Cutting the cord started a few years ago. That was magnified greatly in the past year as everyone was homebound and looking for something new to stream. Today I’ll look at some of the best devices for streaming so that you can catch up on the bingeable content. Yes, there will be Amazon links so you can buy the products at the best possible prices while I receive a tiny commission. No, I didn’t receive anything else for writing about them.

Streaming Boxes

The streaming boxes are more robust and they do cost a bit more. Their downside is that they aren’t as convenient for moving to different screens. My favorite is Amazon’s Fire TV Cube. It combines all of the features of Alexa with a device for streaming. You can connect it via WiFi or Ethernet and it can be used to control other devices in your media center. For example, you can say “Alexa turn on TV” and it will power up the television and AV receiver. I’ve had mine for a couple of years and love it.

If you’d prefer something that doesn’t come from Amazon, Roku is the other major player and their Roku Ultra 2020 is a darned good choice. It supports WiFi and Ethernet and I love that it has a phone app you can use as a remote control. One feature that I’d likely use is the ability to plug in headphones to the remote control so you can quietly listen from across the room.

Streaming Sticks

While the boxes can be moved from one location to another, it isn’t always convenient. If you want something more portable, go for a streaming stick. You can easily take it to a friend’s house or on vacation. The downside is they don’t always have as many features. For those who prefer the Amazon ecosystem, look to the Fire TV Stick 4K. This is my daily go-to device and does a great job.

Roku also has a great stick in the Roku Streaming Stick+. I have an older Roku stick that still works for me and I use it when I want to watch on a device I don’t normally use.

All of the choices listed are great options if you want to take advantage of the numerous streaming services available. You might just want to get more than one of these or go with several of the same device.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash