Video Streaming-Opinions
I would like input on the various video streaming. Roku3 is rated high but do I need all those features?
Forum Discussion
The OP asked for answers to a specific question; he wasn't looking for advice on whether or not streaming is a good idea.
We have a Roku 2, I believe, which was the first of the HD ones. Some of the features of the fanciest Roku I don't need, but I believe some of the better models support full 5.1 audio which mine does not (not on Netflix anyway).
Unlike a Chromecast, a Roku doesn't require involvement of a computer and there are hundreds of "channels". IMHO running an HDMI cable from a computer to the TV is not a good solution if you are full-timers and do this often as we do.
We are lucky enough to have unlimited Verizon accounts, but even if you don't have that, don't listen to people who tell you streaming is too expensive. Do a dollars and cents calculation and you may be surprised to find out that if you limit your resolution, which you can do on Netflix at least, you can manage to get 2 hours of video out of 1GB of data. So if your data costs ~$10/GB, a 2 hour movie will cost ~$10 which isn't all that much more than a pay per view.
Of course, you can use a lot more data and incur higher cost, but we're almost at the point where I'd be willing to trade the >$100/mo I pay DirecTV for additional data and simply not watch regular TV. I think within another year or two that will be a very viable option.
We have a Roku 2, I believe, which was the first of the HD ones. Some of the features of the fanciest Roku I don't need, but I believe some of the better models support full 5.1 audio which mine does not (not on Netflix anyway).
Unlike a Chromecast, a Roku doesn't require involvement of a computer and there are hundreds of "channels". IMHO running an HDMI cable from a computer to the TV is not a good solution if you are full-timers and do this often as we do.
We are lucky enough to have unlimited Verizon accounts, but even if you don't have that, don't listen to people who tell you streaming is too expensive. Do a dollars and cents calculation and you may be surprised to find out that if you limit your resolution, which you can do on Netflix at least, you can manage to get 2 hours of video out of 1GB of data. So if your data costs ~$10/GB, a 2 hour movie will cost ~$10 which isn't all that much more than a pay per view.
Of course, you can use a lot more data and incur higher cost, but we're almost at the point where I'd be willing to trade the >$100/mo I pay DirecTV for additional data and simply not watch regular TV. I think within another year or two that will be a very viable option.
