Alternative to Keeping Rising Cable Costs Down
Cable costs are rising. An article in the January 5th issue of USA Today explains why, as well as what you can do about it. Besides the recommendations made in the USA Today article, another option for keeping costs down is Streaming TV.
Smithville offers four different platforms for Streaming TV: ROKU, Android (Google), iOS (Apple) and Amazon FireStick. Need some help navigating through these options? Forbes provides a helpful comparison, which is summarized in the table below based on supported content, mobile device compatibility, TV compatibility, pros and cons.
| ROKU | Android (Google) | iOS (Apple) | Amazon FireStick | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supported Content | Netflix, CinemaNow, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, HBO NOW, and more | Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, HBO NOW, and more | Netflix, Hulu, ESPN, iTunes, and more | Netflix, Hulu, HBO NOW, YouTube, Amazon Video, and more |
| Mobile Device Compatibility | Android or Apple iOS | Stream from any iOS or Android device | iOS | Fire app can turn a Fire, Android, or iOS device into an Alexa remote |
| TV Compatibility | Most high-definition TVs with an HDMI interface | Most TVs with HDMI interface | HD and UHD TVs with HDMI | Any TV with an HDMI interface |
| Pros | Use a mobile app to send content from your phone to your TV, including music, videos, and photos. Customers with compatible TVs can access 4K, HDR, and HD content for vivid picture quality | Inexpensive and easy to set up and use | For iOS device users, easy access to all content stored in iTunes. Supports video up to 2160p (4K) | Alexa voice control, access to a wide range of content |
| Cons | There have been a few isolated reports of customers needing to exchange sticks that were defective out of the box | Content must be sent from a compatible device | Android device owners won’t be able to take advantage of the ease of streaming content to their TVs, as they could with other streaming devices | This device will only display up to 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second. |
Source: Forbes
