I dismissed the Roku stand alone units, but after briefly looking at what the Roku stick could do, I bought three sticks and sold off all my Chromecasts. It is almost like an Android TV stick, though not quite, in that there are separate apps. I like the fact it have a dedicated remote control app, which the Chromecast doesn't. I like that it come with a separate physical remote control, so even old people and kids can navigate on it and select what they want to watch. A lot of old people simply will not be able to use the phone to search for videos and cast it to a Chromecast. The Roku also support 5ghz dual band WiFi, this is a big deal, since the Chromecast lacks this.
The main reason I bought it, however, is for the Roku Media Player, which is not preloaded, but can be downloaded, support UPnP directly. This means it detects UPnP server, select and play videos directly on it. This is a killer feature and compliment XBMC. This is not possible with Chromecast, which need a middle men solution, such as using AllCast or Plex's DLNA, and you have to initiate the casting from your phone, that method can be prone to more bugs.
I do notice that the casting is less fluent than the Chromecast. For example, if the Roku is connected to my 2.4ghz WiFi channel, my Android devices connected to 5ghz WiFi channel won't detect it, and vice versa. Also it seems like sometime I have to load up an app in the Roku before the same app on the phone can detect and cast to it, Plex for example. It can be a few seconds slower to detect the device to start casting compared to Chromecast and you can't cast your phone/tablet screen to it.
Overall, I just think the Roku Streaming Stick is just so much better than Chromecast if you are looking for a more completely media TV experience and it have a lot of potential to grow in features. Although the Chromecast is better if you just want to cast things only. I just think for being $10 more than the Chromecast, the Roku stick is a much better value.
The main reason I bought it, however, is for the Roku Media Player, which is not preloaded, but can be downloaded, support UPnP directly. This means it detects UPnP server, select and play videos directly on it. This is a killer feature and compliment XBMC. This is not possible with Chromecast, which need a middle men solution, such as using AllCast or Plex's DLNA, and you have to initiate the casting from your phone, that method can be prone to more bugs.
I do notice that the casting is less fluent than the Chromecast. For example, if the Roku is connected to my 2.4ghz WiFi channel, my Android devices connected to 5ghz WiFi channel won't detect it, and vice versa. Also it seems like sometime I have to load up an app in the Roku before the same app on the phone can detect and cast to it, Plex for example. It can be a few seconds slower to detect the device to start casting compared to Chromecast and you can't cast your phone/tablet screen to it.
Overall, I just think the Roku Streaming Stick is just so much better than Chromecast if you are looking for a more completely media TV experience and it have a lot of potential to grow in features. Although the Chromecast is better if you just want to cast things only. I just think for being $10 more than the Chromecast, the Roku stick is a much better value.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram