Comparison of digital media players

A digital media player is a home entertainment consumer electronics device that can connect to a home network to stream digital media (such as music, pictures, or video).

Standalone streaming players

This list does not include discontinued or legacy media players.

Maker Model (Debut year) Current version (year) Connectivity Maximum video resolution Video formats supported Network USB Internal media storage Card reader slot Web browser Remote control Network File client Screen mirroring Audio output
Amazon Fire TV (2015) Fire TV, Fire TV Stick (2015) HDMI (all models), optical audio (Fire TV box only) 4K(Fire TV), 1080p(Fire TV Stick) H.265/HEVC (Fire TV only), H.264, H.263, MPEG4-SP, VC1 802.11a/b/g/n (all models), 10/100 Ethernet (Fire TV box only) 1× USB 2.0 (Fire TV box), 1× mini-USB 2.0 (Fire TV Stick) 8 GB for buffering Micro SD None Bluetooth remote, Android app, iPhone app Unspecified Kindle Fire HDX[1] Optical Toslink
Apple Apple TV (2007) 4th generation (2015) HDMI (w/ CEC), optical audio 1080p H.264, MPEG-4, Motion JPEG 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 10/100 Ethernet USB 3.0 Type-C for maintenance 32GB or 64GB NAND Flash None None Siri Remote, iPhone app ITunes, AirPlay,

HomeKit

iOS devices and Mac computers HDMI and Bluetooth
Google Chromecast
Nexus Player
Chromecast (2013), Nexus Player (2014) HDMI 1080p H.264 (High Profile Level 4.1), VP8 (Chromecast) 802.11b/g/n/ac (Chromecast), 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (Nexus Player) 1× Micro-USB for power (Chromecast) 2 GB for buffering (Chromecast), 8 GB for buffering (Nexus Player) None Yes None (Chromecast controllable by iOS/Android device or Chrome browser), 5-button remote (Nexus Player) None Android and iOS devices, Macintosh, Linux and Windows-based computers None
Little Smart Box[2] TR-42
(2013)
TR-42 V1, V2 (2013), TR-42 V3 (2014) HDMI (all models)
Composite video/audio
720p MKV (H.264), MP4 (H.264), MOV (H.264), WMV 802.11a/b/g/n
10/100 Ethernet
2x USB 2.0
1x Micro-USB for OTG Connection
8GB Micro SD Yes (Play Store) IR (all models), Wi-Fi remote with Android Tablets/Phones DLNA, SMB Select Android devices
Nvidia SHIELD Console
(2013)
SHIELD Android TV(2015)
SHIELD Pro(2016)
HDMI 4K MPEG2/4, XviD, DivX, MKV (H.264), MP4 (H.264), MOV (H.264), HEVC (h.265), WMV9, VC-1, VP8, VP9 802.11ac
10/100/1000 Ethernet
2x USB 3.0
1x Micro-USB
16GB,
500GB (SHIELD Pro)
Micro SD Yes (Play Store) IR (all models) Unspecified Via Google Cast 3.5mm, HDMI
Roku Roku Streaming Player (2008) Express, Express+, Streaming Stick, Premier, Premier+, Ultra (2016) HDMI (all models)
Composite video/audio (Express+)
4K H.264/AVC (.MKV, .MP4, .MOV), H.265/HEVC (.MKV, .MP4, .MOV); VP9 (.MKV) 802.11a/b/g/n (Express, Express+, Streaming Stick)
802.11ac (Premier, Premier+, Ultra)
10/100 Ethernet (Premier+, Ultra)
1× USB 2.0 (Ultra)
1× Micro-USB for power (Streaming Stick Roku model)
256MB - 512MB Micro SD (Ultra) None IR 12 buttons (all models)
Wi-Fi Direct (Streaming, Premier+, Ultra)
Headphone jack (Premier+, Ultra)
Via. channels Select devices running Android, Windows and Windows Phone[3] Optical Toslink (Ultra)
Western Digital WD TV (2008) WDTV Live (2011), WDTV Play (2013), WDTV Media Player (2014) HDMI, optical audio, RCA composite 1080p AVI (Xvid, AVC, MPEG1/2/4), MPG/MPEG, VOB, MKV (h.264, x.264, AVC, MPEG1/2/4, VC-1), TS/TP/M2T (MPEG1/2/4, AVC, VC-1), MP4/MOV (MPEG4, h.264), M2TS, WMV9, FLV (h.264) 802.11a/b/g/n, 10/100/1000 Ethernet USB 2.0 (two ports on WDTV Live, one port on WDTV Play, two ports on WDTV Media Player) None None None IR, 17 buttons DLNA, SMB None

