I know there are a lot of Roku users on this forum. Have any of you done a side by side comparison of the Roku 3 and Amazon Fire TV box?
I have the older Roku 3 and the FireTv box. I use the Roku 3 for about everything because it supports my anime apps (CrunchyRoll and Funimation) while the FireTv doesn’t.
The Tablo experience on both is quite different. The FireTv interface is just like the web app, while the Roku “preview app” is quite different. The Roku is still very good for watching live TV and watching recorded episodes, but I don’t use it to schedule recordings or delete recordings. Scheduling can be done, but it is limited to only shows in the live TV guide (unless you use the older Roku app).
I don’t really notice a performance difference between the two devices, despite the FireTv having better specs.
The FireTV box and stick will allow a user to take it on the road with them and use the Tablo remotely. The Roku platform will not.
I am curious what the new FireTv will bring to the table, and it sounds like it will be released in the next few weeks.
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I think that UI simpler on the Roku 3 as the Fire TV puts Amazon content at the front of the experience.
There are more channels or apps on Roku, but the overwhelming majority are garbage. The Fire TV is likely to have what you want, or it will come soon enough.
Speed wise - go fish. Both devices run their respective operating systems quite well, and you likely won’t notice much difference at all aside from Amazon Instant Videos. Fire TV begins to prefetch a show or movie and the Roku Channel does not.
Neither is a mistake, and if you can get a Roku 3 cheaper you won’t be disappointed. Just make sure you get the Roku 3 with the headphone jack in the remote, that’s the latest version.
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@arrowrand On the Roku, do you know if the Amazon Instant Video app let’s you filter by shows and movies included in a Amazon Prime account?
Agree with both comments above. I use Fire TV (box and stick) and Roku 3 4200, and it’s a coin toss as to which is “better”, but I find I prefer the overall UI of Roku to Fire TV.
Also, while I thought the specs of the Fire TV box would just blow the Roku 3 out of the water performance-wise, that isn’t the case at all. I usually find the Roku 3 snappier than Fire TV (box) and the Fire TV stick is a step backwards in performance.
As far as the Tablo app goes on each platform - they are different as noted in the posts above. I don’t have a clear favorite between them - but I use the Roku more often, due to liking the system UI better.
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There’s a Prime section in the channel menu, but search results are mixed with no way that I know of to filter results.