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Most streaming players and smart TV platforms now offer some type of universal search for the streaming services they support. You can either type queries into a search box on the home screen or, in some cases, use voice control.
For example, with Roku TVs and streaming players, you can say the name of the title—or actor or director’s name—while pressing the voice button on the remote control, or speak into the mic on a smartphone or tablet loaded with the Roku app. Roku now searches across more than 100 streaming services, and more than 50 of them support direct playback from search when you use voice commands. A recent OS update added Spanish language support to Roku devices.
Both Apple TV and Amazon’s Fire TV work similarly. Apple TV’s voice search is powered by Siri; when your search result comes up, you can see additional details about the title, plus all the apps where that content is available. Siri can search about 90 channels and services to find movies and TV shows based on a wide range of criteria—including title, topic, genre, actors, director, rating, age appropriateness, and more. You can even ask it to find “good” or “popular” results. For apps, you can search by app name, developer, or category.
Amazon’s voice search, on both Fire Edition TVs and Fire TV streaming players, is powered by Alexa; it now covers more than 80 channels and services. Amazon tends to prioritize its own video content, but you can use the More Ways to Watch feature to find movies and shows on other services.
With Google Android TVs, you can personalize your TV by adding your favorite apps, just as you do on your smartphone. Google’s voice search is powered by Google Assistant; just press the microphone button on your remote and ask Google Assistant for the movie or TV show you want to watch. It will search multiple streaming platforms and let you perform searches within the app.
Right now Amazon Prime videos aren’t included in the search on Android TVs, but Google tells us it’s in the works.
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