Barb Gonzalez

Price: $40 (wireless pocket keyboard additional $40) At a Glance: Android operating system • HDMI Stick connects directly to TV • Potentially unlimited content • Best keyboard/mouse remote available for any media player

Favi’s SmartStick is not, as many call it, a Google TV. Instead, it is a dongle (stick) that connects to an HDMI input on your TV and runs the Android operating system. Typically, smartphones and tablets have Android, but this is the first streaming Android dongle for your TV. And herein lies the problem. While most Android apps made for tablets can be downloaded to the SmartStick, they are not designed for a TV streaming device, and they don’t work when you try to use them.

The FCC has ruled to allow the National Cable & Telecommunication Association's (NCTA) to scramble (encrypt) basic cable. While the cable companies claim that it is more cost-effective and easier for customers if they can scramble all signals sent to homes, the new ruling ensures that people who don't pay for basic cable can't access it without a cable box or CableCARD.

A new Firefox-based streaming dongle called Matchstick takes on Chromecast with new features. But there's a catch: It's not yet available for sale.

The Qeus smart integrated entertainment system ups the ante of the typical media player. While other media players have added micro gaming (mobile phone type games), the Qeus includes home control. This adds the most of the functionality of smart TVs like the new Sony that has smart home control.