Category: Streaming Devices

As
if
four
new
Kindles
weren’t
enough
for
the

Amazon
devices
team
to
unveil
this
week,
a
new
Fire
TV
Stick
has
landed.
It’s
twofold
in
that
we
have
a
new
streaming
stick
from
Amazon,
but
it
also
streamlines
the
lineup
a
bit.

The

all-new
Fire
TV
Stick
HD
is
replacing
both
the
Fire
TV
Stick
and
Fire
TV
Stick
Lite
as
the
entry
point
priced
at
$34.99
/
£39.99
/
AU$69,
and
it’s
up
for
order
right
now.
We’ve
asked
Amazon
for
availability
and
pricing
for
the
United
Kingdom
and
Australia,
and
we’ll
update
you
once
we
hear
back.

Just
like
the
two
streaming
sticks
it’s
replacing,
the
Fire
TV
Stick
HD
is
still
a
rectangular,
black
stick
that
will
plug
right
into
the
HDMI
port
on
the
back
of
your
TV.
Out
of
sight
and
out
of
mind,
though,
it
will
need
power,
and
Amazon
is
still
opting
for
a
micro
USB
port.
That’s
kind
of
wild
in
2024,
but
Amazon
includes
a
cable
and
power
plug
in
the
box.

(Image
credit:
Amazon)

Charging
ports
aside,
the
Fire
TV
Stick
HD
will
deliver
the
classic
experience
Amazon’s
streaming
sticks—and
boxes,
err
cubes—have
become
known
for.
It
will
stream
content
at
up
to
1080p
HD
and
supports

HDR,
HDR
10,
HDR10+,
and
HLG.
Support
for
Dolby
Vision
and
Dolby
Atmos
is
missing
from
that
list,
but
this
HDMI
port
does
support
Dolby-encoded
audio.

It
does
not
have
all
the
bells
and
whistles
for
visual
or
audio
standards
that
you’ll
find
on
the

Fire
TV
Stick
4K
or
the

Fire
TV
Stick
Max,
but
this
should
definitely
be
considered
if
you
have
an
HD
TV.
Of
course,
stick
around
until
we
get
the
chance
to
review
it
as
well.

Arguably,
the
more
exciting
part
here
is
that
entry-level
Fire
TV
Stick
now
comes
with
an
Alexa
Voice
Remote.
That
not
only
includes
TV
controls
for
power
and
volume,
but
by
pressing
and
holding
the
blue
Alexa
button,
you
can
control
the
Fire
TV
experience
with
just
your
voice
and
even
ask
for
the
content
you
want
to
watch.
Amazon
even
includes
two
AA
batteries
in
the
box
to
power
the
remote.

Amazon’s
platform
supports
all
the
major
streaming
services,
including
Prime
Video,
Netflix,
Hulu,

Apple
TV+,
Max,
Paramount+,
and
Disney+.
Of
course,
you’ll
need
an
account
to
use
them.

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up
for
breaking
news,
reviews,
opinion,
top
tech
deals,
and
more.

The
Fire
TV
Stick
HD
supports
Wi-Fi
5,
Bluetooth
LE,
and
Bluetooth
5.0
for
easy
connectivity.
Powering
the
whole
experience
is
a
1.7Ghz
Quad-Core
processor
paired
with
1GB
of
RAM,
and
considering
most
of
these
applications
are
for
streaming,
the
onboard
8GB
of
storage
should
be
plenty.

It’s
worth
noting
that
beyond
just
watching
movies
or
TV
shows,
you
can
also
stream
games
through
Amazon
Luna
on
the
Fire
TV
Stick
HD,
though
we’re
eager
to
see
how
this
performs.
Additionally,
with
Alexa
on
board,
you
can
ask
the
assistant
to
control
smart
home
devices
and
provide
answers
to
other
topical
questions.

At
just
$34.99
/
£39.99
/
AU$69,
the
value
that
Amazon
is
aiming
to
bring
here
cannot
be
debated.
It
also
cleans
up
the
lineup,
so
you
no
longer
need
to
debate
between
the
Fire
TV
Stick
Lite
and
Fire
TV
Stick—though
if
you
really
want
one,
these
are
both
available
until
supply
runs
out.

If
you’re
in
the
market
for
the
best
streaming
sticks
available
now,
though,

check
out
our
full
guide
here
–
there
are
plenty
of
options
from
Amazon,

Roku,
Apple,
and

Google.

