The contenders are out there, with Apple's TV, Sony's PlayStation TV out in the States and Amazon's Fire TV now shipping. They'll soon to be joined by Google's Nexus Player, each at around $79-99, all are aiming for your Christmas bucks as a cheaper alternative to pricey tablets, consoles and other gadgets.
Here's some reviews to see what the world's gadget aficionados think (more will be added as reviews go live):
Apple TV
Engadget, CNET,
PlayStation TV
IGN, Tom's Guide, CNET, PC Advisor,
Amazon Fire TV
TechRadar, more coming soon
Google Nexus Player
Coming soon
This market is a muddy one with stragglers like the Ouya console competing with whitebox-branded Android consoles, micro PCs (like the new Alienware Alpha, below), Steam's living room PC concept and others.