Gaming systems

Manufacturer System (year) Connectivity Maximum video resolution Video formats supported Network USB Internal media storage Card reader slot Web browser Remote control Network file server Network file client
Microsoft Xbox One (2013) HDMI, HDMI-in, optical audio 4K Many 802.11a/b/g/n, 10/100/1000 Ethernet 3x USB 3.0 500GB or 1TB hard drive, not user-upgradeable None Yes IR remote sold separately Unspecified DLNA
Microsoft Xbox 360 (2005) HDMI, component audio/video, composite audio/video, optical audio 1080p[4] Many 802.11a/b/g/n, 10/100/1000 Ethernet 3x USB 2.0 4GB up to 500GB hard drive, user-upgradeable None Yes IR remote sold separately Unspecified DLNA
Sony PlayStation 4 (2013) HDMI, optical audio 4K Many 802.11 b/g/n, 10/100/1000 Ethernet 2x USB 3.0 500GB or 1TB hard drive, user-upgradeable None Yes IR remote sold separately None DLNA
Sony PlayStation 3 (2006) HDMI, composite audio/video, component audio/video, optical audio 1080p Many 802.11a/b/g/n, 10/100 Ethernet 2x USB 2.0 (4x USB 2.0) 12GB[5] up to 500GB hard drive, user-upgradeable Some early models include card readers,[6] other models do not. Yes Bluetooth remote built into controller, IR remote sold separately None DLNA
Nintendo Wii U (2012) HDMI, component audio/video, composite audio/video 1080p H.264 via browser[7] 802.11a/b/g/n, 10/100 Ethernet 4x USB 2.0 8 or 32 GB NAND flash, not user-upgradeable SD card Yes IR remote built into GamePad None None

Content agreements

Internet video services

Model Amazon Video CinemaNow Crackle Flixster Google Play Hulu Plus iTunes Netflix Vevo Vimeo VUDU WWE Network YouTube
Amazon Fire TV Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Apple TV No No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes with software version 7.2 and later
Asus Cube Yes No No No Yes No No Yes No No No No Yes
Google Chromecast/Nexus Player No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes
Hisense Pulse No No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No Yes No Yes
Little Smart Box No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Microsoft Xbox Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes
NanoTech Nuvola No No No No Yes Yes No Yes No No No No Yes
Nintendo Yes No No No No Yes No Yes No No No No Yes
Roku Streaming Players Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[8] Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
SHIELD Android TV No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes
Sony PlayStation Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes
Vizio Co-Star Yes No Yes No No LT only No Yes No No Yes No Yes
Western Digital WD TV No Yes No Yes No Yes No Live and Play versions No Yes Yes No Yes

US television services

Model Time Warner Cable Verizon FiOS Xfinity Watch ABC PBS Fox Now A&E Bloomberg Disney Channel FX Now History Channel Lifetime MTV SyFy Watch ESPN Encore Play EPIX HBO GO Showtime Anytime Starz Play
Amazon Fire TV No No No Yes[9] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes[10] Yes Yes
Apple TV No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes
Google Chromecast No No No Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Microsoft Xbox Yes Yes Yes Xbox 360 only Yes Yes Yes No Xbox 360 only Xbox One only, Xbox 360 upcoming[11] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Roku Streaming Players Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Sony PlayStation No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No Yes Yes No No

NOTE: These tables are not comprehensive or all inclusive; some pay-TV services may not have contracts with certain networks or refuse to serve networks on certain platforms.

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.