While many new SmartTVs come with streaming services preinstalled, not everyone owns one and it is still far cheaper to buy a “dumb” television. Furthermore, there are many inexpensive devices that turn a regular television into a SmartTV with zero hassle, and that provide great flexibility when it comes to choosing a streaming service.
Many review sites choose the Amazon Fire TV Cube as the best streaming device currently available on the market. It is relatively cheap, at $120, and offers a number of excellent features. In addition to supporting the vast majority of streaming services, it can also be used to control a complete home entertainment system. For instance, it is possible to use voice commands to turn on a television, switch inputs, play specific media, and more. In regards to streaming, it supports 4K and HDR resolutions as well as Dolby Vision sound.
Those who want something more compact or cheaper could opt for the Roku Streaming Stick+. It costs around $50 and is ideal for anyone wanting to stream in high resolution. It is the size of an average USB stick and is compatible with any television that has an HDMI port. Furthermore, as with all Roku devices, it has an extremely user-friendly interface that makes installing apps very straightforward. Other options include the Roku Ultra, the Roku Express, the Nvidia Shield TV Pro, and even Apple TV.
Regardless of which device is used, it is equally important to have the correct streaming service. Today, viewers have an enormous amount of options and they are increasing all of the time. It is very much worthwhile visiting a site such as Streamingwars.com to find comprehensive reviews of the different available options. This helps to ensure that people are paying for the best package for their needs in regards to channel choice, video on demand (VOD) availability, multi-device support, and so on.
The vast majority of streaming services are compatible with all devices and many will have dedicated apps that can be easily downloaded and installed. However, it is worth checking before buying and this is another reason to use a comparison site such as StreamingWars, rather than wading through each streaming provider’s website one at a time.
The world of online streaming is constantly growing with more services and devices released on a regular basis, and this can be somewhat overwhelming. Ideally, customers should choose their streaming devices and service at the same time. Websites such as DigitalTrends contain detailed reviews of the different devices on the market and their capabilities, and these assessments can be used in tandem with those of the streaming services.
Technology allows everyone to enjoy a fantastic streaming experience through their televisions without the need to invest in expensive equipment or subscriptions. Even a relatively old television can be made to perform like the latest SmartTV just by plugging in a simple device and combined with a careful choice of streaming service, it is sure to provide hours of viewing entertainment.