5 ms·

They're studying the mistakes of others, and paying attention to user reviews of competing products, so they can solve real pain points: > During its presentat

by mkempe 13y ago

They're studying the mistakes of others, and paying attention to user reviews of competing products, so they can solve real pain points: > During its presentation, Amazon said that it has been paying close attention to the complaints of customers who have been using the other companies' devices through Amazon—namely that search is difficult, performance is laggy, and the ecosystems are closed—in order to build its own streaming device." [1] For instance, what they're doing with the child-oriented mode is what I wish Apple had done with the iPad and iPhone, a long time ago. [1] http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/04/amazon-reveals-video-streaming-box-fire-tv/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/04/amazon-reveals-video-...

dublinben 13y ago
That's pretty funny, as a long-time Roku user. The search couldn't be easier, whether you're inside a specific app, or using the cross platform search feature. Performance is snappier than these services on a desktop browser, and the ecosystem is as open as anyone could want.
- fixedd 13y ago
  As a long-time Roku user I curse ours almost every day. Performance is slower than every other device we own (except the Chromecast). They constantly "reset" themselves while trying to navigate through the Netflix and Amazon listings. Videos will just sporadically stop playing or run into constant buffering issues. There are no parental controls. They didn't support DLNA until a few months ago.
  - officemonkey 13y ago
    "long-time Roku user." How old is your box? I'm still happy with mine, despite it being a couple of years old. I was thinking of getting a new one, but if the new ones are of poorer quality...
    - fixedd 13y ago
      We own a Roku 2 XD and a Roku LT, both about 2.5 years old. Both worked great for ~ 6 months and then... something changed and they haven't worked well since. I used to have one of the originals, it was great.
      - officemonkey 13y ago
        I did notice that the UI gets slower and less responsive, but I blame myself for being a cheapo and expecting a $70 box to last years. I'm waiting a bit to see if the next RokuBox or AmazonBox ends up supporting iTunes videos (which is a nice to have, but not a must have.)
- com2kid 13y ago
  Seriously? There is a lag moving between characters. Typing is painful. The UI is horrible. I am getting ready to dump a good $500 on a brand new setup just to replace my Roku because it is so bloody painful to use.
paulyg 13y ago
Yet Chromecast solves those issues too. Searching for content is done on website or on existing app, so its only difficult or slow as website or app is.
- untog 13y ago
  Yes and no. Chromecast requires you having another device to use with it. Grabbing my phone, opening the Netflix app, choosing to Chromecast, searching for a show, hitting play then waiting ~30 seconds for the Chromecast to actually play is not a good user experience. I use my Roku almost exclusively now.
  - ben1040 13y ago
    I actually find it much easier to search or browse for content using my tablet or phone, then choose to throw it up on the TV via Chromecast, as opposed to searching for content using a remote like on a Roku or my Xbox. It just seems easier for me to do this in my hand than ten feet away, especially when I have to try to enter text into a TV interface.
    - untog 13y ago
      I found Chromecast OK when I was using it by myself, but sharing it is a problem. It's difficult to have two or more people crowded around a smartphone screen deciding what to watch. The big screen interface works much, much better. Even that aside, my girlfriend doesn't want to use my phone to navigate, so she has to install Netflix on her phone too. And set up the user account there. Multiply that by every service we have (and Amazon Instant isn't on Android)... it's just clunky. Fine, but clunky. Having it all centralised on one box works better, as far as I'm concerned.
      - chetanahuja 13y ago
        This thread is perfect. I'm compiling a first-world-problems encyclopedia and needed material.

by mkempe 13y ago

dublinben 13y ago

That's pretty funny, as a long-time Roku user. The search couldn't be easier, whether you're inside a specific app, or using the cross platform search feature. Performance is snappier than these services on a desktop browser, and the ecosystem is as open as anyone could want.

fixedd 13y ago
As a long-time Roku user I curse ours almost every day. Performance is slower than every other device we own (except the Chromecast). They constantly "reset" themselves while trying to navigate through the Netflix and Amazon listings. Videos will just sporadically stop playing or run into constant buffering issues. There are no parental controls. They didn't support DLNA until a few months ago.
- officemonkey 13y ago
  "long-time Roku user." How old is your box? I'm still happy with mine, despite it being a couple of years old. I was thinking of getting a new one, but if the new ones are of poorer quality...
  - fixedd 13y ago
    We own a Roku 2 XD and a Roku LT, both about 2.5 years old. Both worked great for ~ 6 months and then... something changed and they haven't worked well since. I used to have one of the originals, it was great.
    - officemonkey 13y ago
      I did notice that the UI gets slower and less responsive, but I blame myself for being a cheapo and expecting a $70 box to last years. I'm waiting a bit to see if the next RokuBox or AmazonBox ends up supporting iTunes videos (which is a nice to have, but not a must have.)
com2kid 13y ago
Seriously? There is a lag moving between characters. Typing is painful. The UI is horrible. I am getting ready to dump a good $500 on a brand new setup just to replace my Roku because it is so bloody painful to use.

paulyg 13y ago

Yet Chromecast solves those issues too. Searching for content is done on website or on existing app, so its only difficult or slow as website or app is.

untog 13y ago
Yes and no. Chromecast requires you having another device to use with it. Grabbing my phone, opening the Netflix app, choosing to Chromecast, searching for a show, hitting play then waiting ~30 seconds for the Chromecast to actually play is not a good user experience. I use my Roku almost exclusively now.
- ben1040 13y ago
  I actually find it much easier to search or browse for content using my tablet or phone, then choose to throw it up on the TV via Chromecast, as opposed to searching for content using a remote like on a Roku or my Xbox. It just seems easier for me to do this in my hand than ten feet away, especially when I have to try to enter text into a TV interface.
  - untog 13y ago
    I found Chromecast OK when I was using it by myself, but sharing it is a problem. It's difficult to have two or more people crowded around a smartphone screen deciding what to watch. The big screen interface works much, much better. Even that aside, my girlfriend doesn't want to use my phone to navigate, so she has to install Netflix on her phone too. And set up the user account there. Multiply that by every service we have (and Amazon Instant isn't on Android)... it's just clunky. Fine, but clunky. Having it all centralised on one box works better, as far as I'm concerned.
    - chetanahuja 13y ago
      This thread is perfect. I'm compiling a first-world-problems encyclopedia and needed material.