I was initially leaning towards the Nexus Player, but FireTV is starting to look more appealing. Ability to get into settings is a nice touch.
I’ve got both. I prefer the Nexus.
I was initially leaning towards the Nexus Player, but FireTV is starting to look more appealing. Ability to get into settings is a nice touch.I’ve got both. I prefer the Nexus.
Alright… back on the fence 
My opinions of various streaming boxes so far:
- Roku 3 - Works very well, very few bugs encountered, but I can’t stand the advertisements. From the buttons on your remote (dedicated apps…whomever paid Roku the most to be on their remote) to the half-screen ads (like WWE wrestling) on your home screen; it really makes it feel like a cheap product. Just personal opinion. I have no doubt that the Tablo Roku experience will be great though.
- Fire TV - Works pretty well. I do encounter bugs quite frequency, such as freezing or hulu commercials not playing. The ads are much less obtrusive than with the Roku, however, I feel like the apps (Netflix, Hulu, etc.) get buried within all the Amazon content. Navigating to your desired app can take many button presses. I think the Tablo Fire TV experience will be good, but worry about general Fire TV bugs causing some customer dissatisfaction.
- Apple TV - NEED a Tablo app. This is my preferred streaming box. Very few bugs, no advertisements, and the older hardware/specs does not lag or show its age.
I’m curious what the Roku 4k will bring…other than 4k ads on my home screen
You can force the Tablo app to the home screen. There are ways… good-by many clicks to app.
The Tablo official app MAY appear on the home screen, I dunno, haven’t heard.
So far, personally, my AFTV stick has been flawless. No issues, no hiccups, no catches, but maybe it’s because the AFTV stick is facing east, toward the rising sun or something.
From what I’ve seen, Amazon has allowed quite a bit more to happen on the FTV than they ever did on the Kindle, etc. - and there’s folks dedicated to helping others customize theirs.
Can’t comment on Roku, never used one, for our use, personally, it just hasn’t made sense for us, and neither have other things really. We bought Tablo as an OTA DVR that had multiple tuners and would allow us to watch shows on any of our TVs, was cheap to operate and could allow access options, like it does.
I suspect it will end up like cars - each car we happen to own is likely the best to us, but as they say, YMMV.
My main car will take me anywhere, even in winter in deep snow, and gets mid to upper 20’s MPG. (my other car gets you there FAST and sucks gas fast, too.)
My truck can haul either or both cars anywhere.
My wife prefers her Grand Cherokee with country music playing loud.
Which platform has the best tablo experience is very subject. What’s more important is what will give the best tablo experience regardless of platform. Many of these topics have all been covered before.
Connect the table to the router via a wired connection. If you can’t use a direct cat 5e then use power line.
Pick a tested hard drive and make sure the disk firmware is up to date.
Pick an antenna that actually works.
Only use WiFi if you have adequate coverage. And that usually also means that the router WiFi be rated at N750 or above.
And never nickle and dime yourself when you pick a media streamer. Trying to save $25 dollars on a cheap stick versus a more powerful streamer is crazy.
Thank you for this topic and information provided.
Was about to post a similar question as I just got my tablo and antenna today and can’t decide between the fire tv or stick or wait for the 4
Based on what I’ve read here, the Amazon fire’s seem to perform the best and roku comes in just behind, but that’s properly until the 4 comes out.
Gotta make my mind up before the next bill comes out
This is interesting
I would never buy a wifi only streaming box.
I would never buy a wifi only streaming box.
The Nexus Player is WiFi only also. If it supports 802.11ac, I think it would be OK (since that operates at 5GHz and the extra throughput can compensate for frame loss). Latency would still be worse, but that doesn’t matter for streaming.
Most people don't have network outlets next to every TV in their home (some have none for any tv). Wi-fi only streaming boxes (like the Chromecast, Amazon FireStick, and the Roku stick) are good for them.
I do - except in the kitchen… ;-) My whole house is wired Cat 5e save for the bathroom and kitchen. living room has 3 jacks. My shop has a network jack but the Cisco AP is plugged into that.
This is interestinghttps://medium.com/@jankoroettgers/roku-to-introduce-two-new-ish-streaming-boxes-d3d8bae4f1c7
Given that Amazon FireTV is bascially just AndroidTV wrapped in the Amazon ecosystem I personally greatly prefer the Google AndroidTV version.
If you’re got most of your system with Amazon it might make sense. But otherwise the Google version feels more polished and professional. The Amazon feels more I don’t know dumbed down. I think Amazon actually made it more confusing when trying to simply and tailor to their own ecosystem.
I would never buy a wifi only streaming box.The Nexus Player is WiFi only also. If it supports 802.11ac, I think it would be OK (since that operates at 5GHz and the extra throughput can compensate for frame loss). Latency would still be worse, but that doesn’t matter for streaming.
Huh? Mine has ethernet and Wifi
I would never buy a wifi only streaming box.The Nexus Player is WiFi only also. If it supports 802.11ac, I think it would be OK (since that operates at 5GHz and the extra throughput can compensate for frame loss). Latency would still be worse, but that doesn’t matter for streaming.
Huh? Mine has ethernet and Wifi
I would have purchased a Nexus Player and could have lived without the optical output but with their superior intellect they omitted the ethernet port I opted to pass.
Fire TV all the way. I actually only have the Fire TV Stick and it’s not as responsive as the Roku 3.
FYI for Chromecast users.
Chromecast update allows some users to control it with a TV remote
Well that is just plain WEIRD and explains why when I move or BUMP the BT mouse that I run the AFTV stick with the TV will come on by itself!
No kidding - I was blaming everyone from my cats to my wife when I realized the TV remote was sitting on a table all alone, no one and nothing even near it when the TV came on.
I soon discovered the commonality was my bumping the table the mouse was on, or moving or bumping the Bluetooth mouse I have paired with my FTV stick. Bump that mouse or move it when the tV is off and the TV suddenly comes on!
Ouch - I am not so sure I like that… not really, at least not yet.
When Punkin was alive he had already learned how to turn the TV on and mess with the stations, now they’ll be turning the TV on when they chase each other around and bounce off the walls and tables.
When Punkin was alive he had already learned how to turn the TV on and mess with the stations, now they’ll be turning the TV on when they chase each other around and bounce off the walls and tables.