Streaming devices. Buying the only real option?

ochadd

ochadd

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
May 9, 2008
Messages
1,442
Any recommendation for a streaming device? I'm open to buying one or multiple. The whole streaming device ecosystem is confusing as hell to me. The product naming and lack of transparency in the hardware seems intentionally opaque. Roku 4k is better than Roku Express 4k+... Stuff like that. I understand that the new Google device isn't going to run the newer SOCs, sandbagging for a "Pro" device at some point.

Today I'm using an "Amazon FireTV with 4k Ultra" box from 2016 and a "Chromecast with Google TV". Both are getting slow and having issues, so deciding what my next device will be. Leaning towards a "Google TV Streamer" coming out September 24th but would like a reality check/confirmation on what makes sense. "Roku Ultra" seems decent but I think it's two years old, circa 2022.

Amazon stuff looks noticeably better on the Amazon device I have and that tends to be where we rent movies from. Get allot of unsynced audio and stutter now-a-days. The Chromecast is the more heavily used device for everyday streaming and casting from Android phones.

I don't pirate anything and have near zero media library. Don't listen to music often. Subscriptions to nearly every video service I've heard of other than Hulu. My wife watches allot of TV and is non-technical.
Denon receiver outputting to a single 4k Sony television and 5.1 speaker setup.
Dish Network satellite service alongside the streaming devices.
Have a Logitech Harmony Smart hub that can control all devices, in an ideal world. It's sketchy but a problem for another time.
Have no devices from the Apple ecosystem.

The difference of a $100 in price isn't a concern for me. I'd be willing to install full blown desktop w/ GPU if it made sense and just worked. I understand the situation to be suckier than just buying a streaming device.

Edit update:
I've been using the Google TV Streamer for a couple weeks now and it's an improvement all around over the Chromecast. Have them both connected to the same receiver so have seen them side by side. The Streamer is noticeably faster. My wife will sometime select the wrong input and you know immediately.
Moving around the menu and launching streaming apps is very good.
Paramount+ subtitles doesn't have to be enabled on every episode, every launch, like the Chromecast.
My wife thinks the picture is better but I haven't noticed a difference.

I initially connected it with ethernet but some stuff didn't work but have now forgotten what it was. Don't think it would stream from phone and a couple other things. Moving to wifi fixed them all. I have no neighbors and a solid wireless network so wasn't an issue.
It has a much larger physical footprint compared to the Chromecast but have an AV area so it's a non-issue.
I can't get it to work with my Logitech Harmony remote whereas the Chromecast did. Not in the library and assume it never will be.
I can only run at 4k 30 fps w/ HDR. Never could get 60 fps working with the Chromecast or Amazon devices and still can't with the Streamer. Not sure if it's the TV, in-wall HDMI cable, or receiver. I'll swap the cable out whenever I upgrade televisions. 60 fps looks weird to me for TV/movies so it's not something I'd probably enable anyway, but I'll fix eventually.

I think it's a nice upgrade and all the streaming apps I use it for work fine. Netflix, Prime, Paramount+, Discovery+, Max, Youtube, and Apple.
 
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ochadd said:
Any recommendation for a streaming device? I'm open to buying one or multiple. The whole streaming device ecosystem is confusing as hell to me. The product naming and lack of transparency in the hardware seems intentionally opaque. Roku 4k is better than Roku Express 4k+... Stuff like that. I understand that the new Google device isn't going to run the newer SOCs, sandbagging for a "Pro" device at some point.

Today I'm using an "Amazon FireTV with 4k Ultra" box from 2016 and a "Chromecast with Google TV". Both are getting slow and having issues, so deciding what my next device will be. Leaning towards a "Google TV Streamer" coming out September 24th but would like a reality check/confirmation on what makes sense. "Roku Ultra" seems decent but I think it's two years old, circa 2022.

Amazon stuff looks noticeably better on the Amazon device I have and that tends to be where we rent movies from. Get allot of unsynced audio and stutter now-a-days. The Chromecast is the more heavily used device for everyday streaming and casting from Android phones.

