View Full Version : Roku, chrome cast, Amazon, or Apple?
trlcavscout
12-18-2015, 00:33
I am dropping my crappy cable service at my house December 31st and I need to find some alternatives, I have very little first hand knowledge of the available devices but I do like the Roku from what I have seen. I hate anything Apple but I am open. Just curious of those that have or have had any of these devices which ones worked best, pro's and con's etc. I am setting up a NAS as well and it doesn't appear that any of these will cooperate with that? Any suggestions?
Circuits
12-18-2015, 00:56
Chromecast is probably the best/most versatile if you have a PC or laptop to use as your media PC. Roku is great if you're using a supported service - e.g. Amazon Prime, Netflix or Hulu+.
I have Amazon Prime, which I mostly stream through my Roku, and stream my media server (NAS-based) via a media PC over the chromecast.
I have an old Gen 1 AppleTV I no longer use, and tried the FireTV stick - they duplicated most capabilities of the Roku and Chromecast, so I stuck with the platforms I felt worked best (Roku and media PC via Chromecast). When I still bothered with Hulu+ and Netflix, I did those over the Roku, as well.
Great-Kazoo
12-18-2015, 01:02
I'd make a suggestion, but........ i'm still waiting for you to answer my pm , regarding a wireless router etc ;)
We have a Roku and do not have any experience with the others. Like Circuits, we mostly use the Roku to stream stuff on Netflix and Amazon Prime. I think Sling TV would be a good complement as well. I also use the Roku with my Plex server, but recently got a warning from Comcast, so I'm not sure how often I'll use that in the future.
The Roku has more and more channels all the time, but most of them are like watching crappy cable channels in the middle of the night, on youtube. Except for Netflix, Amazon, Plex, and Pandora, most of the other channels get watched at 3:00 am when I've been drinking just to see what cool stuff I can find. Redbull channel is pretty cool, but I'm not really into sports so don't take time to watch it. There are some cool gun channels, a pretty decent Homesteading channel, lots of cooking channels, a handful of decent hunting channels, and quite a few good workout channels, BUT it's all stuff that you could most likely find on Youtube, or is exactly the same content on that same providers Youtube channel.
I think with SlingTV, it'd come pretty close to replacing cable.
Circuits
12-18-2015, 01:20
I think with SlingTV, it'd come pretty close to replacing cable.
I used to have a slingbox, and it was freaking awesome... IF you had a cable box and good cable services for it to forward to your laptops and such. Without a primary HDMI content source like an HD cable box, the slingbox becomes mostly irrelevant next to streaming services on your other platforms, for any given type of content.
Slingbox will forward your Roku signal to your tablet, but the tablet can probably already stream your Roku sources as well, too, and without the intermediate step of the slingbox.
We've got a Roku 3, and we subscribe to Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. We primarily use it for our living room TV, and have a ton of other channels that we bop through on occasion. We love it! Went with Centurylink, because our need for internet was compatible for what they offered; our cable and internet are less than 1/3 of what we were paying Comcast.
Can you stream stuff from your Roku into a tablet? If so, that'd be awesome. What about a Chromebook? It sounds like a Slingbox and SlingTV might be different products, are they?
Oh yeah, like Grey, we've got a Roku3. One of the upgrades is a head phone jack in the remote. When I was researching, that was a feature I did not care at all about, but it's great to be able to watch a show on my big TV in the middle of the night without bugging my family.
Circuits
12-18-2015, 02:51
Can you stream stuff from your Roku into a tablet? If so, that'd be awesome. What about a Chromebook? It sounds like a Slingbox and SlingTV might be different products, are they?
Slingbox is a hardware device, that encodes an HDMI source and transmits it to anywhere on the web where you have logged in with a Slingbox client. It might be different from SlingTV - dunno.
Yes, if you have a Slingbox attached to your Roku, you could send that signal to your tablet, or Chromebook, from the slingbox.
Sling tv is a totally different service than sling box. Sling box is dependent on an input (cable, dish, vcr, etc). SlingTv is for the cord cutters, you just need Internet.
I have the fire stick by Amazon in addition to a digital antenna and couldn't be happier. If you have Amazon prime its even better.
StagLefty
12-18-2015, 08:34
I have an Amazon TV box in the living room and a Firestick on the bedroom TV. Like them both.
I have Chromecast and a Firestick and we use the Firestick more than the Chromecast, but the Chromecast has proven valuable for some things. We have a OTA HD antennae and that gets us all the Broadcast stations (I think we have 54 total OTA) and we do have NetFlix and SlingTV. I can watch Sling on my phone and my desktop if the wife or kids are watching something else. I also have a NAS and use Comcast (bought my own modem and router) for the Internet. No wired phone service and I use Google Voice for the business phone. All in all, very happy and saving a lot of money.
