When Amazon released its Fire TV system this month, it propelled the company into the increasingly competitive marketplace of devices that stream Web content into the living room.
The set-top box now competes with Apple, Google and Samsung, as well as early innovator Roku and even the gaming world's top consoles for the eyeballs of people who stream services like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube onto their televisions.
These devices are relatively new innovations: Roku first announced a simple Netflix-streaming box in 2008. But in recent years, more and more people have begun using devices that harness the Internet's bountiful offerings and send them, usually via Wi-Fi, to a TV set.
According to Experian, almost half of all U.S. adults and 67% of young adults now watch streamed or downloaded video at least once a week.
And 7.6 million households in the United States have "cut the cord," using Web streaming and downloading exclusively instead of cable, satellite or broadcast, for their television viewing, the company said in a report this week.
But it's still a new concept for a lot of folks. And with so many players in the game, not to mention a new wave of "smart TVs" that hook up to the Web on their own, it can be hard to pick a favorite.
If you own a smart TV, you may not need a separate device for streaming. But the software on many smart TVs is still clunky, and most Web-streaming gadgets offer a larger menu of apps and channels.
Here, we break down the top players in the Web television market and compare details about their products.
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