Which Steaming Video-Amazon Fire Stick, or Roku Stick? (commercials, tv show, series)
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My provider is Comcast of which Xfinity is now some sort of subsidiary.
You need the Internet at a reasonable speed to stream data (movies, music, TV etc) but I suppose you don't need "wifi". You can direct wire to your modem that provides your Internet. In my limited experience a provider who gives you Internet will usually give you a modem/router combo box that sends the WiFi signal included in your price.
I've had Rokus and Fire Sticks. Ended up returning each Fire Stick I had. I definitely prefer Roku. I currently have 4 - one for each TV. I don't have issues with buffering. I find the Roku interface to be a lot cleaner and simpler. With the Fire Stick, it was very "in your face" with Amazon stuff and was a lot more cluttered than Roku.
Thank you for sharing your experience with these products. Are any of your Roku sticks the Express?
The Roku stick I'm considering is the Express. Don't know how good/smooth it is. Roku seems to have more channels than the Amazon Firestick, but I believe I can get Kodi for either. I won't be giving up my internet.
Putting Kodi on either Fire Stick or Roku is what's called a "jailbreak", i.e. it's unauthorized software that replaces the original software on the devices. It's not a good move for a tech newbie. You wouldn't be able to use the devices as intended. Nor would you be able to obtain user support or return them if needed.
We initially had a fire stick. Got it free when signing up with SlingTV. Now we have two Roku 3s. The Rokus perform so much better it's no comparison. Much better ui and search features too. The fire stick was laggy(interface itself when searching for what to watch, not the stream) and the remote felt very cheap.
The compact size of the stick options is nice for traveling and that's all I use the Fire stick for these days, the occasional hotel stay. But the actual user experience is so much better on the actual boxes like the Rokus. I imagine that is true of the Amazon fire box vs the stick too. But much prefer the Roku interface so didn't try that. The boxes are still very small. Fit in the palm of your hand.
I have 2 roku boxes, 1 roku stick, 1 smart tv, and 1 fire stick. I prefer the interface with the rokus and the roku has more apps. I haven't had a bad experience with the fire stick, it just seems to take more steps to get to the same place. I don't have buffering issues with any of them.
Putting Kodi on either Fire Stick or Roku is what's called a "jailbreak", i.e. it's unauthorized software that replaces the original software on the devices. It's not a good move for a tech newbie. You wouldn't be able to use the devices as intended. Nor would you be able to obtain user support or return them if needed.
Watching Hulu/Beck on Roku stick now...
This one has had good range and does not lose connection w/the remote if the Roku is not used for days at a time...
Had earlier Roku that could lose remote connection several times in a watching cycle...
Would have to take out batteries and rotate them and reconnect...PITA
We also take this one when we travel to second home in FL--
Very transportable--
My husband uses it to watch his Slingbox that stays in TX--mainly for football and baseball local programming we can't get in FL...
We use it on our flatscreen on the lanai w/sliders closed most of the time and don't have issue with the wifi strength...
Thanks for sharing all the personal perspectives on streaming devices, but what about Amazon Fire tv as opposed to the Fire Stick?
The Fire TV is a more expensive option for gamers and/or those who have an ultra-HD (4K) TV and high-end audio equipment. It doesn't bring anything to the table for 1080P.
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