@TabloTV - looking forward to seeing your further development
Based upon your poll, the customers Tablo is attracting primarily view content on a regular TV. That’s not saying streaming to phones/tablets is unimportant but makes it clear you need to refocus your level of support for the living room and understand who is interested in your product. Is it really surprising current Tablo users want a better Roku experience when it’s effectively the only living room streaming device supported? Your focus must be redirected toward making a competitive DVR application and optimizing the living room experience. Can a full blown EPG like your iOS tablet app be done on a Roku? I’m not sure, maybe, but as jkline points out is it worth precious company resources? Like it or not, iOS and Android are the future and further developing for a platform (Roku) which may be a dead man walking isn’t visionary.
I’m going to repeat what I said in the other thread but you need to optimize/improve the Tablo streaming for the (wired) living room enivironment. That means higher quality (bit rate) streams (less compression) and reduced lag times as the amount of buffering needed for a wired setup is less than wireless streaming.
well crap. The one thing I really wanted came in last. Should probably just sell this thing now.
I feel your pain. Roku = Blackberry</blockquote>
Yeah, I have used Roku for years because it was the best choice (far from perfect, but better than Apple’s and Google’s products), but I’ve never been completely happy with it’s interface. I love my Amazon FireTV! I personally find it to be far superior to Roku. At least my Roku 2XS, I have no experience with the Roku 3 product, but have no plans to purchase one.
I’ll be keeping my TabloTV, but I’m not actually using it right now. Until I can watch it on my big tv, I have no use for it. And Roku is no longer a product I am interested in using, even if you improve the interface for it.
Just another thought that just popped into my head-- Why doesn’t anyone put clocks on anything anymore? I’m going to have to buy a clock to hang on my wall in my tv room. lol
But only outside of the apps, and not on the face of the device. (Don’t know if that is because of the API or because the apps I used simply did not make it available within them).
I didn’t think the FireTV was doing all that well in the market?? I know the Fire phone flopped and I thought I read a similar article about the TV (and/or lack of support/marketing from amazon itself even) …
Initial review for the FireTV were great. But really only for those tied to the Amazon ecosystem (which isn’t horrible btw).
@ericgus, I do agree that FireTV hasn’t been marketed well by Amazon and I wonder about how well it is supported both by Amazon and by those outside of Amazon.
FireTV is geared toward Amazon’s ecosystem however Amazon does give you the option to sideload any Android app you want, including XBMC which runs well and there is a large community of users. Airplay app on FireTV will mirror iOS device to big screen TV. Rooting the FireTV allows you to access a lot more than the Amazon ecosystem but that’s not for everyone and some apps work well whereas others don’t. Most Android apps, like Tablo, are currently meant to be used with a touchscreen (mouse) which doesn’t translate well to navigation on a big screen limited to a remote. This is largely where Android TV is headed. @TabloTV - please tell us you have ordered your developer an ADT-1?
We’ve always had a Roku, still have the first model they released and currently use a Roku3 with Tablo. Since getting the FireTV, the Roku is seldom used and the kids fight over the FireTV. FireTV has better hardware and is just a better experience even without its gaming capabilities. FireTVs USB ports allow you to do things like use a regular remote with Flirc or plug in a wireless keyboard. IMHO FireTV would make a far better Tablo client than the Roku, which ultimately would make Tablo a much more attractive product to consumers.
Wow, a lot of Roku hate on this thread. I agree Fire TV’s hardware was impressive but that’s where it ended. Until they drastically improve the software it’s a non-starter. That’s why Amazon keeps heavily discounting it and no one takes it seriously anymore. I do agree that Roku’s interface is showing it’s age but that’s why it’s the most popular streaming device - because it’s dead simple to use. Anyone I hear talking about cutting the cord, or streaming is going with Roku. Unless they are an Apple fanboy.
@7up - Roku = Blackberry??? Wow, really? With all due respect, the industry disagrees with you.
@7up - Roku = Blackberry??? Wow, really? With all due respect, the industry disagrees with you.
If you want to have a discussion based upon facts thats fine but please leave emotion based arguments at the door. I’ve already stated we have always owned a Roku so stop playing the “hate” card.
What industry are you referring to? Sony, Philips and Sharp will all be using Android TV in their Smart TV lineup in 2015. Roku will be powering chinese vendors Hisense and TCL. Do you honestly believe TV vendors chose an inferior platorm for their smart TVs? Could you point me to development of the Roku 4? Which platform do you believe is more attractive to developers?
