Roku Gets Into a Streaming Stick Fight With Google

Competition is great and we will see which approach is most successful.

Roku gets into streaming-stick fight with Google

 

Interesting. I think Chromecast has a decent chance to succeed vs. this Roku stick - but IMO I view it as another form of competition that will deflect sales away from GTV. I realize this is a different device than GTV and GTV has a loyal fan base (albeit a smallish one) - but I'm expecting this new Roku stick and Chromecast to sell much better than GTV.

 

I know Chromecast sells better than any one Roku model but I wonder how Chromecast compares to all Roku models combined. Right now, it is easy to find three or four different Roku models at Best Buy, Target or WalMart. I like both but I think Roku is better although with the price advantage, Chromecast might sell better than all Roku models combined. I don't know if the Roku stick will have all features of the various Roku models and more, adding casting features not found on the boxes or if the differences will be slight or nothing at all by the time all are updated with new features.

 

At least the Roku stick comes with a real remote something Chromecast lacks.Roku is ahead way ahead in the apps/channel department.that's not even counting the private channels the developers have too.This is what Roku's first stick should have been instead for a small niche market!

 

You mean, the new "HDMI version" stick (with USB or wall AC power adapter 5V- 1A) instead of "MHL version" stick?
wondering why they didn't give it a new name?

 

I wonder if it's going to have a casting feature just like Chromecast does. On top everything else it does, just to up one on google. Just how gtv was suppose to have casting as well.

 

Roku has historically done a terrible job with device names. Currently, the Roku 3, Roku 2, Roku 1, and Roku LT have been in stores. The Roku 2 is newer than the Roku 2 XD and Roku 2 XS. The Roku LT has had several different model numbers and I couldn't tell any difference between it and the Roku HD since both are 720p, all of these have been current products within the last year. There have also been Roku XD, Roku XS, N1000 or something, beats me but it is just a mess. Currently the Roku 3 does have a YouTube channel but the other current models don't, at least not yet as far as I know. The good news is if you can't figure what the various models are, any of them will probably do what you want but to be safe, I always say buy the Roku 3.

Now it appears they are screwing up the stick names as well but I don't know how many of those there have been.

 

Of course, since the Roku HDMI stick costs $50 and Chromecast costs $35 plus the cost of a phone/tablet/computer. The Roku seems, to me, to be far more practical than Chromecast, partly because of the remote but also Roku's app environment. I think both products are just passing ships in the night until someone figures out the TV.

Philip

 

I love the idea of a Roku streaming stick. The settop box attempt was brutal on folks not expecting to buy multiple units to get updates that were only geared toward newer units. Are all settop box users crazy???

We will fight to cut the cord w/cable but we don't take into consideration the same model as being offered by Roku? W/cable you have to buy the whole package. W/Roku you have to buy the unit. How many folks have old units that they couldn't even sell on E-bay?

Too Stoopid...

Carl

 

The old Roku models are not worth much, no doubt, but I am running three 2012 models and all three have WatchESPN and that is all I have used Roku for recently. Nobody ever said cutting the cord would be easy or that a single box will handle everything you need. At least if anybody did say that, they weren't able to say it with a straight face. Well maybe a politician could have said it with a straight face but nobody else could.

I can say Roku is the best box I have used for ESPN3 and say it with a straight face and ESPN3 is very important to me, especially during March for NCAA basketball. My alma mater, Wichita State University is 32-0 and I caught their game today on ESPN3. Tomorrow, Wichita State will play Missouri State University in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, I have my undergraduate degree from Missouri State University and I hope the game is on ESPN3 but I haven't checked yet. Go Shockers!

 

I've been watching ESPN 3 in Chrome on my PC. It is the best resolution I've yet to experience. I know you've said that PCs aren't able to get the same resolution as set top boxes. I don't know where you have gotten this misinformation from. On Google TV ESPN 3 or Watch ESPN starts out w/only one video quality bar lighted. Eventually it will go up to 3. Then it will fluctuate between 1 & 2. It is a horrible video experience. Never showing the resolution that I see on my PC.

I switch to my PC in Chrome. The video begins w/1 Video Quality bar lighted. As soon as I fast forward, the bar immediately shows the video quality at 4, the highest there is. And it doesn't fluctuate. And the freaking video format is exactly the same as if I were viewing it from the GS-7.

Don't lie to promote GTV, dude...

We already know its pluses & minuses!!!

Carl

 

Ha, I have misinformation regarding PC being limited at some sites, go ahead and find my post with the misinformation and show it to me. I recall stating a fact, Vudu limits some streaming to standard definition on a PC, it used to be all streaming, now I don't know the percentage but some content can be streamed at HD, some content can only be streamed at SD. Here is a question at Vudu Forums addressing that situation.

https://forum.vudu.com/showthread.php?78241-Can-t-access-HD-or-HDX

Vudu offers the best quality video of any streaming service I have seen, unless you use a PC, then you likely won't know until you start to stream whether or not it will be HD. I think some content can be streamed at 720p but if using Google TV or Roku, it will be 1080p.

 

Here is Amazon's recent discussion about using a PC for Amazon Instant Video for HD content, most won't qualify, including mine.

