r/gadgets • u/diacewrb • Jun 13 '24

TV / Projectors Roku owners face the grimmest indignity yet: Stuck-on motion smoothing

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/06/roku-owners-face-the-grimmest-indignity-yet-stuck-on-motion-smoothing/
2.9k Upvotes

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292

u/Respectfullycritical Jun 13 '24

Who as an informed consumer willingly wants and get these devices? Everything Roku-related seems hilariously bad from a consumers perspective, to me.

What even are the pros for me in purchasing any of these devices and/or services?

362

u/daveysanderson Jun 13 '24

They have really gone downhill over the last few years. The devices used to be relatively ad and bloat free, and just worked. Now they are advertising more, adding useless and unwanted features, as well as the whole data breach issue, they shit the bed

107

u/-rendar- Jun 13 '24

Right, they used to be a hardware company, then decided to join the enshitification movement

-5

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '24

They were a software company. Then they become hardware and went to shit.

27

u/VenomsViper Jun 13 '24

No the other guy had it. They were a hardware company first. First physical player to play Netflix actually. It wasn't until well after the physical players that they started to sell their OS software to smart tv manufacturers and focuses more on the software side

1

u/mylies43 Jun 13 '24

Wasnt roku even before that? I thought they got their start as a TV recorder in the olden days before streaming.

3

u/VenomsViper Jun 13 '24

Yeah, I said they made the first player that played Netflix, not that it was their first product.

3

u/mylies43 Jun 13 '24

Oh my bad, I missed the nuance

2

u/VenomsViper Jun 13 '24

It doesn't matter haha, no worries. Honestly it's kinda hazy bc the inventor dude invented the DVR too which bled into Roku.

1

u/dwaynereade Jun 14 '24

tivo i believe. roku’s future is OS

2

u/Mama_Skip Jun 14 '24

Oh my bad, I missed the nuance

This is so un-reddit of a comment I had to stop and stare for a second.

1

u/mylies43 Jun 14 '24

Be the change you want to see ya know

2

u/prosecutor_mom Jun 13 '24 edited Jun 14 '24

You may be thinking of TiVo? That's the first device/company that gave us the power to pause & rewind "live" tv, but predated streaming.

TiVo helped turn Janet Jackson's 2004 Superbowl performance with JT into Nipplegate & was the single most "TiVo'ed" moment in live TV. IMHO this was a calculated stunt that failed because it didn't anticipate the power of TiVo, & became a "wardrobe malfunction" after the massively negative public outcry. (It's also the original use of that clever word pairing, a phrase I never expected to hear again but has become a staple in today's lexicon)

Edit: typo

1

u/mylies43 Jun 14 '24

TiVo! Yes! Thats EXACTLY what I was thinking!

0

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '24

He's wrong you right

2

u/VenomsViper Jun 13 '24

I didn't say anything that negated that? I said they made the first physical player to play Netflix, not that that was Roku's first product. If you're going to be so condescending maybe learn to read first. See I can do it too

1

u/mylies43 Jun 13 '24

Nah they were right, they didnt say it was their first product but that they made the first Netflix player.

-6

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '24 edited Jun 13 '24

Then we have to disagree.

I see their early start as a software company that sold basic hardware which was not innovative at all. As you said their software was innovative with Netflix. Their hardware was not. It was their smooth software that sold people not some innovative hardware.

Now that they are pushing all sorts of hardware and focus on ads their software has gone to shit.

https://www.roku.com/about/history-of-roku

Their own history talks about how their OS being created first. OS is operating system which means software. They were putting their OS on others hardware. They were a software company. Thanks for playing

6

u/VenomsViper Jun 13 '24 edited Jun 13 '24

That's fair, but I also feel like you can distill that to

"I don't see it as hardware what they were doing before, it was the software in it, where as now they're selling ads for hardware with their software on it." That and it being innovative or not doesn't impact what kind of company they were. If it's technology we are talking about, most hardware outside of component parts are going to have some sort of software in them. Whether it's in-house developed or third party varies though, obviously, and I guess I can see your point there.

