Roku Streaming Stick vs Roku 3

msg

Any Roku fans here? I'm curious about the Streaming Stick vs the Roku 3

There's Roku's comparison here:
http://www.roku.com/products/compare

Seems like headphones, Angry Birds control, and a "lightning fast processor" are the main differences.
I wonder what "lightning fast processor" contributes to the experience.


Anyone using either of these products?
I have one of the earlier Roku basic units and it works pretty well.

hochpt21

Not fully up to speed on this, but I think the main difference is the Roku Streaming Stick only sends content from you tablet or phone to your tv.

The Roku 3 operates independently.

Again, I could be wrong.

begbie

I've got the Roku 3 and it's extremely fast using the interface. I believe the Roku stick is slower in comparison.

ZLTFUL

Just got my 8500R (latest streaming stick) and I notice absolutely no slowness at all. In fact, it loads Netflix via wifi than my Oppo 103 does via a wired connection.

So far I am extremely happy with it and the wife loves that I added another component but you can't see it.
But I will give a full review after I get some miles on it.

unc2701

hochpt21 wrote: »

Not fully up to speed on this, but I think the main difference is the Roku Streaming Stick only sends content from you tablet or phone to your tv.
Again, I could be wrong.

Yup, you're wrong. Google chrome is probably what you're thinking of, but it's adding channels to be more like Roku. Differences really are the remote, headphones and processor (and obviously form factor). I've been using a 3 and my only complaints are with the pseudo airplay- it can be a little twitchy with the metadata on your music... my wife bought "Let it go" as a single for the kid, then got the whole album, but they show up as separate albums. This is fine, BUT the Roku app can't find the whole album. click on it and it goes to the single. Click on the single and it's the single, too. Probably just an app bug, but annoying.

hochpt21

unc2701 wrote: »

Yup, you're wrong. Google chrome is probably what you're thinking of, but it's adding channels to be more like Roku. Differences really are the remote, headphones and processor (and obviously form factor). I've been using a 3 and my only complaints are with the pseudo airplay- it can be a little twitchy with the metadata on your music... my wife bought "Let it go" as a single for the kid, then got the whole album, but they show up as separate albums. This is fine, BUT the Roku app can't find the whole album. click on it and it goes to the single. Click on the single and it's the single, too. Probably just an app bug, but annoying.

Thanks for the clarification. I though this was Roku's version of the chrome stick.

unc2701

Oh, that's completely understandable- they really need to fix that perception. Not that the chromecast is a bad device, but there's definitely $20 more value in the Roku, if you ask me.

maggiefan

Add another choice to the mix. Amazon announced their new streamer today. Sounds like it may be a good competitor. It's on the web site for order now. $99.

Conradicles

CNet has some good reviews on these models. We really like our new Roku 3 and the Stick seems like a great deal.

dkg999

The Amazon streamer looks like it's really good! Optical out for audio so you are not limited to an AVR with HDMI.

DollarDave

maggiefan wrote: »

Add another choice to the mix. Amazon announced their new streamer today. Sounds like it may be a good competitor. It's on the web site for order now. $99.

Ordered mine tonight, be here Friday and will post a review after the weekend. Optical out did it for me.

unc2701

dkg999 wrote: »

The Amazon streamer looks like it's really good! Optical out for audio so you are not limited to an AVR with HDMI.

Yeah, but it's still HDMI video... Nonetheless, the optical out+the games are what set it apart. Still think they'll have an uphill battle. The superior hardware specs really don't matter- video decoding is on chip and I've never had buffering issues on the Roku. It doesn't break the apple walled garden (no airplay, no itunes movies, if that's where you've been buying stuff), it doesn't have as many channels as Roku and you can do amazon video on the Roku.

Will be interested to hear Dave's review.

hochpt21

DaveMuell wrote: »

Ordered mine tonight, be here Friday and will post a review after the weekend. Optical out did it for me.

Will be interested in your review.

msg

wow, I step away for a couple of days...
haha, great input and feedback on this!

yeah, I just saw the Amazon FireTV yesterday, and it looks really nice, too!
I didn't realize it has optical out - that's a nice feature. I don't have an HDMI receiver/processor. with my existing Roku 2 XD, I use HDMI to the tv then out to the processor with optical. seems to work pretty well for my needs so far. anything optical makes me think - music.

anyone know whether there's an app for controlling the FireTV yet? be nice to use it "headlessly."

