I was also seeking the least problematic streaming device for a new Tablo setup and I ended up with the FIre TV based on posts I’ve read. But now I’m not sure I should open it - seem it may have some problems deinterlacing content based on this recent post: Watching sports seems “herky jerky”
Where did you buy it from? Amazon has a great return policy - open it and fire it up, no pun intended lol
I used to be of this mindset but Amazon is throwing down for streaming. Their UI is still shit but they have some good shows out, have a big movie contract, have HBO back catalog and are investing heavily into more original content.
Their no app policy on Android TV and Apple TV is going to get quite annoying. I have a fire stick I use sometimes but if their video content gets really good, I know I and many others will be quite upset they are slighting customers based on device owned.
Interestingly enough, I have had both the Roku 3 and my tablo 4 tuner for about 15 months now and had nothing but trouble until the 2.2.8 update. Since then everything has been perfect.
Tried, the new Chromecast and although it is not terrible Roku 3 after the update is actually a better experience for me.
That said it almost seems that the 2.2.8 has broken the good experience others were having. Some of those that never had trouble. Go figure.
Seems to me that if one is having problems, it is the manufacturer’s fault and the equipment is a piece of crap and the service sucks. On the other hand if the equipment is working ok, I am a genius and anyone who has anything different is a dummie and obviously not capable of selecting hardware.
(Meant in jest)
I bought the Tablo and two Roku 3 devices 7 months ago. I have been having issues with the Roku’s locking up, buffering & losing the internet or not finding the internet both wireless and wired. I bought an Amazon Fire TV (2015) a week ago and it has worked flawlessly. I will be getting rid of both Roku’s. I wish I had started with the Amazon TV from the beginning. It would have saved me a great deal of frustration.
Consider this. I can rent about 12 DVD’s per 30 day subscription from Netflix for $11.99. That comes to a buck a shot and I’m talking about the LATEST movie releases. The same number of Amazon new releases ($5-6) would add up to $66. Something to be said for out of date technology.
"MEANT IN JEST’
With a cutting edge 
Why are you talking about renting?
I am talking about content that comes with Amazon Prime membership. That content is inaccessible to prime members on Android TV devices and Apple TV devices. That is the problem
I’m aware of that specific problem. You exalted some of the virtues of Amazon streaming. I’m addressing the cost factor in response. It has come to be an accepted norm that shelling out 5 or 6 bucks to watch a single new release movie is somehow cool.
I exalted the virtues of Amazon PRIME streaming. The cost factor is roughly $8 a month (and that also includes 2 day shipping + the other benefits of prime). Literally nothing to do with new release movies or rentals. Comparing Netflix DVD rental service to Amazon stream rentals has nothing to do with the fact that I was saying that Prime is getting more viable and thus, Prime members with Android/Apple TV are being shafted.
I was originally addressing your statement that “Amazon has zero appeal.” As I said, I used to think the same thing, but now that their prime content is getting better, I feel like a service I pay for is being denied to me because of the devices I chose.
It s about priorities. My interest is focused on NEW DVD releases. Prime offers vintage releases that I have either seen or have no interest in seeing. Access to new releases comes at a pricey additional cost. I was merely pointing out major cost disparities albeit without instant access. Receiving one or more new release DVD’s every couple of days fulfills my needs at a fraction of the cost.
Once again, different strokes, etc. I’m not so presumptious as to proclaim that Amazon has zero appeal for everyone. Obviously not the case. As always I speak only for myself.
You have lots of company but I thought the “issues” were resolved with latest Roku update?
It’s the elephant in the living room. A big messy pain in the ass but hard to push aside. I thought their last update fixed things?
Tablo’s last firmware update helped a lot in the way of fast forward and lockup but it did not resolve the ongoing issues with Roku. I have lost track of the Tablo firmware versions but the most recent update fixed the issues that the prior update created. It did not fix the same issues I have experienced with Roku before the table firmware version was released that broke fast forward and caused more Roku failures than normal. Using Amazon Fire TV Box (2015) has resolve all the issues I was experiencing with Roku.
Not sure we’re on the same page. I’m talking about the latest
ROKU update not Tablo’s.
I’ve had fairly good luck with my Roku 3 platform with the Tablo for a year and a half. I had some LPW but no where near the issues of some. I’ve read about the superior experience a number of people have mentioned by using the Fire TV and Nexus or Shield and am thinking an upgrade might be in my future.
Does anyone know of any live videos showing navigation and load times for Live TV or recordings on these other two platforms? I did a quick search on Youtube and didn’t find any recent videos.
If some of the load times are anything like the sneak peak they just gave on the ATV 4 then i’ll be spending some money pretty soon on a new platform.
Thanks.
I have used multiple Rokus, Fire TV, iPad and iPhone and the Live TV load time is about the same on all, 10-12 seconds. This is just how the Tablo works with converting the video from MPEG2 to h.264.
I would expect the same time with the APPLE TV 4 - the reason in the sneak peak video that the playback was so quick was the channel was already previously tuned and there was an appropriate buffer to stream.
But everything else was much quicker, accessing the guides, recordings, etc.
Navigation and starting recordings are pretty similar on the Shield. Recordings start playback within 2-4 seconds, and <1 second to resume from FF/RW. It could be even quicker on the Shield, but I have everything on WiFi and spread out throughout the house. The Shield is an extremely fast and smooth device and the Android TV app is full-featured and very stable.
The Nexus Player was also very fast, but load times were about 1.5-2x as long on average compared to the Shield. When you are talking about 1-4 seconds, that is still really fast.
Keep in mind this ATV4 demo was an extremely controlled environment, I wouldn’t be surprised if everything was hard wired together. If not, they were all within a foot or two of each other. Still, early results for the ATV4 app look promising.
Thanks for the quick reply.
I figured as much on Live TV being buffered in the ATV4 preview but was wishful thinking that they were doing some new improvements to improve the load times. I do some viewing in Chrome and an Android tablet but 95% is done through the Roku. These other devices are a little faster than the Roku but still not as fast as the ATV4 preview. I’d be able to have a hardwired Shield/Fire TV setup and if you’re saying it is possible the load times could be similar to the preview them I’ll probably pull the trigger on one of those devices.