Roku or Chromecast

[*bfine32*]

Does anybody use either of these? I had both about a year ago and stopped using both. I didn't like that Chromecast had to go through a seperate device and I hated the Roku remote.

However, my empty nest has recently become a full house and the devices I used to stream on have been taken (Stupid kids think a PS4 is for video games).

So I went out the other day and picked me up a Roku express. Loving it so far and I just want other folks input. Do you use either (or maybe Amazon fire?), which do you prefer and why. Also any tips would be appreciated.

[Benton]

I stream everything through my X1 or WiiU. But everybody I know uses Amazon Fire, to the point where I'm planning on getting rid of cable in a couple months when my contract is up and switching to it.

[coachmcneil71]

We cut the cord several months ago. Use Roku to stream Netflix, Amazon,& Sling. Add on Crackle and all of the other free channels. Currently saving about $140 per month over the Cox Cable days.

[Belsnickel]

I have cable included in my rent right now, but that will be going away at the end of June, so I have been experimenting. I got the Roku streaming stick for one television and it has been fantastic. I tried out a friend's Amazon FireTV and it didn't stream as smooth as the Roku. I have used a Chromecast before, never a big fan. When I was trying to decide what to try I perused some cord cutting forums and found Roku had high marks all the way around from a lot of people, so I wasn't surprised with the quality. I don't have a gaming system, so I had to go with a separate device for streaming.

I'm going to go Roku for both of my televisions. I do agree about the remote, not the best thing out there, but I've dealt with worse.

[SunsetBengal]

(03-11-2017, 06:27 PM)coachmcneil71 Wrote: We cut the cord several months ago. Use Roku to stream Netflix, Amazon,& Sling. Add on Crackle and all of the other free channels. Currently saving about $140 per month over the Cox Cable days.

When you are using your stream services, is there a "guide" similar to cable and satellite?  I looked at Sling, a while back, and to me it seemed like you needed to pay for a list of basic channels, and then could add additional channels ala carte.  So when you say that you're using your Roku to stream Netflix, Amazon, and Sling, are you meaning simply that you are using that particular device to stream other services that you pay for on a regular basis?

Right now, wife and I are on the hook for about 180/mo to Time Warner, or Spectrum, or whatever the hell their name is these days.  We would like to "cut the cord", along with the high cost.  Stand alone high speed internet good enough for streaming cost about 40-50/mo in our area. 

If you, or any of the others care to spend a moment and break it all down for me, it would be much appreciated.

[HarleyDog]

I use Roku to access Netflix but not much other use out of it. Other channels accessed through Roku seem to be really old movies channels nobody ever watched to begin with, or news/info bites lasting anywhere from 2-3 minutes to 10 minutes. That turned me off. I had sling long enough to watch the Ohio State game but then cancelled my free trial. Didn't like it and seemed like once I got the amount of channels I wanted, I might as well get cable. Right now I have basic cable because of internet and that's it.

I think the best way to cut the cord is with an antenna. 1 time cost and that's it. I get about 30 channels on the cheap ass antenna I just bought and I'm more than satisfied.

[Belsnickel]

(03-11-2017, 09:32 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: I use Roku to access Netflix but not much other use out of it. Other channels accessed through Roku seem to be really old movies channels nobody ever watched to begin with, or news/info bites lasting anywhere from 2-3 minutes to 10 minutes. That turned me off. I had sling long enough to watch the Ohio State game but then cancelled my free trial. Didn't like it and seemed like once I got the amount of channels I wanted, I might as well get cable. Right now I have basic cable because of internet and that's it.

I think the best way to cut the cord is with an antenna. 1 time cost and that's it. I get about 30 channels on the cheap ass antenna I just bought and I'm more than satisfied.

I plan to use an antenna for local channels, but my wife has other stuff she watches so we will be getting Sling. I could llive without live television altogether.

