Author Topic: Roku 3 or Amazon Fire TV (not Fire Stick)  (Read 5964 times)

begood

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1013
  • Location: SE PA
Roku 3 or Amazon Fire TV (not Fire Stick)
« on: February 16, 2015, 09:28:38 AM »
After 5+ years of extremely limited internet access at home, we are finally getting (I hope! *fingers crossed*) Verizon FIOS. We are going to wallow in it for the first year - ESPN, multi-room DVR, all the shit y'all are so good at explaining why we don't need! After that, we'll revisit and see how much we want to cut it down. By then Sling TV will have had enough time that I should get a good sense of whether that's all we'd need.

I'm also pretty darn excited about the idea of streaming video - never done it at home! And I guess if I want to stream video to my TV, I'm gonna need a device through which to stream it, yes?

I'm already embedded in the Amazon ecosystem - I have a Kindle Keyboard and a 1st gen Kindle Fire, and I'm a Prime member - and so my instinct is to get the Amazon Fire TV (not the little stick, but the box). But a friend yesterday suggested departing from the ecosystem and getting a Roku 3 instead.

What say you, tech-savvy Mustachians? Pros? Cons?

mozar

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3503
Re: Roku 3 or Amazon Fire TV (not Fire Stick)
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2015, 06:12:18 PM »
I got roku for my mom. I don't know what the specific specs are for each but I know she can access amazon through roku, as well as netflix and her own cable. I think you have more options and are less dependent on one platform.

MayDay

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4953
Re: Roku 3 or Amazon Fire TV (not Fire Stick)
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2015, 06:24:28 PM »
We have some free roku that our phone company gave us, and it, too, works fine to get amazon content.  I don't know what would be special about the amazon one.

gatorNic

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 48
  • Age: 44
  • Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Re: Roku 3 or Amazon Fire TV (not Fire Stick)
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2015, 06:24:37 PM »
oh man I miss FIOS.  Way better than crap-tastic comcast, uverse and time warner. 

RapmasterD

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 589
  • Location: SF Peninsula
Re: Roku 3 or Amazon Fire TV (not Fire Stick)
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2015, 09:05:54 PM »
Why not the Stick? The Stick is fine. We have two of 'em. No brainer for high quality streaming of Amazon content.

begood

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1013
  • Location: SE PA
Re: Roku 3 or Amazon Fire TV (not Fire Stick)
« Reply #5 on: February 17, 2015, 06:50:43 AM »
Why not the Stick? The Stick is fine. We have two of 'em. No brainer for high quality streaming of Amazon content.

The Stick seems to have more trouble finding and keeping the wifi signal, per some reviews at Amazon. Our modem/router will be in one room of our plaster-walled house, and the TVs will be in other rooms, including one on a different floor. So it seemed that the more powerful Fire TV would be a better choice in our particular situation.

And thanks mozar and MayDay for the good roku info! A friend gave us an old, probably 1st gen Roku about seven years ago. I was underwhelmed with its capabilities then, but the Roku 3 has much better reviews and seems to be a huge improvement over earlier generations.
« Last Edit: February 17, 2015, 07:01:55 AM by begood »

frugaldrummer

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 846
Re: Roku 3 or Amazon Fire TV (not Fire Stick)
« Reply #6 on: February 17, 2015, 02:05:00 PM »
My Roku works great and one of the channel options is Amazon, so should be no problem streaming your Amazon content over the Roku.


begood

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1013
  • Location: SE PA
Re: Roku 3 or Amazon Fire TV (not Fire Stick)
« Reply #7 on: February 17, 2015, 02:12:26 PM »
My Roku works great and one of the channel options is Amazon, so should be no problem streaming your Amazon content over the Roku.

Thanks, frugaldrummer! :)

Professor Ecks

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 103
  • Age: 48
  • Location: Kansas City
    • My Journal
Re: Roku 3 or Amazon Fire TV (not Fire Stick)
« Reply #8 on: February 17, 2015, 04:17:19 PM »
FireTV would definitely be my choice. In comparison to the Roku3, the processor is faster and it has four times the memory, making it considerably more "future proof" in my opinion, as computing demands tend to increase over time. Also, I do not believe that the Roku has an HDMI port. The integration with your Prime account is pretty useful, especially if you use Prime Music. And as of this posting, the FireTV is on sale right now for $84, so it's $15 cheaper than Roku. Plus it looks like there is a $50 rebate if you sign up for three months of Sling TV. We've been planning to get a second Fire, and I think I will jump on this offer. Thanks for posting this question!
« Last Edit: February 17, 2015, 04:20:38 PM by Professor Ecks »

MayDay

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4953
Re: Roku 3 or Amazon Fire TV (not Fire Stick)
« Reply #9 on: February 17, 2015, 05:35:44 PM »
Sounds like Fire TV might be the right choice for you, but just as an FYI, our roku is on a different floor, on the other side of the house from our wireless modem and router, and we have fairly crappy internet.  It works fine.  So I wouldn't worry about the Roku capabilities in that department. 

begood

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1013
  • Location: SE PA
Re: Roku 3 or Amazon Fire TV (not Fire Stick)
« Reply #10 on: February 18, 2015, 09:43:42 AM »
I appreciate all the advice, folks!

I ended up ordering an Amazon Fire TV. As Professor Ecks noted, it's on sale for $84 right now. It's a year "newer" than the Roku 3, which came out in 2013, and it has a more powerful processor. Between rewards points saved up and a gift card, my total out-of-pocket cost? $1.00. \o/