Best streaming sticks and boxes in Ireland

Every one of these devices is a legal streamer. That is the whole point of them. They run RTÉ Player, NOW, DAZN, Premier Sports, GAA+, Netflix and the rest, they get software updates for years, and nobody has to drive to a car park to buy one.

If someone offers you a box that “has everything on it already”, that is not a bargain. It is a dodgy box with the software pre-installed, and the risks are exactly the same. Buy a plain device from a shop. Put your own apps on it. Sleep well.

The short list

Specs come from each manufacturer’s own page and were checked on the date at the top of this article. Price tiers are rough: budget, mid-range, premium and top end, relative to each other. Amazon prices move daily, which is why every Amazon button below says “check price” rather than pretending to know.

Fire TV Stick HD

The cheap one, and for a lot of tellies the right one. It does Full HD, it has Wi-Fi 6, and the newest version can take its power from the TV’s own USB socket so there’s one fewer plug behind the set. It has the least memory of the lot, so it’s the slowest to hop between apps, but for RTÉ Player, a sports app and Netflix on a bedroom TV that hardly matters.

If your TV isn’t 4K, stop reading and buy this.

Fire TV Stick 4K

The default answer for a 4K telly. Dolby Vision, HDR10+, Wi-Fi 6, and enough memory that it doesn’t sulk when you open three apps in a row. Amazon has shuffled the 4K range a few times, and the exact model on the Irish shelf changes with the season, so check the listing says 4K and Wi-Fi 6 before you buy.

Fire TV Stick 4K Max

Same idea, more of everything: 4 GB of memory, 16 GB of storage, Wi-Fi 6E if your router speaks it. The difference shows up on a busy Saturday when the stick is the main telly, the kids are on the tablets, and the match is about to start. If the 4K and the Max are within a tenner of each other on the day, get the Max.

Xiaomi TV Box S (3rd Gen)

A proper certified Google TV box, with the Play Store, Google Assistant, Dolby Vision and Wi-Fi 6, for roughly Fire Stick money. It comes as a small square box rather than a stick, which is either tidier or messier depending on your TV stand. Make sure the listing says 3rd Gen; the older model is slower and still floats around.

Google TV Streamer

Google replaced the Chromecast with this: a low box that sits on the shelf, with an Ethernet port on the back and a find-my-remote button on the box. It has 4 GB of memory and 32 GB of storage, so it stays quick, and it doubles as a smart-home hub if you’re into that. The odd choice is Wi-Fi 5 rather than 6, which is exactly why the Ethernet port matters. Plug it in and it’s the smoothest Google TV experience you can buy.

Apple TV 4K

The dear one, and the one people keep for years. Apple has refreshed it: the current model, the fourth generation, has an A19 chip, Wi-Fi 7, 128 GB of storage, and an Ethernet port and Thread for smart-home kit as standard. It won’t feel slow for a long time, the home screen has no adverts, and the Siri Remote is the nicest in this list once you get used to the clickpad. If you spot one going cheap, check the listing says fourth generation or A19 and not the older A15. Apple’s spec page (official source, opens in a new tab)

Nvidia Shield TV and Shield TV Pro

The Shield is the veteran. The hardware dates from 2019, it still gets updates, and it has a party trick: AI upscaling that makes standard HD look surprisingly good on a big 4K screen. That matters more than you’d think, because a lot of Irish sport is still broadcast in HD.

The tube-shaped Shield TV is the one for watching. The Shield TV Pro, with 3 GB of memory and two USB ports, is the one that can also be your media server: plug in a USB Saorview tuner and a hard drive and it records free-to-air telly on its own. More on that in home media server. Nvidia’s own European page lists only a handful of retailers, so Irish stock can be patchy. Nvidia’s Shield page (official source, opens in a new tab)

Which one for you

• HD telly, or a second room: Fire TV Stick HD.
• 4K telly, normal household: Fire TV Stick 4K. Step up to the 4K Max if the price gap is small.
• Android phone, Google account, router near the TV: Google TV Streamer. Or the Xiaomi if the budget is tighter.
• iPhone household, or you hate home-screen ads: Apple TV 4K.
• Big screen, lots of HD sport, or you want to record Saorview: Nvidia Shield TV Pro.

Things that don’t matter as much as the box says

• Storage only matters if you install dozens of apps. Everyone here has enough.
• 8K doesn’t exist on any Irish service. Ignore it.
• Wi-Fi 6E and 7 only help if your router has them. Most don’t. An Ethernet cable beats every wifi standard on this page; see wifi fixes.
• Voice remotes are fine. You’ll use the volume buttons more.

One box, and then what?

The box is the easy bit. The bit that saves money is deciding what to put on it: which services, in which months, and what’s already free through the aerial. The finder works that out from what you actually watch, and lists the cheapest legal option first, even when it pays us nothing.