Since PC Magazine just released its latest ratings of the current batch of media streaming devices (story #1), I thought its a good time to talk about these devices based on my own experiences. Of all the devices listed, I have first-hand experience with the Amazon Fire Stick, the Roku 3 and the Roku Stick, and Google Chromecast. I know…I am a nerd.
First, let’s mention one I have no experience with and is doubtful I ever will. That would be the Apple TV. PC Magazine talks about it but does not give it a rating. They use pretty light-weight language in their short review so as not to offend Apple. As I don’t have to worry about that, I think it is a device not worth owning…unless you might be an Apple Fan Boy and will buy anything they sell. I’m not.
It is way, way overpriced compared to the others ($150-$200), is highly Apple-Centric, doesn’t support 4K, and doesn’t support two of the biggest content providers: Netflix and Amazon. As a great portion of my TV watching is done on these two channels, the exclusion of those two makes Apple TV a no-go for me.
As for my Roku devices and my new Amazon Fire Stick, they are definitely excellent products. I’m really enamored with the Fire Stick ($39) as it has fantastic voice search built-in using Alexa and excellent picture quality. It is fast and efficient in its operation.The voice search is about 95% right on the money.
I still love my Roku 3 device ($79) and use it on a regular basis. As I wrote here once before, the picture quality is just slightly less than the Fire Stick, but is not really noticeable unless you spend a lot of time comparing the two. Definitely recommend it.
As for the Roku Stick ($29, $39, $49), it is much slower in operation than the Roku 3 or Fire Stick. The picture quality is excellent. I don’t use it much as it is on the bedroom TV and I do most of watching on the 50” TV in the living room. More comfortable seating there also.
As for the Google Chromecast ($35) I can’t recommend it. After using it for a short time before I bought the Fire Stick, I didn’t like it very much. There is no remote control…you must use a tablet or smartphone to operate it. I found that to be a great nuisance, especially when using it with DirecTV Now . The picture quality was good, but not great.
Bottom line…if you want to spend the least amount of money for one of these devices, get the Amazon Fire Stick. You will not regret it. If you want to spend a little more, get the Roku 3 or better. They do have many more channels to choose from and there are some models with 4K capability.
A quick word about DirecTV Now…it still is not available on any of the Roku devices, but does work well on Fire Stick. I did not use DirecTV much in February, but will be using it more from now on as baseball is here as well as the Stanley Cup playoffs and Indy Car racing (am not a basketball fan). And I do watch the occasional film on Turner Movie Classics. Love some of those old movies.
One other issue on the subject of cutting the cord: I got very used to no commercials on Amazon, Netflix, Acorn, and PBS, so when I see them on DirecTV channels, it drives me up the wall. Once you free yourself of commercials (for everything except sports, of course) you really get used to watching shows uninterrupted from beginning to end. Just a warning.
Sorry to be so long-winded, but thought you might like to know my experiences with cord-cutting. And now…on with the show. -JRC
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