CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Non-Audio Stuff => The Geek Cave: Home Theatre, Computers, and More! => Topic started by: Marvey on November 10, 2014, 07:08:04 PM
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Ok, getting sick of that $180 per month cable bill from the cable monopolies. TW cable TV blanks out every now and then while we are watching shows.
I need a box with remote. No, the iPhone does not qualify as a suitable appliance remote. Narrowed down to two choices:
What should I get? Don't care about local TV. Cartoon network would be nice. I don't know much about them or how they work.
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Probably Amazon, unless you have a lot of local media you want to play... then I'd say Roku because their Plex implementation is a little better.
If you have Amazon Prime, go with Amazon. I've used both, and quality wise they're about the same. Roku will give you a little breathing room outside the Amazon ecosystem, but Amazon's ecosystem is pretty good.
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I was faced with this same dilema a few months ago.
Ended up with the Roku 3 and a Netflix subscription. Absolutely Love it and should have done that a long time ago.
You can also acces Amazon with the Roku 3, but what I didn't like about the service (vs. Netflix) is that plenty of the movies in it you have to pay extra, even if you have Amazon prime. With Netflix I pay about $8 a month and get 2 HD streams and most of the stuff is included with the monthly fee. LOTs of programs and worthy movies included. LOVE the interface.
Works great with Youtube, but you might need the iPhone App to quickly search. With Netflix the browsing capability is pretty awesome so no need for the iPhone App there.
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That's what I'm afraid of with Amazon. Too easy to click and buy; and I can see Julie or kids running up the tab to the same as our current cable bill.
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Amazon does Netflix as well. Thing about Netflix, though, is that if you want true HD, you have to pay more per month. It's not a lot more, but it's more than $8.
Get Amazon Prime if you don't have it, and a lot of that stuff will be free. I think you can set some sort of parental lockout, but since my cat can't work the remote, I never had to worry about it.
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That's what I'm afraid of with Amazon. Too easy to click and buy; and I can see Julie or kids running up the tab to the same as our current cable bill.
I gave a go to both at the same time (Amazon and Netflix) off the Roku 3. Netflix was winners. Have personalized profiles for each of the kids, wife, and self. We finished "The Killing" and going through a few other shows. Kids went through My Little Ponny, Batman (the good one), Scooby, Strawberry Shortcake, Transformers... You name it. All included, and easy to access. No extra charge.
We are in the middle of one movie currently.
Youtube does fantastic too (relative to some of the other crapy implemetnations I tried).
Amazon does Netflix as well. Thing about Netflix, though, is that if you want true HD, you have to pay more per month. It's not a lot more, but it's more than $8.
Get Amazon Prime if you don't have it, and a lot of that stuff will be free. I think you can set some sort of parental lockout, but since my cat can't work the remote, I never had to worry about it.
FWIW I paid about $8 for 2 HD streams like a few months ago. A LOT of stuff was not free with Amazon Prime. Plenty of shows were $$ to rent... Most of the free ones were crap. Was a bit disappointed.
As far as interfaces, Roku is proly not as commited to the Amazon environment. Their Netflix port is awesome though. Not sure if the Amazon box works exactly the same. I got the Roku 3 though which is pretty snappy. The older ones are proly a little slower.
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My bias is for the Roku since I do like to support local Saratoga (hometown) businesses.
With that said, the Roku supports much more channels out of box, though some of them are probably irrelevant. I think some premium stuff also needs a cable subscription to access to. (Fox, HBO, etc.).
It can also do Amazon Prime for an added cost, if that matters. Can't speak for Cartoon Network, since I haven't watched in like...10 years. Crunchyroll is available if they do watch anime though.
Amazon TV has much better games, if that is a thing to consider. If that doesn't matter, and you're just looking for a streaming device, I'd go with the Roku.
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If you have Amazon prime already for shipping, it proly makes sense to keep it. LOL! I'm proly in the Netflix fanboy phase currently.
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I found out CN isn't available for streaming anyways. Since I already have prime, I'll grab the Fire TV box.
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Roku does prime video too. I'd personally lean Roku since all of the Fire products just shove Amazon products/ecosystem down your throat. Amazon Prime Free video catalog is terrible.
Also maybe consider the Nexus Player? New version of Android TV -- and also acts as a Chromecast for occasions you'd like that (screen/phone mirroring). The UI probably isn't as polished as the Roku or Fire TV at this point, but will (maybe?) get there eventually. No ethernet though sorta kills it for me.
Personally, I'd go Roku 3 if I bought one today. Can get Amazon Prime content, Google Play content, plus it supports almost every other streaming media outlet. And it's super cool having a headphone jack in the remote for watching TV without waking everyone up.
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Quest makes a good point about the ecosystem. However, the upside to all that deep throating is that you have a well supported ecosystem. Roku is like running linux, with a bit more polish. It's the Wild West, which is fun and exciting... until you get a splinter and die of gangrene.
