Optus Mobile Review ALDI Mobile Review Amaysim Mobile Review Belong Mobile Review Circles.Life Review Vodafone Mobile Review Woolworths Mobile Review Felix Mobile Review Best iPhone Plans Best Family Mobile Plans Best Budget Smartphones Best Prepaid Plans Best SIM-Only Plans Best Plans For Kids And Teens Best Cheap Mobile Plans Telstra vs Optus Mobile Optus NBN Review Belong NBN Review Vodafone NBN Review Superloop NBN Review Aussie BB NBN Review iiNet NBN Review MyRepublic NBN Review TPG NBN Review Best NBN Satellite Plans Best NBN Alternatives Best NBN Providers Best Home Wireless Plans What is a Good NBN Speed? Test NBN Speed How to speed up your internet Optus vs Telstra Broadband ExpressVPN Review CyberGhost VPN Review NordVPN Review PureVPN Review Norton Secure VPN Review IPVanish VPN Review Windscribe VPN Review Hotspot Shield VPN Review Best cheap VPN services Best VPN for streaming Best VPNs for gaming What is a VPN? VPNs for ad-blocking The good news: to acquire such a setup, all you’ll need is a spare HDMI port and either a USB port or power outlet. Oh, you’ll also need to make an important purchasing decision, too. We’re currently living in a golden era of streaming services and devices. In Australia, the biggest devices in the streaming arena are Google Chromecast and Apple TV. Though there are other devices, such as gaming consoles, that offer most streaming apps. Let’s find out which avenue is right for you. Great remote: The Chromecast with Google TV’s remote may be small, but boy is it mighty. It plays well with most TVs, includes the always-helpful Google Assistant and comes with easy-access Netflix and YouTube buttons. It just might replace your actual TV remote. Unbeatable price: Google could’ve priced this bad boy at $200 and we’d still think it was great value. That’s how good it is. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to get this many features, a versatile remote and 4K for anywhere near as cheap as the Chromecast with Google TV. Even cheaper Sister products: If you’re really on a super-thin budget (and you’re ok to forgo 4K, HDR, and an ethernet port), you can basically halve the money you spend by getting a lower-spec Chromecast. This updated model looks and feels identical to the former, with all of the changes below the surface. There’s a faster processor running the show, support for WiFi 6 networks for faster streaming, and an absence of some of the bugs we noted in our last review. The focus on speed is welcome, but not entirely necessary given the performance we experienced earlier in the year. If you bought a Fire Stick 4K you have every right to feel bummed out about this update. It costs the same and is future proofed with the latest networking tech. And, most importantly, it still just costs AU$99. 4K upscaling: We’re big fans of the AI upscaling feature here. It essentially takes any not-exactly-high-definition content (like cartoons from our misspent 1980s youth) and makes them absolutely pop on the screen as 4K. This was particularly handy when Netflix decided to reduce the quality of its streams to help ease Internet congestion in March 2020. Android store: The much more open Play Store marketplace can offer savvy users the opportunity to download emulators. (For the laymen: little apps that pretend to be classic gaming consoles.) Here’s a short list of popular broadband plans that you can bundle Fetch with: Not many niche streaming services: You’ll find most of the popular streaming services on Fetch. Netflix, Prime Video and Stan are all there. So are digital catch-up services like ABC iview, SBS On Demand and 7plus, but if you subscribe to more niche services, such as Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus and Shudder, you won’t find support on Fetch. In layman’s terms: providing you have a TV that supports both of the technologies as mentioned above, you can get insanely crisp visuals with truly impressive colour vibrancy. It’s also worth noting that while the majority of these options support voice control, you’re not forced into using it. Maybe you’ll want to download an app for your smartphone or tablet to let you channel surf from there. Perhaps you’ll want to stick with ye olde hand remote because you don’t like the potential of any big tech companies “listening in” on what passes for domestic bliss at your place. We’re not here to judge.
Apple TV+ 7-day free trial: Stream Severance, CODA and more award-winning TV shows and moviesHayu 7-day free trial: Reality TV lovers can load up on the drama with hayu’s dedicated streaming serviceBinge 14-day FREE trial: Foxtel’s streaming service offering some of HBO’s most popular seriesPrime Video 30-day trial: Award-winning originals and shopping perksShudder 7-day trial: Dedicated horror service with blood-curdling originals
If you own a smart TV, you probably have access to a variety of streaming apps. Again, compatibility varies from service to service but brands like Sony, Samsung and LG offer widespread support for most streaming services. If your Smart TV uses the Android TV operating system, you should be in safe hands, but there’s still a variety of cheaper televisions that have limited support. Next, if you own any brand of gaming console, it’s worth checking which streaming apps are available on your platform of choice. Once again, compatibility varies across brands and even console generations. Last generation’s PlayStation 4 and Xbox One offer decent support, while the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X are making short work of supporting most major streaming services.
