These Three Media Streamers are the Best of the Best

With streaming TV, you need a good quality media streamer for maximum enjoyment

There are now many media streamers available, with many models available from Amazon, Roku, Apple, Android, Google, and several others. How do you determine which model provides the most overall user satisfaction?

Three companies Roku, Apple and Nvidia make media streamers that are best in class. And they are popular for a reason. A high-quality media streamer will do a great job of streaming content. And it will be reliable for many years. All the while, saving cord cutters money each month by freeing them from an expensive monthly cable TV bill.

Buy Once Cry Once

There are many cheaper media streamers are available to pick from. Choosing one of these three top shelf media streamers will put a bigger dent in your wallet. And the Apple TV 4K and Nvidia SHIELD will place an even larger dent. But paying more upfront offers several distinct advantages. And buying a more expensive higher end media streamer can actually save you money in the long term. Buying several cheaper models which don't provide the overall level of long-term user satisfaction.

All these media streamers provide better hardware, more features, and a higher level of quality. So you get what you pay for. And there is nothing worse than paying for something less expensive, and then discovering it does not meet your needs. And then paying for another more expensive model which you could have just bought. Which would save you needless frustration and extra money.

Roku Ultra

The Roku Ultra is the best that Roku offers with standalone media streamers. We did not include Roku or Android TVs in this comparison for one big reason. A recent outage at Roku left customers who owned a Roku television with a device that was pretty much useless. You can read more about Why a Smart TV is Not Always The Best TV.

Sure, the same can happen with a standalone media streamer made by any company. But if they stop supporting their products, losing several hundred dollars on a media streamer hurts much less than a useless Roku or Android TV which can cost several thousand dollars.

Roku Ultra Features

Ethernet - The Roku Ultra, like the other two top models, comes with an Ethernet port. So it can be hard-wired directly into your home network. And this eliminates many of the annoying issues that can happen with Wi-Fi. Like forgotten or no longer working Wi-Fi passwords, distance and barrier limitations, which cause streaming TV slowdowns and excessive buffering.

Overall, Ethernet offers a much more stable and satisfying streaming TV experience.

Remote Finder - This is one feature that Roku included with their Ultra that is very useful. Especially, if you have small children that are always losing the remote control. Just press a button on your Roku Ultra, and the Roku remote will beep at you. This lets you quickly locate it from under the couch, or in your kid's toy chest.

The Ultra also comes with a Voice activated remote. So you can control your Roku using simple voice commands. And the TV power and volume buttons also make it more universally useful when watching TV.

Simple User Interface - All Roku streamers are very simple to learn how to use. That's why we highly recommend Roku for beginners. They are much easier to learn to use than an Android Box.

Adult TV - If you enjoy watching Adult TV, Roku has a long list of Adult TV providers that offer Adult channels on their platform, but they can also cast these using Chromecast or AirPlay on a SHIELD or Apple TV/

Cost - The Roku easily beats the SHIELD and Apple TV 4K when it comes to price. Even though a Roku Ultra retail for $99, they can often be found for $70 or less on sale. You almost never see the SHIELD Pro and Apple TV 4K on sale. Except for around the holidays where you may be able to save a few dollars off the full retail price.

Get a Deal on a Roku Ultra

Nvidia SHIELD Pro

When Nvidia fist built and released the Nvidia SHIELD five years ago, it was leaps and bounds ahead in performance over any other Android box available. And this is still true to some extent. The other Android box manufacturers from China adopted the small incremental upgrade approach. Rather than supporting their products through multiple Android OS upgrades, they adopted the pump and dump approach.

They would pump out as many new versions of their Android media streaming boxes every year, rather than providing long-term support. Their strategy is to offer them as cheaply as possible. And then force their customers to buy a fresh box every six to twelve months with slightly faster hardware.

Nvidia's approach was completely different. They built an Android media streamer with a chipset so far advanced, the clone box makers still have not caught up five years later. But not only did they offer a higher quality media streamer, they also provided a level of support that was previously unheard of in the industry.