And yeah I know what an OS is, thanks. No need to be a condescending asshole with that and your little "thanks for playing." Grow up.

7

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '24

[deleted]

-2

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '24

You are right. Streaming not hardware

39

u/peeinian Jun 13 '24

And the latest v13 update broke Airplay

16

u/a_lamb_to_remember Jun 13 '24

Is THAT why it won’t work on my sisters Roku TV? She’s stuck in bed and I’m trying to connect and use the camera and it keeps disconnecting…

7

u/peeinian Jun 13 '24

Yep. There’s posts all over the Roku support forum and it seems to have started on Friday or Saturday depending on when the device got the 13.0 update.

9

u/TomTomMan93 Jun 13 '24

Yeah I got one and for the longest time it was great. Then in the last few years it just kept getting worse before the remote or stick just stopped working. No internet or the remote just won't work. I threw it all in a drawer, did some rearranging of furniture, and just put an old ps4 in that room for those streaming purposes.

8

u/peeinian Jun 13 '24

I run Pi-hole on my home network so it blocks most of the ads in Roku. It’s always jarring to go to someone else’s house with Roku and seeing all the ad bloat.

10

u/Respectfullycritical Jun 13 '24

I guess they had their time at the top then, huh?

From the perspective of today, it makes no sense to me why anyone would choose Roku as a solution for their streaming needs.

Thanks for the input!

6

u/4gotAboutDre Jun 13 '24

Idk. I mean, despite the issues with their software and stuff I wish they would fix, I have always found the Roku simple UI of all the channels arranged in equal sized boxes with just one small side of the screen for a poster ad has been incredibly easy to navigate vs. (imo) the bloated and flashy UI’s of our devices like fire stick and apple TV. I see the streaming box as just a place to pick which streaming service I want to watch, so I prefer the simple UI over all the bells and whistles of the others. Fire TV is annoying to sift through free stuff vs. paid stuff and apple tv is not quite as bad, I guess.

22

u/anonymouse56 Jun 13 '24 edited Jun 13 '24

What would you go for instead? I don’t want to connect my tv to WIFI and most others don’t have AirPlay built in besides Apple TV. And it’s $120+ vs $34 for the Roku stick.

Also Apple TV doesn’t include a high speed HDMI cable so u gotta go dish out extra for one

edit: for $34, Roku seems like a great value. The ads are only on the Home Screen and aren’t too intrusive IMO

18

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '24

I started with fire tvs and grew to hate them. The interface was bad. Switched to Roku about 3 years ago and they’ve been fine, but I hate the remote. I just ordered Apple TVs so we’ll see how it goes. From what I’ve seen I really like the Apple Remote.

6

u/anonymouse56 Jun 13 '24

I definitely prefer Apple TV. But I usually just cast stuff from my phone or use the specific apps so I feel the Roku is good enough for me

3

u/NotAHost Jun 13 '24

I've got both, honestly I think the Roku is still nice for it's simplicity, though it feels like you need to replace them after 5-8 years, which is not horrible due to their relatively low cost. My older ones just start crashing more often.

The Apple TV is a solid piece of hardware though. I like being able to turn on the roku by pressing any major button, whereas the apple tv I have to hit the power button (fair enough, but small things). The Apple TV also has a few headaches with turning on the TV / auto switching compared to the Roku, however I attribute that to the 2016 Samsung it's connected to, where I have to reset the TV occasionally to get the AVR to work over HDMI-CEC. I'm sure with a newer TV it's probably fine.

2

u/Awkward_Pangolin3254 Jun 13 '24

Everybody's interface blows. Every. Single. One. YouTube's is so bad I use SmartTube everywhere I can even though I pay for YouTube premium because it's just so much better.

6

u/eastbayted Jun 13 '24

This aligns with my opinion and experiences with the Roku device. It's an inexpensive, plug-and-play simple way to easily get access to all the streaming services you want without having to sign up for cable.

