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The short answer
Pick the platform first and the hardware second, because the platform is what you live with daily. Roku is the most neutral and the easiest to use. Google TV integrates best with Android and Google services. Apple TV is the fastest and the most expensive. Fire TV is cheap and heavily promotes Amazon’s own content.
A streaming device is the cheapest meaningful upgrade available for a television. A five-year-old smart TV runs a platform that is no longer optimised, with apps that have outgrown its memory, on an interface that has become slow. A modern stick costs a fraction of a new TV and fixes all three.
Choosing the platform
Roku
The most neutral of the platforms. Its home screen is a grid of apps rather than a wall of promoted content, and the interface is simple enough for anyone. The remote is the best of the cheap ones, and the phone app adds private listening through your headphones, which is genuinely useful in a shared home.
Google TV
Best if you use Google services and Android phones. Its strength is aggregated recommendations across services and strong voice search. Its weakness is a busy home screen and a heavier interface that needs more capable hardware to feel quick.
Apple TV
The fastest and the most polished, with the best picture processing and the longest software support. It is also several times the price of the alternatives. Worth it if you are in Apple’s ecosystem, or if you want a device that will still be good in six years.
Fire TV
Inexpensive and capable, with a home screen that pushes Amazon’s content hard. If you are a heavy Prime Video user that is a feature rather than a nuisance, and if you are not, it becomes tiring.
Check which apps you need before choosing. Regional broadcasters and niche services are not available on every platform, and a missing app is the one thing you cannot work around. Every platform’s app store is searchable online before you buy.
Devices worth considering
Roku Streaming Stick Plus with voice remote, 4K and HDR10 Plus
The default recommendation for most households. It supports 4K and HDR, the interface is quick and uncluttered, and the remote controls TV power and volume so you can put the TV’s own remote away. For fixing an ageing smart TV, this is the least complicated answer.
Roku Ultra 4K streaming player
Worth the extra if the TV sits in a room with poor wireless coverage, because a wired connection removes the most common cause of buffering entirely. The faster hardware also keeps app launches quick, which is the difference you notice daily rather than in specifications.
Roku Streaming Stick 4K with HDR and Dolby Vision
If your TV supports Dolby Vision, using a device that passes it through is worth doing, since it generally maps better on mid-range panels than standard HDR. Otherwise this is the same straightforward platform in a cheaper package.
ONN Android TV 4K UHD streaming device with voice remote
Choose this if you specifically want the Google platform rather than Roku. The hardware is modest, so expect app launches to be slower than on premium devices, and the core experience including 4K playback is intact.
Roku Streambar SE, 4K soundbar with built-in streaming
Television speakers are almost universally poor, and if you were considering both a soundbar and a streaming device, combining them saves a cable, a remote and an input. The audio is a clear improvement over built-in speakers rather than a match for a dedicated soundbar.
What we liked
- Far cheaper than replacing a working TV
- Current hardware and years of updates
- Faster interface than most built-in platforms
- Better remotes than TV manufacturers ship
What we didn't
- Another box, cable and remote
- Some platforms push their own content hard
- Regional apps vary by platform
- 4K models need adequate Wi-Fi or Ethernet
Setting it up properly
Use the best HDMI port
Not every port supports full 4K HDR bandwidth. The manual will identify which ones do.
Enable enhanced HDMI mode on that port
Called Input Signal Plus, HDMI Deep Colour or Enhanced Format depending on the brand. Without it, HDR will not work correctly.
Set up CEC so one remote controls everything
The streaming remote can then handle TV power, volume and input switching.
Wire it if you can
Or at least put it on 5GHz. Most buffering complaints come down to the connection rather than the device.
Turn off the TV's own smart features
Set the TV to boot straight to the streaming device’s input, so nobody has to navigate the old platform again.
Review the privacy settings
All these platforms collect viewing data by default. Ad tracking and viewing information options can be limited during setup.
Will a streaming stick work on an old non-smart TV?
Yes, provided the TV has an HDMI port. That is the whole point of them: the TV becomes a display and the stick provides the apps.
Do I need 4K if my TV is 1080p?
No, and buying the 4K model anyway is reasonable if you expect to replace the TV eventually, since the price difference is small and the device moves with you.
Which platform has the most apps?
Roku and Fire TV have the largest catalogues in most regions, with Google TV close behind. What matters is whether the specific apps you use are present, so check before buying.
Can I use a streaming device without an account?
All of them require an account for the app store. You can usually avoid linking payment details if you only install free apps and subscribe through the services directly.
Is a streaming stick better than a games console for streaming?
A console works well and uses far more power for the same task, and its apps are often updated less promptly. A dedicated stick is cheaper to run and simpler for other people in the house to use.
How to choose
Pick the platform you will enjoy using daily, check your essential apps are on it, then choose hardware based on whether you need Ethernet and how quick you want it to feel. Put it on the best HDMI port with enhanced mode enabled, set up CEC so one remote does everything, and set the TV to boot straight to that input.
