosystem, the interface is fast and easy to grasp.
It can even jump back into something you’d paused in a prior watch session directly from the main menu, without having to launch the app first. Simply put, this is the best there is.
You will not be disappointed if you choose the Chromecast with Google TV.