Most households have a Blu-ray player or DVD player under the TV. But they are being used less and less frequently. The trend is clearly moving towards video streaming, i.e. retrieving films and TV series from the Internet. This was quite a complicated process just a couple of years ago, but things are totally different nowadays.
There are two main reasons for this. Firstly the choice of films and TV series has lent itself to video streaming. And secondly there are devices that make video streaming easy for everyone. Boxes such as Apple TV, Fire TV (from Amazon) or Chromecast (from Google) ensure that the series and films are retrieved from the Internet and stored where they belong: on your TV, which only needs to have one HDMI port. However, it is essential to have fast Internet access.
Renting and buying series and films with Apple TV, Fire TV and Chromecast
Before we look at the devices offered by the technology giants, Apple, Amazon and Google, we’ll take a look at the variety of films and TV series on offer: Not only do all three providers provide the equipment, they also have a huge collection of videos. Not only can you buy them, but most people rent them for a fee for a certain period of time.
Just like the principle behind a classical video library, except nobody needs to leave the house.
Because the video is streamed to the TV from the Internet. You can get films and series from Apple in the iTunes Store, from Amazon Video and from Google Play Store.
Netflix & Co.: Series and films at a fixed price
Video streaming with subscription services such as Netflix, Watchever, Maxdome and Amazon Prime Video has attracted and will continue to attract even more interest.
For a monthly fee, they offer unlimited access to selected films and series.
The leader of the pack, Netflix, well-known mainly thanks to its variety of series, costs between 8 and 12 euro a month. Watchever costs 9 euro, Maxdome costs 8 euro. Amazon Prime Video is part of Amazon Prime which costs 49 euro a year and includes free premium shipping.
Apple TV: The fourth generation with Siri Voice Control
The fourth generation of Apple TV hit the shops in autumn 2015. As a standard, the small TV box works extremely well in the Apple world and is a reliable way of bringing films and series that you have rented or bought from the iTunes store to your TV.
Netflix and Watchever subscription services can also be used in this way, but obviously only if you have a subscription in place. The whole thing is controlled via the remote control that is supplied, which you can use as you would Siri voice control with an iPhone or iPad.
Access to the App Store is another new feature, which allows gamers to get their money’s worth from the Box too. But Apple TV is quite expensive at 179 euro (32 gigabytes of storage) or 229 euro (64 gigabytes). If you can get by without apps, games and Siri, you’ll manage just fine with the 3rd Generation Apple TV at around 70 euro.
Apple TV is aimed primarily at people who feel comfortable in the world of Apple with their iPhone etc.
Fire TV for super-sharp 4K videos
Amazon’s TV box, Fire TV, is reminiscent of Apple TV. Obviously you can only rent and buy series and films from Fire TV’s own shop. And because Amazon Prime Video has a separate subscription service, only Netflix made it on board.
Special feature: Fire TV can be used to play 4K videos. As with Apple TV, there is a remote control and voice control.
The box is also powerful enough for more complex video games. A gaming controller is available for an extra charge or in the bundle. Which brings us to the matter of price: At around 100 euro, the box costs significantly less than the Apple TV. If you can do without gaming and 4K, we recommend the Fire TV Stick. The trimmed-down version of the box only costs around 40 euro without voice control and 50 euro with voice control.
The following generally applies: Fire TV is only for Amazon Prime members (49 euro annual fee).
Chromecast: Smartphone or tablet necessary
In terms of appearance, Google’s DreamTV Mini Ultra HD differs from the other two devices. It’s much smaller and is shaped like a hockey puck. It can therefore be quickly connected to a TV outside of the home. Chromecast only costs around 40 euro.
There is no remote control. Everything is controlled via an app from your smartphone or tablet. All subscription services (Netflix, Watchever, Maxdome) except Amazon Prime video are available on Chromecast. Videos can also be rented and bought from the Google Play Store.
As with the competitors, there are also apps for accessing media libraries or YouTube directly. Chromecast is the affordable starter device for anyone who does not feel at home in the world of Amazon or Apple.
Image source: fotolia / 91243999 / Cybrain