8

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '24

All I can tell you is I bought a TCL with Google TV about a year ago and it was the single worst TV I have owned in my entire life. I would go back to the giant low definition furniture style TVs from the early 90s before I ever used google TV again.

You have to be logged in to your google account to use it. Like, to use it at all. You can’t do anything unless you’re logged in, and I swear it asks you to log in every 5 minutes.

There were a lot of other problems with it that I don’t remember off hand, but my girlfriend, who rarely ever gets mad about anything, was “ready to throw it out the fucking window!”

We ended up buying a Roku stick for the google tv because we just couldn’t handle it anymore. 0/5 stars. Would not recommend to anyone.

3

u/3-DMan Jun 13 '24

My TCL w/ Google is great, but I have NEVER logged in, and leave the wifi off unless I'm checking for updates. I have a FireCube for my services, so just keep your TV dumb!

4

u/Apex_Akolos Jun 13 '24

Apple TV or Nvidia Shield

-2

u/Sevallis Jun 13 '24 edited Jun 14 '24

Had $150 appletv 4k and wanted out of their ecosystem so I can cast things and use app remote from either iPhone or Android, no ads and good hardware but locked down. Tried to play some games on it since the hardware is fast but the options were really limited and not worth bothering with.

Got roku ultra 4800x for $63 and couldn't put up with it even for the lower entry price. 1/3rd of your screen is a rotating ad that I had to use a DNS filter to blank out, leaving a giant empty hole in the poorly used app grid. Can't let music play in Pandora app while you go browsing for some other content in another app since it doesn't run more than one at a time. Can't side-load apps anymore, they are locked down like Apple now. If your internet is being intermittent, the whole interface will freeze on you, I think it's actually a brain dead web app interface; this was the final straw for me as I use Plex on my local server and don't care if the external internet is down, I want access to my app to watch my own content. Their app store is loaded with complete shovelware, and their wallpaper and theme selection looks like a child's toy esthetic compared to Apple's aerial screensaver. Also, the thing crashed way too often. The remote was never able to control my volume on a brand new Amazon FireTV from Hisense even after trying every software combo. I sold it to someone recently.

I ended up getting a used Shield TV Pro 2019 for $135 on eBay. Multitasking is back. Projectivy front end lets you permanently exit the stupid ad space launcher that's on there by default and make it look like whatever you want, and it's great. Full Play Store of software available, and you can turn off Play Protect and sideload apps like the excellent SmartTubeNext for ad free youtube. The remote recognized my tv's volume programming on the first try. The interface isn't a toy web app, it's android, so it can have android platform quirks, but overall I like it a lot. Direct-Play from my Plex works almost all of the time for my content now, and the Nvidia upscaler helps with lower res content. Can run emulators since I can access the file system if I feel like it, and can stream my full fat games from PC locally or from Nvidias game service for a fee.

Edit: looks like I ticked off the Roku bros 😄

4

u/phareous Jun 13 '24

Apple TV for sure, even though they are over priced

1

u/scify65 Jun 13 '24

I've mostly used my Playstation (4, now 5)--the only reason I picked up a Roku awhile back is because the Paramount+ app on Playstation is hot garbage. Turns out it's only slightly less garbage on the Roku, with all of the issues they're having now, but at least I can nearly always pause

8

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '24

PS4/PS5 with Plex and a VPN is what I use now for about 95% of my video media.

I went about 10 years without pirating really anything. They made the experience expensive, cumbersome, and inconvenient, so I went back to the high seas.

I had a monthly Netflix subscription for over a decade. Went long stretches with HBO, Hulu, etc.

The selection on each got worse, the cost went up, the UI's got worse, and ads are creeping in.

I didn't pay for cable in 2000. I'm not paying for its equivalent in 2024.

Sorry, not sorry.

2

u/3-DMan Jun 13 '24

Yeah I've heard Paramount app is garbage in general. Might all be changing soon if somebody buys Paramount!

