Top Streaming Media Players 2023

At three times the cost of entry-level 4K HDR streaming players, the Nvidia Shield (2019) isn’t cheap, but it’s an incredibly powerful streaming player thanks to its cutting-edge AI upscaling tech and its support for both HDR10 and Dolby Vision content. Its Android TV operating system may be divisive, and its lack of a bundled controller is disappointing, but the Shield's visual performance is second-to-none in the streaming player category.

The new Nvidia Shield Pro doesn’t do much different from previous Shield models, but doesn't have to in order to remain the best streaming box and retro gaming machine out there. However, the lack of a bundled controller (while retaining the previous generation's price point) harms the deal overall.

It’s not perfect, but Google can make the new Chromecast better over time. With a remote control, excellent user interface and the Assistant, Google is in its best-ever position to challenge Roku, Amazon and Apple.

The Chromecast With Google TV finally adds a remote and on-screen interface with a new and simple menu system to the popular media streamer.

The Roku Streaming Stick 4K is a powerful media streamer for watching 4K HDR content from many streaming apps, and AirPlay support lets you easily mirror Apple devices.

We’re extremely impressed by the Nvidia Shield both as a media streamer and as a games console. The beautiful UI and game-streaming technology is powered by one of the most impressive mobile processors on the market at the moment, and provides an experience akin to playing a PS4 or Xbox One. The native 4K resolution that supports 60fps playback is better than any other offering in the UK at the moment, with the Fire TV only being able to support 4K@30fps. GeForce Now has been coined as the ‘Netflix for gaming’ and although the library may be a bit sparse at the moment, the experience is great – being able to choose from a library and play it instantly is an intriguing experience and gives us a glimpse at the future of on-demand gaming. The only real disappointment comes with the selection of catch-up TV apps, as we could only install BBC iPlayer, leaving those who want to use the likes of All4, Demand5 or ITV Hub without any option. The Shield is so close to being the perfect media streamer but without access to popular apps like those mentioned, it’ll always fall short.

Although the Chromecast is almost foolproof in both setup and functionality, what it does is extremely limited compared to the competition.

Roku's latest Streaming Stick is a tiny, fast, full-featured media streamer that adds some interesting new features thanks to a companion mobile app.

The Roku 4 adds 4K video streaming support and some useful interface tweaks for the company's most powerful media streamer yet. But the price is a bit higher than we're used to seeing from Roku.

Nvidia GeForce Now provides the power of a high-end GPU, such as the RTX 4080, via streaming. As long as you have a fast and reliable internet connection, you can enjoy a gaming experience that rivals local PCs and consoles.