Streaming Devices?

[SamSpade]

Which do you like best? For ease of use? And you know, just - which one delivers the most ?

I tend to lean towards the Fire Stick, but only because I already have many things Amazon. But I've heard rumors the thing is Amazon Prime heavy, and makes other selections more clumsy.

Do all or most of them allow for additions? Like, say, a new streaming service comes along or new streaming software?

 

[GURPS]

for Streaming ?


my TV has Netfliks and Amazon built in

otherwise I have a spare laptop for streaming movies via VLC from my file server

 

[lucky_bee]

I have the Roku Streaming Stick. I don't have cable and use this instead. I love it bc the use of it makes me feel like I still have normal TV capabilities It comes with a remote, when I start it up, I have many "channels", or apps to choose from (Netflix, Pandora, Hulu, Amazon, etc. even others like Lifetime and History channel apps or workout channels). Roku is always updating and adding more channels/apps too. I always stick with the free ones, but there's even more to choose from should you venture into their paid apps. The streaming is pretty much instant, maybe a hiccup here or there but I think that's more from Metrocast (my internet provider) than the Roku Stick. I think I have the very basic internet package with Metrocast ($60/mo) and I never have issues streaming content thru the Roku and using my phone AND my iPad all at the same time. I'm only one person though. I have a Chromecast as well, but I find this to be way more user-friendly, and just generally easier/quicker to use via all the apps/channels that I like to use since I don't use cable.

 

[sockgirl77]

We have a few different Roku devices. I cannot tell you which ones they are other than our newest which was the Roku 2. We are all happy with the decision to leave cable TV and satellite. Netflix + Hulu= $19.98 per month.

 

[Clem72]

If you stick with the major players (Netflix, Hulu+, HBOgo, Amazon Prime) then pretty much all of the streamers are equivalent. I prefer my Roku devices to my FireTV (but I have had hardware issues with every generation of Roku).

Smart TVs and Smart Blu-ray players work fine too, though tend to be much slower as they skimp on the processor. Make sure you play with it in store to see how snappy the menus/apps are.

If you like to play your own local content, a Western Digital might do you better.

Need surround sound run to your receiver, stay away from the sticks (Roku Stick, FireTV Stick, etc).

All said I probably have 20+ capable streaming devices, but the one that gets the most use is an Intel NUC running windows 10. I have it boot to KODI and from there can launch Netflix/Hulu+/Amazon Prime/etc., can use plugins for pretty much any podcast/video blog/etc. imaginable, and run emulators for the kids. And the computer idles at about 2 watts when not in use, 10 watts when streaming and as much as 25 watts when running a 3d intensive game/emulator.

 

[SamSpade]

How about the not so major players - but possibly up and comers? I've been checking out Sling, Playstation VUE, CBS Access and a couple smaller ones.

One of the things I want to do is slowly add some streaming so that my family can get weaned off the high cost of cable - plus, like a lot of innovations and changes in entertainment over the last twenty years - I think streaming services will eventually replace regular cable TV.

The easiest part is my kids, who don't seem to care at all if the show they watch is the latest episode or live. Streaming works fine for them, because they can watch a million shows and they can always find something to watch.

It's going to be a harder sell for both my wife AND myself, because we really like to watch the latest stuff, and a lot of it is never available via streaming venues.

THAT - and live sports and - well any live TV. We do pretty much DVR everything, so even "live" TV can be yesterday, but I've found that sources like Hulu, Amazon or even MetroCast's OnDemand are often *terrible* with maintaining older episodes.

 

[libertytyranny]

We have a fire stick, an apple tv and a chromecast. They are all good for different things and id say average out to be about the same. However, the fire stick can be jailbroke and there may or may not be apps that allow you to watch pretty much anything regardless of service

 

[kwillia]

We have a fire stick, an apple tv and a chromecast. They are all good for different things and id say average out to be about the same. However, the fire stick can be jailbroke and there may or may not be apps that allow you to watch pretty much anything regardless of service

And per their letter I believe that is the intent of the new encryption they will be pushing.... if the decryption doesn't come from a Metrocast device the signal will no longer be usable.

 

[SamSpade]

I know that streaming devices have services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime Video - and we have those. Is there anything that allows you to stream content you're already buying on Metrocast? Say, I don't know, put TV Anywhere on it, and watch a show on a channel your cable tier covers already?

 

[PeoplesElbow]

The Amazon fire stick works great and has a great interface, but the latest model from roku is better because it has more you can do with it. Amazon wants you to buy their content. I have also had a roku 2 for several years. The roku and Amazon fire interfaces are the best.

 

[NIU_Huskies]

I have two Amazon Fire Sticks, one of which is the newest one with Alexa voice. I also have a Roku 3 that is attached to my master bedroom tv that gets no use. I don't really like the interface or much bigger remote.

I have Sling TV for $13.99, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Kodi, and WatchESPN.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

I just used the fire TV stick for the first time in a while (at my parents house) in a while and after using the new Roku stick it feels very slow.

But like NIU says the interface on the Fire Stick is very polished. Its almost like the difference between a Fire Tablet and a Google Nexus tablet, the interface is more polished but less content available.

 

[SamSpade]

I have two Amazon Fire Sticks, one of which is the newest one with Alexa voice. I also have a Roku 3 that is attached to my master bedroom tv that gets no use. I don't really like the interface or much bigger remote.