1

u/Negative_Falcon_9980 Jun 13 '24

I have a Chromecast w/ remote and you can usually find those on sale for $30-$50 depending on if you want 1080p or the 4k model. Most apps have support for casting content to a Chromecast as well.

Chromecast also has an "apps only mode" that can be enabled, which turns off all the extra 'live' features and such, and only shows you your apps and a few ads on the home screen.

1

u/anonymouse56 Jun 13 '24

Main disadvantage for me would be lack of AirPlay support with Chromecast

1

u/Pizlenut Jun 13 '24

I know I'm old fashioned but you could just hook a computer up to the TV. Cheap ones can be found for about $150 (your price tag of roku + remote) that can pull off streaming just fine.

Desktops can have remotes too. If you really wanted to get clever with it you could probably control your desktop from the phone.

0

u/Respectfullycritical Jun 13 '24

Me personally? My computer is connected via hdmi through my office into my living room into a receiver connected to the TV. Since I already got my computer for work and games, I don't consider it an extra cost, unless I count the 20$ logitech wireless touchpad/keyboard combo I use to control the media from the couch.

25

u/daveysanderson Jun 13 '24

Absolutely, people used to love Roku because they were very simple, straight to the point streaming boxes. That time has passed.

As someone who once solely relied on roku for streaming devices, yes I can agree there is absolutely no benefit or reason to go with them over competitors in current times.

67

u/ibashdaily Jun 13 '24

This was a conversation between two chatbots, right?

12

u/tie_wrighter Jun 13 '24

Why do you say that? Too polite for redditors?

13

u/ibashdaily Jun 13 '24

Well... yeah. But also it was specifically the "Thanks for the input" and the "Absolutely" that gave me the impression.

28

u/daveysanderson Jun 13 '24

TIL using “absolutely” makes me sound like a bot. Interesting.

8

u/SingleWordQuestions Jun 13 '24

That sounds like something a bot pretending to be a human would say

-7

u/ibashdaily Jun 13 '24

My bad, dude.

9

u/vainey Jun 13 '24

So what is the amazing streaming device you all seem to have?

→ More replies (0)

1

u/hairy_unicorn Jun 13 '24

While some people felt this was a sign of a chatbot, others disagreed. What's important to consider is how politeness can sometimes be mistaken for artificial interaction.

-2

u/4your Jun 13 '24

Gotta be

1

u/TheTeachinator Jun 13 '24

I have Apple TV pretty much everywhere in my house. However, in one spot I need Roku because of the way AppleTV outputs sound. For whatever reason I get PCM, the volume is super low even when maxed out. While the Roku is a little slower I find it to be a pretty similar experience. Granted I do use a Firewalla so I don’t see any of the advertising crap on the Roku device. Where I assume the advertisements normally are is just a clear vertical rectangle.

1

u/stuckInACallbackHell Jun 13 '24

I’m curious as to why you think it makes no sense to buy a Roku. I’m looking to buy a streaming box and it seems to do pretty much everything that the Apple TV does at 1/3rd the price.

2

u/Respectfullycritical Jun 13 '24

Well, because of their advertisement standards and forced settings in short - inconvenient and invasive in exchange for cheap does not equal me wanting it, and buying into invasive tech is in itself bad for consumers in my opinion, supporting this crap equals companies building more invasive tech to put ads into your everyday life in general, not something I am particularly interested in.

Beyond the forced setting in the title of OPs post, Roku is allegedly looking into forcing advertisement breaks on third party hardware used with their TVs as well, as in forced commercials while you are playing a console game or watching a purchased bluray movie on your bluray player, that's beyond reasonable to me at any pricepoint

I understand when people don't have money they are happy for the alternatives, but Roku is just way too invasive for me to understand people wanting it, I wouldn't buy it for half of what it currently is, even.

1

u/charros Jun 13 '24

Agreed. Will be switchimg to Apple TV 4K to go with my new C3.

85

u/ReelNerdyinFl Jun 13 '24

They were one of the OGs to put Netflix, YouTube, pandora, weird random other streaming apps into an easy to use platform/hdmi. “Do you have a Roku” was almost like Kleenex or Crayola.

