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.263, H.264, 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 None None Bluetooth remote Unspecified Kindle Fire HDX[1] Optical Toslink
Apple Apple TV (2007) 4th generation (2015) HDMI, optical audio 1080p H.264, MPEG-4, Motion JPEG 802.11a/b/g/n, 10/100 Ethernet 1× Micro-USB for maintenance 8 GB for buffering None None Siri Remote, Remote iPhone App iTunes, Airplay iOS devices and Macintosh computers Optical Toslink
Google Chromecast
Nexus Player		 Chromecast (2013), Nexus Player (2014) HDMI 1080p H.264 (High Profile Level 4.1), VP8 (Chromecast) 802.11b/g/n (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 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
Roku Roku Streaming Player (2008) Roku 1, 2, 3, 4 (2015), Streaming Stick (2016) HDMI (all models)
Composite video/audio (select Roku 1 and 2 models)		 4K MKV (H.264), MP4 (H.264), MOV (H.264), WMV (VC-1)[3] 802.11a/b/g/n (all models) 802.11ac (Roku 4)
10/100 Ethernet (select Roku models)		 1× USB 2.0 (select set-top box Roku models) 1× Micro-USB for power (Streaming Stick Roku model) None Micro SD (select Roku models) None IR 12 buttons (all models), Wi-Fi direct remote with headphone jack (select Roku models) via channels Select Android, Windows PC, Windows Phone devices[4] Optical Toslink (Roku 4 Only)
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

Maker Model (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 hard drive None Yes IR remote (sold separately) Unspecified DLNA
Microsoft Xbox 360 (2005) HDMI, Component a/v, composite a/v, optical audio 720p Many 802.11a/b/g/n, 10/100/1000 Ethernet 3x USB 2.0 4GB, 500GB hard drive None Yes IR remote (sold separately) Unspecified DLNA
Sony PlayStation 3 (2006) (60GB) HDMI, Composite, Component 1080P Many 802.11a/b/g/n, 10/100 Ethernet 2x USB 2.0 (4x USB 2.0) 12GB+2.5" SATA drive bay None (SD Card, CF Card) Yes Bluetooth remote (built into Gamepad) None DLNA
Nintendo Wii U (2012) HDMI, Component audio/video, Composite audio/video 1080p H.264 via browser[5] 802.11a/b/g/n, 10/100 Ethernet 4x USB 2.0 8 or 32 GB SSD SD Card Yes IR remote (built into Gamepad) None None
Sony PlayStation 4 (2013) HDMI, optical audio 4K Many (PS3 only) 802.11 b/g/n, 10/100/1000 Ethernet 2x USB 3.0 500GB hard drive None Yes IR remote (sold separately) None DLNA

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 Yes 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 Wii Yes No No No No Yes No Yes No No No No Yes
Roku Streaming Players Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[6] Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 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 Upcoming[7] Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes No No Yes[8] Yes No
Apple TV No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No Yes Yes No
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[9] 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

  1. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-CL1130-Fire-TV/dp/B00CX5P8FC
  2. ↑ http://littlesmartbox.com
  3. ↑ "What media file types does the Roku USB Media Player channel support?". Roku.
  4. ↑ Roku Support (October 21, 2015). "Roku screen mirroring overview - Roku Support". Roku.
  5. ↑ "Wii U Internet Browser Specs". Nintendo.
  6. ↑ "Bad News for Amazon: Google Play Movies and TV Are Now on Roku". Wired (website).
  7. ↑ "Amazon Fire TV Just Leveled the Playing Field With Apple TV". The Motley Fool.
  8. ↑ "HBO available on Amazon Fire TV". Amazon.
  9. ↑ http://mashable.com/2014/01/16/simpsons-streaming-fxnow/
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