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| This week on TechHive: 4K HDR streaming explained |
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| If you plan to buy a new streaming player in 2018, chances are it’s going to support 4K HDR.
The new format, which allows for sharper pictures and more vibrant colors, now appears in the majority of Roku and Fire TV players, including the just-announced Roku Premiere, Roku Premiere+, and Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K. (More on the latter shortly.) It’s also available in the Apple TV 4K, Google’s Chromecast Ultra, and Nvidia’s Shield TV. Research firm IHS expects 97 percent of TVs with 55-inch or larger screens to support 4K resolution this year, so it’s no surprise that we’re seeing more streaming players to match.
Still, not all 4K HDR is created equal, and your picture quality will ultimately depend on the TV you’re using, the streaming player you choose, and the streaming services you’re watching. For everything you need to know before shopping for a 4K HDR player or television, read the full column on TechHive. |
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| Weekly rewind |
| Fire TV Stick 4K: Last week, Roku announced a pair of new 4K HDR streaming devices for under $50. This week, Amazon is firing back–oh yes, pun intended–with the $50 Fire TV Stick 4K.
The new streaming dongle, which ships on October 31, is 80-percent faster than the standard Fire TV Stick, and it supports 4K HDR video in both the Dolby Vision and HDR10+ formats. More importantly, it includes a new remote with buttons for volume, power, and mute, so you no longer need a separate remote (or a Sideclick) to control basic TV functions. These are all major upgrades for Fire TV, and I’m looking forward to checking them out soon.
The Fire TV Stick 4K effectively replaces Amazon’s Fire TV pendant, which the company is discontinuing after just a year on the market. The Fire TV Cube, which has hands-free Alexa voice controls built-in, will also begin shipping with the new remote on October 31 for $120. Amazon will continue selling the regular Fire TV Stick for $40, but since it lacks those TV volume and power controls, you probably shouldn’t bother. (If you already have a Fire TV, you can buy the new remote separately for $30.)
YouTube TV’s DVR upgrade: Google has addressed a major complaint with its YouTube TV live streaming video service by lifting restrictions on DVR access. Previously, YouTube TV prevented subscribers from watching the cloud DVR version of a program if an on-demand version was already available. That meant users often had to sit through unskippable commercial breaks.
Now, users can choose the DVR version instead, allowing them to pause, rewind, and fast-forward through ads at no extra charge. (YouTube TV still costs $40 per month for nearly 60 live TV channels.) The only catch? A handful of channels don’t support this feature, including CBS, CBS Sports Network, and The CW. |
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| Save more money |
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Target stores are clearing out their inventory of Roku Ultra streaming players to make way for the new model, which is functionally identical but has a nicer pair of JBL earbuds in the box. If you don’t care about the buds, you might be able to get the Ultra for $63–a discount of $29. Like the $70 Roku Streaming Stick+, the Ultra supports 4K HDR streaming, but it adds a headphone jack in the remote for private listening, a remote finder feature, and built-in ports for USB, MicroSD, and Ethernet.
This deal is only available in stores, and some may be out of stock already. To check store inventory from home, visit this product page on BrickSeek, then plug in your zip code and look for stores labeled “in stock.” |
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| On Monday, I sent out the latest issue of my tech advice newsletter, Advisorator, covering ways to ween off Facebook, Amazon’s new Alexa gear, Google Search changes, and more. Subscribe now to get the latest issue, plus a four-week free trial. If you subscribe this morning, you’ll also be able to hop into this afternoon’s live chat room, where I’ll answer your tech questions in real time. Thanks for your support! |
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| Thanks for reading! |
| I recently received the new Roku Premiere and Premiere+ for review, and the new TiVo Bolt OTA should also arrive soon. I’d love to answer any questions you have about these devices as I put them through their paces. Get in touch by replying to this email.
And if I haven’t responded to a recent email of yours yet, I am doing so right now. |
| Until next week,
Jared |
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