Amazon.com Help: What is Content Protection?

 

I am pretty sure you are not going to come up with my post you claim I was using lies to promote Google TV but here is the most recent information from Vudu on the topic of streaming HD using a PC.

VUDU - Frequently Asked Questions

Some day, Vudu may offer all content in HD on a PC, it has gone from zero percent to a significant percentage already in a short period of time. It is up to the content owners and there are still several sites with PC restrictions for resolution as a result of that fact. It is much easier to lock down a little streaming box with DRM to prevent copying than it is with a PC. The damage to their business from copying SD isn't as important to the owners.

 

Settop boxes depend on apps. As we've seen w/the first gen GTV units, HD didn't even exist in any form for the Amazon Instant Video App. And on my GS-7 the wait was very long for the update that allowed for Amazon HD. Netflix was quirky for over a year before they got their act together. The You Tube app is changing so fast I can't keep up. One update and it works perfect. Two updates later and we lose functions or can't even choose defaults. Not to mention any videos you save may be blocked as content not intended for TV. Videos in HD may play or they won't. Heck I can't even tell whether an update will change my settings and create another few hours of explorations & relearning. Youtube in Chrome was a disaster! The next thread about the loss of another feature is only an update away.

So, really you are only talking about Vudu. One site does not support your theory. Folks don't wanna depend on workarounds. They want consistency.

Carl

 

The first gen GTV devices always had HD for the Amazon Instant Video for TV shows, only movies were limited. Other streaming boxes had HD for all Amazon HD content because they had approved dedicated apps, GTV and PCs relying on a browser were limited to SD for movies. I am not just talking about Vudu and Amazon, there are other sites as well that have limited PC resolution as a result of DRM concerns, it is up to the content owners, not the business running the streaming site. Same studios and rights owners that limited Amazon and Vudu to SD web browser streaming, limited other sites as well.

So really I am not only talking about Vudu and I was also not only talking about the first gen GTV. I have nothing against using a PC for internet TV access, it is an important piece of my solution as a result of Hulu being license only for PC and the fact some network sites block Google TV. If you like the user interface for a PC, and use a PC with direct connection to an HDTV, it comes closest of any single box to being a cord cutting solution. I don't like to use it that manner personally as I have stated, I much prefer Google TV, first and second generation models for internet streaming, a personal preference. A PC can even be used as a DVR which really makes it the closest single box solution.

So no single box comes close for me and I require three, GTV, TiVo, and a PC, all three accessed by and through Google TV and there isn't a close second best solution for my needs.

 

I was looking over the new Roku stick, due out in a couple weeks. It looks pretty cool but I'm totally unfamiliar with any of the Roku devices. I'm hoping somebody could answer a couple questions for me.

Do the channels have to be downloaded (like an Android app) and how many channels can the device hold?

How well does a Roku 1 (most like the new stick) play video?

How do you access and add "private channels" to the device?

Thanks in advance
Eric

 

I don't have a Roku 1 but I use Roku and it appears to me the Roku 2 XS I do use will play video the same as the Roku 1 and new Roku Stick. The channels are downloaded from the Channel Store, available in the player menu as an option along with Settings, My Channels, etc. Very simple to select and add channels from the Channel Store and the number of channels is limited by available flash storage, the Roku 2 XS supports Micro SD card to expand storage if needed. I would guess about 150 channels are available with a stock Roku but I have not checked to see if the new Roku Stick supports adding a memory card. The chances you can find enough channels of interest to need to expand the memory are slim unless you like religious channels.

Video quality is very good in my opinion but of course many public domain channels and other free channels offer very poor video quality, nothing to do with Roku per se. The high quality sources like Vudu and Netflix allow for maximum source bitrate high definition video as you would expect.

The sites with private channels provide a code and the only private channels I have installed that come to mind are from PlayOn, Roku does not officially support PlayOn, in fact forbids discussion of PlayOn at Roku Forums for some strange reason unclear to me. Perhaps Roku considers PlayOn competition, not a server to be used in conjunction with a streaming box. I don't use the Roku for PlayOn because I consider Google TV a far better PlayOn client with the official Play Store app.

Roku Forums is the place to go with questions specific to each model.

 

I use a Roku 3 which replaced a 2XS. I also had the model just below the 2 XS ( 2XD?). The Roku 3 is noticeably faster than the 2XS and seems to handle Plex better. The Plex client on my GTV is way better as it Direct Plays everything so I can keep the Plex server on my NAS as no transcoding is required. The same applies to the Apple TV 3 although there it has to remux things if they are mkv files. The Samsung BD-F5600 Plex also Direct Plays everything.

Chromecast's Plex will require a fairly powerful Plex server which defeats the purpose of Plex in my opinion. I would suspect that the Roku HDMI stick would be similar, perhaps slightly better.

There is an official PlayOn and My Media channel for the Roku now.

Philip

 

I know the Roku 3 has a much better processor than the older models, which makes it preferred and a better box. The My Media channel has been available for some time but I wasn't aware of the PlayOn channel. I will take a look at it and see if it is any different than the private channel I set up and don't use.