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The Top 4 Must Have 4K TV Accessories

Author: Eric Ravenscraft / Source: reviewgeek.com

When you upgrade to a 4K TV, you’ll still need a few things to complete the set up. While you’re out TV shopping, pick up these accessories to get the most out of your home theater.

Just like the shift before it (the move from standard definition TV to 1080p sets) required a few extra bits to make the most of your TV, the shift to 4K does to.

It’s one thing to have a shiny new TV to show off, but if you want to make the most of all those beautiful extra pixels you’ll want to pair it with the right accessories.

A Good Streaming Box or Dongle

When you first get your 4K TV, it’s probably (and unfortunately) going to have some smart software on it so you can connect to Netflix or YouTube. We say “unfortunately” because as we’ve discussed before, most smart TV software is terrible. It would be better if most TVs didn’t include a smart platform, but you can still use a third-party box with better, more reliable software that gets proper updates and that you can easily replace if you need to.

Which device you get will depend a bit on your needs. If you want a device that lets you buy, rent, and stream movies from almost every service around, we recommend the Roku Ultra ($100). It can’t tap into iTunes, but it does have access to Amazon Prime, Google Play, and its own library of movie rentals, in addition to mainstays like Hulu and Netflix. If you don’t mind some ecosystem lock in, you can also check out the Apple TV 4K ($180) or the NVIDIA SHIELD TV ($180) which prefer Apple and Google’s content collections respectively. They’re both extremely powerful devices with minimal lag, voice assistants, and a library of apps and games to use with your TV.

If you don’t want to spend a lot on a full set-top box, you can also try either the Roku Streaming Stick + or the Chromecast Ultra (both $70). These come at a slight premium for 4K streaming, but they’re still cheaper than larger set top boxes. They also take up much less space, plugging directly into an HDMI port on your TV and staying safely out of the way. The Roku stick comes with a remote, while the Chromecast uses your phone as the remote, so supported services aside, you may want to pick one based on how you prefer to control your device first.