Thoughts on best streaming platforms?

[drummertime]

If you have a Bestbuy account, check for Tidal subscriptions there from time to time. It is currently on sale for $1 for three months of service! I've gotten it several times that way when not using free trials.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tidal-hifi-plus-family-3-month-music-subscription-starting-at-purchase-auto-renews-at-22-49-per-month-digital/6431965.p?skuId=6431965

The catch there is that the subscription is managed through the Bestbuy account. So any changes or cancellation of it must be done through one's Bestbuy account and cannot be done directly with Tidal. Bit of a hassle but a heck of a savings.

Do you enter a code or something when you start the subscription on Tidal?

 

[Trebdp83]

You will get an email with subscription info from Bestbuy after purchase.

 

[Trebdp83]

Just let any free trials run their course and cancel them before the first charge date. Then, look for another deal to start the subscription back up.

 

[panteragstk]

@Trebdp83 Thanks for summarizing the discussion. It makes it awesome to have a great forum you can bounce ideas, see what others use and the issues or positive results they get. I'll definitely have to try Tidal, I've used Spotify for years and really do like the interface. At some point they've got to start offering surround options.
Plus the Amazon Fire TV Cube will be a good fathers day gift idea!! I've also bought a couple Blue Rays in Dolby Atmos, so looking forward to that as well.

Now that the newest Fire Cube supports HD audio it is a worthy contender to the Shield TV. My only issue is I can't stand the Amazon UI. You can install a new launcher, but I don't know how tricky that is or isn't.

I might have to grab one to see how well it works. I love my Shield TV devices, but the one in my office is almost a decade old. It still works perfectly, but I'd like to have Dolby Vision support. It also supports AV1 if you care, but I just saw that it only has a 10/100 ethernet port so the really high bitrate 4k BDs might have issues.

 

[Trebdp83]

Get the Fire TV Cube 3. Yes, UI is aweful. I use the recent button often now to select apps. The Roku Ultra has the best UI. There are some amusing backgrounds, themes and sounds you can set up.

 

[Trebdp83]

Yes, the lack of a Gigabit ethernet port and USB 3.0 are glaring omissions on the new Cube. I’d gave swapped the HDMI input port for them.