Roku, Chromecast, FireStick or something else
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The Chromecast seems fine when you want to share something that's on your device, but if you just want to use a service like Plex or Netflix or Hulu, etc, doing so from a device like a phone/tablet/PC seems cumbersome.
Look at me, I'm taking a Scott approach to a dedicated device for a dedicated purpose... lol Had to laugh at myself.
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Love my Roku 3. Very nice and has all the channels I need.
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I got too far out on the edge. I got the new Android TV Nexus Player. I love the interface and the device. However HBO Now and Amazon Prime isn't available on it yet, and Amazon may never be. Also, just had to RMA mine due to Audio sync issues. Once the bugs are worked out, it is great.
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@s.hackleman said:
I got too far out on the edge. I got the new Android TV Nexus Player. I love the interface and the device. However HBO Now and Amazon Prime isn't available on it yet, and Amazon may never be. Also, just had to RMA mine due to Audio sync issues. Once the bugs are worked out, it is great.
Isn't there an Amazon Prime player for Android? or is that only for Amazon Fire stuff?
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Get a mac mini. All the dedicated devices have drawbacks that will end up annoying you, like limitations in playback formats, lack of an app you need, or just being too slow and clunky.
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@Nic said:
Get a mac mini. All the dedicated devices have drawbacks that will end up annoying you, like limitations in playback formats, lack of an app you need, or just being too slow and clunky.
We actually switched from a Mac Mini to the AppleTV originally. That's what we used 2003 - 2006 before the AppleTV came out.
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@Nic said:
Get a mac mini. All the dedicated devices have drawbacks that will end up annoying you, like limitations in playback formats, lack of an app you need, or just being too slow and clunky.
LOL, the only Apple products that have ever been in my house were dead ipods that I managed to resurrect and then gave to my wife.
I'd rather install a NUC windows machine.
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Yeah, PC media device works too. You just have to get a separate device for an IR remote, unless it has one built in.
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@Nic said:
Yeah, PC media device works too. You just have to get a separate device for an IR remote, unless it has one built in.
What? wait.. huh? .. ug.. oh yeah.. sigh!...
Now to find software that will work for that too. lol
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I didn't have too much trouble - just install the windows drivers and then program the Harmony One for the PC commands.
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I have a Chromecast, Roku, and FireStick. The FireStick is by far my favorite. Sure it can't do everything a Apple TV can do or a Mac Mini, but its like comparing Apples and Oranges since they arent near the same price range.
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My FireStick is rooted. I have a SNES, PS1, and N64 emulators on them. I use a Nyko game pad and it works great.
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@Dashrender said:
@s.hackleman said:
I got too far out on the edge. I got the new Android TV Nexus Player. I love the interface and the device. However HBO Now and Amazon Prime isn't available on it yet, and Amazon may never be. Also, just had to RMA mine due to Audio sync issues. Once the bugs are worked out, it is great.
Isn't there an Amazon Prime player for Android? or is that only for Amazon Fire stuff?
You can pull up Amazon Prime on a Android phone and cast it to the Android TV, but there isn't a specific Android TV App that you can install from the Play Store with out side loading and using a mouse.
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How do you pull up Amazon prime on an Android phone? is there an app? or are you talking about in a browser on the phone?
or is this a lack of the Amazon or Google Play store being on the device?
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Had a Roku3, used it for almost a year and dead. No power, couldn't do much.
Then got a chromecast, pretty happy with it. Works well with chrome on all machines, ipad youtube etc.
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CC's work a treat until you take them behind a real business router. They phone home to the google mothership like you would not believe.
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@MattSpeller said:
CC's work a treat until you take them behind a real business router. They phone home to the google mothership like you would not believe.
LOL I'll disagree with you there, Sure I do believe.
And what kind of real business router are you talking about? An Edge Router Lite wouldn't prevent them from phoning home unless you block outbound traffic.
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@Dashrender heheheh
We have them running on super restricted public wifi and it's a nightmare. I'm not the one who had to fix it but our network guru was ranting, raving and might have frothed at the mouth a bit.
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@Dashrender said:
How do you pull up Amazon prime on an Android phone? is there an app? or are you talking about in a browser on the phone?
or is this a lack of the Amazon or Google Play store being on the device?
http://chromecasthelp.net/chromecast-amazon-prime-instant-video-android/ Like this.
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Just stumbled on another article that I wrote in 2011 talking about the Apple iOS Roadmap and one of the things that I mentioned was AppleTV being a video game console.