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Yes, the fact that Apple TV doesn't work with non-Apple devices makes it a non-starter among those who don't exclusively buy Apple products in perpetuity. So t

by Touche 13y ago

Yes, the fact that Apple TV doesn't work with non-Apple devices makes it a non-starter among those who don't exclusively buy Apple products in perpetuity. So the question is Chromecast vs. other cross-platform TV solutions, like Roku. Roku does have it's own device-streaming but it only works with media on your device. I own both and use both, but lean towards the Roku more often as using the phone/tablet as a remote isn't significantly better than just using a remote, and I don't have to worry about what happens when the phone dies, or if I have it on a charger having to get up and walk to it when I need to pause the program.

IgorPartola 13y ago
I have three Roku-powered rooms in my house. I read about Chromecast's capabilities but I cannot find how it would serve me better than Roku. My needs are: * Stream Netflix/Hulu/Amazon/HBO Go to the TV. * Stream videos off my NAS, such as DVD rips, home movies, etc. (For this I use Plex.) * Occasionally, stream movies and pictures I took with my phone to the TV. * Very occasionally, stream live events, such as the New Years ball drop, or the World Cup. * Have an interface that is easy enough to use by non-technical people. Chromecast, at least on paper, seems to do these things markedly worse. I appreciate it's simplicity and I'd probably get one to play around with if I did not have the Roku players already, but so far, it seems like the shabbier streamer. A Roku 2 or a refurb Roku 3 is about twice the price of Chromecast, yet seems to deliver much more value and much less headache. So my question is the same as above: why use Chromecast at all?
- 67726e 13y ago
  I've got three Roku boxes in my house as well and I have to agree with all of your points. I got a Chromecast as a gift at Christmas and played with it but I really just don't see it as being better than the Roku with the exception of two fronts: 1. Price. It's just cheaper. About 40% the price of the latest Roku. 2. Development. Maybe this is a personal one for me. I keep wanting to work on a Roku Channel (app) but I really don't want to take the time to figure out their proprietary language.
  - robflynn 13y ago
    For what it's worth, BrightScript is pretty much just Visual Basic. It did take me a bit to get used to their various 'screens' and events.
    - virtue3 13y ago
      also a brightscript/roku dev here. There's a nice code color plugin for sublime you can use and it's a bearable platform to develop on. Definitely use the console to just send the debug build up to the device and start debugging. It's really not that bad. Probably took me about a day to get used to it. Honestly, as long as you stick within their control schemes you're fine. Trying to break out of the roku app controls leads to a total nightmare so be weary of that trap ;)
      - kbenson 13y ago
        I don't know how it is on the newer versions, but BrightScript was always very, very slow. Much slower than you would expect. Most of the time it never matters, since you are calling out to compiled object code that exports APIs for complex tasks, but when it matters, it matters. For example, implementing CRC32 (no built-in shift operators!), or minmax for game AI (for Reversi of all things, it's not like there's that many possible moves) always required heavy optimization to achieve performance that was near acceptable. It always boggled my mind why they didn't just take a JS implementation and port it, but I guess it's hard to justify throwing away IP which already exists because of a prior product. The engineers at Roku and the community were always great though.
        virtue3 13y ago
        There's a certain point of "good engineer's" career where they want to make their own language/vm. I'm 99% sure this is what happened here. It's always a train wreck. They really should have used lua. It would have been very simple to put in and it's robust enough and efficient for small memory devices. While I appreciate the power/flexibility/efficiency of js it is no where near as efficient as lua. Lua keeps things as ints until they aren't needed etc. Very much build for embedded systems almost. I'm probably biased in that I've worked on a lua VM for mobile handsets for a few years.
- jggonz 13y ago
  I own a Roku, and find it works great when you're laying down on your bed and want to watch a movie on Amazon/Netflix. However, for entertaining, the easy access to Google Play Music and the ability to cast Chrome tabs was the reason that I chose Chromecasts everywhere, and stuck with the Roku just where I want to watch Amazon movies.
  - IgorPartola 13y ago
    I haven't tried it before but it seems the Roku app on iOS lets you stream music to the Roku player. In addition to that, many new home surround sound systems come with Bluetooth streaming capability, though then of course you have to keep the phone close enough to the stereo to not break the connection.
- Touche 13y ago
  The difference I see is that remote-based streamers are better when you know what you want to watch. Push-from-device based streamers are better when you are just browsing and come across something interesting.
- higherpurpose 13y ago
  I don't think it's for someone who already has 3 Rokus...
giovannibajo1 13y ago
> Yes, the fact that Apple TV doesn't work with non-Apple devices makes it a non-starter among those who don't exclusively buy Apple products in perpetuity. That's factually false. I daily use an Apple TV with my Synology NAS, for instance. There are AirPlay streamers for Android and for Windows. The protocol has been fully reversed (besides the DRM bits). Now, I'm not saying that this was the design of the protocol. Obviously Apple doesn't care less about 3rd-party compatibility. I'm just saying that it's false that Apple TV nowadays is limited to the Apple ecosystem.
- Touche 13y ago
  Great, but none of the apps that people care about like Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, Plex, etc. are using a reversed-engineered Airplay on Android.
  - stock_toaster 13y ago
    However, the first 3 you mentioned are already native "apps" on appletv.

