Poll: Fire Stick or Roku?

[wormil]

It's luck of the draw. Electronics sometimes go bad, they make millions of them and some are going have flaws.

 

[ncted]

What are people doing to them to cause them to fry? I've still got the very first Roku device. In fact, the thing is in a clear housing, as in the beginning, roku didn't have a black casing, it was see-thru clear plastic. I have a streaming stick, 3 ultras, and 2 or 3 Roku 3's.

Same question for the slowing down. I've never seen any of mine do that. An occasional reboot is probably healthy (via the settings menu). I also put 64gb or 128gb memory cards in all of mine...solves the problem of not enough room... Basically it's running a linux backend so there shouldn't be any resource hogs that aren't fixed with a reboot.

I think it is a combination of both hardware being manufactured to a pretty low price point, and new software features which push the hardware to do more with the same resources. If you never upgrade the software, then perfectly-made hardware would most likely never have any issues. I think things seemed to get a lot worse when Roku added advertising and activity tracking to their software. Advertisers always want more and more targeting/tracking features, and most of that gets pushed down to the devices. This is the same kind of thing that makes web pages load so slowly these days. There is so much code on the pages, that the browser has to do a ton of work that is completely unrelated to the content you actually care about.

 

[StanDarsh]

I think it is a combination of both hardware being manufactured to a pretty low price point, and new software features which push the hardware to do more with the same resources. If you never upgrade the software, then perfectly-made hardware would most likely never have any issues. I think things seemed to get a lot worse when Roku added advertising and activity tracking to their software. Advertisers always want more and more targeting/tracking features, and most of that gets pushed down to the devices. This is the same kind of thing that makes web pages load so slowly these days. There is so much code on the pages, that the browser has to do a ton of work that is completely unrelated to the content you actually care about.

Makes sense... I never watch the free stuff (the ad-laced offerings) so I guess I don't get as much "targeted" advertising. Normally don't do searches either, unless I specifically know a program and just can't find it. Otherwise, like my daughter watching right now..she goes right where she wants to and watches. It's usually either sling, netflix, youtube, or hulu that we have included in cellular. Sometimes I use TRC and will just start a movie playing..but not always sit thru it all... Other than that... I try to stress the 4K content while playing PS4, son playing PS4, both of us streaming to Twitch via PS4...just so I can push the network and see where it's got weakness.

 

[Jhon69]

I use the Roku Streaming Stick+.It was too big to fit into my HDMI 5 but I found out I could request a free HDMI extender jumper cable from Roku.
I power mine with the USB cable works great.

 

[Ronnie-]

They only let you buy one at that price.

While you can occasionally get them at that price, I think it’s a stretch to say they are normally $24.99 on sale.
The regular sticks are often that price.
The 4K version is for some. Occasionally. $34 is the standard sale price.

 

[Bobby]

While you can occasionally get them at that price, I think it’s a stretch to say they are normally $24.99 on sale.
The regular sticks are often that price.
The 4K version is for some. Occasionally. $34 is the standard sale price.

Yep, I paid $34.99 for my 4K version in December of 2018...

 

[solarvic]

I got tired of using all those slow roku players that were not suported any more. The first roku stick that was purple was slower than whale goop too. They were all put in file 13. The only thing I kept was the remote from the purple stick which still will control the roku + stick I use on the old tv beside my computer. I still have the remotes from the old players that I discarded and would give them away to anyone that might want them.

 

[TheKrell]

The first roku stick that was purple was slower than whale goop too.

You don't know "slow" until you use a Roku SE! That was my first streamer which I bought refurbished for $15. It allowed me to acquaint myself with streamers, and the Roku interface which is still the best IMHO.

 

[ncted]

Well, since the latest Firestick software update, I've been having lots of problems with ethernet networking and PQ issues with Prime Video, so I am actually using my Roku Ultra in the living room more and more. Aside from some audio dropouts when using private listening and the usual remote power button issues with my Sony TV, it has been rock solid. No unexpected reboots like I saw previously. Of course, I still can't watch HBOMax on the Roku, so I am having to switch back and forth depending on which service we want to watch, which is one of the reasons I switched from Dish to streaming in the first place . The biggest irony is we are finding the Roku Prime Video app to work much better than the Firestick. At this moment in time, I'd change my vote to a toss-up.

 

[wormil]

While you can occasionally get them at that price, I think it’s a stretch to say they are normally $24.99 on sale.
The regular sticks are often that price.
The 4K version is for some. Occasionally. $34 is the standard sale price.

I believe you meant to quote someone else but earlier this year Amazon put the 4k sticks sale for $24.99 limit 1. I tried to buy a second in a subsequent sale and they wouldn't let me. The normal sale price, as you say, is $34. I don't believe I ever said they are regularly $24.99 on sale.

