Roku/Apple TV/Amazon Fire TV/Chromecast - What do you have? What do you like?

[dougdirt]

I've had a Roku XD for a year and a half now and I love it. It's hooked up in the living room though and I was looking at something for my bedroom. I was going to go to Best Buy today to grab a Roku 2 for the bedroom TV so I didn't have to run my Xbox all of the time for Hulu/Youtube/Netflix/Plex, especially because the youtube and plex apps suck for the xbox in some ways. Anyways, while I was at Best Buy they seemed to be out of the Roku 2's at first, so I started looking at the streaming stick and the Roku 3's. I pulled out my phone and started to compare all of the devices and noticed that the streaming stick actually did more than the Roku 2 does, and it was $20 cheaper. The only catch was that it didn't come with the headphone jack built into the remote control. Of course, the streaming stick offered something even better than the Roku 2 did: I can scree mirror my computer/phone/tablet to the TV with it.

Easiest buy I've ever made.

I brought it home, hooked it up and began to set up all of my channels. Then spent 4 hours updating to Windows 8.1 (I have automatic updates turned off - so I had to install 112 updates before I could even begin to download and install 8.1) so I could screen mirror my laptop. It is a little bit laggy, so I won't be using the TV as a second monitor through the Roku (though I do at times do so with an HDMI cord). Still, it's a cool function that will get some use. I was also pleased to see that Time Warner Cable updated their Roku app and it not longer sucks. In fact, it's great. I hadn't tried using it for a few months because of how bad it was compared to the app on my xbox, which worked great.

I posted about it on facebook and a friend asked if it was better than the Apple TV, in which case I laughed and told him that of course it was. But, it got me to thinking: I've never really used any of the other streaming devices, I just know what I've read about them.

So here I am now, asking you guys. What do you have from the streaming devices? What do you like or dislike about them?

[bigredmechanism]

I'm moving into a new place this week, and a roommate has Apple TV. I haven't had any experience with it yet, but I'll let you know what I think.

[GAC]

I've had a Roku HD, in the living room, for several years now. We love it. We got rid of all the pay-stations (HBO, Encore, etc), because of Netflix. There is also some other free channels on there, like "Moonlight Theater" and "Drive-In Movies", where my wife likes to watch all these old B movies.

In my bedroom I have a Sony DVD player with instant streaming. Besides Netflix and YouTube, I also registered for Vudu, which is free, and it's pay-as-you-go. They have a lot of new releases on there; but I also like it for the other genres they have which include a lot of older movies that can cost as little as $3. And if you want to buy the movie, which, depending on what it is and how new, it can cost you anywhere from $8 to under $20. and they then add it to your "MY Vudu" where you can watch it anytime. A nice space-saver from having to store DVDs.

My wife and I don't really watch a lot of TV. You could probably count on one hand the number of channels we watch with regularity, and if I could get them instant streaming I'd love to dump Directv all together.... but I think I'd need to get an updated streaming device since nether has an internet browser on it, to the best of my knowledge.

[919191]

I love my Roku 3. Pandora and Slacker sound great and HuluPlus and FXNow shows can be seen next day. Gonna ger MLBTV instead of EI too.

[GAC]

Our older Roku has the "Channel Store", but my wife and I have never really taken the time to explore it, and what's available. That is until this morning. There is a lot of good, and free, channels on there. We've been deleting stuff off our main Roku menu that we won't ever watch, and adding numerous channels that offer free programming.

My DVD player in the bedroom has instant streaming, but it too is several years old and the only options it offers is Neflix and Vudu. No Channel Store where you can browse/add channels. I'm going to have to upgrade to a newer (better) DVD player with more instant streaming options.

[JaxRed]

I have a ROKU 3 I bought as more of an experiment. It used to have a channel store, but after the recent firmware update it seems to have disappeared. We've watched a few things thru it. Watched an Amazon HD movie and it looked great.

[AtomicDumpling]

I cut the cord in 2013 and have not missed my cable tv at all. We use a Roku 1 and it works great. Between Netflix and all the free apps in the channel store we have access to more good shows than we could ever watch. I now spend $8 per month for NetFlix. I used to spend about $120 per month for Time Warner Cable. I will never go back to cable or satellite. It is a ripoff. We also occasionally get DVDs at the library so we can watch shows like Game of Thrones or Downton Abbey or The Wire for free.

Another great thing about NetFlix is you can watch it not only on your TV but also on your phone, tablet or computer wherever you happen to be in the world. My parents and my wife's parents also use our Netflix account for no extra charge. NetFlix is the greatest bargain in the history of the universe.

Does the new Roku streaming stick do anything the Roku 1 cannot?