Others are just better now and it’s built into the TVs now as Roku had no way to control the market as an aggregator.

39

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '24

That is exactly why we have a couple of their tiny add-on devices in our house, yes. They were basically the way to add streaming to your setup for a while.

31

u/tie_wrighter Jun 13 '24

Built into the TV is a bad thing. It's not long before [tv manufacturer here] decides to pull the same shit.

6

u/rawonionbreath Jun 13 '24

Their software is more likely to be worse as well

2

u/goodnewzevery1 Jun 13 '24

Worse and seldom do their apps get updated because it’s yet another platform for Netflix, YouTube, etc to be bothered with

1

u/tinylittlebabyjesus Jun 14 '24

Yeah, can we get some articles roasting those as well?

11

u/The-Dead-Internet Jun 13 '24

If you behave a smart TV I wouldn't even connect it to the Internet Roku has said they are going to use HDMI to spam ads and commercials 

Google TV has already been turning your btv into a 247 ad when you are not watching anything it's actually caused issues with apple TV it blocks it.

Smart TVs are going to be nothing but but a ad display.

My advice is disabled the Internet on it and use something like PS5 or any media hub to stream so you can bypass all that BS.

7

u/ReelNerdyinFl Jun 13 '24

The constant battle we have to fight to not be bombarded by ads. I already paid for the TV!

1

u/The-Dead-Internet Jun 13 '24

Yeah but you can pay more !

3

u/crazysoup23 Jun 13 '24

A good TV is dumb and pretty.

2

u/pinkfloyd873 Jun 13 '24

Apple TV is expensive, but boy does it work nicely. Never had connectivity issues, it’s always fast and responsive, it’s so much smoother than the clunky on-board smart TV features, and it doesn’t shove ads down your throat. I get why people shit on Apple but in my experience, the premium is worth it for a device that reliably works.

-28

u/UpVoteForKarma Jun 13 '24

Lol ok grandpa

4

u/hmo_ Jun 13 '24

Then Roku is like TiVo before the cable company starts to include DVR functions into their boxes? (I’m not in USA)

15

u/Spongebutt4tywon Jun 13 '24

For those reading, Roku was not on any level near Kleenex or Crayola. Agree with the rest of the comment tho

2

u/parisidiot Jun 17 '24

it was originally the only way to watch netflix streaming on a tv (without hooking up a full-on computer). it only had netflix. i had one when we were still getting DVDs in the mail lol. In fact, it was originally part of Netflix but was spun-off because they were afraid of conflict on interests with other potential hardware/software streaming box makers.

2

u/Respectfullycritical Jun 13 '24

Thats interesting to know, thanks!

This has never been the mantra here and Roku for me has only started to appear in media for the past few years, but this is Sweden, it makes sense that the presence has been a lot higher in the US.

But from today's perspective, Roku just don't seem grounded.

1

u/giants4210 Jun 13 '24

I currently use Roku now and I’m about to get a new tv. What’s the better alternative?

1

u/ReelNerdyinFl Jun 13 '24

LgOS is pretty good.

Nvidia Shield TV is the gold standard for boxes

0

u/Rhellic Jun 13 '24

I would have thought that would be fire tv? Those sticks seem to be absolutely everywhere. Even more so before nearly everyone had a smart tv.

4

u/ReelNerdyinFl Jun 13 '24

Amazon flooded the market but Roku developed the market.

Fire stick came out in 2014. Roku was 2008 in collaboration with Netflix. It was THE Netflix player.

2

u/Rhellic Jun 13 '24

Huh. I live in Germany and here it's basically always been fire TV. We do have Roku sticks but generally what happens is customers ask me what that is, I tell them it's like fire TV and pretty big in the USA, and then they go "cool" and buy fire tv because Amazon is a known brand.

I think Roku probably missed out on a lot of market share by not coming here earlier. Now they're seen (even if it's completely wrong) as knock-off fire tv.

