TV streaming box - best ones?

[Jimbo]

Turned the Roku 4K streaming stick on that is on my patio tv to be greeted with an auto playing ad. Of course cursor wasn't on the close ad button either. So had to fumble to see where it was and move it to close the ad.

Guess I'll be ordering a couple more Apple TV 4k's. I refuse to put up with ads of any type.

Interesting, I have yet to see any ads on my Roku Ultra ... that said, I haven't used it lately.

 

[Altitudinous]

I know it's Walmart, but you really can't beat this device for the price. I bought 2 of them for my mother in law when she moved from Spectrum to YouTubeTV and they've been great.

onn 4K Pro Streaming Device with Google TV Hands-Free Voice Control & Dolby Atmos/Dolby Vision - Walmart.com

Buy onn 4K Pro Streaming Device with Google TV Hands-Free Voice Control & Dolby Atmos/Dolby Vision at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

This is my go-to device. $19.88. I like it better than Roku devices and the Roku TVs that I have. Supports YouTube TV's "1080p Enhanced" bitrate. I'm running Projectivy Launcher on it to avoid Google TV ads on the home screen, etc.

onn. Google TV 4K Streaming Box (New, 2023), 4K UHD Resolution - Walmart.com

Buy onn. Google TV 4K Streaming Box (New, 2023), 4K UHD Resolution at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

 

[osu1991]

Interesting, I have yet to see any ads on my Roku Ultra ... that said, I haven't used it lately.

Roku Tests Full Screen Home Screen Video Ads Before You Can Use Your Roku

Roku Tests Full Screen Home Screen Video Ads Before You Can Use Your Roku | Cord Cutters News

Update: Roku reached out to Cord Cutters News to say these ads are skippable. Earlier reports from readers and on Reddit said they couldn’t not be skipped. Roku says there is a close option on these ads that will let you imideitialy exit the ad when it starts. Here is the original story: Over...

cordcuttersnews.com

 

[dishdude]

Roku Tests Full Screen Home Screen Video Ads Before You Can Use Your Roku

Roku Tests Full Screen Home Screen Video Ads Before You Can Use Your Roku | Cord Cutters News

Update: Roku reached out to Cord Cutters News to say these ads are skippable. Earlier reports from readers and on Reddit said they couldn’t not be skipped. Roku says there is a close option on these ads that will let you imideitialy exit the ad when it starts. Here is the original story: Over...

cordcuttersnews.com

I'm glad I got rid of all my Rokus years ago, Max and another app weren't available at launch because they hadn't reached a deal and that was the end for me. Don't have that problem with Android, plus Android is much more customizable. I can install a VPN for when I travel out of the country and still use all my US apps.

 

[Jimbo]

I'm glad I got rid of all my Rokus years ago, Max and another app weren't available at launch because they hadn't reached a deal and that was the end for me. Don't have that problem with Android, plus Android is much more customizable. I can install a VPN for when I travel out of the country and still use all my US apps.

Well, I just turned my Roku Ultra on and started watching something and had NO Commercials.

Is it All Roku's or maybe the lower end ones ?

They told you how to get around this is the first paragraph, so they are not very worried about it.

 

[KAB]

Well, I just turned my Roku Ultra on and started watching something and had NO Commercials.

Is it All Roku's or maybe the lower end ones ?

You just need to make sure your Rokus Home Screen settings are all on HIDE.

 

[ncted]

Well, I just turned my Roku Ultra on and started watching something and had NO Commercials.

Is it All Roku's or maybe the lower end ones ?

They told you how to get around this is the first paragraph, so they are not very worried about it.

They are just testing it, so you may not see it right away. Same thing with the TV pause screen ads on other inputs they've been testing. We've only seen it once on the Roku TV in the kitchen which has an AppleTV connected. It works a lot like the pause screen ads you see on FireTV, except on paused content from external sources.

 

[ncted]

I'm glad I got rid of all my Rokus years ago, Max and another app weren't available at launch because they hadn't reached a deal and that was the end for me. Don't have that problem with Android, plus Android is much more customizable. I can install a VPN for when I travel out of the country and still use all my US apps.

Android is definitely the most customizable. As for the VPN functionality, all the major devices (except Roku) have VPN apps for the functionality you describe.

 

[dishdude]

Android is definitely the most customizable. As for the VPN functionality, all the major devices have VPN apps for the functionality you describe.

I can download and install NordVPN from the Roku store?

 

[ncted]

I can download and install NordVPN from the Roku store?

Hmmm...well, I guess not. When I did a search earlier, I found a bunch of sites listing the best VPNs for Roku and NordVPN was usually the top choice, but when I bothered to actually read the sites, I found you have to have an intermediate device handling the VPN access, like a router. NordVPN does work with tvOS though. Sorry for the confusion. I'll update my post.

 

[ZetaMale]

Has anyone tried this?

