Roku and Chrome stick

I have had Chromecast since the day it became available.
As a fulltimer, I have enjoyed its possibilities.
All it does is "cast" whatever is on your phone/tablet/laptop to the TV screen, including audio.
It needs an HDMI port on your tv.
For power, it can use the AC adapter that comes with it, or you can plug it into the TV usb port.
To avoid streaming issues of speed and data while traveling, download the media while on a fast/home connection.
I like being able to play my phone's music library through the decent speakers on my Samsung 22" tv. Can also be used to show slideshows to friends, etc.
For $35, I've been satisfied with it.
Anything you can bring up in most browsers can be cast, and many apps are Chromecast ready.

Thanks for asking that question Bob - it was on my mind as well.
We just bought a DVD player that picks up the the local wifi signal and can play YouTube, Hulu, Amazon and I don't know what else.
I'm now wondering if it will pick up anything that is "cast". If so, I might upgrade the camper DVD player with a newer model.

A laptop that has a DVD drive can cast the DVD to the tv, or you can buy cables to hardwire either device to the tv, if it has the available inputs.
The attraction of Chromecast is the wireless connection from your devices to the tv.

bighatnohorse wrote:
Thanks for asking that question Bob - it was on my mind as well.
We just bought a DVD player that picks up the the local wifi signal and can play YouTube, Hulu, Amazon and I don't know what else.
I'm now wondering if it will pick up anything that is "cast". If so, I might upgrade the camper DVD player with a newer model.

Bob Vaughn wrote:
What are these things good for? Do you need a cable connection? Or do you use wi-fi are the thousands of channels any thing like A & E, USA, TNT, Velosity ? Is it something that can be used when boon docking? I see the ads for these things on TV quiet often...Is it a waste of money.....

We have multiple Rokus and we find them very useful IF AND ONLY IF we are on a good wifi connection.

I don't think any streaming device would make sense when boon docking. Although you might make it work technically, the data that streaming videos and TV consumes on a cellular plan is considered excessive by most.

bighatnohorse wrote:
Thanks for asking that question Bob - it was on my mind as well.
We just bought a DVD player that picks up the the local wifi signal and can play YouTube, Hulu, Amazon and I don't know what else.
I'm now wondering if it will pick up anything that is "cast". If so, I might upgrade the camper DVD player with a newer model.

I have a Samsung Blu Ray player that uses WiFi and streams Netflix, etc. It also has the ability to stream from a DLNA Server. I run a Buffalo Linkstation NAS that has a built in DLNA srver. It will stream music, photos and video.

Just go to Roku's web site for a complete channel listing: https://www.roku.com/whats-on. Keep in mind that the better channels are not free.

bighatnohorse wrote:
Thanks for asking that question Bob - it was on my mind as well.
We just bought a DVD player that picks up the the local wifi signal and can play YouTube, Hulu, Amazon and I don't know what else.
I'm now wondering if it will pick up anything that is "cast". If so, I might upgrade the camper DVD player with a newer model.

bighatnohorse,

Not that it's important, but that DVD you have is probably a Blu-Ray player, which plays both DVD & Blu-Ray. Can't say that I've seen a DVD player that has the functions you've described.

Along the same lines, recently it was suggested, since I was most attracted to Roku over Chromecast, that I purchase Roku for home and Chromecast for the RV.

The roku streams movies etc from the internet
You need an internet data connection
Wi-Fi to your home access point is how it connects to the internet
Yes they can work with cellular hotspots...You can use a lot of data doing this

As said...Chrome cast ...broadcasts to the tv from any device you have that has Wi-Fi connection ability
In other words you use the chrome cast to substitute for a cable between laptop and tv or phone and TV
It will display video or your web browsing..whatever is on your device screen

Roku recently upgraded the firmware on the Roku 3 so that it is Miracast compatible which means if you have a Win 8 computer, you should be able to cast it's output wirelessly to the Roku to be dispayed on the TV.

I have a Chromecast and 3 Rokus. The Rokus are superior, hands down. The only point the Chromecast wins is that it costs less.