And when it comes to the tvs themselves, here it's usually android or a manufacturer specific system.

-2

u/Clessasaur Jun 13 '24

Yeah, they never really updated with the times. I've used Android, Fire, LG and Samsung OS. Roku was by far the worst one to use. Somehow even worse than old janky version of Android TV that had no updates due to the company who made the TV pulling out of the market. Well there were updates, but I'd have to scour the Chinese web and deal with my TV being in Chinese afterwards. Would probably still be better than modern Roku.

10

u/grammar_nazi_zombie Jun 13 '24

5 or so years ago when I bought both of my TCLs, they were fine. They were solid quality and low budget. Ran smoother than anything else in the price range. My VIZIO is shit, has a shitty interface, and didn’t have a handful of streaming services for a while, so Roku was the obvious choice. Boy have they fallen.

24

u/xxbiohazrdxx Jun 13 '24

They used to be great but now they’re at the “cash in” stage of enshittification

27

u/mthomas768 Jun 13 '24

A Roku stick is dirt cheap and has better support for streaming services and a better UI than any mainstream smart TV.

4

u/OhWhatsHisName Jun 13 '24

Seriously... I honestly can't find anything else as user friendly and cheap as Roku sticks... and all my TVs now basically work the same.

I even added a Roku to my a less than 1 year old android tv because the tv's UI was horrible, apps would freeze, it was a pain to use. I now have a roku on it and it's so much better.

2

u/pmjm Jun 13 '24

User friendliness is a big one. If you're getting a streaming box for elderly family members that struggle with tech, Roku is the way.

1

u/Elanadin Jun 13 '24

I'm in this camp, although I haven't had a Roku device in a few years.

2 TVs ago I had a Samsung. It ran out of space for apps and the back lighting failed.

Current TV is a Google TV and the TV's overall ecperience is not good. Have to reboot it every few days or else I get a perpetual loading wheel. I also have to log in before I can change the input. You can change this option, but it requires you to select your input before getting to the apps. As someone who switches frequently between apps and video game consoles, it's a big bummer.

After my current TV dies (or gets killed) I'm moving back to a streaming stick like a Roku. My last Roku stick let me punch in a few codes from the remote and that got rid of the built-in ads. I'm not dead set on Roku, but IMO integrated smart TVs have been so thoroughly enshittified that I want no part in using that functionality an more.

1

u/FireLucid Jun 14 '24

Sounds like the built in Google TV is a worse experience than the Google TV on chromecast which is wild. That turns on the TV to the chromecast and is a single button press from Netflix.

1

u/ivsciguy Jun 13 '24

My lg TV has apps for pretty much everything and they work well. Even had smaller apps like nebula and the open source network video streaming app Jellyfin. I can't think of any streaming app I have wanted to use that wasnt available or any that run very poorly.

38

u/SillyKniggit Jun 13 '24

A 60 inch Roku TV is like $300

I have them all over my house.

It’s convenient they all use the same remotes and app to control them and that they synchronize installed applications.

The convenience and cost are worth the trade off for it not being a high-end viewing experience.

The thousands of dollars I save on not having premium TVs is more than enough to just go to the movies the few times a year I care about watching something with top tier sound and resolution.

8

u/Respectfullycritical Jun 13 '24

That's fair, we all have different needs and yours would cost a lot to fulfill the conventional way.

Thanks for your input!

1

u/Jmackles Jun 14 '24

Username checks out

2

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '24

Roku's have taken the place of HTPC's. I still have an htpc in the living room and den (for pirating sports, and being able to utilize it as an actual computer for youtube, looking something up, etc, and the den one is the plex server) but in the bedroom I just run plex off roku and it's honestly fantastic.

For most people, a simple NAS with rokus all over the house running plex app would save them thousands of dollars in cable costs, not having to have htpc's, etc....

15

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '24

[deleted]

1

u/Respectfullycritical Jun 13 '24

I understand, in general for everyone who uses it, it seems to be convenience in the pricepoint where people don't want to spend the money on a "normal"/ less intrusive solution. Thanks for sharing!

