I’m not in a very extravagant mood right now, so I feel like saving a buck–and there are plenty to be saved by not buying an Ultra 2020. So there are 2 basic things I want to know:
What am I setting myself for as a Canadian?: This blog says I shouldn’t go w/Roku Ultra being Canadian. Does that mean I shouldn’t get the Roku Ultra 2020 anyway? What about the Stick+? Are there any problems for Canadians trying to use a Stick+?
Will Tablo work less well w/Stick+?: other than the bells and whistles the above blog talks about (which I can look up for myself) will the Tablo be less compatible or are there Tablo features I’ll miss out on. With the old Chromecast I have now, there are a ton of problems: no CCs, can’t pause play, resume never works (always plays from the beginning), the connection to the app is frequently lost (although, I’m guessing that’s the nature of casting), and it will often freeze playback if the signal it records isn’t 100%. I have a smart tv that works much better than the Chromecast, but it can’t do CCs either. These are the sorts of problems I’m hoping will eliminate by upgrading. Are there any others I will take on if I go to the Stick+ instead of the Ultra?
I have a Stick + and it works pretty well. As far as Tablo features go it supports the same ones available on the Ultra. The Ultra has better hardware (Ethernet connection, faster processor, more memory, HLG support, HDMI 2.0b vs 2.0a, MIMO) but for me the Stick + has been fine. However if you have poor Wifi signal by your TV you may want to go with the Ultra. I think in the blog you linked to they are saying if you are in Canada (I am as well) there are fewer Canadian specific apps available compared to say Firestick or Google Chromecast. I can’t agree or disagree with that as I’ve only used Rokus (I have 3 in the house). Again this hasn’t been an issue for me.
That’s the one concern we have about using Roku in Canada. If the device supports the apps you care about, then it’s not a problem.
The Roku Ultra has some great features as others point out, but the Streaming Stick+ and the new Roku Express 4K are both pretty decent, especially if you have a strong WiFi network and don’t need Ethernet.
That being said, if you’re streaming from a Tablo DUAL or QUAD HDMI (as your section selection indicates) we generally do recommend using a set-top-box style streamer with optional Ethernet since the streams created by the TV-connected Tablo models can be much larger than those from network-connected ones.
Well, with my Chromecast I use Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, YouTube, RightNow Media, and the occasional, random web-based video. If it can do those, I guess it’s not a problem.
Oh yeah, and Tablo.
I’m not quite sure what some of this means. I don’t have an HDMI Tablo. I have to cast it to my Chromecast. If I had a Stick+ I could connect it with a 5GHz wi-fi router about 10’ away, and in the same room, so I think that would be a pretty solid connection.
Also, if the Tablo ends up where I think it’s going to end up, I’ll be able to give it an Ethernet connection.
Aha - you had put your question in the section intended for those models so I made that assumption.
Any of the Roku models should work just fine for you then. The Ultra will likely have the longest lifespan so it may be the better ‘long term’ buy, but if you need to save some cash today either the Streaming Stick+ or Express 4K will be just fine.