What is the best ROKU stick and/or player to buy??

[rnatalli]

Wish OPPO would add Amazon, Hulu, and a few others so I wouldn't need the Roku stick.

 

[afterlife2]

I thought the newer Oppo did that sucks. Be nice if Sony supported HBO Go/Showtime as well. rnatalli how do you like your Acer PJ?
Apple one is on sale. Alot of peeps seem to like them. I've never tried one: http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD199LL/A/refurbished-apple-tv?afid=p231|camref:1l8v&cid=AOS-US-AFF-PHG

 

[KEW]

I have the Roku 2. I think it works great and is very user friendly. I find it to be plenty fast and the remote is bomb proof. I, and my family, prefer it using it over the Sony BVD player. I would get the Roku 3 only because you can run an ethernet cable directly to it. Though I've haven't had issues.

It would be useful if you said why you and family prefer Roku.

 

[Hobbit]

It would be useful if you said why you and family prefer Roku.

The Roku has a better user interface, it's more user friendly, it's always on and ready to go, better content, a good search engine, faster than the Sony. The remote is simple, well built, and works well.

As far as speed goes, the 2 may not be as fast as the 3, but I don't have to wait for more second for anything to happen. I wouldn't upgrade on this alone.

It's been a while, probably a year to year and a half, since I played with the Amazon, Google, and Apple counterparts. They each had some pluses. However, I felt the Roku had the best content and best/easiest user interface.

 

[READER]

OK do they BOTH transmit in 1080 and is there any content they offer that does so???

 

[markw]

Does the Roku play Blu-Rays?

 

[j_garcia]

I will never buy another Roku, after updates, mine sucked. Switched to the Fire TV and Fire Stick and love them both.

1080p content depends on the provider, content and the speed of your ISP, not the stick/box itself. The devices support 1080p.

 

[afterlife2]

There is talk of a new Roku 4K coming this summer if you can wait: http://4k.com/news/roku-4-in-4k-likely-to-emerge-before-apple-tv-4-in-4k-6005/

 

[zieglj01]

There is talk of a new Roku 4K coming this summer if you can wait: http://4k.com/news/roku-4-in-4k-likely-to-emerge-before-apple-tv-4-in-4k-6005/

I will wait a long time - and hope that they are not cheaply
built like the Roku 3. I will not rush to buy another Roku.

 

[afterlife2]

I am hoping it's better than the Roku 2 I have. I never bought 3 cause there was not a big difference except it's a bit faster. Roku 2 still gets firmware updates so far. I'd like to see what amazon will come up with on the 2nd one.

 

[Hobbit]

I will wait a long time - and hope that they are not cheaply
built like the Roku 3. I will not rush to buy another Roku.

What do you find cheaply built about the Roku? I couldn't say it's molded plastic box that just sits there is any better or worse built than the competitions I've looked at. If I do a search on any of these streamers I'll find a bunch of disgruntled people who've had their "place a brand here" break.

The Roku remote itself has to be one of the best built remotes I've ever seen. There are a hand full of high school girls at the house all the time that have gone through many a remote, but the Roku has taken all their punishment for year and a half now (and that's all they watch - with a limited attention span!) and the buttons still feel like new and the original batteries are still in it.

 

[zieglj01]

What do you find cheaply built about the Roku? I couldn't say it's molded plastic box that just sits there is any better or worse built than the competitions I've looked at. If I do a search on any of these streamers I'll find a bunch of disgruntled people who've had their "place a brand here" break.

The Roku remote itself has to be one of the best built remotes I've ever seen.

I own the Roku stick and Roku 3 and Amazon Fire TV

For my boxes >>
My Roku 3 remote loves to suck up batteries - and the Roku 3 shuts
down (freezes) a lot, and does not always start back up after reboot.
I think a couple of the problems are that it gets too hot, and a weak
software design - The Amazon fire rarely freezes and does not really
over heat, and the batteries last longer in the remote.

In doing my exploration - a lot of people have had the same type of
problems with their Roku 3.

My favorite remote is the Amazon Fire remote as far as the simple
button layout.

There is no perfect box and all have there weakness - and if one likes
the Roku and there are no major problems for them, then that is cool
and continue to enjoy the ride.

 

[afterlife2]

I agree my Roku freezes and reboots too. The issue is the enclosure. It won't allow air to circulate. There was a thread with a guy who opened it up and drilled some holes on the top and never had a problem again with it freezing and rebooting. Found it: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2321815

 

[Hobbit]

I agree my Roku freezes and reboots too. The issue is the enclosure. It won't allow air to circulate. There was a thread with a guy who opened it up and drilled some holes on the top and never had a problem again with it freezing and rebooting. Found it: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2321815

I've never had that issue.... I live in the desert too! Oddly enough when I did a search on the Fire it came up with a lot of folks having to unplug and replug it in to get it going.

I'll stick with the Roku 2 until it either dies or something with much more content comes along. I keep wondering what Google is going to bring to the game? Their Nexus player had some nice features, but it lagged in content.

 

[afterlife2]

If all fails just get a MHL to HDMI cable to your tablet.

 

[rnatalli]

One other thing to consider is whether you use a universal remote that utilizes IR. Amazon Fire TV's remote operates via bluetooth I believe whereas the Roku 3 has both RF and IR allowing something like the Harmony 650 to control it.

One other major difference I've noticed is Netflix loads way faster on the Roku for some reason. You wouldn't think so given the difference in hardware.