 

[ncted]

FYI: There is some debate as to whether Roku is really a neutral platform any more:

Why Does Roku Still Insist It’s ‘Neutral’?

Company’s CFO proclaims top OTT platform still plays its ‘traditional’ Switzerland role in the streaming wars. But analysts say it now has too many advertising and subscription agendas

www.nexttv.com

Given the disputes, I tend to lean towards not neutral these days.

 

[StanDarsh]

FYI: There is some debate as to whether Roku is really a neutral platform any more:

Why Does Roku Still Insist It’s ‘Neutral’?

Company’s CFO proclaims top OTT platform still plays its ‘traditional’ Switzerland role in the streaming wars. But analysts say it now has too many advertising and subscription agendas

www.nexttv.com

Given the disputes, I tend to lean towards not neutral these days.

totally lost on neutral...neutral to what? elaborate please?

I mean..dont they all have ads? is there ANY platform where you're not going to be subjected to either ads or commercials? Unless you have your own media and media server, there's just no getting around it in this age. I finally deleted some DVD rips that I had because I never watch them anymore and the quality sucked anyway...but it's just part of life now.

 

[ncted]

totally lost on neutral...neutral to what? elaborate please?

I mean..dont they all have ads? is there ANY platform where you're not going to be subjected to either ads or commercials? Unless you have your own media and media server, there's just no getting around it in this age. I finally deleted some DVD rips that I had because I never watch them anymore and the quality sucked anyway...but it's just part of life now.

Neutral in this case meant they were just in the device market. Originally, Roku had no ads. They just sold boxes. Someone decided along the way that they needed to make money by selling ads. So they started doing that, and then they started selling people's viewing habits (just like most everyone else), and then they started letting people do in-app purchases, so they took a slice of that revenue from the streaming channels, and they they started having disputes over that revenue.

That is the run-on sentence version of how Roku went from being a simple, well designed, performant streaming device making company to being a data-aggregating, ad-targeting, extorting a percentage from content providers kind of company that also still happens to make some devices.

 

[ncted]

There's a Very Good Reason Why HBO Max and Peacock Aren't on Roku

It’s been months since HBO Max and Peacock officially launched, and still, neither streaming service currently appears on the Roku platform (or Amazon, for that matter). The companies have said discussions about support were ongoing, but now we know why they’re still absent: Roku’s support fees...

gizmodo.com

 

[wormil]

"Reached for comment, a spokesperson for HBO Max parent company WarnerMedia told Gizmodo the company had no comment. A spokesperson for NBCUniversal, Peacock’s parent, said that “talks are ongoing.”

Roku didn’t immediately return a request for comment."

So the whole article is unsubstantiated speculation.

 

[ncted]

"Reached for comment, a spokesperson for HBO Max parent company WarnerMedia told Gizmodo the company had no comment. A spokesperson for NBCUniversal, Peacock’s parent, said that “talks are ongoing.”

Roku didn’t immediately return a request for comment."

So the whole article is unsubstantiated speculation.

Well, it was largely summarizing this Variety article which has a bit more substance:

How Roku Built Itself Into a Major Gatekeeper in Premium Streaming

Roku has built itself into a gatekeeper for premium streaming with its army of users, allowing it to demand more from media giants.

variety.com

 

[ncted]

I broke down and ordered an AppleTV to try in the Living Room this weekend. We continue to have issues with the Firesticks losing network connectivity. I got a cheap universal remote that is supposed work well with it. I might eventually change my vote to None of the Above if the AppleTV works out.

 

[lparsons21]

I broke down and ordered an AppleTV to try in the Living Room this weekend. We continue to have issues with the Firesticks losing network connectivity. I got a cheap universal remote that is supposed work well with it. I might eventually change my vote to None of the Above if the AppleTV works out.

The AppleTV is an excellent choice and hopefully you’ll like the universal remote with it.

I always had issues with FireTV sticks and I always thought it was poor WiFi performance on them. Now I have a 2nd Gen FireTV Cube and it has worked flawlessly both wired and WiFi. I like its remote a whole lot better.

 

[mackie99]

I broke down and ordered an AppleTV to try in the Living Room this weekend. We continue to have issues with the Firesticks losing network connectivity. I got a cheap universal remote that is supposed work well with it. I might eventually change my vote to None of the Above if the AppleTV works out.

What remote did you buy for the AppleTV?

 

[ncted]

What remote did you buy for the AppleTV?

The One For All Streaming remote. The reviews are a bit mixed, but I think the negative ones are largely due to people not wanting to learn how to program it. At least it is inexpensive, and might solve my Roku remote issues if I don't keep the AppleTV.

Streamer Remote

Control your Streaming box, TV and Audio. The only real replacement remote for your Streaming Device with the extra of functionality you always missed with your original remote.

www.oneforall.us