I have Sling TV for $13.99, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Kodi, and WatchESPN.

Isn't Sling normally 20 bucks? How do you get it for 6 bucks less?

 

[Tilted]

I know that streaming devices have services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime Video - and we have those. Is there anything that allows you to stream content you're already buying on Metrocast? Say, I don't know, put TV Anywhere on it, and watch a show on a channel your cable tier covers already?

It may vary some between the various streaming devices, but many of the major networks (e.g. History Channel, NBC, FX, Smithsonian Channel, USA, AMC) have apps for the various streaming platforms. So you can download a network's app (or it may be pre-installed) and then watch content from that network. Sometimes they have most everything available that way, sometimes it's only select content. Sometimes you have to authenticate with account info for a paid service (e.g. Dish Network, Metrocast), sometimes the network apps can be used regardless (e.g. they are add supported). Things are becoming a bit more standardized, but for now how everything works is still kinda hodgepodge.

I'm not sure if the bundlers apps (e.g. TV Anywhere) are themselves available on each streaming device. But they are available on mobile devices (e.g. iOS and Android) and there are different ways of streaming content through those mobile devices to the streaming devices.

 

[SamSpade]

I'm not sure if the bundlers apps (e.g. TV Anywhere) are themselves available on each streaming device. But they are available on mobile devices (e.g. iOS and Android) and there are different ways of streaming content through those mobile devices to the streaming devices.

My ultimate goal is to find a way to wean us all off of cable. For one thing, it's grossly overpriced and we get tons of stuff we never use but are obviously paying for - lots of music and sports channels, way too many channels whose offerings consist largely of old programming, old and poor quality movies and such. (The kids will be the easiest to get them off - they only watch kid's stuff now, and are used to watching stuff on their tablets anyway. They don't care if a show is current or not).

On the other hand, some of these newer streaming services have picked up on that - the selection some of them offer ALMOST have every channel I'd want. What sucks of course is, some networks - like CBS - refuse to offer streaming through anything but their own website or service. CBS Access to me isn't yet worth the price they're asking, because their shows aren't that compelling.

Now, with stuff like Amazon Prime Video - I pretty much have the equivalent of On Demand from Metrocast. For about the same price. My big beef with Amazon is, Metrocast can easily show me what's new and interesting - Amazon still more or less requires me to sit through all their crap. Metrocast will advertise "hey guess what? We have the new Star Wars movie now". Amazon - not as likely. For some reason, services like Netflix will have a category of "new" or "recently added" and it's just more old crap. And it's not new.


Bottom line, what I DON'T want is to cobble together some Frankenstein's monster of services and find I really haven't saved all that much. Cable has one thing the other solutions don't have - one very easy to use interface for all of it.

 

[NIU_Huskies]

Isn't Sling normally 20 bucks? How do you get it for 6 bucks less?

If you're a T-Mobile customer they have a promotion -- $13.99 for one year of Sling TV. T-Mobile also gave me a free one-year subscription of MLB TV during a week-long promotion period before the season.

I figure after a year of Sling i'll just tell them i'm going to switch to Playstation Vue or some other competitor if they can't keep giving me the promotion. I don't watch enough TV to justify paying more.

 

[GWguy]

This actually reminds me of the first days of satellite TV, pre-Dish or DirectTV. You buy a 15 foot dish from this vendor, a receiver from that vendor, subscribe to this service, another for that service.... all onsies and twosies. More trouble than it's worth.

The current form of streaming is just like that. Buy a box from one vendor, basic cable from another, then subscribe to as many separate services as you choose. I'd like to think at some point there might be a single point of interface to procure your services. Until then, it's an antenna and DVD movies for me.

Edit: forgot to mention you also had to find the satellite manually and point the dish in the right direction for different services. Some receivers had x/y/z coordinate location systems that made it easier.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

This actually reminds me of the first days of satellite TV, pre-Dish or DirectTV. You buy a 15 foot dish from this vendor, a receiver from that vendor, subscribe to this service, another for that service.... all onsies and twosies. More trouble than it's worth.

The current form of streaming is just like that. Buy a box from one vendor, basic cable from another, then subscribe to as many separate services as you choose. I'd like to think at some point there might be a single point of interface to procure your services. Until then, it's an antenna and DVD movies for me.

Edit: forgot to mention you also had to find the satellite manually and point the dish in the right direction for different services. Some receivers had x/y/z coordinate location systems that made it easier.

There were quite a few free unscrambled channels back then too. One of my neighbors still has their big dish, supposedly there is still unscrambled channels out there.

Its really not bad, between Sling TV, the NBC and ABC channel I get almost everything I watched before. I already had Amazon prime, most people also have a Netflix subscription.

I do wish I could get something with an antenna around here because the one thing I cant get on the Roku is the CW network, but they let you watch everything in you computers browser.

 

[GWguy]

I do wish I could get something with an antenna around here because the one thing I cant get on the Roku is the CW network, but they let you watch everything in you computers browser.

I'm watching CW right now on channel 47.2 from Town Creek on a small antenna. And on Saturday is SciFi Saturday on 47.3.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

I'm watching CW right now on channel 47.2 from Town Creek on a small antenna. And on Saturday is SciFi Saturday on 47.3.

Indoor antenna?

All of the websites that help you pick an antenna says I can't get anything via antenna, even a big outdoor one, and I'm only a couple miles away from you.