DON’T BUY THE WRONG TV STICK
From TV programmes and films to live sports and the latest 3D games, everything is being streamed these days. The old TV schedules are becoming less important as more people than ever get their entertainment fix via the internet. And because of Covid lockdown restrictions, even big-budget movies are getting released on streaming services rather than at your local cinema.
A streaming stick lets you enjoy all this and more on your TV – and there are plenty to choose from. To satisfy this increased demand now we’re all spending more time at home, a wide choice of new sticks has hit the market over the past few weeks with prices ranging from as little as £25 right up to £199.
But which device best suits your needs and streams the kind of content you want to watch? Here we’ll explain your options so you can find out where to get the best sports coverage, movie choices or classic dramas from yesteryear.
We’ll outline which streaming services are available on which devices – take a look at our quick-reference table on the page opposite to find out more. In the following pages, we’ll dig deeper into what each of the paid-for streaming services has to offer.
Even if you already have a smart TV or Freeview box with streaming services built in, you may find these are slow, have poorly designed interfaces and force you to use your TV’s remote control to navigate them, which is rarely ideal and mostly quite awkward.
In contrast, as we’ll explain, streaming sticks are fast, easy to use and – in most cases – come with their own remote control that lets you say what you want to watch rather than type it.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
• Get a dual-band streaming stick that works in every room
• Stream the latest TV programmes and films in 4K
• Watch live and on-demand Sky content without a contract
• Mirror your PC or mobile device’s display to your TV
WHO STREAMS WHAT?
The table below shows which services are available on the streaming sticks from six of the most popular manufacturers. There’s no shortage of free content on services such as and Channel 4’s , and as long as you have a TV licence, the offers a vast library of programmes at no extra cost. However, you’ll need to subscribe to a paid-for streaming service to watch the latest films and drama series – such as The Crown, which is exclusive to Netflix. Before we take a look at
