Best TV streamer thingy

[RemaL]

Searched to find the best part of PH to add this so hoping this in the right area.

Long sorry short have had a TV licence for ages. As we had SKY Q box. We watch little on regular TV channels and have decided we we don't want to pay the huge price for sky when not using it as much. And stop the TV licence as we won't be watching or recording live TV and never used BBC player and have no TV arial.
We currently have Disney + and looking to get Netflix in the new year.
Our TV is a few years old but 4k and never used the apps on it. Everything goes via our AV player such as Consoles etc.

Suggestions on a streaming box.
Amazon 4k Cube
Roku
Nvidia shield

Cheers in advance for any good suggestions.

[LordGrover]

Have you not tried the built in apps?
I have an LG TV and the built in apps are very good; Netflix, Youtube, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Disney+, Paramount +, etc. all present and work very well.

[x5tuu]

I personally prefer AppleTV units and have them on all the TVs here - they mirror each other automagically so a change on one filters down to them all immediately.

They are at the top end of the spectrum though and a bit overkill for just Netflix.

One thing I would say is that if you want to use 4OD (or whatever its called now) DO NOT get the new Google TV Streamer or Chromecast with Google TV as they dont have the app for it in the store and sideloading does not work well at all as the interface is all messed up.

[richhead]

I had an old firestick with my old tv, had it about 5 years and it just worked.
Recently got a 4k tv, so upgraded to a 4k firestick, as the tv apps seemed clunky in comparison to the old firestick, and so far , again it just works.
I got mine in the sales and was around £50 from memory.
I have no experience of any of the others tho, but for me its fine.

[danb79]

Apple TV

A 1st gen 4K will be more than sufficient and it'll future-proof you as well

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296884384162?_skw=apple...

[eein]

I've tried them all, and many are good, however each has some limitation or shelf life that in the end frustrates me.

So I just use a mini-PC (many out there, I happen to use a Minisforum one), single USBC connection to the TV which both does the screen signal (at 4K) and powers back to the PC. Wireless Rii keyboard/mouse. Windows 11 installed. No limitations, it can do whatever a computer can do coz it is a computer. Even manages a bit of light Steam gaming. Total cost was £350.

I sometimes take it with me when I travel (albeit with a HDMI cable as few hotel TVs have USBC).

[eeLee]

Apple TV. Because the Apps will be updated and be better for longer than the TV Apps.
Netflix and so on are good on that plus I have Infuse with a Mezzmo media server behind that serving up several thousand TV show and movie files.

[RizzoTheRat]

To add one more to your list:

Chromecast with Google TV, and it's new big brother (or future replacement) the Google TV Streamer. Similar concept to the firestick but I believe a slightly more open app store, and you can cast straight to it from another device.

That said I've not really used my Chromecast since buying a new TV last year that happily runs Prime, iPlayer, etc.


The nVidia Shield is a much more powerful device that you can play games on as well.

[bitchstewie]

RemaL said:

Searched to find the best part of PH to add this so hoping this in the right area.

Long sorry short have had a TV licence for ages. As we had SKY Q box. We watch little on regular TV channels and have decided we we don't want to pay the huge price for sky when not using it as much. And stop the TV licence as we won't be watching or recording live TV and never used BBC player and have no TV arial.
We currently have Disney + and looking to get Netflix in the new year.
Our TV is a few years old but 4k and never used the apps on it. Everything goes via our AV player such as Consoles etc.

Suggestions on a streaming box.
Amazon 4k Cube
Roku
Nvidia shield

Cheers in advance for any good suggestions.

I was in this situation last year around Sky Plus HD.

I cancelled it and got an Apple TV.

All the other boxes I looked at were plain nasty to use - not at all pleasant if you're a bit of a "channel hopper" who likes to move between apps.

Haven't looked back or missed Sky at all except for the football but that wasn't worth what I was paying.

Game changer IMO.

[RemaL]

Cheers for the advice. Re the Apple TV i don't use apple devices myself. Would this be a issue

[bitchstewie]

It adds some integration which is nice but no you don't need to be you can use it standalone (i.e. no other Apple stuff) just fine.

