Die Hard. Home Alone. Gremlins. All three are legendary Christmas movies that I never get tired of watching, especially when huddled in the living room under a heated blanket, eagerly devouring the leftovers of Christmas dinner in the process. But this year, I’m thinking of taking a break from these undoubtedly brilliant films, and throwing caution to the wind with the purchase of a Fire TV Cube.
Why? For a couple of reasons. First, Amazon has knocked down the price of its marquee streaming box to its lowest ever, to just $74.99 / £59.99. That’s a hefty saving over the typical retail price of $119.99 / £109.99. If that wasn’t a sound enough reason, buying a Fire TV Cube also opens up a litany of options with regards to the streaming apps we can access between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Not only is this a great reason to explore a ton of the best streaming apps through one device, it provides myself and my family with the opportunity to binge on a variety of movies and TV shows that we’ve been meaning to check out for some time, whether they’re Christmas themed or not. Between Disney Plus’s Marvel and Star Wars collections and Netflix’s influx of high-quality Korean dramas, we’ll no longer be stuck watching five separate adaptations of A Christmas Carol. We'll still make room for The Muppets, though, of course.
The Christmas Cube
But why a Fire TV Cube specifically? Amazon’s streamer isn’t as affordable as the more discreet Roku Express 4K. Nor does it come loaded with the premium features seen with the Apple TV 4K. It isn’t quite as robust as Sky Q’s collection of – admittedly, relatively expensive – entertainment packages, either.
The truth is that while the Fire TV Cube is a bit of an underdog on the streaming device scene, I feel it hits a sweet spot for app variety and price, as well as image and audio quality features that ensure a rock-solid viewing experience. Oh, and it has a built-in speaker, too, which makes it ideal for larger Christmas gatherings if you don’t already own one of the best soundbars.
There’s great value in this “jack-of-all-trades” design. This is especially true if you’re looking for a no-fuss streaming device for the holiday period that doesn’t suffer terribly for its shortcomings. Those being a home screen that’s tailored a little too much in favor of Amazon Prime Video content, as well as imperfect language recognition from the built-in Alexa voice assistant functionality. Oh, you’ll have to supply your own HDMI cable, too.
Despite this, and the fact that the latest Fire TV Cube model is indeed a couple of years old at this point (we’re desperately awaiting a new, third-generation model), its 4K HDR (as well as support for Dolby Vision) output and admirable upscaling make it a streamer still well worth buying, especially with that aforementioned price drop.
Not the only streamer in town
I’m not looking to be a Fire TV Cube shill, though. While I do think it’s an awesome product, it isn’t the only streaming device on the block. As a proponent of the tech in general, I’d absolutely recommend a number of streamers if Amazon’s own doesn’t take your fancy.
After all, even with that price drop, I’d still consider the Fire TV Cube to be relatively pricey compared to similar streaming devices, and I’m sure many of you aren’t keen on bursting the dam that is your Christmas budget. In this case I’d move to recommend a more affordable streamer.
The aforementioned Roku Express 4K fits the bill there, as do most of the best Roku devices. These compact streaming sticks plug directly into your TV’s HDMI port, meaning there’s no hassle (or extra cables) to worry about. Simply plug in, complete a basic setup phase and you’re golden.
Similarly affordable is the utterly brilliant Chromecast with Google TV. Google’s most recent streamer boasts HDR10+, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support. It’s a powerful streaming device for its price, and has just received a pretty substantial firmware update ahead of the holidays.
If you can afford to pay a bit more, though, the Apple TV 4K is also well worth a look. It’s definitely one of the more expensive streaming devices at $179 / £169, but if top-notch picture quality (and a brilliant Siri remote) is what you’re after this Christmas, few streamers deliver better than Apple.
Oh, and you’re getting access to both the Apple TV Plus streaming app and the wonderful Apple Arcade, which can provide a decent gaming distraction if you’re truly sick of nodding along to dad’s Steven Spielberg marathon.
Season's streamings
The point, then, isn’t necessarily to get you to buy a Fire TV Cube specifically. It’s more to make you aware that pretty much any of the best streaming devices you can buy are a superb alternative to defaulting to terrestrial channels – or dusting off your stack of Christmas DVDs and Blu-rays.
This is especially true when you consider that so many fantastic movies and TV shows released this year might have passed you by. You’ve likely heard of the award-winning Ted Lasso, for example, but the sitcom’s Apple TV Plus exclusivity means it isn’t the easiest show to watch without the right streaming device.
There’s also a surprising number of really quite good Christmas movies across a variety of streaming apps. For example, Netflix has a few great originals, including The Christmas Chronicles and its sequel. Starring Kurt Russell, which is almost always a sign that the movie is good, both are great for some lighthearted family viewing. There’s also Klaus, a delightfully heartwarming animated Netflix original that’s a good deal more sincere than most cartoon Christmas flicks.
So, if you need a break from The Snowman or Frozen, I can’t recommend a streaming device such as the Fire TV Cube or similar enough. Streaming apps are a veritable treasure trove of both good and bad content, but can nevertheless be a fantastic way to break the ice at a family gathering.
And if you’re using one to stream the same old movies and shows you watch year in, year out, that’s totally cool, too. They’re considered timeless for a reason, after all.