Blackberry was a revolutionary device as is/was the Roku, but its days are numbered. The future is iOS and Android, that’s not my opinion its reality!
@7up, I almost agreed with some of the things you said until you mentioned “iOS”… which has more in common with Roku than it does with Android. AFAIK, nobody is embedding iOS into TVs and set top boxes (talking outside Apple’s very closed world).
Android support is still a mixed bag. So there’s Android, all 10,000 variants…etc… This is why it’s so difficult to support an Android app that does anything “interesting”. With that said, I know this is something Google is hoping to correct and they are supposedly taking their first steps with Lolipop (5.0). But I still think we’re a couple of releases away from something that is “good”. Which means, just like with phones, the current generation of Android TVs will be outdated and obsolete within 2 years (and that’s a lot bigger landfill problem than the current phone problem).
Roku dominates because of its simplicity. Will something take it over someday? Maybe. It might be some future more stable and ubiquitous version of Android… sure… could be… but probably a couple of years (if not more) away.
Right now, and likely for the next 2 years or so, I don’t see anybody effectively challenging Roku. But anything can happen…
@cjcox - I mentioned iOS generically and rather referred to the Apple ecosystem which is far better positioned than Roku. What their plans are for the next AppleTV should be interesting. Could you please share with me the news about the Roku4? Will there even be a Roku4? ;) Could you please tell me why Sony, Philips and Sharp all went with Android over Roku?
Technology moves quickly and it doesn’t take long to go from being the top dog to being obsolete. I use Blackberry as just that analogy as the same arguments you mention above were said by BB supporters and look at BB now.
@7up… in other words you like Apple because they are Apple and don’t like Roku because they are Roku?
Interesting… please re-read my previous post a few times. I thought I was pretty clear…
Sony, Phillips and Sharp now have short term Android TV sets unless they are prepare to do updates… and they probably are not (just like the current phone problem).
By keeping the front end device away from the TV (e.g. the same reason why most people don’t have an integrated DVD and/or Blu-ray TV), you have more flexibility. If I want a new fangled TV, I can buy whatever. Once you get locked in with the Sony flavor of Android TV (which is different from Phillips Android, which is different from Sharp Android), you will either end up doing a mass throw away or at least face large scale replace that keeps you locked-in to a particular vendor.
Feel free to argue the point, but my gut says you haven’t looked at this from all the angles or been involved with people caught up in the mess.
You continue to want to compare Roku to Apple as if they are somehow equal which is a bit laughable. One is technology giant, major innovator with a broad base of devices and an ecosystem whereas Roku has been an early leader for streaming STBs and as such has a large number of devices in the market. Your flaw is that you are equating current market share with future success and ignoring the limitations of the Roku. Technology devices evolve or die. I will ask again, how is the Roku evolving and where is the Roku 4? How are those Roku TVs selling?
I’ve read your post, there’s a paragraph with the same old Android complaints. You posted a second post with another paragraph with similar arguments. Android currently accounts for ~50% marketshare of phones and >60% tablets. Roku accounts for what percentage of these devices again? I fully understand where dedicated streaming devices including Roku are today, however that landscape is going to change quickly as the marketplace consolidates to toward iOS/Apple devices and Android and that includes streaming devices. There have been many articles written about this in the trade and business journals. How about developers. If you are a developer do you spend your time/resources on Roku? Unless you are personally invested in the Roku, this is not a “mess,” its just the nature of the technology industry.
Roku has had a wonderful run. Its simplicity was a major factor in its success as was the reality that you needed a device for streaming services. Those days are coming to an end as streaming is now built in to TVs, STB’s such as Blu-ray players, DirecTV and TiVO and of course direct streaming to tablets and phones. For basic streaming, the Roku, or any dedicated streamer, just isn’t needed as it was in the past. I like the Roku, it streams well and supports a broad selection of online services but I don’t believe its well positioned for the future.
So as of 10/26/14, does Tablo currently support Amazon fire TV or not? I had a Amazon Fire when they first came out and the speed is great but I still had over 1 year left on my DTV contract so knew I wouldn’t use it much. I sent it back. I currently have a Roku3 and the speed on that is also great.
My DTV contract is ending so I will be needing an additonal unit or 2 for my TV’s, should I get Roku3 or Amazon Fire Tv?
Roku has a clock 