Alternatives to Roku 3 for front end?

General Discussion
1

So since the last three firmware updates from Roku have basically caused me major issues I want to explore potentially replacing it.

I know that options are:

  1. Chromecast - however have heard lots of people with issues and I’ve never had good luck with wifi devices in my living room.

  2. Amazon Fire TV - looks promising but several posts in this forum have show issues with this as well

  3. Fire TV stick - same as Chromecast

  4. Android TV - potentially a good candidate but not a lot of info out there so thinking there are limited users on this platform

  5. Apple TV - really don’t want to mess with Airplay as that means I need to dedicate an iDevice to the living room.

So as it stand now I just don’t see a viable platform that is rock solid and will keep my kid and wife from complaining to me. I really wish the Tablo had an HDMI out. Am i missing anything?

2

The Roku3 is still the best for me, but I understand that some users are still having issues.

I definitely would not recommend AppleTv or Chromecast. I think both can work fine, but the extra steps involved to get it started and then cast it just isn’t worth it to me.

Supposedly the FireTv stuttering issue will be resolved with the next Tablo update. I was hoping it would be here by now, but I still assume it will be in the next few weeks.

I don’t know enough about AndroidTV to go one way or the other. The NVIDIA Shield is still an AndroidTV device, but it is far more powerful than any other set top box. But for Tablo streaming, the Nexus device may be just as good.

The other alternative is to just hook up a PC or laptop to your TV.

3

For $130 you could use a Chromebox as your player…but it isn’t as good a 10ft TV UX as Roku or FireTV

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Chromebox-CXI-2GKM-Desktop-Keyboard/dp/B00NCSPEBM

4

Thanks for the input, looking for something reliable that the family won’t complain about.

Far too many issues with the Roku since we bought it in January. Serious mistake buying that device.

May also see what new alternatives to Tablo there are, as we cannot live with this level if constant interruption. Heck I might just rebuild my MythTV backend, we had far less issues with that from a family perspective, it was just me dealing with backend maintenance that made me jump on Tablo.

5

No issues here with the Roku 3.

But for an alternative go with the Fire TV box, not the Stick.

Then again, I have also had no issues with playback on the Fire TV Stick but the UI is not as responsive and quick on the Stick.

6

Boy I wish I had your stability. This journey has been painful for several months now. And before you ask, my entire setup is wired. :smiley:

7

we have 4 Roku’s in the house. No problem with any. Maybe you just have a bad one? For the money, it’s difficult to get something better.

(actually, you probably not going to get “better”… it will almost always be something “less”)

8

I would consider that as a possibility except that Netflix has been flawless on the Roku 3, well except for the known issue about it not maintaining HD quality introduced with the second to last firmware.

This front end/back end type of solution is one I will avoid in the future.

9

android tv all the way

recently fired up another one on the main tv and wife/kids love it!

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10

Go with a Nexus Player. I 100% recommend it. The Tablo app for it is close to flawless (any bugs it does have are very minor IMHO). I really don’t know why it’s not more popular, it’s such a great device! I can even play back my 1080P 60FPS home movies on it with VLC player. It’s a decent gaming system too if you buy controllers for it

Edit: Stay away from Chromecast though. It’s fine for Netflix and Youtube but that’s about it

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11

Nexus Player appears to be Wifi only, that wont’ cut it for us. Every wifi solution we’ve tried in the past fails to play HD content without stuttering.

12

It’s an extra cost but there are USB Ethernet adapters for the Nexus Player.

The Nnvidia Shield is $200 but really powerful and has an Ethernet port.

13

I have good luck with the Fire TV boxes (not the sticks). My stuttering problem was fixed in the last update, and the performance is rock solid from Hulu+ and Amazon Prime Video. I do have issues with SlingTV, but I am pretty sure it is on the server end, not at my set.

I run my AFTV boxes WiFi, and the Tablo wired. I did add a second 802.11 access point near the televisions to improve performance. It was cheaper/easier than rewiring or powerline Ethernet.

14

Issues with SlingTV appear to be based more on the time and what is on. For example it worked flawless in the morning while eating breakfast, but buffering during NBA playoff on TNT at night. That points to SlingTV not having enough bandwidth for the demand at the time.

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15

That tracks with what I have seen. For example, today there was an issue with Food Network. It quit about 11:00 am Eastern, and never came back. It doesn’t bother me, but that is my wife’s favorite channel. She watches it all day long.

I think SlingTV has the right idea, but they just aren’t quite there yet.

16

Chromecast works great for most things, just not the Tablo app. Terrible, just terrible.

Nexus Player, totally agree. Wonderful app for the Tablo. Also, great on the other apps I use (Netflix and YouTube), just wish it had more apps. It will be getting HBO Go and HBO Now in July or August.

17

It definitely supports USB Ethernet adapters.

I have had really good results with my BobJ Gear Ethernet adapter on my wimpy Rockchip 3066 stick.

18

its super easy and cheap to add wired connection to the nexus player. not fancyness, no unlocking, no nada. here is what i did

  1. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B4GGW5Q?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00

  2. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00007IFED?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00

Plug em in
power cycle (restart)
done

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19