Since Nvidia has been supporting their SHIELD media streamers, including those now discontinued for many years now. When a new version of Android OS is out with useful or added security features, the SHIELD will be on the list to receive these updates.

Besides an excellent media streamer, the SHIELD can also be used as a gaming consol or as a Plex Server. So while it may cost more, they really provide a lot of value in their media streamer. Which in the long run will even save you more money instead of upgrading cheaper clone models much more often.

Features of a Nvidia SHIELD Pro

Flagship Media Streamer - The Pro model is their top of the line media streamer. It offers super fast performance, a beautifully designed case, extra memory, and the best overall SHIELD experience.

Newly Designed Remote - The new triangular SHIELD remote is the best yet. It uses replaceable Alkaline batteries, and it fits much nicer in your hand. Best of all, it has back lit keys, so now it's easier to see the buttons when watching TV at night.

Unmatched Power and Performance - The Tegra X1 processor Nvidia used in the SHIELD, may get a little old and is now discontinued. But still to this day no other Android box can beat it in performance. Hopefully, this is the year Nvidia releases another hardware refresh and uses their latest even faster Tegra Orin SOC.

Unrestricted Streaming

One of the best reasons for owning a SHIELD Pro is it uses Android TV. And that makes it the most unrestricted media streamer of the three. With Android, you can install apps like KODI and other popular TV apps, including those banned from the Google Play store because of the content they provide.

They can also easily be side loaded and installed on a SHIELD as well. This is completely opposite of Apple and Roku, which heavily restricts public content on their platform. So you are pretty much limited to only the apps or channels they approve of and are found in their respective app and channel stores.

Best Deals on a Nvidia SHIELD Pro

Apple TV 4K

While side loading apps is not possible on an Apple TV without a jailbreak or a developer account, which is $100/year, it still offers many outstanding features. The newer 4K Apple TVs are equal to the SHIELD TV in processing power and performance. They offer a stunning crystal clear 4K HDR picture and clearer sound.

An Apple TV costs more than a Roku Ultra, and they price competitively to a Nvidia SHIELD. The Apple TV offers higher end build quality and their products typically last for many years.

Best Features of an Apple TV 4K

High Quality Video - Your favorite movies and shows will jump off the screen in 4K, high 60FPS frame rate HDR with Dolby Vision.

Enhanced AirPlay 2 - This lets you cast and stream content from thousands of websites including adult sites to your Apple TV and play them on your television. Use your phone or tablet to stream content directly on your TV.

New Improved Remote - The latest 4K model comes with an easier to use remote control. Built to the same high quality as their media streamer, you won't find a nicer quality remote on any other model.

Incredible Performance - From an A12 Bionic chip that offers greater graphics performance, video decoding, and audio processing.

Less Restrictive than Roku - Apple has not clamped down on IPTV apps on their platform like Roku has. So while not as open as the Nvidia SHIELD, you can still run KODI on an Apple TV which is not possible on Roku.

Super Easy to Use - The Apple TV is every bit as easy to use as Roku. And if you own an iPhone or iPad, you will feel right at home using an Apple TV.

Apple offers two 4K models to choose from. The lower priced model is $20/less but has half the memory (32GB) and it costs $179. The top 4K model is $199 and comes with 64GB for app storage. Other than memory differences, both models feature the same remote control and hardware. They also offer a HD only model for $149.

Current models feature faster hardware and a nicer newly redesigned remote control, so be sure to look at the remotes carefully when shopping for a new Apple TV because their cases look identical.

Best Deals on an 2021 Apple TV 4K

In Conclusion: These are all great media streamers.
If a Roku Ultra was a car, it would be a Chevy Camero or Ford Mustang. The Apple TV would be comparable to a Tesla, or Lexus RC Coup, and a Nvidia SHIELD would represent a Porche or Ferarri.

A Roku Ultra - Is a Great Media Streamer for those New to Cord Cutting.

The Apple TV 4K - Hands down the best Intermediate Streamer for performance minded Cord Cutters or those who own iPhones or iPads.

A Nvidia SHIELD Pro - Excellent Media Streamer for Light Gaming and Extreme Performance on with unlimited content.

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