Support for HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos means the Shield TV plays nice with swanky home cinema systems, serving up stunningly detailed content. Powerful processor specs make streaming 4K content a stutter-free experience. The absence of a 3.5mm headphone port is a shame, though. It feels good in the hand and features all the physical buttons you could need. More distinctive is its Toblerone remote, with a triangular design that stands apart from other plasticky zappers. Nvidia’s aluminium streaming cylinder sits quietly beneath your TV. Besides using your voice to locate content across all your apps (which you’ll sometimes need to specify), the digital helper can also be used to control connected smart home kit. Alexa’s still around as well, improving all the while. Wi-Fi 6 also ensures speedy connectivity with supported routers, so you can enjoy your home cinema without stuttering. With good content to work with, the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max delivers: besides 4K, there’s support for Dolby Vision, HLG and HDR10/10+, as well as Dolby Atmos audio. Prime Video is still given top priority, although the home screen can be rearranged pretty easily. The service selection is properly comprehensive, including Apple TV+, NowTV and even a full YouTube app. This is helped by additional RAM and processing power. Once you’re online and signed in, you’ll find the Fire TV Stick 4K Max features a zippy interface. Setup is straightforward, with an easy on-screen walkthrough. The remote is still a functional plastic number, albeit with the addition of four new shortcut buttons for Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Music. But given that it lives behind your TV, it doesn’t need to. Styled like the Fire TV Stick 4K that came before it, Amazon’s streamer won’t win design awards. It offers faster performance, improved Wi-Fi and a few more buttons on the remote – all for a price that remains the right side of reasonable. The Fire TV Stick 4K Max continues that tradition. If you’ve got a proper home cinema setup, this stick will help you make the most of it.Īmazon’s streaming dongles are known for being affordable, reliable and versatile. Picture quality will ultimately depend on your TV, but the Streaming Stick 4K still trumps its predecessors Dolby Vision support, alongside HLG and HDR10/10+, plus DTS Digital Surround. As with other Roku devices, just about all the major video streaming apps are covered – from Prime Video to BritBox to BT Sport – plus a number of lesser-known names. You won’t struggle for entertainment either. Roku promises longer range and faster connectivity – and we didn’t have any buffering issues. And Wi-Fi is one of the key improvements, courtesy of upgraded hardware. Setup is a cinch: just stick it in, connect to the Wi-Fi and you’re away. You can also use the tidy Roku app for easier typing. It’s not exactly premium, but it’s well-built and gets the job done. It scores top marks for usability: the voice control remote is straightforward, with handy shortcuts for mainstream platforms, plus the option to request shows via the built-in mic. But it is slicker and more powerful than any Roku before it, at a very accessible price tag. It’s a plastic stick that slots into an HDMI port on your telly, connects to your Wi-Fi and gives you access to a catalogue of content services. Roku’s latest streaming device doesn’t reinvent the formula.
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