Hulu and Netflix Streaming Devices
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@s.hackleman said:
I have been supper happy with the a $65 apple TV for this kind of thing. That or a Amazon Fire TV or Fire stick, Chromecast, etc. A whole computer for this kind of thing is overkill.
Not only that, but the interface and low power consumption features of the tiny "dedicated" boxes is so nice. And many have games now (Amazon, latest Apple TV, etc.) which are different from the available PC games that it makes for an interesting addition to the household technology set as well.
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I have a Chromecast v1 - $20 and it's yours. I personally can't stand the need to have another device sending data to it, controlling it, etc.
I've been using my 5+ year old Blue Ray player for most of my online services, Netflix, Plex, Vudu, but the interface is getting long in the tooth. I'm considering an amazon Fire TB.
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@Dashrender said:
I have a Chromecast v1 - $20 and it's yours. I personally can't stand the need to have another device sending data to it, controlling it, etc.
That's probably the biggest complaint I have. The need to have another device.... that and not having access to Amazon.
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Yeah, needing an extra device makes that essentially useless for most users, I would imagine.
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I've loved my Chromecasts, but they're a bit flaky and the kids found using an iPod to control them a bit hard to understand. On Saturday I bought a NOW TV box, which is a locked down Roku LT sold by Sky and the kids (and me) find it much easier and faster to control with a remote than using the iPod to control the Chromecast. Only downside is it doesn't support Netflix.
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@Dashrender said:
I have a Chromecast v1 - $20 and it's yours. I personally can't stand the need to have another device sending data to it, controlling it, etc.
I've been using my 5+ year old Blue Ray player for most of my online services, Netflix, Plex, Vudu, but the interface is getting long in the tooth. I'm considering an amazon Fire TB.
I thought about that as I don't have a blueray player and will likely get one. However most unlike the Roku or Amazon TV isn't there primary purpose so it's not as polished and when hulu, amazon or netflix updates they have no incentive to update to make their devices to keep working.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@s.hackleman said:
I have been supper happy with the a $65 apple TV for this kind of thing. That or a Amazon Fire TV or Fire stick, Chromecast, etc. A whole computer for this kind of thing is overkill.
Not only that, but the interface and low power consumption features of the tiny "dedicated" boxes is so nice. And many have games now (Amazon, latest Apple TV, etc.) which are different from the available PC games that it makes for an interesting addition to the household technology set as well.
I tried the Android TV, and it was awful and I just ended up taking it back to Best Buy. I would for sure suggest the Fire Line. I would have but, having Airplay to the Laptop was needed for our setup.
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@s.hackleman said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@s.hackleman said:
I have been supper happy with the a $65 apple TV for this kind of thing. That or a Amazon Fire TV or Fire stick, Chromecast, etc. A whole computer for this kind of thing is overkill.
Not only that, but the interface and low power consumption features of the tiny "dedicated" boxes is so nice. And many have games now (Amazon, latest Apple TV, etc.) which are different from the available PC games that it makes for an interesting addition to the household technology set as well.
I tried the Android TV, and it was awful and I just ended up taking it back to Best Buy. I would for sure suggest the Fire Line. I would have but, having Airplay to the Laptop was needed for our setup.
There isn't an "Android TV" product, is there? There is just a large family of products built on top of Android? Or is there an Android TV now too? The Fire line are Android devices, for example. As is the Chromecast and, I would guess, the Roku.
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@s.hackleman said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@s.hackleman said:
I have been supper happy with the a $65 apple TV for this kind of thing. That or a Amazon Fire TV or Fire stick, Chromecast, etc. A whole computer for this kind of thing is overkill.
Not only that, but the interface and low power consumption features of the tiny "dedicated" boxes is so nice. And many have games now (Amazon, latest Apple TV, etc.) which are different from the available PC games that it makes for an interesting addition to the household technology set as well.
I tried the Android TV, and it was awful and I just ended up taking it back to Best Buy. I would for sure suggest the Fire Line. I would have but, having Airplay to the Laptop was needed for our setup.
Was it this one?
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@coliver said:
@s.hackleman said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@s.hackleman said:
I have been supper happy with the a $65 apple TV for this kind of thing. That or a Amazon Fire TV or Fire stick, Chromecast, etc. A whole computer for this kind of thing is overkill.
Not only that, but the interface and low power consumption features of the tiny "dedicated" boxes is so nice. And many have games now (Amazon, latest Apple TV, etc.) which are different from the available PC games that it makes for an interesting addition to the household technology set as well.
I tried the Android TV, and it was awful and I just ended up taking it back to Best Buy. I would for sure suggest the Fire Line. I would have but, having Airplay to the Laptop was needed for our setup.
Was it this one?
What a weird landing page. It says that the store is not available where you are, but click here to go to the store. So, um... there it is, just like I wanted. What did they mean by not available, then?
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Maybe it was the extra underscore that is in the URL? Not sure. It worked perfectly for me.
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@coliver said:
Maybe it was the extra underscore that is in the URL? Not sure. It worked perfectly for me.
Here they are clearly blocking something because it is Nica, but they aren't blocking the store. Just the landing page or something, but providing the link to the store anyway. A bit odd.
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Yeah I can get to it just fine
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@Minion-Queen said:
Yeah I can get to it just fine
It says right on the page that it is unavailable in Nica. It's just weird that they then provide a working link right on the page instead of taking you directly to the working page.
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@scottalanmiller said:
Yeah, needing an extra device makes that essentially useless for most users, I would imagine.
Chromecast seemed like such an awesome idea at first. But literally the first time I used it and wanted to fastforward in the show I knew this was a horrible solution. No tactile feedback on the device being used to control it, hard to see dark (well not that hard I suppose, it is a lite up screen afterall), no touch only option of a typical remote, etc, etc.
Thinks like the voice activated remote for Amazon is awesome.
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The voice system is powered by Echo / Alexa on the Amazon device which is pretty cool.
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I'm learning so much from this thread. I am probably the most inefficient when it comes to streaming. I have a gen 1 Apple TV that I use for Netflix primarily. I use an Xbox One for Amazon Prime and my computer for Hulu. Yes, Apple TV has Hulu, but I have not found a need yet for a Hulu account so I use it free to watch current episodes of Master Chef.
I don't mind switching platforms as I need to. Am I weird for that?
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@JessWaterfordTech said:
I don't mind switching platforms as I need to. Am I weird for that?
We used to do that but after starting to travel we are forced to unify our devices for space and weight reasons and doing so tends to cause a bigger one time investment but seems to pay off in a happier overall experience.
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@Jason said:
@Dashrender said:
I have a Chromecast v1 - $20 and it's yours. I personally can't stand the need to have another device sending data to it, controlling it, etc.
I've been using my 5+ year old Blue Ray player for most of my online services, Netflix, Plex, Vudu, but the interface is getting long in the tooth. I'm considering an amazon Fire TB.
I thought about that as I don't have a blueray player and will likely get one. However most unlike the Roku or Amazon TV isn't there primary purpose so it's not as polished and when hulu, amazon or netflix updates they have no incentive to update to make their devices to keep working.
This is definitely true... That said, I've had my player for 5+ years and it's been doing the job just fine. Maybe not as nice as newer devices, but still completely usable.
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That is where the Kindle Fire TV looks interesting to us. It is small, cheap, 4K capable, plays games and can do every service we want (except for showing our locally stored files.)