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Roku
wants
to
make
its
Ultra
streaming
set-top
box
even
more
Ultra;
at
least,
that’s
the
aim
of
its
next-generation
device.
The
new

Roku
Ultra
keeps
a
very
familiar
look,
with
a
basically
identical
build
and
–
more
importantly
–
sticks
to
the
same
$99
(about
£75
/
AU$145)
price. 

The
Ultra
is
still
a
simple,
rounded
square
streaming
box
that
comes
in
one
color,
black
–
though
it
does
sport
a
flash
of
color
with
a
purple
tag
displaying
the
Roku
logo.
It’s
all
familiar
on
the
outside,
and
speaks
to
the
fact
that
unlike,
say,
the
new

Google
TV
Streamer,
the
Roku
Ultra
isn’t
necessarily
designed
to
be
seen.
It
can
sit
alongside
the
TV
on
a
home
entertainment
cabinet,
or
just
be
shoved
behind
it. 

All
the
changes
lie
under
the
hood
–
and
they’re
all
centered
around
speed.

The
fastest
Roku
yet

(Image
credit:
Roku)

The
new
Ultra
is
powered
by
a
quad-core
processor
that
Roku
says
was
built
from
the
ground
up
for
“cinematic
streaming,”
and
which
promises
to
be
30%
faster
than
other
players
in
the
Roku
lineup. 

It
should
make
the
Roku
OS
platform
run
smoothly
and
enable
faster,
more
instantaneous
application
openings,
but
it
also
lets
this
player
support
more
formats.
With
HDR10+
and

Dolby
Vision
on
board,
this
Ultra
is
the
first
to
support
all
the
major

HDR
formats
–
in
addition
to
its

4K
and

Dolby
Atmos
support.
This
means
that
if
you
pair
this
with
the
right
TV,
streamed
content
will
look
especially
nice.

Like
the

Roku
Ultra
(2020),
the
Ultra
still
features
an
HDMI
2.1
port.
It
also
supports
Quick
Media
Switching,
which
should
reduce
slowdowns
if
the
refresh
rate
changes.
Inside
is

Wi-Fi
6
for
faster
streaming,
assuming
you
have
the
right
Wi-Fi
access
points.
Roku
uses
machine
learning
and
AI
to
predict
what
you
might
want
to
watch
next,
and
queue
up
the
respective
app
or
show
for
a
faster
start
to
streaming.
It
keeps
an
Ethernet
port
for
a
wired
connection
as
well.

If
you
want
to
listen
privately,
you
can
now
connect
a
pair
of
the

best
Bluetooth
headphones
to
the
Roku
Ultra.
This
levels
the
playing
field
with
the

Apple
TV
4K
and
the

Google
TV
Streamer,
and
it’s
a
long-awaited
and
welcome
addition.

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up
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breaking
news,
reviews,
opinion,
top
tech
deals,
and
more.

Roku
adds
two
buttons
to
the
Voice
Remote
Pro
and
adopts
USB-C

(Image
credit:
Roku)

In
the
box,
you
get
Roku’s
second-edition
Voice
Remote
Pro,
which
keeps
an
ergonomic
design
and
buttons
for
easy
TV
control,
including
power
and
volume.
All
of
the
buttons
are
now
backlit,
and
there
are
two
new
ones.
The
Quick
Launch
button
is
shaped
like
a
rocket
ship
and
gives
you
easy
access
to
shortcuts,
such
as
engaging
closed
captions
or
opening
your
favorite
streaming
service.
The
other
addition
is
a
Live
TV
button,
which
gives
you
access
to
all
over
400
channels
that
are
available
for
free.

Perhaps
the
biggest
change
is
the
Voice
Remote
Pro
second-edition
gaining
a
USB-C
port
for
easy
re-charging.
It
still
has
a
speaker
built
in
for
easy
locating
it
should
get
lost
in
between
the
couch
cushions.
The
new
Roku
Ultra
features
a
dedicated
button
to
ping
the
remote,
as
on
the

Google
TV
streamer.
Lastly,
the
remote
again
has
a
microphone,
so
that
you
can
easily
control
your
Roku
Ultra
with
your
voice.

Roku
is
taking
orders
now
for
the
new
Roku
Ultra
at
$99
in
the
United
States
and
Canada.
It
will
be
available
from
additional
retailers
in
the
coming
weeks,
and
we’ve
contacted
Roku
for
comment
on
whether
it
will
launch
in
additional
territories. 

