Verizon has announced two new soundbars that double as streaming boxes. The Stream TV Soundbar and Stream TV Soundbar Pro, as they are called, run Android TV and are already listed on Verizon’s website. As home theater setups have gotten more complex, the desire to combine the functionality of multiple devices into one gadget has grown.
Streaming devices come in different shapes and sizes these days including soundbars that double as media streamers. In some cases, such as the JBL Link Bar, which is one of the first Android TV soundbars, it also works as a Google Assistant smart speaker. A few other manufacturers have also announced their own versions such as the Roku Smart Soundbar which has Roku built-in and the Nebula Soundbar Fire TV Edition by Anker.
Verizon’s Stream TV Soundbar merges the Stream TV box and a soundbar into one device. So, while the listings for the two soundbars don’t say much about the streaming features they offer, users should expect a similar user interface and experience as what Stream TV offers. On the sound side of things, Verizon says that the two products offer Bang & Olufsen signature sound and Dolby Atmos virtual surround sound. The two speakers vary based on the sound output but their prices may put off a lot of prospective buyers.
Premium Sound Shouldn’t Cost This Much
Verizon has put a price tag of $399.99 on the Stream TV Soundbar while the Stream TV Soundbar Pro is $999.99. No doubt, $600 is definitely a wide margin between a standard version and a pro model, the differences also don’t seem to justify the price difference. According to the listings which were shared on Twitter by Android TV Guide (@AndroidTV_Rumor), the standard model has 5 built-in speaker drivers made up of 3 full range and 2 woofers. The pro model has 9 speakers that include 4 full range, 3 tweeters, and 2 woofers. Both have support for HDMI 2.1 but differ in the number of ports. There are two HDMI input ports and one HDMI output port on the standard model while the pro model has three HDMI input ports and a single HDMI output port. Both soundbars come pre-installed with Android TV 11 and have support for 4K UHD streaming. Users also get 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.0.
The Stream TV Soundbar may have a hard time selling, especially the pro model, based on the price tags. Prospective buyers can decide to pick up a standalone streaming device such as the $49 Chromecast with Google TV or even Verizon’s own Stream TV box which costs $70 but can be picked up for $49 now. Throw in a separately purchased soundbar to augment the audio from their TV, and they are good to go. With this decision, they definitely won’t be spending up to the $999 Verizon is asking for.
