I've been a Roku fan for a while, owning versions 1 through 3 and several variations. I don't have cable TV and use streaming almost exclusively, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu Pro are my main stays. But throw in Plex streaming from a local server and Roku struggles.
The three things that sold me immediately on the Amazon FireTV (affiliate link) were
- Quad core processor - screaming fast
- 2GB of on board memory - reduces buffering
- Voice search - find things without using the crappy single character on screen search
I'm not a gamer, but games are included with this box. I'm sure that will be one way of bringing devs into the fold. I should be getting the device tomorrow and will post what I find, but in the mean time, go buy one right now.
What's up with this? I have to admit I'm excited to try mine...Friday, but I have the other three; Roku, Chromecast, & Apple TV, and find that each one offers some unique features not found in one of the others. Honestly, I haven't had any issues with speed or processing on the other devices, might be due to the fact I have sufficient bandwidth coming into the house. Might also depend on the encoding algorithms offered by the streaming service too. Anyway, the market is getting crowded and with Smart TV's getting more popular it will be interesting to see who is still floating after the tidal wave. I always encourage users to decide what they like to do and what services interest them before they make a purchase. Best Buy is a great place to go to see all the boxes available and ask some questions before you make a purchase.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, I'll probably still use all of them. For instance, Apple TV allows me to stream from iTunes instead of Plex, which is a great feature. But in the end it will come down to speed. We'll see, I'm waiting by the door for UPS to drop mine off.
ReplyDelete[…] the Amazon fireTV was turned on, and connected my Amazon account without any action on my part, I was excited to get […]
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