The other thing I look at in these things is channel availability - Chromecast doesn't seem to have a whole lot yet, though they do offer "chromecasting", but I hear it's glitchy? Roku seems to be the leader here with channels, with FireTV second? one of the things I'd like to try is getting YouTube directly to the TV through one of the streaming players. My early Roku 2 XD doesn't seem to have YouTube functionality and I can't seem to add a channel, so this means connecting a Macbook to the TV over HDMI and playing it that way. not a huge deal for what little I use it, but it would be nice to have direct access, and I'd probably use it more. YouTube is also weird with some videos not playing in playlists, so I wonder how that would work with any of these streaming players if you wanted to roll some music.

unc2701

Only app as of right now is for Fire HDX; iOS and Android coming soon.

msg

might be worth the wait. I'll do some more research, thanks for weighing in with this.

Jimbo18

msg, the Roku 3 has a YouTube channel available. It just added it this year. I don't know if the stick will offer that or not my guess is that it will but if you decide to go that way, you should check to make sure.

I haven't used it much for music, but it works for that. I have mainly just watched some videos on it.

unc2701

The stick has a youtube channel and "casting" for youtube and netflix. But it's not _exactly_ casting: it doesn't stream off your device, but rather just tells the Roku to go play the video in question from the precise spot you're at on your phone.

msg

Jimbo18 wrote: »

msg, the Roku 3 has a YouTube channel available. It just added it this year. I don't know if the stick will offer that or not my guess is that it will but if you decide to go that way, you should check to make sure.

I haven't used it much for music, but it works for that. I have mainly just watched some videos on it.

yeah, I saw that, which is what made me go look for it on my older Roku 2! weird that it's doesn't seem to be available on previous devices...

do you find that it works out pretty well? my tv is supposed to offer YouTube support, but whenever I've tried to use it, it just sits there, and doesn't really launch.

unc2701 wrote: »

The stick has a youtube channel and "casting" for youtube and netflix. But it's not _exactly_ casting: it doesn't stream off your device, but rather just tells the Roku to go play the video in question from the precise spot you're at on your phone.

yeah, I had to dig a little deeper into just how the sticks work as well, either Roku or Chromecast. I didn't realize at first that it was actually just taking commands from your smartphone or tablet. they make it sound at first like you're streaming content from the device to the stick. Chromecast does offer this in some sort of All-Cast app - I think it may be third party - that basically lets you stream content from your device to the tv. this is an answer to being able to stream content not yet available as an app for the stick, however, the reviews I've ready say that it's not perfect, which I took to mean, not quite ready for prime time.

Jimbo18

msg, I haven't really used YouTube that much, maybe logged 2 or 3 hours on it total, but everything worked fine. You can tie it to your account and have your favs show up. You can only watch video though, any changes have to be done on the computer or a smartphone.

Upstatemax

The roku 3 was way better than the stick I started with.

Faster and I really like that it does not HAVE to be wifi like the Stick. I've been very happy with my Roku 3.

One of the things that is a bit unsettling about Roku is they only have a 90day warranty...

Granted I've had no issues for well over that, but I think a 1yr warranty should be standard.

scubalab

We've had a Roku 3 for a few months now. We use it 99% of the time for Netflix. We are VERY pleased with it - it's FAST, rarely (if ever) gives us any problems. I stumbled on a misprint sale that was honored and picked it up for $49 new. They pop up on Woot every couple weeks for around $65. We are seriously considering picking up a second one for our kitchen TV and are VERY close to dropping cable.

Prior to the Roku, we used the Samsung Netflix app - one word - TERRIBLE. Roku is night and day. It's often faster than our computers and tablets!

Can't speak for the Stick, but the Roku 3 gets a big thumbs-up from us. And, the headphone jack in the remote is downright ingenious!!

Ronster267

I too have been in the market for a streamer. I have a Sony PS3, a Sony first generation streamer (N100), a Sony S790 blu ray player that streams, and a Chromecast. I was wanting something to use downstairs on my Sony HDTV. I was conflicted on whether to get the new Amazon FireTV or the Roku 3. I bought Roku 2's for my two daughters bedroom tv's last year. I have been very impressed with the performance. I ended up choosing the Roku 3. While the FireTV's specs are better on paper, you will probably not notice a difference over the Roku 3 in real world use. Roku's app selection is leaps and bounds ahead of ANYONE. The FireTV has some very useful features that set it apart though. I'm sure as Amazons app selection rounds out it will be a real contender. My Roku 3 arrived yesterday, and it only took several minutes to get up and going. The Roku's Amazon instant video interface is as close to the PS3 as I have seen.

Christo

Love my Roku 3 but have been eyeing that Amazon streamer as well.

msg

Jimbo18 wrote: »

msg, I haven't really used YouTube that much, maybe logged 2 or 3 hours on it total, but everything worked fine. You can tie it to your account and have your favs show up. You can only watch video though, any changes have to be done on the computer or a smartphone.

