A digital media player is a home entertainment consumer electronics device that can connect to a home network to stream digital media (such as music, pictures, or video).
Standalone streaming players
This list does not include discontinued or legacy media players. Maker Model (Debut year) Current version (year) Connectivity Audio output Maximum video resolution Video formats supported Network USB Internal media storage Card reader slot Remote control Amazon Fire TV (2014), Fire TV Stick (2014) Fire TV Stick (third generation, 2020), Fire TV Cube (second generation, 2019), Fire TV Stick 4K (2018) HDMI (w/ CEC) HDMI 4K@60fps (Fire TV Cube, Fire TV Stick 4K); 1080p (Fire TV Stick) H.265/HEVC, VP9, H.264, H.263, MPEG4-SP, VC1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 10/100 Ethernet (via external dongle) 1× micro-USB for Ethernet dongle and OTG storage (Fire TV Cube), 1× micro-USB for power and Ethernet dongle (Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Stick 4K) 16GB (Fire TV Cube), 8GB (Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Stick 4K) None Bluetooth/IR remote with Alexa, Android app, iOS app Apple Apple TV (2007) 7th generation (2022) HDMI (w/ CEC) HDMI, Bluetooth, 4K@60fps (HDR) H.265, H.264, MPEG-4, Motion JPEG 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Gigabit Ethernet, Thread None Up to 128GB NAND Flash None Siri Remote, iPhone app Google Chromecast (2013) Chromecast with Google TV (CGTV; 2020 (4K) & 2022 (HD)) HDMI (w/ CEC) HDMI 1080p (1st, 2nd, 3rd & CGTV HD); 4K@60fps (Ultra & CGTV 4K) H.264, VP8 (Chromecast) H.263, H.264, H.265/HEVC, VP8, VP9 (Chromecast Ultra, CGTV) 802.11b/g/n/ac (Chromecast), 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (Nexus Player, CGTV) 1× micro-USB for power (Chromecast), 1 x USB-C for power, Ethernet and peripherals (CGTV) 2 GB for buffering (Chromecast), 8 GB for buffering (Nexus Player, CGTV) None None (Chromecast controllable by mobile device, Google Assistant or Chrome browser); Bluetooth/IR remote with Google Assistant (CGTV) Nvidia SHIELD Console(2013) Nvidia Shield TV (third generation, 2019), Nvidia Shield TV Pro(third generation, 2019) HDMI (w/ CEC) 3.5mm, HDMI 4K@60fps MPEG2/4, XviD, DivX, MKV (H.264), MP4 (H.264), MOV (H.264), HEVC (H.265), WMV9, VC-1, VP8, VP9 802.11ac 10/100/1000 Ethernet 2x USB 3.01x micro-USB 16GB,500GB (SHIELD Pro) Micro SD IR remote (all models) Roku Roku Streaming Player (2008) 8th & 9th generation Express, Express+, Streaming Stick+, Premiere, Ultra LT, Ultra (2018) HDMI HDMI (all models), Optical Toslink (Ultra) 4K@60fps; 1080p on Express and Express+ H.264/AVC (.MKV, .MP4, .MOV), H.265/HEVC (.MKV, .MP4, .MOV); VP9 (.MKV) 802.11a/b/g/n (Express, Express+, Premiere)802.11ac (Streaming Stick+, Ultra LT, Ultra)10/100 Ethernet (Ultra) 1× USB 2.0 (Ultra models)1× micro-USB for power (Streaming Stick+ Roku model) 256MB - 512MB Micro SD (Premiere+ & Ultra) IR remote (all models)Wi-Fi Direct (Streaming Stick+, Ultra)Headphone jack (Streaming Stick+, Ultra)
Gaming systems Manufacturer System (year) Connectivity Maximum video resolution Video formats supported Network USB Internal media storage Card reader slot Web browser Remote control Network file server Network file client Microsoft Xbox Series X/S (2020) HDMI 4K@120fps (Xbox Series X); 1440p@120fps (Xbox Series S) Many 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 10/100/1000 Ethernet 3x USB 3.1 512GB or 1TB SSD None Yes IR remote sold separately Unspecified DLNA Microsoft Xbox One (2013) HDMI, HDMI-in, optical audio 1080p@60fps; 4K@60fps (Xbox One S, Xbox One X) Many 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 10/100/1000 Ethernet 3x USB 3.0 500GB up to 2TB hard drive, not user-upgradeable None Yes IR remote sold separately Unspecified DLNA Microsoft Xbox 360 (2005) HDMI, component audio/video, composite audio/video, optical audio 1080p Many 802.11a/b/g/n, 10/100/1000 Ethernet 3x USB 2.0 4GB up to 500GB hard drive, user-upgradeable None Yes IR remote sold separately Unspecified DLNA Sony PlayStation 5 (2020) HDMI 4K@120fps Many 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 10/100/1000 Ethernet 2x USB 3.1, 1x USB 2.0, 1x USB-C with USB 3.1 825GB SSD, user-upgradeable None No IR remote sold separately N/A DLNA Sony PlayStation 4 (2013) HDMI, optical audio 1080p@60fps; 4K@60fps (PS4 Pro) Many 802.11 b/g/n, 10/100/1000 Ethernet 2x USB 3.0 500GB or 1TB hard drive, user-upgradeable None Yes IR remote sold separately None DLNA Sony PlayStation 3 (2006) HDMI, composite audio/video, component audio/video, optical audio 1080p Many 802.11a/b/g/n, 10/100/1000 Ethernet 2x USB 2.0 (4x USB 2.0) 12GB up to 500GB hard drive, user-upgradeable Some early models include card readers, other models do not. Yes Bluetooth remote built into controller, IR remote sold separately None DLNA Nintendo Wii U (2012) HDMI, component audio/video, composite audio/video 1080p H.264 via browser 802.11a/b/g/n, 10/100 Ethernet 4x USB 2.0 8 or 32 GB NAND flash, not user-upgradeable SD card Yes IR remote built into GamePad None None
Content agreements
Internet video services Model Amazon Video Crackle Flixster Google Play (Google TV)Hulu iTunes (Apple TV) Movies Anywhere Netflix Sling TV Vevo Vimeo Vudu WWE Network YouTubeUltraFlix Amazon Fire TV Apple TV (3rd generation and later) Asus Cube Google Chromecast/Nexus Player Hisense Pulse Little Smart Box Microsoft Xbox NanoTech Nuvola Nintendo Roku SHIELD Android TV Sony PlayStation Vizio Co-Star Western Digital WD TV
American television services
Model Charter Spectrum Verizon FiOS Comcast Xfinity Watch ABC PBS Fox Now A&E Bloomberg Disney Channel FX Now History Channel Lifetime MTV SyFy Watch ESPN Encore Play EPIX HBO GO HBO Max Showtime Anytime Starz Play Amazon Fire TV (was unavailable until Nov. 17, 2020) Apple TV Google Chromecast Microsoft Xbox Roku (was unavailable until Dec. 2020) Sony PlayStation NOTE: These tables are not comprehensive or all inclusive; some pay-TV services may not have contracts with certain networks or refuse to serve networks on certain platforms.
Digital Media Players for Digital Signage One of the popular use cases of using media player, is digital signage. There are new players like ONN produced by Walmart, Xiaomi TV Stick.
See also Digital media player List of smart TV platforms List of microconsoles Home theater PC
References