[coachmcneil71]

(03-11-2017, 09:23 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: When you are using your stream services, is there a "guide" similar to cable and satellite?  I looked at Sling, a while back, and to me it seemed like you needed to pay for a list of basic channels, and then could add additional channels ala carte.  So when you say that you're using your Roku to stream Netflix, Amazon, and Sling, are you meaning simply that you are using that particular device to stream other services that you pay for on a regular basis?

Right now, wife and I are on the hook for about 180/mo to Time Warner, or Spectrum, or whatever the hell their name is these days.  We would like to "cut the cord", along with the high cost.  Stand alone high speed internet good enough for streaming cost about 40-50/mo in our area. 

If you, or any of the others care to spend a moment and break it all down for me, it would be much appreciated.

I pay roughly a $100 bucks or so apiece for NF & A per year. Sling is $22 a month. Of course we use high speed internet $70 per month. Having internet gives you basic cable as well. These I pay for. 

The original bill was $220 per month. So we were paying roughly $2,650 a year. We've shaved that down to about $1300 per year & still have all the channels/programs that I could ask for, and yes, Sling uses a guide.

On top of that Roku offers a plethora of free channels.

[*wildcats forever*]

(03-11-2017, 09:32 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: I use Roku to access Netflix but not much other use out of it. Other channels accessed through Roku seem to be really old movies channels nobody ever watched to begin with, or news/info bites lasting anywhere from 2-3 minutes to 10 minutes. That turned me off. I had sling long enough to watch the Ohio State game but then cancelled my free trial. Didn't like it and seemed like once I got the amount of channels I wanted, I might as well get cable. Right now I have basic cable because of internet and that's it.

I think the best way to cut the cord is with an antenna. 1 time cost and that's it. I get about 30 channels on the cheap ass antenna I just bought and I'm more than satisfied.

I stream Netflix thru my Samsung Bluray player, and use a digital antenna as you do. The only thing I miss from not having cable is ESPN, and that's only because they carry the bulk of UK basketball. I really enjoy the ~$100/month savings. I am waiting for the dust to settle with the newer content providers before seriously looking into roku etc, especially with good weather coming up now, minimizing TV time as a result.

[SunsetBengal]

(03-11-2017, 11:51 PM)coachmcneil71 Wrote: I pay roughly a $100 bucks or so apiece for NF & A per year. Sling is $22 a month. Of course we use high speed internet $70 per month. Having internet gives you basic cable as well. These I pay for. 

The original bill was $220 per month. So we were paying roughly $2,650 a year. We've shaved that down to about $1300 per year & still have all the channels/programs that I could ask for, and yes, Sling uses a guide.

On top of that Roku offers a plethora of free channels.

Thanks for the info.  That will definitely help in making up my mind.  Btw, they are charging the heck out of you for your internet.

[HarleyDog]

I bought this right here: https://www.amazon.com/Tree-New-Bee-Controlled-Motorized/dp/B01JMQ00PM

I got the $45 model and its pulling in everything available to me. I live roughly 45 air miles from Dayton and I get all the channels crystal clear. I really doubt you can pull in over 100 miles due to natural curvature of the earth and terrain. However, I will warn the RG6 cable that comes with it is cheap as hell. The cord is ok, but the connector snapped. I finger tightened it then applied a wrench to do 1/8-1/4 turn for snugness. Well, cheap ass metal just came apart. So, I had to invest in an RG6 cable but works really fantastic despite that little episode. Also, if you haven't priced antenna's, good ones can be pretty expensive. However, 1 time expense and you done.

Edit: Oh, and 1 other thing. You have to put this antenna together and the instructions suck. But if you have any common sense, you can do it. I'm not mechanically inclined and put it together in 15 minutes.

[*wildcats forever*]

(03-12-2017, 12:02 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Thanks for the info.  That will definitely help in making up my mind.  Btw, they are charging the heck out of you for your internet.

