9 years ago
6
Roku, Chromecast Or Fire TV: Which Streaming Stick Is Right For You?
If you’re looking to add streaming capability to your TV without taking up extra shelf space, a streaming stick can be a good—and less expensive—alternative to the standard set-top box . Roku, Google and now Amazon all make sticks that let you watch movies and TV from services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime Instant Video...
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I have three Roku's (streaming, not stick) and haven't regretted purchasing any of them. They're durable, handle local streams (via Plex), internet streaming (Netflix, mostly) without a problem. The remotes are RF, so do not require a line-of-sight between the remote and the Roku to work. They come with handy headphone jack- you plug in your headphones into the remote, it mutes the TV. Great for watching TV with your partner sleeping. The article is wrong. You can cast videos to your Roku. Install the Roku app on your phone and you can cast everything to the Roku. I've done it.
I got a Chromecast, expecting wonderful things from google. There's no real 'interface' on the TV, it's all on your phone. Eats up battery life (so, have a power plug handy). It's good if you're playing video by yourself- if you're trying to select a movie to watch with someone, you have two people staring at a phone screen. Tablet might be a nicer experience. Not really dazzled by it. Roku has all the functionality and more
I ordered a Fire Stick (they had it on sale for 19 bucks for Amazon Prime members). Still waiting for it to ship. Curious, but holding my judgement until it arrives. Hoping the stick can play games like the bigger Fire TV devices can since I have dozens of games associated with my Amazon account. We'll see.
Anyway, for me at least, Roku rocks pretty hard. Have three and love them. If the price is too much for you, keep an eye on woot.com (part of Amazon now!). They sell refurbed units 2-3 times a month. You can get a refurbed Roku 3 for 60 bucks.
That was very informative /u/idlethreat, thank you! I am personally considering purchasing a Roku, any suggestion on which one I should get? Should I go all out and get the most powerful one or are the smaller versions still just as good?
The Roku2 has the older Netflix app that doesn't support Netflix profiles. Unsure how important profiles are to you (I don't use them). The 2 also has Composite hookups if you have a TV requiring it (the 3 is HDMI only). If you have the extra 20 bucks, I'd strongly recommend the Roku 3. Has USB, HDMI, faster processor, and just an all-around good box to use. I have two of them in daily service.
One thing nobody mentions (that I run into) was the wireless router part of the setup.
I had a lot of performance issues (slow streaming, stuttering) using consumer grade wireless routers (Dlink was one). I eventually threw some cash at a very nice Mikrotik and it completely resolved the problem.
I realize that I probably over-engineered the solution and there might be other (less complicated) devices to go with, but thought I'd mention it.
Sweet! Thanks for the info, I think I will pick one up this week.
Awesome. Follow up with me and tell me what you think!
Will do, Ill PM you and let you know how its working out!