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I have a Roku 3, and have been thrilled with it. The headphone jack in the remote is a killer feature. The worst thing for me was the requirement to add a cre

I have a Roku 3, and have been thrilled with it. The headphone jack in the remote is a killer feature. The worst thing for me was the requirement to add a credit card to enable the device, but I found a thread on reddit [1] where someone had posted a link to a no-credit-card registration entry point. That entry point appears to be no longer valid, but some url hacking reveals that it is now [2]. My other complaints are mostly minor nits -- I hate that the UI has ads in it; I hate those extra buttons on the remote for specific apps (both for aesthetic reasons and for the fact that if you accidentally tap one of those buttons, then you're ripped out whatever you're doing). The scrubbing could be better, though it is pretty good, and it has a "closed caption on instant replay" feature, that could work more consistently, but is a brilliant idea to catch that bit of dialog you just missed. The quality of the UI varies greatly between the different apps, with Netflix clearly putting in the most work, and HBO Go phoning it in (no in-app search feature, just browse -- you can search from the Roku "universal search", but that requires exiting the app I'm already in, etc.) I got a Chromecast as a gift, and it's a neat toy, but when you need to pause a program in the middle, not having a remote is a huge pain. Your phone is locked now, and you need to open it, and then it can't connect to the Chromecast for some reason, and pause resets the program sometimes for some reason, etc., or because it lost the connection it can't figure out what's currently playing so pausing it loses the stream completely. It's possible that software bugs have been sorted out since then, but I'd be reluctant to try it again, especially since the Roku is so good. The lack of Amazon video on Apple TV feels like a non-starter to me; but I'm sure that will change in the future. Fire TV is tempting, but based on using a Fire tablet, I find Amazon's "content-focused" approach to be very confusing, with everything kind of jumbled together. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/Roku/comments/1yqz30/can_you_activate_a_roku_without_a_credit_card/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Roku/comments/1yqz30/can_you_activa... [2] https://my.roku.com/signup/nocc https://my.roku.com/signup/nocc

thebouv 11y ago
With you a 100% on this. Apple not having Amazon means I can't touch it (I own so many movies on Amazon for my kids). The headphone jack in the Roku 3 remote really is golden. So many times I've been able to watch things while the wife or kids are sleeping. Love it. Funny, I don't recall needing to register a credit card with my Roku 3, I already had an account from the Roku 2 release so maybe that's why. I'm going to go check my account now to see. I've never bought any apps or anything from Roku's service, so no reason to have that up there. I bought a Chromecast as well, but mostly to play around with developing for it. Plan to use it as simple digital signage delivery system and that's pretty much it.
noxToken 11y ago
> Your phone is locked now, and you need to open it, and then it can't connect to the Chromecast for some reason, and pause resets the program sometimes for some reason, etc., or because it lost the connection it can't figure out what's currently playing so pausing it loses the stream completely. This was also my biggest complaint. Chromecast recently had a huge update that fixed many bugs including device connectivity issues. I can start the Chromecast from one device, leave the house, and someone else can connect with their device without interrupting the stream. Also, Android devices have lock screen widgets that allow you to at least pause the stream without unlocking the device. I can't speak for iOS though. edit: Also, and this isn't pointed specifically at you, Chromecast is not completely analogous to Roku or other streaming devices. Chromecast is a media extender. There is no ecosystem for it. It's not a stand alone service. App features are strictly dependent on their existence in the streaming app itself, because Chromecast, in its current iteration, only displays what you would see natively on your current device.
- rbell 11y ago
  I'm guessing this may be related to use of iOS? I'm running Android - and can operate (i.e. play/pause forward/backward) all streaming software via the lock-screen - without having to unlock the phone. I've tried this on: Plex, Netflix, Spotify, Google Play Music, Youtube, assorted local tv broadcasters, etc. Still have not found a single chromecast enaled app which does not let me operate it via the lockscreen. Personally - I found my ideal device in Chromecast. It is very easy to set up and use (heck, even my girls (7, 10, 12) and my wife finds it easy to use). And the experience in using it is un-surpassed. I much prefer locating my content on my phone than on the TV via a clumsy remote and interface. It is also extremely easy to switch from, lets say, a Youtube video, to showing a Netflix movie. While the youtube movie is still playing I will be lining up the next item to play. And when friends are over we can all contribute music videos to the playlist, etc. I'm guessing I am biased the other way around - being a linux and android user primarily - but I still can not see how anything can surpass the Chromecast experience. Nothing is even close - and I have tried them all.
mkozlows 11y ago
The Chromecast experience varies depending on your phone, to some extent. If you have a memory-limited device that pages out the app controlling the casting stream, the experience is going to be awkward and unpleasant. But if the app stays running, there's generally no issue -- the lock screen (on Android at least; not sure about iOS) will display a media control thing where you can pause directly, and you won't have any need to reconnect to things or re-launch programs.
- Someone1234 11y ago
  I have a 3GB device (Sony Z3) and have all of the issues described above. I can start a cast from the YT app, put my phone down, and when I pick it up again, unlock, the YT app seemingly is out of sync with the Chromecast and when I try to perform an action my stream is restarted/stopped/otherwise interfered with. We also own a Fire Stick (it was $25, don't judge me) and ignoring the physical remote for a second, the app remote for Android ("Amazon Fire TV Remote App") is much more reliable since it does exactly one thing: Be a remote. So streaming is never interrupted. PS - The app version of the Amazon remote adds voice input even to just the Fire stick (the Fire box has it on the physical remote), however it is of limited value since voice input only works on the Amazon search, not Netflix, Hulu, etc.