by Touche 13y ago

IgorPartola 13y ago

I have three Roku-powered rooms in my house. I read about Chromecast's capabilities but I cannot find how it would serve me better than Roku. My needs are: * Stream Netflix/Hulu/Amazon/HBO Go to the TV. * Stream videos off my NAS, such as DVD rips, home movies, etc. (For this I use Plex.) * Occasionally, stream movies and pictures I took with my phone to the TV. * Very occasionally, stream live events, such as the New Years ball drop, or the World Cup. * Have an interface that is easy enough to use by non-technical people. Chromecast, at least on paper, seems to do these things markedly worse. I appreciate it's simplicity and I'd probably get one to play around with if I did not have the Roku players already, but so far, it seems like the shabbier streamer. A Roku 2 or a refurb Roku 3 is about twice the price of Chromecast, yet seems to deliver much more value and much less headache. So my question is the same as above: why use Chromecast at all?

67726e 13y ago
I've got three Roku boxes in my house as well and I have to agree with all of your points. I got a Chromecast as a gift at Christmas and played with it but I really just don't see it as being better than the Roku with the exception of two fronts: 1. Price. It's just cheaper. About 40% the price of the latest Roku. 2. Development. Maybe this is a personal one for me. I keep wanting to work on a Roku Channel (app) but I really don't want to take the time to figure out their proprietary language.
- robflynn 13y ago
  For what it's worth, BrightScript is pretty much just Visual Basic. It did take me a bit to get used to their various 'screens' and events.
  - virtue3 13y ago
    also a brightscript/roku dev here. There's a nice code color plugin for sublime you can use and it's a bearable platform to develop on. Definitely use the console to just send the debug build up to the device and start debugging. It's really not that bad. Probably took me about a day to get used to it. Honestly, as long as you stick within their control schemes you're fine. Trying to break out of the roku app controls leads to a total nightmare so be weary of that trap ;)
    - kbenson 13y ago
      I don't know how it is on the newer versions, but BrightScript was always very, very slow. Much slower than you would expect. Most of the time it never matters, since you are calling out to compiled object code that exports APIs for complex tasks, but when it matters, it matters. For example, implementing CRC32 (no built-in shift operators!), or minmax for game AI (for Reversi of all things, it's not like there's that many possible moves) always required heavy optimization to achieve performance that was near acceptable. It always boggled my mind why they didn't just take a JS implementation and port it, but I guess it's hard to justify throwing away IP which already exists because of a prior product. The engineers at Roku and the community were always great though.
      - virtue3 13y ago
        There's a certain point of "good engineer's" career where they want to make their own language/vm. I'm 99% sure this is what happened here. It's always a train wreck. They really should have used lua. It would have been very simple to put in and it's robust enough and efficient for small memory devices. While I appreciate the power/flexibility/efficiency of js it is no where near as efficient as lua. Lua keeps things as ints until they aren't needed etc. Very much build for embedded systems almost. I'm probably biased in that I've worked on a lua VM for mobile handsets for a few years.
jggonz 13y ago
I own a Roku, and find it works great when you're laying down on your bed and want to watch a movie on Amazon/Netflix. However, for entertaining, the easy access to Google Play Music and the ability to cast Chrome tabs was the reason that I chose Chromecasts everywhere, and stuck with the Roku just where I want to watch Amazon movies.
- IgorPartola 13y ago
  I haven't tried it before but it seems the Roku app on iOS lets you stream music to the Roku player. In addition to that, many new home surround sound systems come with Bluetooth streaming capability, though then of course you have to keep the phone close enough to the stereo to not break the connection.
Touche 13y ago
The difference I see is that remote-based streamers are better when you know what you want to watch. Push-from-device based streamers are better when you are just browsing and come across something interesting.
higherpurpose 13y ago
I don't think it's for someone who already has 3 Rokus...

giovannibajo1 13y ago

> Yes, the fact that Apple TV doesn't work with non-Apple devices makes it a non-starter among those who don't exclusively buy Apple products in perpetuity. That's factually false. I daily use an Apple TV with my Synology NAS, for instance. There are AirPlay streamers for Android and for Windows. The protocol has been fully reversed (besides the DRM bits). Now, I'm not saying that this was the design of the protocol. Obviously Apple doesn't care less about 3rd-party compatibility. I'm just saying that it's false that Apple TV nowadays is limited to the Apple ecosystem.

Touche 13y ago
Great, but none of the apps that people care about like Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, Plex, etc. are using a reversed-engineered Airplay on Android.
- stock_toaster 13y ago
  However, the first 3 you mentioned are already native "apps" on appletv.