With Amazon (or Apple), you have a single point of contact for support, a robust infrastructure, etc. How much is that worth to you?
Roku is pretty good, though, so there's really no bad choice.
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Quest makes a good point about the ecosystem. However, the upside to all that deep throating is that you have a well supported ecosystem. Roku is like running linux, with a bit more polish. It's the Wild West, which is fun and exciting... until you get a splinter and die of gangrene.
With Amazon (or Apple), you have a single point of contact for support, a robust infrastructure, etc. How much is that worth to you?
Roku is pretty good, though, so there's really no bad choice.
Disagree with the Roku to Linux comparo. Roku 3 has been very robust so far.
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Linux is plenty robust... just not as polished as Windows or OS X. Fire TV and Apple TV are more polished and provide a more cohesive UX. That's all I meant.
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I think with Linux it depends on your hardware and even then. Ubuntu worked for me for a while but not very well. On another laptop it just overheated and got slow. Had to reboot stuff with certain "supported" programs on either platform. Drivers can be a very limiting factor. I have yet to have a need to turn off or reboot my Roku 3 and it's been a few months now. Runs cool and smooth too.
It's proly fanboy talk, but can say I'm happy with the Roku 3 in terms of stability, content, UI and so on.
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Yeah, pretty much an set top box is going to be like that... unless you roll your own with a NUC or ChromeBox or something.
Could always get an xbox one... that does Netflix and Plex. :)p1
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Yeah, the UI for the Fire TV was really clunky last time I used it (it's been a couple of months). If you want to watch a Prime video, then you have to scroll through all the paid options to get to the free option. If you want to watch Netflix, you don't go to Movies (because that only includes Amazon Prime Movies), you have to scroll all the way down to Apps to use it.
It just seems like everything takes 5 clicks more than necessary to get what I want. I haven't found a way to pin specific apps to certain parts of the UI. Again, not a big deal if you're exclusively using Amazon services.
Roku, while not as pretty looking, is actually a lot more usable. And if you search for a movie, it will search across ALL available services to find it.
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Yeah, the Amazon box is primarily a revenue generating consumption machine for Amazon...
I think Lifehacker wrote up a good comparison of the options. Let me go find that.
edit: here we go
http://gizmodo.com/streaming-device-showdown-who-wins-the-battle-for-your-1537850412
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Looks like they recommend Roku, too... but the Amazon does have voice search!
I'm sticking with my Apple TV and my convoluted method to get pirated movies to play. Makes me feel like I'm working for what I stole. :boom:
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Considering you can get a Celeron J based Windows 8 Asus netbox for barely over $200 now, that's what I would suggest. Vastly more power than any of these little boxes for not that much more money. Run XBMC or whatever you want on it, it's all up to you.
Cord cutting is fantastic, all I've had at home is broadband for a good 7 or 8 years now. The selection on Amazon and Netflix is pretty similar, though each has its own exclusives. I already have Prime for the shipping anyway, so I just treat their streaming service as a nice bonus. If you don't mind the commercials Hulu is ok too, though I wouldn't bother paying for the plus version.
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I got the impression that Marv wants easy streaming stuff for the family... otherwise I'd agree that a full PC is the way to go.
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Well hell, you can get a Chromebox for 120 and install XBMC on it. But I think he's avoiding setting up a HTPC with a wife and kids in the house.
EDIT: cizx beat me to it
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Yup. Have a laptop with XBMC, VLC, XYZ, 123 and 456. Nowhere as convinient as the Roku 3. Guess one pays for convinience and SW/HW proper marriage. It's been awesome for us... as long as the monthly fee and the services are of our liking.
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For the relatively low price, you can get both. Put them on two different TVs, or if you don't like one, then gift it for Christmas.
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Roku 3. I found one at a local used record store for $25 and have been very happy since.
Earlier that week I was about to snag the Fire TV but backed out after I learned it is very much Prime subscriber-centric and I never really used Amazon streaming.
The Roku will not have the best hardware behind it but the UI is simple and works. You can use Plex BTW to stream other content of questionable origins to the Roku with the help of a computer.
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yeah, I'm kind of full in with Amazon already. Is Plex available with Fire TV?
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I have a Roku 2 and an Amazon Fire Tv. I prefer the Fire much more; it's quicker, the remote batteries last much longer, the colors seem a tad better, interface is much nicer too. Just my .02
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Yeah, there's a pretty good plex client for amazon.
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I use a Roku and stream from Amazon and Fandor. The UI ain't the snazziest but at least the Roku app is a decent alternative to the remote.
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The only Apple product left in my home is the Apple TV, which I absolutely love. The Chrome Stick is great for streaming music, but for movies/tv I don't like using my phone as a remote control. Recently bought a fire stick, which does have a dedicated remote, but to me the picture just didn't look as good as the Apple TV.
I use my Logitech Harmony remote with the Apple TV and it works wonderfully.
Having said that, I have never tried a Roku. At this point I'll probably just stick with the Apple TV though.