thebouv 11y ago

With you a 100% on this. Apple not having Amazon means I can't touch it (I own so many movies on Amazon for my kids). The headphone jack in the Roku 3 remote really is golden. So many times I've been able to watch things while the wife or kids are sleeping. Love it. Funny, I don't recall needing to register a credit card with my Roku 3, I already had an account from the Roku 2 release so maybe that's why. I'm going to go check my account now to see. I've never bought any apps or anything from Roku's service, so no reason to have that up there. I bought a Chromecast as well, but mostly to play around with developing for it. Plan to use it as simple digital signage delivery system and that's pretty much it.

noxToken 11y ago

> Your phone is locked now, and you need to open it, and then it can't connect to the Chromecast for some reason, and pause resets the program sometimes for some reason, etc., or because it lost the connection it can't figure out what's currently playing so pausing it loses the stream completely. This was also my biggest complaint. Chromecast recently had a huge update that fixed many bugs including device connectivity issues. I can start the Chromecast from one device, leave the house, and someone else can connect with their device without interrupting the stream. Also, Android devices have lock screen widgets that allow you to at least pause the stream without unlocking the device. I can't speak for iOS though. edit: Also, and this isn't pointed specifically at you, Chromecast is not completely analogous to Roku or other streaming devices. Chromecast is a media extender. There is no ecosystem for it. It's not a stand alone service. App features are strictly dependent on their existence in the streaming app itself, because Chromecast, in its current iteration, only displays what you would see natively on your current device.

rbell 11y ago
I'm guessing this may be related to use of iOS? I'm running Android - and can operate (i.e. play/pause forward/backward) all streaming software via the lock-screen - without having to unlock the phone. I've tried this on: Plex, Netflix, Spotify, Google Play Music, Youtube, assorted local tv broadcasters, etc. Still have not found a single chromecast enaled app which does not let me operate it via the lockscreen. Personally - I found my ideal device in Chromecast. It is very easy to set up and use (heck, even my girls (7, 10, 12) and my wife finds it easy to use). And the experience in using it is un-surpassed. I much prefer locating my content on my phone than on the TV via a clumsy remote and interface. It is also extremely easy to switch from, lets say, a Youtube video, to showing a Netflix movie. While the youtube movie is still playing I will be lining up the next item to play. And when friends are over we can all contribute music videos to the playlist, etc. I'm guessing I am biased the other way around - being a linux and android user primarily - but I still can not see how anything can surpass the Chromecast experience. Nothing is even close - and I have tried them all.

mkozlows 11y ago

The Chromecast experience varies depending on your phone, to some extent. If you have a memory-limited device that pages out the app controlling the casting stream, the experience is going to be awkward and unpleasant. But if the app stays running, there's generally no issue -- the lock screen (on Android at least; not sure about iOS) will display a media control thing where you can pause directly, and you won't have any need to reconnect to things or re-launch programs.

Someone1234 11y ago
I have a 3GB device (Sony Z3) and have all of the issues described above. I can start a cast from the YT app, put my phone down, and when I pick it up again, unlock, the YT app seemingly is out of sync with the Chromecast and when I try to perform an action my stream is restarted/stopped/otherwise interfered with. We also own a Fire Stick (it was $25, don't judge me) and ignoring the physical remote for a second, the app remote for Android ("Amazon Fire TV Remote App") is much more reliable since it does exactly one thing: Be a remote. So streaming is never interrupted. PS - The app version of the Amazon remote adds voice input even to just the Fire stick (the Fire box has it on the physical remote), however it is of limited value since voice input only works on the Amazon search, not Netflix, Hulu, etc.