Roku kept its lead in the streaming media player market in Q1 2018 even as Amazon’s Fire TV gained a bit of ground, according to new data from Parks Associates.

Roku’s share held steady, at 37%, in Q1, while Amazon’s share of the sector increased 4% from last year, stealing some share from Google, the firm said.

RELATED: Roku’s Platform Revenues Exceed Player Revenues in Q1

Consumers give Roku, Apple TV and Fire TV high marks in the usability category. Broken down further, Roku lead in multiple usability categories, while Apple TV did well in the gaming and content purchasing area. Parks Associates attributed some of Amazon Fire TV's market growth to improvements in the ease-of-setup category, which is still led by Apple TV.

Parks Associates said adoption of streaming media players is nearing 40%, with more than half of U.S. broadband homes owning a smart TV. About 50% of smart TV owners also own a separate streaming media player.

Among other stats, Parks Associates found that more than 70% of streaming media player owners use their devices at least once per week, versus 59% among smart TV owners.

“Smart TVs earned the highest Net Promoter Score (NPS) among consumers out of all the CE products Parks Associates tested, but streaming media players still have higher usage rates, indicating these devices have firmly established their role in their ability to connect users with content quickly and easily,” Kristen Hanich, research analyst at Parks, said in a statement.

About 49 million U.S. Internet homes now own some type of connected-TV or connected-TV streaming device, an increase of about 6 million homes, or 14%, over the past year, according to a new report from NPD Group.

The study, based on a survey of more than 5,000 U.S. consumers conducted in Q4 2015, found that the latest numbers mean more than half (52%) of all U.S. Internet homes have at least one device in the growing category.

Broadband-fueled gaming consoles still represent the highest penetration from a device-type standpoint (see chart), followed by the surging market for streaming media players, as well as connected TVs and Blu-ray players, per NPD’s study, Connected Intelligence Connected Home Entertainment Report

The research firm estimates that the average connected TV home had nearly three (2.9) devices installed that could stream video/programming from apps directly to the television screen.

“Ownership of connected televisions and streaming media players is accelerating while the availability of streaming content is simultaneously expanding,” John Buffone, executive director, Connected Intelligence at NPD Group, said in a statement. “These combined forces will continue to drive increased adoption of connected devices within U.S. households. At the same time, as the number of households that have access to apps on TVs rises, so too do the business opportunities for content owners and distributors.”

About half of U.S. homes now own a connected TV device, a category that spans connected TVs, game consoles, streaming players and Blue-ray Disc players, NPD Group found in a new study.

The number of homes with a connected device stands at about 46 million, up 4 million since Q2 2014, NPD Group found its new report.

The research firm’s retailing tracking service discovered that that 45% of TVs sold in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2015 supported apps, up from 34% last year, and up from 24% two years ago. Consumers are also connecting those TVs to the Internet at increased rates, as 69% of all installed Internet-capable TVs were connected, versus 61% last year, and 45% in 2013.

Among individual apps, Netflix retained its crown as the most commonly used OTT video services in Q2 2015, followed by YouTube, Amazon Prime/Instant Video, Hulu and HBO Go and HBO Now, the programmer’s new standalone OTT subscription offering.

 “The increase in the number of homes that use a TV with apps is the result of three very important factors,” said John Buffone, NPD Group’s executive director, Connected Intelligence, said in a statement. “Sales of TVs with apps have skyrocketed, their user interfaces have improved and there has been a surge in available premium services and programming.”

NPD Group based its findings on a survey of more than 5,000 U.S. consumers age 18 and older throughout the second quarter of 2015.