I don't pirate anything and have near zero media library. Don't listen to music often. Subscriptions to nearly every video service I've heard of other than Hulu. My wife watches allot of TV and is non-technical.
Denon receiver outputting to a single 4k Sony television and 5.1 speaker setup.
Dish Network satellite service alongside the streaming devices.
Have a Logitech Harmony Smart hub that can control all devices, in an ideal world. It's sketchy but a problem for another time.
Have no devices from the Apple ecosystem.

The difference of a $100 in price isn't a concern for me. I'd be willing to install full blown desktop w/ GPU if it made sense and just worked. I understand the situation to be suckier than just buying a streaming device.
Click to expand...
I recently was forced into streaming as my ISP (Ziply Fiber) dropped TV in my area. I first went to Costco and bought 2 Mac Mini's (Upstairs and down) and thought that was going to wok. They were the basic models and did not cut the mustard. Continual freezes flips and flops. I then bought a Beelink Gaming Mini with a Ryzen 9, 32 Ram, a 1 Tb hard card, from Amazon, installed it today been working steady for eight hours zero problems, it has the more familiar to me Windows 11. I will try it for a week or so before getting a second one, but I am really happy with it, about 2/3 the size of the Apple too.

My TV's are Samsung 65" from 2013, not 4K but supposedly this Beelink Mini can do the job with 4K. You Tube was fine with the Apple, but You Tube TV (Live Streaming) was not and that is my primary streaming service. Works with Sling and Paramount Plus as well as Amazon Prime.

I think I have found a winner for me.

One of my older PC builds just would not fit in the space available for me.

Edit the Beelink also came with a short HDMI cable, not so the Apple
 
PandaZ3 said:
I recently was forced into streaming as my ISP (Ziply Fiber) dropped TV in my area. I first went to Costco and bought 2 Mac Mini's (Upstairs and down) and thouht that was going to wok. They were the basic models and did not cut the mustard. Continual freezes flips and flops. I then bought a Beelink Gaming Mini with a Ryzen 9, 32 Ram, 1 Tb hard card, from Amazon, installed it today been working steady for eight hours zero problems, it has the more familiar to me Windows 11. I will try it for a week or so before getting a second one, but I am really happy with it, about 2/3 the size of the Apple too.

My TV's are Samsung 65" from 2013, not 4K but supposedly this Beelink Mini can do the job with 4K. You Tube was fine with the Apple, but You Tube TV (Live Streaming) was not and that is my primary streaming service. Works with Sling and Paramount Plus as well as Amazon Prime.

I think I have found a winner for me.

One of my older PC builds just would not fit in the space available for me.
Click to expand...
I have a new Google TV Streamer preordered, September 26th release. Don't usually preorder stuff but everything else seems old and I doubt the Chromecast replacement would be worse. I debated on a mini PC as well, have bought dozens of Beelink 5800H max machines and they're nice. My understanding is that you don't get the great quality streaming through a browser. I know streaming on my computer is of lesser quality than through my Chromecast.
 
ochadd said:
I have a new Google TV Streamer preordered, September 26th release. Don't usually preorder stuff but everything else seems old and I doubt the Chromecast replacement would be worse. I debated on a mini PC as well, have bought dozens of Beelink 5800H max machines and they're nice. My understanding is that you don't get the great quality streaming through a browser. I know streaming on my computer is of lesser quality than through my Chromecast.
Click to expand...
You Tube TV does have a stand alone App for their player, it is a Google enterprise and separate from You Tube itself.
 
I use Apple TV 4K's at home and it's nice, but pricey. At my gf's we use a FireTV stick and a FireTV Cube. The Fire devices with the Alexa remote seem more user friendly when using a bunch of apps and searching.
I would just get FireTV 4K Max's if you are already used to FireTV ecosystem.
 
I've been happy with Roku Ultras. The 2022 is nicer than the older ones, but not by a whole lot. I've used a couple Android TV boxes and I dunno, I don't like it and don't see how I would stay married if my wife had to use it.

