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Roku devices are great. For less than $70 I got a box that plays Netflix, Amazon Video, Google Play, Youtube, Hulu, and a lot more that I don't use. The big se

Roku devices are great. For less than $70 I got a box that plays Netflix, Amazon Video, Google Play, Youtube, Hulu, and a lot more that I don't use. The big selling point for me was the built-in headphone jack on the remote. After the wife, kids go to bed, I can still enjoy a late-night movie without waking anyone up... so long as I don't laugh too loud. (grin) This is my second Roku device - been using them for about 5 years now. Kids broke the remote on the last one and it was nearly as cheap to buy a whole new device than replace the remote.

StavrosK 9y ago
I got a Xiaomi Mi box and find it similarly amazing. It runs Android TV, which means I can install Kodi, which has been amazing for watching my movie collection, I don't know if Roku supports that. I used to have a Chromecast but the Mi box is much more convenient.
- rantanplan 9y ago
  > I don't know if Roku supports that It does through Plex
- jasonsync 9y ago
  Here's my evolution: 2008 - Eureka LX350HD Really buggy, crashed often, no MKV support, but played most of my library from back in the day 2010 - WDTV Gen 1 Great upgrade from the Eureka, MKV support 2012 - WDTV Live Streaming Gen 3 I still consider this the best media player I've owned, but it got slower over the years as apps improved (got bloated). Supported all video formats, supported all major online services, ability to mount over network, lots of advanced config options, and native playback from local drives via multiple USB ports. 2013 - Apple TV Gen 3 Having to transcode all MKVs / stream them from my Mac Mini was a non-starter, very slow, but I thought I'd give it a try (The WDTV Live could play all formats natively). 2014 - Roku 3 (+ Plex) Eventually the WDTV Live got too slow and firmware updates didn't help. Roku was a huge upgrade for online services, and Roku + Plex made transcoding tolerable (more-so than the Apple TV). Headphone jack in remote was a nice touch, and hidden private channels were fun. 2016 - Xiaomi Mi Box (Official Android TV + Kodi) This is the best media player I've owned since the WDTV. Kodi / SPMC does everything the WDTV could do and so much more. Ability to mount over the network and native playback from local drives means NO MORE TRANSCODING or remote media servers. Although Roku + Plex made transcoding tolerable, native playback (smooth seek / fast forward etc.) can't be beat. The only negative with official Android TV is limited apps, compared to Android + Chromecast or the older Android boxes. Android TV desperately needs a native Chrome web browser without side loading. The CBC app is great, for anyone in Canada! And Netflix / YouTube runs faster compared to the Roku 3. Android TV via the Xiaomi Mi Box or NVidia Shield with Kodi currently provides the best overall experience, and most options in terms of playback, apps, and advanced setup options.
  - StavrosK 9y ago
    That echoes my experience. Is Firefox not available for Android TV yet? I don't really use a browser on the TV, so I haven't even tried installing one (not sure if it already comes installed with Chrome). I know you said "no sideloading", but downloading and installing the Firefox APK right from Mozilla's website should be simple, no?
    - jasonsync 9y ago
      I sideloaded Chrome and Firefox a few months ago using the sideload launcher app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.tv.sideloadlauncher&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.t...), but the browsers have issues, mostly UI / UX tweaks to make them usable with the onscreen keyboard, Android TV remote etc. without buying a bunch of extra hardware. The easier work around at the moment is to cast from a laptop.
  - scarface74 9y ago
    I've tried a lot of things over the years, but my current setup consists of 3 3rd Gen AppleTVs, 3 Roku sticks and a TV with integrated Roku software. I'm running a Plex Server and Plex Connect (https://github.com/iBaa/PlexConnect https://github.com/iBaa/PlexConnect). Plex Connect let's you run a real Plex client on a non-jail broken AppleTV by intercepting the Trailers app and serving up custom TVML (Apple's proprietary HTML like markup language).
lucian1900 9y ago
Those are almost exactly the same features I get from my PS4.
- smlsugarlumps 9y ago
  True if you already had a PS4, but tell me where to get a PS4 for $70 I'll be listening.
  - Abekkus 9y ago
    There are bluray players for $70 that can stream netflix over wifi.
    - jon_richards 9y ago
      And the interface is usually complete crap. I'm sure you can find counterexamples, but I've been burned so many times. Even the Xbox one had several second load times for pretty much every menu page.