I've been trying to find a new tv as of late as well. I started off with a Samsung, but the YouTube app on it didn't really work right and it ended up going back to the store, though not for the YouTube app thing. Anyway, while I had it, I was experimenting with the Chromecast, switching it between the new tv and my old tv now moved to br. It's a neat idea, but the lack of apps and a real remote kind of kills it for me. controlling videos is a little clunky, too, and I would get double or triple starts for videos in playlists. confirmed - yes, easier to search and build playlists on a computer ahead of viewing time.

during the time experimenting with the Chromecast, I've realized just how much more I prefer the Roku, even my older v2 model, so I think I've decided that it's definitely got to be something with a remote and a few base apps:

• Netflix (a given)
• HBO Go
• Amazon Instant
• Pandora (a given)
• Spotify - apparently mostly unavailable except on Roku so far. I just read some talk on a Spotify forum where users are requesting the app for the Fire TV.

Upstatemax wrote: »

The roku 3 was way better than the stick I started with.
Faster and I really like that it does not HAVE to be wifi like the Stick. I've been very happy with my Roku 3.
One of the things that is a bit unsettling about Roku is they only have a 90day warranty...
Granted I've had no issues for well over that, but I think a 1yr warranty should be standard.

I think at this point I'm pretty much deciding on the Roku 3 when I'm ready to buy.
I wouldn't worry about the warranty, but yeah, a year would seem more practical. actually, I shouldn't say that about not worrying about the warranty - I'm finding more and more that certain brands once known and trusted for quality can't always be trusted by name anymore. I dislike the standard fluff customer service responses where they apologize but don't really do anything to rectify a bad situation if you're outside a warranty, even on a known issue. so yeah, warranties are important, and I can't speak for the continued quality of a brand whose earlier model quality I can speak for.

scubalab wrote: »

We've had a Roku 3 for a few months now. We use it 99% of the time for Netflix. We are VERY pleased with it - it's FAST, rarely (if ever) gives us any problems. I stumbled on a misprint sale that was honored and picked it up for $49 new. They pop up on Woot every couple weeks for around $65. We are seriously considering picking up a second one for our kitchen TV and are VERY close to dropping cable.
Prior to the Roku, we used the Samsung Netflix app - one word - TERRIBLE. Roku is night and day. It's often faster than our computers and tablets!
Can't speak for the Stick, but the Roku 3 gets a big thumbs-up from us. And, the headphone jack in the remote is downright ingenious!!

woh, that was lucky!
I like a snappy responsive interface. that was one of the things I disliked about the 6 series Samsung I had. the remote was cheesy, and the tv interface didn't appeal to me. it was too big, and cartoony, and required very deliberate button entry on the remote, and I couldn't even name the inputs!!! it just didn't flow very well, imo. so yeah, user interface is important.
and yes, I've found the same thing for Smart TV built in apps. they're kinda slow and clunky, and searching is a pain unless you have one of those old Sony Google tv's with a game-pad like controller with a keyboard! be nice if they came out with robust tv, even Roku, control apps for smartphones so you could type all this stuff in on a phone or tablet instead of having to use those ridiculously slow on screen displays.
yes! I wish EVERYTHING were streaming. cable's a huge rip for just the handful of channels I watch. and a monthly fee for a cable box? come on.

that's pretty cool about the headphone jack - I didn't even consider that part. don't have an immediate need for it, but pretty cool.

be cool if Roku included a second remote or something with a keypad. or a slider or something.

Ronster267 wrote: »

I too have been in the market for a streamer. I have a Sony PS3, a Sony first generation streamer (N100), a Sony S790 blu ray player that streams, and a Chromecast. I was wanting something to use downstairs on my Sony HDTV. I was conflicted on whether to get the new Amazon FireTV or the Roku 3. I bought Roku 2's for my two daughters bedroom tv's last year. I have been very impressed with the performance. I ended up choosing the Roku 3. While the FireTV's specs are better on paper, you will probably not notice a difference over the Roku 3 in real world use. Roku's app selection is leaps and bounds ahead of ANYONE. The FireTV has some very useful features that set it apart though. I'm sure as Amazons app selection rounds out it will be a real contender. My Roku 3 arrived yesterday, and it only took several minutes to get up and going. The Roku's Amazon instant video interface is as close to the PS3 as I have seen.

yeah, I think the Roku 3 is prob the best out right now, although that Amazon FireTV voice search is cool and would address my gripe about having to tick along one letter at a time for searches. plus, I could find all my favorite Gary Busey movies. what else does it have feature wise that sets it apart from the Roku 3?

