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.This was my thought process too.
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.This was my thought process too.
Me three…being hardwired is just so much better for media streamers in my opinion. I do own a FireTV stick (in addition to the box) but have that as a travel device more than anything.
Reviving this topic. I have a Sony TV (Android) with the app installed in the main room of my house and an older TV in my work room with a Roku stick and app installed. I’ve found that the reception from live TV is crappy on the Sony TV vs the other with the Roku stick. Seems really odd because there’s no change in antenna reception between the 2 technologies.
6 seconds (untuned channel) - Google Chromecast with Google TV
Tablo, and Chromecast connect wirelessly.
This is twice as fast as my experience with Rokus, including Roku Ultra models, even if the Tablo, and Roku connect via ethernet cable to the network.
I believe it is really subjective. I have many devices scattered throughout the house. Wired connections always work best (although the FireTV 4K Max with my Wifi-6 mesh routers are really close). I use wired connections on every TV that has ethernet run in the house.
My wife prefers the Roku (it is easier for her to use), so that is what she uses. I prefer the FireTV devices (I think they are a bit faster - especially the 4K Max and the wired connections). I utilize it on a few different devices, but 90-95% of the time it is Roku or FireTV.
Does that make them the best for every installation? Definitely not. I really believe that the biggest decision (like my wife) is the remote/user interface that people like the best. And to put a 2nd on that - the AppleTV remote is almost useless for me (you should see it scroll when I try to move the cursor), but my grandson loves it.
My suggestion is to pick the operating system (navigation through the menus) and/or remote that you like the best. Go with that - there isn’t a tremendous difference in speed or functionality with any of the devices. And a 1 1/2 hour movie takes exactly 1 1/2 hours to watch on any device…
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I was running the Roku Ultra on 3 TVs, but started getting annoyed with Roku because of the disputes they were having with various streaming services and not being able to get the app for them until the dispute was resolved. So when the Fire TV 4K Max went on sale, I bought 3 of those. In my subjective opinion, performance of the Fire TV 4K Max stick was very comparable to the Roku Ultra as far as responsiveness, availability of apps, etc. The only downside I found on the Fire TV stick was the inability to use a Micro SD card for additional storage, which the Roku Ultra accommodates. Initially, I loaded up every app I wanted or thought I might want in the future, and I ran out of space and had to delete some of my unused apps…not a big deal, but something to consider if you have a lot of apps that you regularly use. There are a few upsides with the Fire TV 4K Max stick. First, it has a browser built-in, which Roku doesn’t support. Also, there are a couple of VPN apps available that run on the Fire TV platform. Last, once Fire TV is paired, you can use it away from home as you would a computer, phone, or tablet, and it’s a little easier to travel with as you don’t need the HDMI cable that the Roku Ultra requires. All in all, for me, I’d have to give the Fire TV 4K Max an advantage over the Roku Ultra.
I have AndroidTV, FireTV Cube, Roku Ultra, Tivo Stream 4k device, AppleTV 4k and the AppleTV device feels the snappiest and looks the best. Not saying “it is” just looks to me like it is. 
I do also have the Tablo app “still” on a Samsung 4k Tizen OS TV and it’s much slower, but still works.