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Who has a Chromecast, Roku, AppleTV, Fire, etc?

Discussion in 'Tilted Gear' started by Borla, Oct 7, 2014.

  1. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    i am considering buying one of these units.

    I have two main TVs. One has a PS3 hooked up to it, which allows me to get Amazon Prime streaming, Netflix, etc. The other is a 'smart' TV that allows the same, but the interface is a tad clunky.

    I've kind of ignored the other options out there. But I'm starting to think I'd use the features some of these units have. I just don't know yet which one would work best for me.

    I'd like to be able to use my TV to display media from my laptop and/or iPad. I don't really care about games. I'm not that concerned with initial cost (none are that expensive to start with). Pretty much all have the basic Netflix/Amazon streaming. HBOGo would be a plus. So would a large library of channel options.

    Anyone have experience with any of these units? Any suggestions or thoughts?
     
  2. Japchae

    Japchae Very Tilted

    We have a ps3, roku, boxee, and chromecast. I love the chromecast with Plex so I can cast whatever I'm doing to the screen (in chrome) and because it really easily handles my simple media. Hubs has xbmc running on the boxee and it's ridiculously easy. I use the chromecast instead of the roku for streaming Netflix, etc. But, I think only the roku works with Amazon streaming? I dunno, and I'm probably not much help, but I can vouch for the positives of the boxee and chromecast.
     
  3. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    I use Apple TV. Using my Canadian iTunes account I am able to access content that I can't get in Singapore (especially uncensored content).

    I also use it, in conjunction with a DNS server number, to access Netflix in the US.

    I find I am watching more TV than ever before and am close to cutting my cable package altogether.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  4. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    The new Roku 3 can cast stuff from my laptop, I think it uses Plex as well. It also works with Netflix. I don't know about the older Roku models though.

    The more I look, the more I similarities I see between the main models. The only real advantages I see is if someone is very tied to Apple or Amazon then they'd want to go with their proprietary products. I use both, but am not enslaved to either. :p




    I'm debating on going to cord cutting eventually. The hardest thing for me is sports. That is basically all I ever watch live, but I do watch a lot of it. Especially football (college and NFL) and the NBA.

    However, the NBA's new TV deal looks to be changing things. They will be allowing live streaming online. If the NFL goes that way soon, I may be in fairly good shape.
     
  5. Fremen

    Fremen Allright, who stole my mustache?

    Location:
    E. Texas
    I'll be watching this thread.
    I've been thinking about getting a Roku 3, myself. I'd need to upgrade to a 1080p tv first, though, since the new version won't work on 480i.
     
  6. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    I can't speak to sports. I don't watch sports in any way that matters.

    I have noticed that Apple TV has the ability to subscribe to various sports -- NHL, Baseball, etc. No idea what they cost or what they deliver.
     
  7. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member


    We stream most everything except sports via our Xbox 360. Once our special deal with Comcast is up, though, I don't know what we'll do. As much as I love sports, I don't know that I want to pay an extra $40 a month just for that. I'm waiting for the leagues to catch up and sell me content directly. I'd gladly pay them straight up if I could watch my teams.
     
  8. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    The NBA is going that way. MLB is too. Some college conferences are. It is coming. It's just a matter of when.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  9. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    FWIW, I got a Roku 3. So far so good. Very easy to use interface. The only drawback (in my case) is that the remote is bluetooth, so my Harmony remote can't be programmed to control it. I have my Harmony set up so that I only need that remote to control the TV, DVR, Audio Receiver, and PS3. Now I also need the Roku remote handy. Not a huge deal.
     
  10. genuinemommy

    genuinemommy Moderator Staff Member

    We love chromecast. We purchased one for each of our TVs. We used to have a computer hooked up to the TV like a second monitor and that worked fine, but chromecast is far superior. We use our smart phones or any computer on our home network to control the chromecast. About a month into having chromecast (with netflix), we decided to downgrade our cable and get rid of our cable box. This has been a good move for us. It's great watching programming on our own terms.
     