StavrosK 9y ago

I got a Xiaomi Mi box and find it similarly amazing. It runs Android TV, which means I can install Kodi, which has been amazing for watching my movie collection, I don't know if Roku supports that. I used to have a Chromecast but the Mi box is much more convenient.

rantanplan 9y ago
> I don't know if Roku supports that It does through Plex
jasonsync 9y ago
Here's my evolution: 2008 - Eureka LX350HD Really buggy, crashed often, no MKV support, but played most of my library from back in the day 2010 - WDTV Gen 1 Great upgrade from the Eureka, MKV support 2012 - WDTV Live Streaming Gen 3 I still consider this the best media player I've owned, but it got slower over the years as apps improved (got bloated). Supported all video formats, supported all major online services, ability to mount over network, lots of advanced config options, and native playback from local drives via multiple USB ports. 2013 - Apple TV Gen 3 Having to transcode all MKVs / stream them from my Mac Mini was a non-starter, very slow, but I thought I'd give it a try (The WDTV Live could play all formats natively). 2014 - Roku 3 (+ Plex) Eventually the WDTV Live got too slow and firmware updates didn't help. Roku was a huge upgrade for online services, and Roku + Plex made transcoding tolerable (more-so than the Apple TV). Headphone jack in remote was a nice touch, and hidden private channels were fun. 2016 - Xiaomi Mi Box (Official Android TV + Kodi) This is the best media player I've owned since the WDTV. Kodi / SPMC does everything the WDTV could do and so much more. Ability to mount over the network and native playback from local drives means NO MORE TRANSCODING or remote media servers. Although Roku + Plex made transcoding tolerable, native playback (smooth seek / fast forward etc.) can't be beat. The only negative with official Android TV is limited apps, compared to Android + Chromecast or the older Android boxes. Android TV desperately needs a native Chrome web browser without side loading. The CBC app is great, for anyone in Canada! And Netflix / YouTube runs faster compared to the Roku 3. Android TV via the Xiaomi Mi Box or NVidia Shield with Kodi currently provides the best overall experience, and most options in terms of playback, apps, and advanced setup options.
- StavrosK 9y ago
  That echoes my experience. Is Firefox not available for Android TV yet? I don't really use a browser on the TV, so I haven't even tried installing one (not sure if it already comes installed with Chrome). I know you said "no sideloading", but downloading and installing the Firefox APK right from Mozilla's website should be simple, no?
  - jasonsync 9y ago
    I sideloaded Chrome and Firefox a few months ago using the sideload launcher app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.tv.sideloadlauncher&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.t...), but the browsers have issues, mostly UI / UX tweaks to make them usable with the onscreen keyboard, Android TV remote etc. without buying a bunch of extra hardware. The easier work around at the moment is to cast from a laptop.
- scarface74 9y ago
  I've tried a lot of things over the years, but my current setup consists of 3 3rd Gen AppleTVs, 3 Roku sticks and a TV with integrated Roku software. I'm running a Plex Server and Plex Connect (https://github.com/iBaa/PlexConnect https://github.com/iBaa/PlexConnect). Plex Connect let's you run a real Plex client on a non-jail broken AppleTV by intercepting the Trailers app and serving up custom TVML (Apple's proprietary HTML like markup language).

lucian1900 9y ago

Those are almost exactly the same features I get from my PS4.

smlsugarlumps 9y ago
True if you already had a PS4, but tell me where to get a PS4 for $70 I'll be listening.
- Abekkus 9y ago
  There are bluray players for $70 that can stream netflix over wifi.
  - jon_richards 9y ago
    And the interface is usually complete crap. I'm sure you can find counterexamples, but I've been burned so many times. Even the Xbox one had several second load times for pretty much every menu page.