So I’m looking for your considered opinion, on which of these you would choose. I’m new to the whole concept, but I’ve decided to give it go. The research I have done seems to find them almost equal. That’s making it harder somehow.
Anyone have any experience to share?
(Not sure if it matters, I’m in Canada.)
Here’s me asking the same question 6 months ago. Might be obsolete, might be useful.
I have a Firestick, and I love it, but I’ve never used a Roku, so for all I know it’s Just Plain Better.
The thread that LSLGuy linked to is at least a bit out of date - one poster comments that HBO Max isn’t available on the Firestick at the time of that posting- it is now. I think all of the major streaming services are currently available through Firestick, and a lot of minor ones I had no idea existed.
I’ve got both.
For me, the Fire Stick comes out ahead because a) we’re an Alexa house and b) the Bell Fibe TV app is not available for the Roku. I think I prefer the Roku remote over the Fire.
Other than that, they essentially do the same thing and it probably doesn’t make a difference. They both support Crave, Prime, Disney+, and Netflix.
I have a Roku and I love it, and I’ve never used a Firestick. It’s extremely easy to use, and just works. The remote is nice, too, because if the last thing I watched was on the Roku (and it typically was, we rarely watch “TV” and watch streaming video a lot more often than disks) then it’s the only remote I need. It will turn on the TV, change the volume, and also control the content.
And yeah, for all I know, the Firestick is just plain better.
I suspect it doesn’t matter much. Fwiw, I watch Netflix, Prime, D+, YouTube, Peacock, and weird one-off things like the streaming channel the DNC launched for the convention.
My gaming area has a TV with Roku built-in. Roku recently increased functionality of the digital antenna: it now picks up terrestrial channels as well as Roku’s streaming service.
I have used both and IMHO the Roku is every so slightly better. But it’s not a big deal, they both will get the job done. I find the Firestick (no surprise) interacts with Amazon more smoothly than my Roku, but the Roku apps for everything else work a bit faster.
But we are talking like 2-3%, not enough to make a difference. And yeah, the Roku remote is nice. And I absolutely feel the higher end Roku units are nicer, with a wider range of features and prices than the Fire line.
The Roku remote seems to eat batteries like crazy. I put in a new pair Jan 27 and it’s already down to 80%, and that was after already replacing both batteries in early Jan. My regular cable remote would be able to go for years on the same pair.
Huh. I’m pretty sure i haven’t changed the batteries, yet. I forget how long it’s been since i upgraded my roku from the original roku, but i posted about it, so maybe i can look that up here…
August 2019
You can jailbreak the fire stick but not roku. So, there’s that.
(takes a bow)
I implemented a lot of Roku’s security software when I worked there.
The ads on the Firestick are more prominent than on the Roku. It seems like a major reason the Firestick exists is to be an ad platform for Amazon Prime shows. Roku has ads too, but they are less obtrusive.
One thing I like about the Roku is the dedicated button for skip back. This is to do a quick jump backwards about 10 seconds in the video. I think all the streaming devices can do this in some fashion, but not all streaming devices have a dedicated button for it. Some streaming devices overload the move back arrow or circle press for the skip back.
One thing I don’t like about the Roku are the hardcoded app launch buttons on the remote. The remote will come with 4 buttons dedicated to certain apps and you can’t change them even if they aren’t the apps you use. It’s really easy for one of those buttons to get pressed accidentally and launch a totally different app. Like, you’re watching Netflix, the remote falls down, and Hulu launches. Then you have to go through the trouble of getting back into Netflix and resuming whatever you were watching.
But functionally they seem about the same as each other. They both seem to play shows about equally well.
Yes – this is the one thing I dislike about our new Roku. It has three hardcoded buttons that can only cause trouble, and never do any good. (ESPN, Hulu, and Sling). I assume they got paid something from those companies to put them there, but I would have been will to pay extra to get a remote without those buttons. And the dedicated Netflix button is only marginally useful, and I’d be happier without it, too.
Bonus points if those buttons had been replaced with a button to change the TV’s input source. That would make the Roku remote perfect.
I don’t know how much YouTube you watch, if any, but when I was using a Roku I remember the YouTube app particularly sucked. Extremely poor response, often times button clicks didn’t seem to register at all, or you hit a button and it would do it a good 10-20 seconds later, and eventually literally nothing worked until you exited the app and restarted the Roku, it was just awful. Granted, this was at least 2 years ago, but it really soured me on Roku.
That was indeed true a few years ago, but the current YouTube app on Roku works well for me.
I use YouTube pretty often on the Roku, and I’ve never noticed a problem. I never used it before the pandemic, though.
I’ve always used Roku (Gen1 then a Roku TV and Roku Streaming stick) and really like it. I’ve not used the Firestick. Never had a problem with the YouTube app or battery life on the remote. I don’t ever use the hardcoded buttons.
Well done.
Some of the Rokus will switch the input automatically to the Roku input when you use the remote, so there is less need for an input button. It’s not Roku specific. Most streaming devices will do this as well. The underlying technology is called HDMI-CEC and is a way for HDMI devices to send commands over the HDMI port. On my Roku, I can get to the setting by going to System->Control Other Devices->1 Touch Play. I’m not sure if this is something on all or just some Rokus, so check your settings and you may be able to turn it on.
One other thing is that some Rokus come with infrared remotes and others with radio remotes. The radio remotes allow you to put the Roku device out of line-of-sight and you don’t have to point the remote at the Roku. Infrared remotes are like regular remotes and the Roku will need to be able to see the front of the remote.