The only content I could not get was Outdoor and Sportsman channel, but they are going to have an app for that in January, so I will be set.
We did get a Tablo, and frankly we do not use it very much. We did initially and still do for a few shows, but more and more stuff is available over the internet so recording OTA shows is not a big deal. If you want to record sports from broadcast, it is a good option.
Snowman78
12-18-2015, 10:05
We have Roku with Sling TV, Netflix and a O.T.A HD Antennae. It all works great for us !!
I have a roku you can have. We didn't like it much.
Oh yeah. I think I have a cast too. Unless you want to spend ten minutes finding what you want to watch, it sucks too. Netflix and chill.
Great-Kazoo
12-19-2015, 10:49
I'd make a suggestion, but........ i'm still waiting for you to answer my pm , regarding a wireless router etc ;)
ROKU [Beer] Now where's my whambulance
Remember when there was only 5 tv channels in Denver? [blaster]
colorider
12-19-2015, 12:25
Remember when there was only 5 tv channels in Denver? [blaster]
yep. 2,4,7,9 and pbs. Was a wonderful time. Loved watching Wild Kingdom.
Honey Badger282.8
12-19-2015, 16:09
I've got two Apple TVs and I'm happy with them, but I'm also pretty entrenched with the Apple ecosystem. If I didn't have those I'd use my PS4 and PS3 as my main streaming devices and if I didn't have those I'd go with the Amazon devices.
Remember when there was only 5 tv channels in Denver? [blaster]
Is that when kids used to play outside till dark, throw lawn darts, and kill shit with bb guns?
Great-Kazoo
12-19-2015, 17:52
Is that when kids used to play outside till dark, throw lawn darts, and kill shit with bb guns?
You got to play with BB Guns ! ! ! I had to walk up hill in the snow to school.
You got to play with BB Guns ! ! ! I had to walk up hill in the snow to school.
I bet it was up hill on the way home too.
Great-Kazoo
12-19-2015, 19:27
I bet it was up hill on the way home too.
Well my head was in the clouds.
Lawn darts were more fun when fire was involved...
ChadAmberg
12-20-2015, 19:20
Lawn darts were more fun when fire was involved...
Flaming lawn darts? I'm intrigued!
KevDen2005
12-20-2015, 19:32
We have a samsung smart tv in the living room and a Roku setup in our bedroom. The Roku works just fine but we use it to stream Netflix and Hulu. We don't have cable otherwise.
trlcavscout
12-21-2015, 21:48
I think i will get a roku and try it in the living room, my son can use his xbox or ps3 and i will put the wii in my younger daughters room for her cartoons and try it out. Thanks guys
gnihcraes
12-21-2015, 22:03
I just ordered a Roku 3 and 4, then I come here and see this thread. doh.
I checked with a friend who is in the know on things, he suggested the Roku devices. He said they were more "open" to other services than amazon would be, otherwise, all should be ok devices.
I'm kicking around the idea of streaming all of my shows as well. I just need to make sure my wife will be able to see all of her shows.
Out household went with Tablo to record free Over-The-Air television, which includes the 4 major stations - ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox - along with a number of others. We also have Amazon Fire TV with Amazon Prime - AND - for those rare occasions (VERY rare) when we can't find something on those options, we also have a VUDU account for recent movie rentals. My TV bills went from roughly $100 per month to $100 per year and we have more than enough entertainment. The ONLY time we were unhappy was when Grand Slam tennis (Wimbledon and US Open) was on ESPN and I could not find any streaming options to carry ESPN. I suspect that will change in the near future, but for now, if you are a die-hard ESPN fanatic, the only option is to remain with cable or satellite.
FWIW
Madeinhb
12-22-2015, 02:24
I have Roku, Apple TV and Chrome cast. If you are an android person, chrome cast and then an app called Kodi. Tons of videos on what you can stream and how to set up.
buffalobo
12-22-2015, 06:02
I'm kicking around the idea of streaming all of my shows as well. I just need to make sure my wife will be able to see all of her shows.
^This.
What are some of examples of the cost of the various equipment and services?
