There is a lot of Roku love around here. Curious being a fan of the Chromecast, what does the Roku bring to the table that the Chromecast doesn’t? Feel like I may be missing out on some features.
I have owned chromecast in the past but not with tablo. Roku has 1000’s of channels. Chromecast has a select few apps that work with chromecast.
yes i own both. i do not use the chromecast on a regular basis though. it is hooked up in the workout room for plex primarily. happy to do some testing and videos. my android tablet is on the fritz so once i get that fixed i can make videos showing how casting from android app to (tablet) to chromecast works.
Chromecast works well with Tablo. I mostly use it for Plex and playing video off websites, like TVO and Knowledge. I mostly use the Roku 3, but if I didn’t have it, chromecast would be fine as my only way to view Tablo recordings. I use only wifi and I have no problems with that.
I use my Roku 3 on my main living room TV, while I have my Chromecast hooked up to my bedroom TV.
For the Tablo, the Roku 3 is much better, since the Roku remote controls it all. I use my Samsung Galaxy 3.0 tablet to control the Chromecast, and the Android app is just more limited.
The main difference that I notice between the two devices is Netflix. Netflix starts off at a lower resolution on the Roku every time, but in a minute or two, it is at HD quality. The Chromecast is at HD quality immediately.
Snowcast is your roku 3 wireless or wired to router?
Wired. So is my Tablo (I have my U-Verse gateway in my living room, which has worked out great).
New Roku 3 owner due to the shockingly bad implementation of Chromecast within Tablo (currently). I’m not happy about the necessity of this additional investment but it’ll be given as a gift, so that takes some of the sting out of it. I originally bought Tablo to be a TV solution for a household of people… and without a Roku… don’t count on non-tablet types adopting it. Hopefully Tablo will take Chromecast seriously very soon.
Roku does support 1,000 of channels but I personally don’t have the patience to learn the “Roku layout” of them as the non-remote_control_experience of a Chromecast and phone is just so much better. (So whoopee.)
The one exception I found was the TuneIn channel on Roku (which is a service with no Chromecast support) this channel adds value to Roku as it is “really nice” to have access to streaming local FM radio along with local TV (via the Tablo channel). This makes the Roku a true local content media hub… allowing both a radio tuner and cable box to be retired.
Roku and Tablo = TV experience
Chromecast and Tablo = YouTube experience
The Roku features you are missing:
1) super fast incremental advance/rewind. Everyone just thinks about commercials but if you’re like me and like to fast forward between downs in football games (to watch a 3hr game in 1hr and generally stay interested) … this really matters! Chromecast advancing is a 5-20 second joke every attempt. With a wired Roku 3 setup, I find I can really burn though past episodes of junk TV by zooming past the junk in-between commercials, too. Even the (current) touch based tablet experience isn’t as fast. Go with a Roku 3 and wired setup if this matters to you too, as wireless networks and HD content are a joke.
2) a remote. The Roku 3 remote is layed out in a dumb way… but it thankfully has few buttons… so it is easy to adapt too. Tablo could do a much better job utilizing it. [start rant] For the life of me I cannot understand why the 30 second com-skip “right-arrow” feature pauses the show on every use!?! So it then requires two button clicks every time you advance (and then did you advance enough) click un-pause to find out… just dumb. [end rant] So I use the incremental fast-forward button and like that so much better.
3) the Roku UI offers a “somewhat” chronological listing of recordings. “Today’s” “this weeks” “this months” recordings are organized for rapid access. Interesting but not as useful as it could be.
4) Roku supports TuneIn and other non-Chromecast enabled services.
5) This is huge! Lack of embarrassment as you watch Tablo TV with others. Tablo on a tablet is for one person… no big deal. Tablo on Chromecast is likely for two or more people and it’s very embarrassing to have people twiddling their thumbs as I queue a show or sigh with boredom as we all wait for a fast-forward event to synch up. With a Roku (while the UI is embarrassing lame and “way to white/bright”) everyone is at least engaged in the process of making selections and the performance fully meets expectations for group TV viewing. Almost… impressive.
The Tablo features Roku is missing:
A lot.
1) The guide data is such a joke in Roku that you have to use the web UI or tablet apps to get you subscription’s worth. I can’t imagine using Roku to schedule much.
2) Roku presents blank icons with “no titles” for shows missing guide graphics… laughable.
3) You can’t do anything in the Tablo channel with less than half a dozen clicks or more. It’s amazing what our thumbs are asked to put up with!
4) I don’t watch live tv… so no comment.
Roku is yet another remote control in my household. I’ll go to it when watching sports or when wanting to listen to local radio. Otherwise, it’s there for others that need that old school familiarity of a remote.
yes i have roku stick roku 3 and two chrome cast and thay all
work great chrome cast is the best when used along with xbmc