The TV and the broadcasting industry has been filled with unrest lately especially after the introduction of the new tariff regime by Trai. As such, the affinity of subscribers and TV viewers has increased a little bit towards OTT applications and video on demand applications. The viewers who were consuming the content of Netflix, Amazon Prime and other such services on their laptops and phones now want to watch it on the big screen alongside their DTH connection and TV channels, and thanks to a few companies, it is now possible to do so. Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K and ACT Fibernet’s new ACT Stream TV 4K present an excellent amalgamation of OTT content and DTH connection for the viewers. However, both of these devices have their own strengths; here are a few differences between the two products.
ACT Stream TV 4K vs Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Features
The first thing to note is that although the Stream TV 4K is a pretty recent debut in India, Amazon had introduced its Fire TV Stick with 4K support back in October only. There is no denying that the types of services that these two products offer overlap a little bit. The Stream TV 4K and the Amazon Fire TV Stick both offer access to Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, Netflix, Sony LIV and ZEE 5 on your TV. Also, these two products provide 4K support and Ultra HD support too, but what makes the Fire TV different from Stream TV 4K is the HDR10+ support which only Fire TV offers.
Another difference is that when users buy the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K in India for Rs 5,999, they will also get Alexa Voice Remote which will help them find content using only their voice. As a standalone purchase, this Alexa Voice Remote would cost Rs 1,999. On the other hand, the Stream TV 4K won’t offer such a voice remote to the users but would instead come with a simple remote with Bluetooth support, and some hot buttons to quickly access Netflix, YouTube, Apps and Live TV.
Applications and Additions Features on Stream TV 4K and Fire TV Stick 4K
Now the significant difference between the two products is that while Stream TV 4K seeks to mix up the OTT content along with DTH channels for easier access, the Amazon Fire TV Stick aims to do no such thing but is merely a way to avail OTT content on screen. So, in case you want to switch to watching DTH channels you would need to go through a process which won’t be as simple as the on the Stream TV 4K. The Stream TV 4K would also give users access to around 3,000 applications from the Play Store along with features like “catch up” for watching missed shows with up to 24 hours of buffer period.
There is also the apparent difference in pricing of the two products as ACT Stream TV 4K is available for Rs 4,499, which is directly Rs 1,500 less than Amazon Fire TV Stick’s price. Another beneficial function is that ACT will allow users to combine the bill of their OTT services along with their monthly bill from ACT. In this way, subscribers will be able to get a discount of up to Rs 350 on their Netflix subscription.
Verdict
It is pretty evident that the Stream TV 4K presents a much more affordable solution as compared to the Amazon Fire TV Stick. Since the Stream TV 4K has been manufactured to combine the DTH connection and the OTT apps, navigating on the platform will be much more comfortable, whereas Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K will simply bring the OTT content on your TV screen. The latter also does not come with apps and other additional features and discounts which the Stream TV 4K offers. It is worth noting that ACT Fibernet will commercially launch the Stream TV 4K in May.