We’ll
be
back
soon
with
our
full
review
of
the
Roku
Ultra,
as
soon
as
we’re
done
testing
the
streaming
box
to
see
how
well
it
stands
up
against
our
current

best
streaming
devices. 

Roku
also
teased
some
software
enhancements
and
feature
drops
arriving
in
the
coming
weeks
as
part
of
Roku
OS
14.
Building
off
the
voice
control
functionality
enabled
by
the
Voice
Remote
Pro,
Roku
will
eventually
let
you
access
a
laundry
list
of
settings
with
your
voice.
Teased
was
the
ability
to
adjust
home
screen
tiles,
check
for
software
updates,
and
even
switch
to
a
guest
mode. 

Additionally,
Roku
is
focusing
more
on
content
for
families
and
children,
with
a
new
spot
on
the
home
screen
that
should
make
finding
family-friendly
content
easier,
including
adding
familiar
characters
including
the
Cat
in
the
Hat
and
Peppa
Pig
to
the
home
screen
tiles.

The
Roku
app
for
Android
and
iOS
is
also
getting
a
bit
more
powerful.
It
lets
you
keep
your
TV
controls
while
browsing
for
content
on
the
same
screen.
You
can
also
search
for
content
here,
then
make
the
call
and
have
it
start
playing
on
your
Roku
streaming
player
or
Roku-connected
TV. 

Roku
isn’t
giving
a
specific
timeframe
for
the
rollout
of
these
features,
but
says
the
software
improvements
will
arrive
in
the
coming
months.

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As
streaming
app
interfaces
go,

Google
TV
is
one
of
the
best
around,
and
its
free
channel
offerings
continue
to
get
better
as
the
launch
of
the

Google
TV
Streamer
approaches:
there
are
apparently
a
handful
of
new
channels
to
enjoy,
as
well
a
revamped
Freeplay
interface
for
accessing
them.

Some
images
of
the
new
interface
have
been
posted
online
by

9to5Google,
and
it
looks
to
be
a
significant
improvement
over
the
Live
tab,
where
all
of
these
free,
ad-supported
(or
FAST)
channels
can
currently
be
found.

The
new-look
interface
makes
it
easier
to
get
at
your
full
list
of
channels,
as
well
as
giving
you
the
option
to
browse
by
category:
Recents,
Popular,
Drama,
News,
and
so
on.
There’s
also
a
Favorites
category
where
you
can
save
the
channels
you
like
the
most.

The
Live
tab
isn’t
going
away
–
you
can
still
find
FAST
channels
here,
alongside
live
channels
from

YouTube
TV.
It’s
also
worth
noting
that
the
Freeplay
branding
is
still
rolling
out,
so
you
might
not
see
it
right
away
–
it
should
be
showing
up
for
everyone
in
the
US
across
the
next
few
days.

Hundreds
of
channels

The
new
Google
TV
Streamer
is
on
the
way

(Image
credit:
Google)

While
9to5Google
mentions
new
channels,
it
doesn’t
specify
exactly
what
they
are
–
and
Google
hasn’t
said
anything
officially
either.
New
channels
are
now
being
added
on
such
a
regular
basis,
it’s
hard
to
keep
up:
we
got

14
more
free
channels
last
week,
together
with
a
hint
about
this
Freeplay
rebranding.

All
of
these
new
channels
and
various
other
changes
–
like

shifting
all
purchasing
options
to
YouTube
–
seem
to
be
in
preparation
for
the
launch
of
the
new
Google
TV
Streamer,
on
sale
from
September
24.
The
new
box
will

take
over
from
Chromecast
devices.

There
are
now
more
than
800
FAST
channels
available
on
Google
TV,
with
over
150
available
in
the
curated
list
offered
by
Freeplay.
This
comeback
for
ad-supported
viewing
matches
the
recent
trend
in
streaming
services

offering
ad-supported
tiers.

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news,
reviews,
opinion,
top
tech
deals,
and
more.

For
now
though,
you
can’t
get
free
channels
or
Freeplay
on
Google
TV
if
you
live
outside
the
US
–
no
doubt
due
to
complications
around
licensing
issues.
If
you’re
not
in
the
United
States
and
want
to
watch
movies
and
shows
for
free
(in
return
for
a
few
ads),
your
options
potentially
include

Amazon
Freevee,
Tubi,
and
Plex.

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