[dougdirt]

Does the new Roku streaming stick do anything the Roku 1 cannot?

Yes it does. I can mirror my phone/tablet/computer screen to the streaming stick.
You have better Netflix with separate profiles - and a MUCH better app itself. Easier to navigate, better layout.

From their website comparison it also has these features that the Roku 1 doesn't have:

Dual band wireless
Cast to TV direct from YouTube and Netflix mobile apps (though the Roku has apps for each, so I'm not sure how helpful this function actually is).

[AtomicDumpling]

Yes it does. I can mirror my phone/tablet/computer screen to the streaming stick.
You have better Netflix with separate profiles - and a MUCH better app itself. Easier to navigate, better layout.

From their website comparison it also has these features that the Roku 1 doesn't have:

Dual band wireless
Cast to TV direct from YouTube and Netflix mobile apps (though the Roku has apps for each, so I'm not sure how helpful this function actually is).

I can do all of those with my Roku 1 using apps, except for the dual band wireless (I don't know what that means). It is possible the Netflix app on the stick is easier to navigate because I haven't tried it.

[dougdirt]

I can do all of those with my Roku 1 using apps, except for the dual band wireless (I don't know what that means). It is possible the Netflix app on the stick is easier to navigate because I haven't tried it.

My Roku XD is pretty crappy with the old Netflix app and that I can only have one profile (the main profile) kind of sucks. The rest of it is pretty nice, but I really hate that it doesn't have the newer Netflix app (It's identical to the Netflix app that's on my xbox - if you've ever used that one).

Dual-band wireless is just better for multiple users, which I'm guessing you have at your home. All of your devices are probably coming through the wifi. Dual band allows you to get more out of your speeds.

As a sidenote - what app do you use to screen mirror on your Roku 1? I'd like to see if I can use that on my Roku XD in the living room.

[WildcatFan]

I cut the cord in 2013 and have not missed my cable tv at all. We use a Roku 1 and it works great. Between Netflix and all the free apps in the channel store we have access to more good shows than we could ever watch. I now spend $8 per month for NetFlix. I used to spend about $120 per month for Time Warner Cable. I will never go back to cable or satellite. It is a ripoff. We also occasionally get DVDs at the library so we can watch shows like Game of Thrones or Downton Abbey or The Wire for free.

Another great thing about NetFlix is you can watch it not only on your TV but also on your phone, tablet or computer wherever you happen to be in the world. My parents and my wife's parents also use our Netflix account for no extra charge. NetFlix is the greatest bargain in the history of the universe.

Does the new Roku streaming stick do anything the Roku 1 cannot?

What do you do for Reds games?

[cumberlandreds]

I have Chromecast. I don't use it all that much. You have to be in Google Chrome to use it. They have all of the basic apps so that usually isn't a problem. I have Kindle Fire's as the tablet I use and they don't support Chromecast anymore since Amazon has their own thing. So I have to use my PC or laptop to cast on my TV. So that limits what I can do. I have thought about getting the Firestick to try it so I can use my Kindles with it.

[dougdirt]

I have Chromecast. I don't use it all that much. You have to be in Google Chrome to use it. They have all of the basic apps so that usually isn't a problem. I have Kindle Fire's as the tablet I use and they don't support Chromecast anymore since Amazon has their own thing. So I have to use my PC or laptop to cast on my TV. So that limits what I can do. I have thought about getting the Firestick to try it so I can use my Kindles with it.

That's why I went with the Roku. I don't need to be using my computer/phone/tablet to watch anything. I thought about getting a chromecast for about 30 seconds, but changed my mind. I've got a Kindle Fire as one of my tablets as well, but all of these things have Amazon apps, so I didn't want to get stuck into the Amazon system for all of my media (one of the reasons I hate Apple products).

[Beltway]

What do you do for Reds games?

I'm subscribed to MLBtv and use Kodi (formerly XBMC) as my frontend. I use Unlocater to deal with blackout issues. This setup requires a PC, which makes it significantly more expensive than a Roku or similar device, but you also get significantly more functionality. Plus, I enjoy setting it all up.

[BUTLER REDSFAN]

I bought a Roku a few years back but then decided shortly after that to buy a smart tv. My tv has all sorts of apps..Netflix and such. I threw the Roku in a drawer where it has sat for probably 2 years.. I sometimes think about re-hooking it up but is there any reason to if you have a smart tv??? I often think about "cutting the cord" but I don't want to miss Reds games in the summer and there really is only 1 channel I watch with any regularity on cable and I would hate to get rid of it as that is my main viewing channel. Also, and not trying to be difficult, but for those of you that have "cut the cord" it seems like by the time you subscribe to all those $8.00 and $9.00 channels you would be paying just as much as when you still had cable????