Voice activation one of the new tools for cable-cutters

How do we know the market for streaming-video receivers is getting serious?

CBS Sports made Super Bowl 50 available for free viewing last weekend on Apple TV, Roku and Amazon's Fire TV.

And other major media outlets, such as NBCUniversal (owned by cable giant Comcast), PBS, Fox and Viacom (with Comedy Central and MTV), now offer a fair helping of prime-time series for free (starting a day later) to boost ratings. With the extremely inclusive PBS app, you can also pull down locally made TV12 shows plus Downton Abbey and Frontline.

Need more proof of streaming TV's ascendance?

Parks Associates notes that 31 percent of U.S. broadband households already own some sort of device - a smart TV, video game system or Blu-ray player - that can stream media, while 14 percent more broadband households plan to buy an Internet TV receiver this year.

And why not? Reasonably priced and easily installed, (with 15 Mbps or better Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet service at home), these high-def Web TV receivers offer an often free bounty of services focused on movies and TV series, plus specialty content from news to fashion, tech to travel, fitness to food.

The latest Roku 4 ($129), Apple TV ($149-$199) and Amazon Fire TV ($99) we've tested are slick little things with lots of firepower and tricks, plus small, comfortable remotes with just enough buttons (and in Apple's case, a responsive slide and press touchpad) to run the show.

(Yes, Google Chromecast is a cheaper Web-TV pulling alternative, but lacks a dedicated remote - gotta use your phone or tablet - and is a WiFi bandwidth hog.)

Talk nicely to me. How do these devices deal efficiently with the unwieldy load of content available in Web TV land, especially dense on Roku's "open platform"?

With voice activation tied to a cloud-based search engine on the new models. And with super robust processing power.

Users of the Apple and Fire TV boxes can make a request such as "Find some good romantic comedies," or "Tune to Netflix."

On the Roku 4, press the microphone button on the remote and murmur the name of a movie, director or star. Whisper any more and the thing freezes up faster than that first date you stupidly told "I think I love you."

Amazon's super-savvy Fire TV also responds to voiced requests for radio stations "on TuneIn" - the top global Internet radio aggregator - and from the catalog of a million or so tunes (and "thousands" of movies/TV shows) unlocked with an Amazon Prime account.

Like its smart speaker first cousin Echo, Fire TV also serves as an information resource, answering questions in a pleasant female voice, with patience and humor.

My almost-6-year-old assistant tester loved asking it stumpers like "How much wood can a woodchuck chuck?"

Rarin' to serve as your home automation hub, too, Fire TV's voice command system triggers smart lightbulbs, door locks and WiFi enabled thermostats you have associated with the system.

Apple TV lacks the gift of gab but will trigger "rewind 30 seconds," "pause," and a closed caption response to the question "what did they just say?"

Otherwise its brain power is quite limited. "She" knows the weather forecast, but not how many feet are in a mile.

At least you can stream soundtracks wirelessly from this device to speakers equipped with AirPlay!

A Roku spokesman reports "no interest here" in pursuing the smart home/hub business. Their primary mission now is persuading more TV makers to build in the Roku platform for Web TV tuning duties.

Meat and potatoes. First impressions likewise put the Fire TV and Apple TV ahead of the Roku 4 with their glossier screen guides. Apple TV also puts up a handsome menu when you open the app for the $10-a-month Apple Music subscription service (not voice accessible, drat!).

Apple TV creates a lovely slide show with automatic downloads from your Apple photo library, too. And it has the most serious, "game system-like" selection of video games to work with its remote or accessory joystick(s).

But don't dismiss the Roku 4! Its search engine can't be beat and will likely save you money.

Unlike Amazon and Apple, Roku doesn't own services that rent or sell content. So it plays fairly and openly with almost every movie service out there.

Search for a flick - my assistant reviewer wanted Snow Buddies - and the Roku lists lots of ways to get it, starting at the top with services that will stream it free if you subscribe to Netflix or Hulu Plus, or can tolerate commercials, as on Crackle.

By contrast, when we sought that doggie flick on Fire TV, the device found only a $3.99 Amazon rental option, even though my Netflix account was registered on the box and had it for no extra charge!

Apple TV plays nicer with Netflix, though not with other rental/subscription services.

Roku 4 also jumps out of the pack with unmatched extras: a separate optical audio output, a "lost-my-remote-buzz-it button" and a stereo headphone jack, lovely for listening at your chosen level.

And for those with a brand-new UHD TV, the Roku can receive Ultra High Definition (4K) shows/services at refresh rates up to 60 frames per second. Amazon Fire TV can handle 4K at 30 fps, tops. Apple TV still thinks HDTV (2K) is the hot new thing.

takiffj@phillynews.com

215-854-5960@JTakiff