Bear in mind that we’re looking at streaming sticks here – which are a bit like HDMI media versions of USB sticks – so there are also set-top box style options out there. These HDMI-dongles, if you like, offer great value for money and often don’t come with too many sacrifices compared to boxes. Please also not that we’re looking at the second-generation Chromecast from 2015 (aka the Chromecast 2), not the newer models such as the 4K-enabled Chromecast Ultra.
Prices
Streaming sticks are more affordable than a more traditional media set-top box like the Apple TV, Google Nexus Player and the Roku 3. See below for a price comparison chart and remember that we’re talking about RRP in general but all of these are on offer sometimes so we’ve included those prices, but they might not always be available.
Specs and features
On the whole, these streaming sticks are very similar. They all plug straight into your TV via a spare HDMI port (requiring Micro-USB power) and connect to your internet over Wi-Fi in order to stream the content. While, their specs are closely matched, there are some differences to point out including which services are supported and what you get in the box. See Apple TV vs Chromecast review.
Remotes and apps
On the other hand, the Chromecast is controlled via a smartphone or tablet app. You search for the content you want to view, then ‘cast’ it to the Chromecast to be displayed on the big screen.
Gaming
The Roku Streaming Stick has around 100 games available but the controller doesn’t support motion control like the Roku 3. The Chromecast only has a handful of pretty basic games which you can play.
Specs
As we’ve mentioned, the specs of these three streaming sticks is similar. However, the newer Fire TV Stick is superior with a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. It also has dual-band Wi-Fi with dual-antenna (MIMO) which is also found on the Roku Streaming Stick. The Chromecast 2 also has a dual-core processor and 11.ac dual-band Wi-Fi which is the main upgrade from the original. It’s the Roku which has single-band Wi-Fi although we’ve not had any issues in this area. These devices are mostly for streaming content from the internet so we wouldn’t worry about storage and we’ve not seen any performance issues with the Chromecast or Roku Streaming Stick. What is more important is which services you can access on them (see below).
Services
One of the Chromecast’s big selling points was access to the Google Play store (movies and music) but Roku added this as a channel. It is the only one with Blinkbox (now TalkTalk TV) and Wuaki.tv, though. The device also supports, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, BT Sport, YouTube, Sky Now TV, Vevo, Rdio, and Deezer. It now has All 4 but lacks the Sky Store and Demand 5. It’s worth noting that it can mirror content from the Chrome web browser from a PC or laptop on the same network. Browse Chromecast supported apps. See below for a table of the big name players. Tech Advisor’s Reviews Editor, Chris has been reviewing all kinds of tech for over 10 years and specialises in audio. He also covers a range of topics including home entertainment, phones, laptops, tablets and more.