[danb79]

RemaL said:

Cheers for the advice. Re the Apple TV i don't use apple devices myself. Would this be a issue

Nope; but it’d be an idea to create an Apple ID so it makes the sign in easier etc… Just do it via whichever device you use

https://account.apple.com/

FWIW I’ve had ATVs now since they came out; the main channels we have are Netflix, Prime, NOW, Disney, Paramount and Apple TV+ (I’ve got that free due to the Apple devices I have)

Most of them are monthly subscriptions; when we’re not using one I cancel it and rekindle it when needed etc

[onomatopoeia]

I use a Roku which is quite old now as it has an ethernet port (last time I looked all their new ones only had wifi, which means I'd need to look elsewhere for a replacement to find one that did have an ethernet port). Use it across Netflix, Prime, Disney+ and Discovery+ (for the premiership rugby) and don't have any problems.

Could probably do iplayer through it as well, but I tend to watch / record things directly from sky if they are broadcase.

[camel_landy]

Another AppleTV user here and very happy with them (I have several).

The other nice thing is it behaves nicely on the network, with a lot less 'noise' than the built in 'Smart' apps you find on the TV.

M

[heisthegaffer]

eeLee said:

Apple TV. Because the Apps will be updated and be better for longer than the TV Apps.
Netflix and so on are good on that plus I have Infuse with a Mezzmo media server behind that serving up several thousand TV show and movie files.

Quick qu3, does this mean you don't need to go into Netflix etc, just have a massive catalogue all in one place?

[Corso Marche]

x5tuu said:

One thing I would say is that if you want to use 4OD (or whatever its called now) DO NOT get the new Google TV Streamer or Chromecast with Google TV as they dont have the app for it in the store and sideloading does not work well at all as the interface is all messed up.

An android TV version of the 4OD app was launched a few months ago. Works perfectly on the Shield TV anyway, but I can't comment on the G TV Streamer or the Chromecast with Google TV.

It took years, but obviously something changed with Amazon and C4 have now released an official 4OD app for Android TV.

Up until October we used a Firestick solely for 4OD.
It's redundant now that an official app has been launched.

[98elise]

RizzoTheRat said:

To add one more to your list:

Chromecast with Google TV, and it's new big brother (or future replacement) the Google TV Streamer. Similar concept to the firestick but I believe a slightly more open app store, and you can cast straight to it from another device.

That said I've not really used my Chromecast since buying a new TV last year that happily runs Prime, iPlayer, etc.


The nVidia Shield is a much more powerful device that you can play games on as well.

I'm a big fan of chromecasts. We've had them since the original version, and they all still work perfectly.

It's also much easier to use your phone/tablet to find stuff to watch, then just cast it. I find TV apps and streaming sticks so much harder to work, especially searching.

I can actually already cast to my main TV, and to the sky box, but I still have a stand alone chromecast attached to it as its faster and more reliable.

[hiccy18]

I wanted a new androidTV box a year or so ago, picked a Leap S1 and it's been excellent. Use(d) it for Disney, Netflix, Discovery, Paramount, Youtube, and the MotoGP app, does everything we want for now and it's cheap.

[fbc]

heisthegaffer said:

Quick qu3, does this mean you don't need to go into Netflix etc, just have a massive catalogue all in one place?

Different thing. The files referred to are content stored on a shared network drive / server, ie the user's own collection of media, with the Infuse app on the Apple TV (I'm an Infuse user too) being used to access and play said media / files.

[Corso Marche]

Just for balance, I've a foot in a few camps.

I've an NVidia Shield TV, a MiBox S, a Firestick, and a first gen Apple TV 4K.

The Apple TV is out of use, and will likely remain so.
The reasons for that are threefold; 1) UI navigation, 2) the crap "app drawer" where you choose the apps from, 3) third party app support.
The user interface will persistently find a way to try and land you into the Apple TV+ Store to buy shows, movies, start a subscription etc
Clever design use and navigation by Apple, but a PITA when all you want access to is the third party apps which you pay a subscription for.
The app drawer is just crap to look at and use. It hasn't seen any meaningful development or improvement in years.
Third party apps are now literally years behind their equivalent apps offered on the likes of Android TV. The likes of Netflix etc are akin to the Android TV version of the app from 6-7 years ago. New features, menus, options etc get added as the apps and services evolve and develop, but the third party apps for Apple TV don't get the same development so are pretty much years behind other platforms when it comes to feature sets.

Oh, and if anyone in the household might be tempted to use Chromecast in an app be aware the Apple TV doesn't support Chromecast. Something to be aware of as you've no Apple devices in the house to use AirPlay. YouTube on Apple TV can be linked to support casting from a mobile device, but that tends to be the exception.

My suggestion would be start with what you have in your TV apps and see how the experience is.
If stuff works and you're happy then truck on.
If not, then you can consider TV boxes/streamers etc