I'm pretty much locked into Roku Ultras because I want wired ethernet and none of their lower models support it. It is only 100M, which isn't limiting unless you want to run full file blu-ray 4k rips. I've heard good things about Apple TV, but I don't like any of their stuff other than my Apple IIe; I've also heard of running into situations where you need to use a MacOS or iOS product to get the Apple TV unstuck, so yeah. Not happening for me.
 
I switched from Android streamers (Amazon Fire stuff) to an Apple TV 4k with ethernet. Best update ever.

The issue isn't so much that the Apple TV itself is better. The issue is that the IOS versions of provider apps are much better than the Android versions.
 
uOpt said:
I switched from Android streamers (Amazon Fire stuff) to an Apple TV 4k with ethernet. Best update ever.

The issue isn't so much that the Apple TV itself is better. The issue is that the IOS versions of provider apps are much better than the Android versions.
Click to expand...
I’d also argue the hardware is better. My Apple TV is built like a tank compared to any Roku or fire stick I’ve owned.
 
I've been using the Google TV Streamer for a couple weeks now and it's an improvement all around over the Chromecast. Have them both connected to the same receiver so have seen them side by side. The Streamer is noticeably faster. My wife will sometime select the wrong input and you know immediately.
Moving around the menu and launching streaming apps is very good.
Paramount+ subtitles doesn't have to be enabled on every episode, every launch, like the Chromecast.
My wife thinks the picture is better but I haven't noticed a difference.

I initially connected it with ethernet but some stuff didn't work but have now forgotten what it was. Don't think it would stream from phone and a couple other things. Moving to wifi fixed them all. I have no neighbors and a solid wireless network so wasn't an issue.
It has a much larger physical footprint compared to the Chromecast but have an AV area so it's a non-issue.
I can't get it to work with my Logitech Harmony remote whereas the Chromecast did. Not in the library and assume it never will be.
I can only run at 4k 30 fps w/ HDR. Never could get 60 fps working with the Chromecast or Amazon devices and still can't with the Streamer. Not sure if it's the TV, in-wall HDMI cable, or receiver. I'll swap the cable out whenever I upgrade televisions. 60 fps looks weird to me for TV/movies so it's not something I'd probably enable anyway, but I'll fix eventually.

I think it's a nice upgrade and all the streaming apps I use it for work fine. Netflix, Prime, Paramount+, Discovery+, Max, Youtube, and Apple.
 
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Well now... I bought a Roku Express three years ago, so that I could stream the Peacock channel, in order to watch a Notre Dame football game on it that was only streaming on that channel.

I did this, because when I tried to add the Peacock channel to my old Roku express, it came back with the message that the device wasn't compatible with it. Everything else worked OK, though, so I moved that device to my bedroom. It was still able to stream the other channels.

Today, both devices are reporting that they can't connect to the internet, even though both of them can connect to my AT&T 5G internet hub just fine, and the hub is working perfectly, as evidenced by my being able to make this post.

There's no doubt in my mind that the Roku company crippled my devices.

Prior to that, Roku crippled my Roku 2 player that I bought in 2014. It was working fine until 2017, when it became horribly slow. I did a factory reset, and it worked normally for a day, until it then required that I download the latest software, which of course, slowed it down again. That was when I bought my first Roku Express.

I'm going to pick up a new streaming device tomorrow, and am entirely open to a different brand.

How is the Onn Google TV device?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/onn-Google-TV-4K-Streaming-Box-New-2023-4K-UHD-Resolution/2835618394
 
HeavensCloud said:
I got that exact one for my MIL so she could steal our streaming services, works great for her. Seemed fast enough when I was setting it up.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

I picked one up at Wal-mart today, for $19.99 + tax.

Setting it up wasn't that easy, though. The Disney Plus and Hulu apps were installed at the beginning, and when I tried to open them, they both balked, saying that there was no internet connection, even though other apps such as Youtube, Tubi, etc., were all connecting.

I ended up uninstalling Disney Plus and Hulu, and then reinstalling them, and they finally worked, but without sound.

I had to go into the Google TV settings and disable surround sound, and then the sound works fine in stereo.

Overall, I'm pleased with it, but wish that it could have been an easier installation, since I was also trying to cook dinner for my very hungry 5 year old daughter at the same time... That will turn your hair grey for certain.
 
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