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
hurley842002
12-22-2015, 06:21
We kicked satellite once we moved into an apartment that direct tv couldn't get a signal from. We really enjoyed direct compare to others, and they were really good about doing everything they could to try and get a signal, and good about letting us out of the contract when they couldn't. With that said, after going to streaming/antenna, we wouldn't go back to paying for satellite or cable. We have a smart TV in the living room, and Chromecast in the bedroom, which we stream Netflix/Hulu from, and we buy and rent movies from Amazon and Google Play. The only thing i'll likely do in the future is pick up another Chromecast for the living room since I have a decent movie collection with Google play, and our TV doesn't have play services.
^This.
What are some of examples of the cost of the various equipment and services?
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
The Roku everyone is referring to is $79 right now. I'd probably use it for Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. Those three subscriptions would cost me around $26 a month. I'm paying about $160 a month for DirecTV right now. I'd probably go with an HD antenna for the local stuff so I can watch the Broncos and my wife can watch some of her ABC/CBS/NBC programs. The only part I need to figure out is how to record the local programs. Their schedule and ours often conflict so we just record everything and watch it when it's convenient for us. I guess I need to figure out how to get some sort of DVR to work with the HD antenna channels.
Out household went with Tablo to record free Over-The-Air television, which includes the 4 major stations - ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox - along with a number of others. We also have Amazon Fire TV with Amazon Prime - AND - for those rare occasions (VERY rare) when we can't find something on those options, we also have a VUDU account for recent movie rentals. My TV bills went from roughly $100 per month to $100 per year and we have more than enough entertainment. The ONLY time we were unhappy was when Grand Slam tennis (Wimbledon and US Open) was on ESPN and I could not find any streaming options to carry ESPN. I suspect that will change in the near future, but for now, if you are a die-hard ESPN fanatic, the only option is to remain with cable or satellite.
FWIW
Pretty sure Sling TV is nearly a 1/3 ESPN channels. Check them out to confirm though.
Pretty sure Sling TV is nearly a 1/3 ESPN channels. Check them out to confirm though.
Yes. SlingTV was the bump that got me totally off of Satellite.
disciple1977
12-22-2015, 12:49
The Roku everyone is referring to is $79 right now. I'd probably use it for Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. Those three subscriptions would cost me around $26 a month. I'm paying about $160 a month for DirecTV right now. I'd probably go with an HD antenna for the local stuff so I can watch the Broncos and my wife can watch some of her ABC/CBS/NBC programs. The only part I need to figure out is how to record the local programs. Their schedule and ours often conflict so we just record everything and watch it when it's convenient for us. I guess I need to figure out how to get some sort of DVR to work with the HD antenna channels.
I have this. https://www.tablotv.com/. Its is a little steep in initial purchase but works great.
[/COLOR]
I have this. https://www.tablotv.com/. Its is a little steep in initial purchase but works great.
Thanks. I'll check it out.
We have a Tablo as well. Takes a bit of learning and they don't tell you that you need a subscription to make it work easy. Otherwise you will need a way to find out what is on and when to record.
We have a Tablo as well. Takes a bit of learning and they don't tell you that you need a subscription to make it work easy. Otherwise you will need a way to find out what is on and when to record.
Thanks for that bit of info. Their website definitely didn't mention needing a subscription to use any of the features.
ronaldrwl
12-22-2015, 17:49
We just got the new Apple TV mainly because we own iPhones, iPads and use iTunes. I'm not sure how it compares to the other options but the promise of numerous apps for Apple TV is interesting to me. Right now I doubt it has anything new to offer.
buffalobo
12-22-2015, 18:03
What kind of range for OTA channels? We live in the sticks, what are the chances we can pick up local channels out of Denver?
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
buffalobo
12-22-2015, 18:18
Quick search looks like none, not much chance of getting Mrs bo to agree to no local channels.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Buffalobo, did you find the map that shows where all the antennas are? There is a link in one of the other threads about cutting the cord.
buffalobo
12-22-2015, 18:36
I looked up Tablo and they had one on their site. Looks like we could get middle of the road reception on about 20 channels but none of the networks(CBS,ABC,NBC). A site about HD antennas projects Fox as a possibility.
That will not get it done for the wife.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
An antenna site said we would get about 25. Paid about $130 for a good antennae and filter. It sucked. Had a cheap indoor flat panel for the gunroom. Got another one of those and now I get about 55 channels upstairs. The antennas are mostly on lookout Mountain. If you are within about 50 miles line of sight, you should be okay. If not, maybe a booster will help. But in my experience, the antenna sites are crap.
buffalobo
12-22-2015, 22:26
About 70 miles as the crow flies to Lookout Mtn.
We did have some success with antenna in our camp trailer while building house, but only in good atmospheric conditions. Cheap antenna with amp/booster. The $150 antenna was waste of money.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.3 Copyright © 2026 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.