Streaming video and TV gifts for grads
Streaming video and TV gifts for grads
The $50 stick is one of the least expensive devices to stream video from Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO, Sling TV and other online services.
Roku offers more apps, better search and more customization than any other.
Some app interfaces are less polished than on rival devices.
Private listening feature loses lip-sync with some Bluetooth headphones.
The new Roku Streaming Stick is the best value in streaming-video hardware, period.
The Roku 3 has an updated remote with voice search, which works very well, and the unique headphone jack for private listening.
The Roku platform delivers more apps than competitors, along with constant updates, and doesn’t favor one content provider over others.
The cheaper Streaming Stick is just as fast as Roku 3 and offers all of the Roku advantages, and you can add the voice-search and headphone jack remote for $30.
The Fire TV offers a wider list of games.
Voice search makes the Roku 3 the best video streamer in its price class, but it’s no longer as good a value as the Streaming Stick.
Color accuracy and some aspects of video processing are solid, and input lag for games is among the lowest we’ve ever tested.
Competing 4K TVs offer better video processing and more accurate color prior to picture-setting calibration.
Supported third-party apps include Netflix, HBO Go, YouTube, Hulu Plus, Sling TV, Watch ESPN, Spotify and Pandora, as well as hundreds of games.
The user interface strongly favors Amazon content over other services, and the search feature doesn’t comb through Netflix or most other non-Amazon apps.
While it doesn’t match the app selection or search capabilities of Roku, Amazon’s Fire TV Stick’s solid performance and mastery of Amazon content make it easily worth the price.