  11. I have Directv for television, but I have COX for internet.
     
  12. MSD

    MSD Very Tilted

    Location:
    CT
    I have a Chromecast and the only major downside is that you can't stream Amazon Prime Instant Video to it. I tried the workarounds suggested and nothing has worked so far. Casting tabs from Chrome on any device is worth the $35 to me,
     
  13. RedSneaker

    RedSneaker Very Tilted

    I just got the Chromecast for my birfday. I haven't had much time to use anything other than Netflix, but that's worth it for me.
     
  14. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    I've used a Roku with Amazon Prime before (not at my house). There are some good movies on it, and some seasons of TV shows that you can binge watch. I wish the selection was better though. I wish that it was easier to search too.

    And I don't like the fact that you have to pay for some of the TV show episodes when I can watch them over-the-air for free. Yes, there are no commercials, but this product seems like it would be able to prevent you from buzzing the commercials, and allow advertisers to target more directly and only pay for how many times their ads were shown. Now, for some TV shows that are on Showtime or only on DVD, you should have the option of buying a whole season at the price of the DVD.

    PBS should offer year long 'memberships' to a large catalog of shows and episodes during their pledge week. HBO sounds like they are going to get into this game next year. I even think the cable companies should look into offering a box like that with different channels available. Or else one of these companies will make a product that offers 'a la cart' channel programming for a small fee every month and people would rather pay for 4 channels with a large library of content they can play whenever, than 100 channels that are programmed by others and they need to DVR.
     
  15. Strange Famous

    Strange Famous it depends on who is looking...

    Location:
    Ipswich, UK
    I have the Amazon Fire TV one.

    The quality is really decent (although I have a decent internet connection)... it supports netflix and bbc iplayer. Its definitely better (for me) than watching on my fairly cheap PC

    _

    BUT the thing that really pisses me off is that they still try and sell rights on a country by country basis and that just work anymore.

    On my PC, I can make Netflix think I'm in the US (for example), but I shouldnt have to. I should be entitled to the same product anyone else is. And all it makes people do is grab stuff off of youtube or torrent, rather than buy it legitimately which I for one would be quite prepared to do.
     
  16. Ronzo

    Ronzo New Member

    Location:
    Las Vegas Nevada
    I have a Roku and get Amazon prime,Netflix, Hulu plus. I like foreign films and only watch Soccer on Saturday mornings.
     
  17. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    Used my Roku to cast my laptop's display to my 60" TV today for guests. Great and helpful feature.
     
  18. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    We just got a Chromecast for ourselves for Christmas. I'm in love. It works seamlessly with my smartphone, tablet, and laptop. I'm using it right now to cast from my phone on to our television so I can watch all the sappy, romantic anime my husband won't watch with me by myself on our biggest screen. :D
     
  19. RedSneaker

    RedSneaker Very Tilted

    My Chromecast is being difficult with Netflix. It doesn't easily load to the TV. Bummed.
     
  20. Levite

    Levite Levitical Yet Funky

    Location:
    The Windy City
    We have an AppleTV. That's all we have. We got rid of cable because we almost never watch "regular" TV, and in fact, seldom enough watch any kind of TV on the actual TV. Little Levite isn't allowed to watch TV or movies yet (our one TV is in the basement, which he rarely sees, and there is no TV at his day care, so he almost never sees TV, and has yet to grasp the concept that he himself could sit and watch video at home), and Mrs. Levite watches little TV. I mostly watch it, and because it's just me, I mostly watch it on my laptop.

    That said, however, on the rare occasions that Mrs. Levite and I want to watch a program or a movie together on the TV, we are more than happy with the Apple TV, and either watching something from our iTunes library, or renting or buying something from iTunes, or streaming from Netflix or Amazon if they have what we want. All of which we do just fine with Apple TV. Never had any complaint with it, works easily and consistently, and we don't miss cable a bit. It was totally worth it.