Given how long this change has persisted in our lives so far, it is likely to continue. The rise in popularity of over-the-top (OTT) media services crystallised a trend in media consumption behaviours that had already shifted towards on-demand services and had dramatically veered toward OTT during the previous 2 years.
Given the abundance of options accessible to the typical consumer today—options that were unimaginable only a decade ago—not it’s difficult to understand why. After all, we still like watching media content on our televisions. The only difference is that OTT/CTV now does it over an internet connection rather than a satellite or cable. All you need is an OTT device and a fast internet connection.
With so many devices available, there’s a chance you’ll feel like a kid in a candy store, with too many options and no idea what to choose. Understanding which OTT gadget is the finest can be difficult because each one has advantages of its own. To aid in navigating the market, we created a list of the top OTT devices currently available.
When examining these many possibilities, we took into account the target demographic as well as the technical features of each service. For instance, despite one service’s exceptional visual quality, viewers with young families might not find it to be the greatest choice due to the absence of children’s programming. This is merely an illustration; selecting the ideal OTT service for you will depend on a vast array of variables, and our goal is to assist you in identifying the top four options.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K has a remote control that is connected to Amazon Alexa, making it incredibly user-friendly and intuitive. As a result, you can control your OTT box with voice commands. Don’t worry, cutting the cord and going full OTT won’t mean that you have to stop watching your favourite TV shows. You can use the Recast function on the remote control to watch traditional television material with full DVR. Additionally, because the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K comes with 4K as standard, you can view those programmes in their entirety and in high-quality 4K. (the clue is in the name).
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K is the ideal OTT device for you if you want a flexible viewing experience with a lot of complementing services. This is especially true if you are already an Amazon Prime member or frequently shop on the company’s online store. The pricing of Amazon’s offering is at the lower end of the market at $37.99, so if money is an issue, you might want to think about going with this choice.
Amazon’s services are likely to be especially alluring if you are an avid fan of sports like soccer and American football because the company has obtained a number of lucrative contracts to stream important matches. A number of English premier league matches are also streamed on the platform, and Amazon now offers Thursday night football in the United States. Sports fans should keep an eye out for the firm as it looks into additional possibilities in this area, which will all likely be available via Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K. Sports believed to be covered include baseball, rugby, and ice hockey.
Chromecast With Google TV
It’s not surprising that Google would want to enter the OTT industry given that it already controls YouTube, and Google Chromecast with Google TV is a good option for the majority of customers. Its streamlined menu structure, which was especially built to make content searching and categorization more optimised, is one of its distinguishing characteristics. This is a huge bonus for Chromecast because it allows you to organise streaming services based on your own watch list rather than showing them alphabetically, offering a highly customised service.
Chromecast is a dependable OTT device because it supports high definition audio and video formats like Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos. In fact, what Google has created may be called a “pocket rocket” since, despite providing a genuinely high-quality viewing experience, this OTT box is compact enough to fit in a variety of residences, from a family home to an apartment in the city. It can also be linked to Google Assistant so that voice commands may be used to activate it, giving users more customization options.
The Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos high definition audio and video formats that Chromecast supports make it a dependable OTT device. In fact, what Google has created may be called a “pocket rocket” since, despite providing a truly high-quality viewing experience, this OTT box is compact enough to fit in a variety of residences, from a family home to an apartment in the city. Additionally, it might be linked to Google Assistant so that voice commands might be used to activate it, increasing the user’s customization options.
Roku Streaming Stick+
The Roku Streaming Stick+ is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to image and audio quality. For one thing, it does support 4k streaming, which is fantastic, and it also has full HDR10 compatibility. However, Roku does not support Dolby Vision, which makes it inferior to other OTT streaming devices like Chromecast if this feature is important to you. Instead, you should look at alternative possibilities. The fact that there are few voice search possibilities available on this OTT service, in contrast to Amazon and Google, is another drawback that clearly stands out.
The Roku Streaming Stick+ is an OTT device that should be able to fit most budgets at the same $49.99 price as Chromecast. It’s a decent, all-inclusive platform for OTT service delivery, best suited for people who value choice over one particular watching experience. This ought to make it especially appealing to people who have families.
That is due to the vast array of choices you already have on the Roku platform, including both TV and games, as well as what is anticipated to be added there soon. Many of the companies creating OTT-based video games, many of which are made for kids and young families, are aiming their wares at the Roku platform.