Jimbo18

From what I have read, the Amazon FireTV, besides the voice search (but only for Amazon), is faster, has more memory and has cached streaming. I have 2 Roku 3's and will want a FireTV someday, but the lack of apps right now is a turn off. Here's a comparison

http://time.com/49323/amazon-fire-tv-vs-apple-tv-vs-roku/

msg

that's a pretty good article with comparison points.
agree, lack of apps could be an issue. I only use a handful, but they're missing at least one in my list. I never really found much else in the ROKU that I liked. a lot of it seemed like junk.
what other apps/channels do you guys use?

the only place I really have streaming/buffering "problems" is with HBO GO. actually, now that I'm reflecting a little on my use of ROKU 2 though, I'm realizing that, yeah, if I pause, rewind, or ffwd, it takes some time to catch up. I've never really considered this a nuisance or a problem, though, and I can be a little particular about UI's, but yeah, I guess it would be kinda nice if it were more responsive, and worked more instantly like BD/DVD. at least it's better than my cable box.

UI speed would be nice, though, and according to that article, the FireTV is the leader here, and with those hardware specs I wouldn't doubt it! however, the article I've linked below from Engadget points out some potential design flaws in how the UI works. it's fast, but there's still some weird stuff. quick ex., if I'm understanding correctly, if scrolling through a long list of films, the scrolling carousel apparently doesn't wrap/start over, so if you got to the end of a 250 title list of films and wanted to get back to the beginning, apparently you have to scroll all the way back through? same with manual searches punching in title names with character input, if I'm understanding correctly.

I have to read up some more on the the FireTV. I have no idea at this point why it has 8GB of storage or why I'd ever use that. games? their streaming audio services? nice gaming remote, though. I've used friends' XBOX controllers for navigation and it's kinda fast, I like it. the Amazon one gaming remote is very similar. would I even want to play games on this thing? do they have any nice games? I'm not much of a gamer, but might be fun, I don't know.

so here's another article I came across from Engadget that you guys might be interested in. They spent a good bit of time with the FireTV and they point out a few things that would disappoint/annoy me about its use. nice device, no doubt, but some of this stuff kills it for me right now.
http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/09/amazon-fire-tv-review/

trying to figure out where I'd use the optical out vs. HDMI. I needed it on my tv since I don't have an HDMI processor, but I just run the ROKU through the TV's HDMI, then out to my processor via optical. would I benefit from optical directly to the processor from the streamer? (FireTV offers Dolby Digital Plus) maybe for their music service, which I don't use.

lastly, ROKU has 1200+ channels?!?
are you guys using any of those hidden channels that are supposed to be out there?

man, give me everything streaming and on demand. I'd stop complaining about cable cost (or complain less) if everything were available on demand and streaming. guess that's what DVR is supposed to be for, which I don't have.

Jimbo18

I dropped cable about a year ago and mainly use the Roku now, with some streaming from a laptop to the TV. What I miss most about cable is the sports. There are a few sports channels on the Roku but I really miss the NFL channel, ESPN (there's a version of it on Roku but it's not great), and Fox. Unless I go out, the only NFL games I can watch are those on network TV that I get using an indoor antenna.

As far as the 2000 channels or whatever on the Roku, I am probably only interested in about 20 of them. I have Netflix and Amazon Prime, and used to have Hulu+, as well as, Crackle, Weather Underground, ESPN, CBS Sports, YouTube, Dailymotion, A&E, History, some of the free movie channels like Popcorn Flix, Worldworth and Flixster but seldom use them, also Pandora, Vevo, Slacker, CNET, and Fandango and probably a few others.

If you don't have Netflix or Amazon Prime, there's dozens of free movie channels that are worth checking out, especially if you are into older movies, westerns, or anime type stuff. Lots and lots of religious channels are available, as well.

I look over the hidden channel list now and then, but they are, for the most part, similar to what is offered in the store.

For most people, yeah, there's probably less 25 channels that will interest you. But for right now, it's the only streamer that has almost all of the channels you might be interested in, it just includes a whole bunch that you aren't.

gce

I just got a Roku3 and love it. I was streaming with my Denon bd and Panasonic TV. The Roku is much faster and I've had no problems iike I had with the Denon and Panasonic.

msg

yeah, once you use a Roku, the other stuff seems clunky by comparison. I think it's all gotten better and more reliable, but I think Roku is still nailing it.

Jimbo18

msg wrote: »

yeah, once you use a Roku, the other stuff seems clunky by comparison. I think it's all gotten better and more reliable, but I think Roku is still nailing it.

Newegg currently has refurbs for $69.99. http://www.neweggflash.com/Product/15-328-009?utm_source=NEEmail050914&utm_medium=Index&utm_campaign=ROKU&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL050914&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL050914-_-EMC-050914-Index-_-MECH-_-ROKU-EB1E&et_cid=7591&et_rid=9010677