BuzzTV PowerStation 6 - 8GB | 16GB RAM

BuzzTV P6 PowerStation - The Ultimate Streaming & Gaming Powerhouse Dominate your entertainment with the all-new BuzzTV P6 PowerStation, the most powerful streaming media player and Android box on the market. Built for the ultimate home theater experience, the P6 redefines what's possible...

buzztvglobal.com

 

[primestar31]

Has anyone tried this?

BuzzTV PowerStation 6 - 8GB | 16GB RAM

BuzzTV P6 PowerStation - The Ultimate Streaming & Gaming Powerhouse Dominate your entertainment with the all-new BuzzTV P6 PowerStation, the most powerful streaming media player and Android box on the market. Built for the ultimate home theater experience, the P6 redefines what's possible...

buzztvglobal.com

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidTVBoxes/comments/1e7gjin/buzz_tv_powerstation_6/


View: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidTVBoxes/comments/1itab58/buzztv_power_station_6unlimited_6/

 

[fmj77]

I've had an Nvidia Shield Pro since it launched in 2019 and it's hands down the best streaming device I've ever owned. Still as fast and snappy today as it was when it was new.

 

[ncted]

This is about SmartTVs in particular, but worth knowing:

Your TV is watching you

Roku, Amazon, and practically every company in the streaming business are inventing new ways to make money off your data.

www.vox.com

 

[ZetaMale]

This is about SmartTVs in particular, but worth knowing:

Your TV is watching you

Roku, Amazon, and practically every company in the streaming business are inventing new ways to make money off your data.

www.vox.com

So it's not enough that we PAID for our TVs, computers, and cell phones so they have to steal our data and sell it. I'm not surprised that people look for countermeasures.

 

[Alibabba]

Walmart's ONN 4k pro, $50.
One and done.

 

[NYDutch]

I bought 55" ONN Roku TV when they were on sale. I haven't checked out the Roku apps yet beyond a brief look while setting it up, since I set the startup to automatically use the HDMI port that has my HDMI scaling splitter attached. The splitter has a Firestick 4K MAX installed that was already set up with the preferred apps we used with our previous smaller TV. The splitter feeds both the 55" TV and the 17" TV in our kitchen so both can show the same program with no synchronization issues. The kitchen TV also has it's own 4K MAX connected via an HDMI switch for independent viewing. All told, we have 5 active 4K MAX's now, and have been very satisfied with them.

 

[Ronnie-]

I know it's Walmart, but you really can't beat this device for the price. I bought 2 of them for my mother in law when she moved from Spectrum to YouTubeTV and they've been great.

onn 4K Pro Streaming Device with Google TV Hands-Free Voice Control & Dolby Atmos/Dolby Vision - Walmart.com

Buy onn 4K Pro Streaming Device with Google TV Hands-Free Voice Control & Dolby Atmos/Dolby Vision at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

When they work, they are good for the money.

That said I bought one for my garage and it worked a while then it wouldn't keep a WiFi connection. Everything else out there would. Apple TV, Xbox, the tv, ect.

So I quit using it.

A few weeks or so after I needed a cheap box for my camp and bought another.

Took it to the garage to set it up and the exact same issue.

Either won't connect or won't stay connected for more than a few minutes (at best).

Normally I'd say it's a network issue but these two devices are the only ones that have this problem. I've even used other google tv devices here with no issue.

So I'm kinda soured on them. If this could be fixed I'd definitely recommend them.

 

[Altitudinous]

When they work, they are good for the money.

That said I bought one for my garage and it worked a while then it wouldn't keep a WiFi connection. Everything else out there would. Apple TV, Xbox, the tv, ect.

So I quit using it.

A few weeks or so after I needed a cheap box for my camp and bought another.

Took it to the garage to set it up and the exact same issue.

Either won't connect or won't stay connected for more than a few minutes (at best).

Normally I'd say it's a network issue but these two devices are the only ones that have this problem. I've even used other google tv devices here with no issue.

So I'm kinda soured on them. If this could be fixed I'd definitely recommend them.

I mentioned earlier that I have the $19.88 2023 onn 4k streaming box (not the $49.88 2024 Pro version) and its connection has been rock solid. FWIW.

 

[ncted]

When they work, they are good for the money.

That said I bought one for my garage and it worked a while then it wouldn't keep a WiFi connection. Everything else out there would. Apple TV, Xbox, the tv, ect.

So I quit using it.

A few weeks or so after I needed a cheap box for my camp and bought another.

Took it to the garage to set it up and the exact same issue.

Either won't connect or won't stay connected for more than a few minutes (at best).

Normally I'd say it's a network issue but these two devices are the only ones that have this problem. I've even used other google tv devices here with no issue.

So I'm kinda soured on them. If this could be fixed I'd definitely recommend them.

My brother got one of these and had wi-fi issues. He tried adding a wi-fi extender, but no joy. Eventually he just got a Roku box and the problems went away.