The providers are bumping up high speed internet fees to make up for lost revenue in cable, since streaming is trending up. Costs have been creeping up in Cincy for a couple of years now. I suspect the same thing is happening in Florida for Coach, and most likely in other parts of the country as well. 

[SunsetBengal]

(03-12-2017, 12:26 AM)wildcats forever Wrote: The providers are bumping up high speed internet fees to make up for lost revenue in cable, since streaming is trending up. Costs have been creeping up in Cincy for a couple of years now. I suspect the same thing is happening in Florida for Coach, and most likely in other parts of the country as well. 

Well, Google Fiber just hit the RTP, and is keeping costs competitive in these parts.  I'm not in an area serviced by Google Fiber, yet...

[coachmcneil71]

(03-12-2017, 12:26 AM)wildcats forever Wrote: The providers are bumping up high speed internet fees to make up for lost revenue in cable, since streaming is trending up. Costs have been creeping up in Cincy for a couple of years now. I suspect the same thing is happening in Florida for Coach, and most likely in other parts of the country as well. 

Yes sir, and Cox Cable has the monopoly on the business because they are the only reliable HS provider in the area. They basically just charge whatever the hell they think they can get away with. That's how the darn cable bill escalated so high to begin with.

Cox has the North side of the bay covered & Mediacom runs the South side of the bay or beaches. Both hosing folks on a regular.

[*bfine32*]

(03-12-2017, 12:19 AM)HarleyDog Wrote: I bought this right here: https://www.amazon.com/Tree-New-Bee-Controlled-Motorized/dp/B01JMQ00PM

I got the $45 model and its pulling in everything available to me. I live roughly 45 air miles from Dayton and I get all the channels crystal clear. I really doubt you can pull in over 100 miles due to natural curvature of the earth and terrain. However, I will warn the RG6 cable that comes with it is cheap as hell. The cord is ok, but the connector snapped. I finger tightened it then applied a wrench to do 1/8-1/4 turn for snugness. Well, cheap ass metal just came apart. So, I had to invest in an RG6 cable but works really fantastic despite that little episode. Also, if you haven't priced antenna's, good ones can be pretty expensive. However, 1 time expense and you done.

Edit: Oh, and 1 other thing. You have to put this antenna together and the instructions suck. But if you have any common sense, you can do it. I'm not mechanically inclined and put it together in 15 minutes.

I have a houseful of kids and "temporary lodgers". Can you splice an antenna and can folks watch different channels at the same time? I know it might be a stupid question, but the last experience I had with Antenna was back when I was a kid and we had to go up and adjust it from time to time.

The reason I would want an Antenna is that I live in the Louisville Market; yet am only about 70 miles from Lexington. There are days I want the Lexington feed as Louisville plays Colt's games if the Bengals and Colts are on the same time on the same network.

[HarleyDog]

(03-13-2017, 04:24 PM)bfine32 Wrote: I have a houseful of kids and "temporary lodgers". Can you splice an antenna and can folks watch different channels at the same time? I know it might be a stupid question, but the last experience I had with Antenna was back when I was a kid and we had to go up and adjust it from time to time.

The reason I would want an Antenna is that I live in the Louisville Market; yet am only about 70 miles from Lexington. There are days I want the Lexington feed as Louisville plays Colt's games if the Bengals and Colts are on the same time on the same network.

Not a stupid question at all. Yes you can split to several TV's at once. I will be splitting into 3-4 TV's for the mancave.

[Vas Deferens]

I will also add chromecast audio into the mix of this conversation. I've outfitted my entire home with them now and can't talk it up enough. Essentially a cheaper alternative to Sonos for anyone that already has some speakers set up.

Complete and seemless wifi syncing of the same audio across the entire house. It's amazing. I'm about to get rid of cable just because 75% of my entertainment is audio at this point. Highly recommend if you're already looking at sonos solutions.

[magikod]

My friends use the Amazon Firestick with Kodi or Codi (spelling) is installed on it so you get free movies/tv shows/etc on it.