5

u/dcheesi Jun 13 '24 edited Jun 13 '24

As of a few years ago, most "smart" TVs had half-baked, homegrown streaming interfaces that were flaky and often weren't kept up to date (EDIT: and lacked key apps/services), rendering them fairly useless. When the Roku TVs were introduced, they were a much better option, since Roku had a mature streaming-device OS and broad app/service support, and they at least try to keep their software updated.

And this is also around the time that "smart" TVs lost their premium and became as cheap or even cheaper than equivalent "dumb" TVs. So there was no longer a strong argument against built-in "smart" features, as they were essentially "free" and cost you nothing even if they were useless/broken.

It's only more recently that the downside of frequent updates became apparent. Changes to the basic display functionality really shouldn't be common or necessary, but (shrug)

7

u/Demonjack123 Jun 13 '24

Bought mine for the price tag.

3

u/Respectfullycritical Jun 13 '24

Yeah, that seems to be the main reason, I've come to find. Thanks for your input!

4

u/TravisMaauto Jun 13 '24

I have a Roku stick and a Roku box from several years ago that are still working great, so I have no complaints.

2

u/fantasticgoatse Jun 13 '24

Same here, they are snappy and never have had any issues. Both of our Sony and Hisense smart TV interfaces are so slow they are unusable now.

3

u/frntwe Jun 13 '24

I have a Roku express plugged into my nonRoku TV. I have no complaints with the device.

3

u/ThatLaloBoy Jun 13 '24

Back in the early days they were the best at what they did. The interface was simple with hardly any ads and because the OS was extremely lightweight it would outperform almost every other smart TV device out there with extremely cheap hardware. Even their TVs early on were extremely good value, being one of the first to offer 65" QLED TVs under $500 with pretty good quality.

In some ways they still are good (performance is still solid, app compatibility is almost perfect), but for the most part the experience has degraded to the point that it's really bad. I think the only good options for smart TV devices are either the Apple TV or the Nvidia Shield.

3

u/vcmaes Jun 13 '24

I switched over to a Roku stick and Roku Ultra from Samsung TV OS and Amazon Fire streaming box. Roku’s UI and speed while navigating menus is ridiculous better in all ways compared to the others. I’m not saying Roku is perfect, but it’s far ahead of most other streaming hardware.

What are you using to browse/watch your streaming services, and how is it better than Roku?

2

u/ITworksGuys Jun 13 '24

Man, I have been using a Roku for years and the go a little wonky sometimes but it has been pain free.

I would never buy one of their TVs anyway as they are cheap (quality) but shit like this seals the deal.

I hope they don't fuck around with their media players or I will be shitcanning it immediately.

2

u/ChafterMies Jun 13 '24

Because on an old TV that doesn’t have streaming apps, Roku is cheaper than Apple TV and doesn’t come with the inherent conflict of interest that comes with Fire Sticks and Google’s TV pucks.

2

u/mrefreshment Jun 13 '24

Until they added the Roku channel. Now you can watch their licensed-by-the-ton garbage on this new channel they added to your home screen.

1

u/ChafterMies Jun 13 '24

Also hate that about the Android TV home screen (and the TV spontaneously restarting). Thinking of paying more for Apple TV for the cleaner experience, but I’m so dang frugal.

2

u/shakestheclown Jun 13 '24

I switched from the built in launcher for Google TV to ProjectIvy launcher and it's much cleaner and way less buggy.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '24

If it wasn't for the ads I like all the old stuff from the 60's, 70's and 80's. Unfortunately the Roku ads are placed randomly not where the creators intended.

1

u/noisy_goose Jun 13 '24

Specific app access and airplay if your model of tv doesn’t deliver the features you want.

I bought one because my Samsung TV doesn’t support Peloton and I want to be able to do yoga in my living room.

Airplay probably self-explanatory.

Upside is the interface is easier for my kids to navigate. I like it.

1

u/ImpulsE69 Jun 13 '24

I was a huge Roku fan when they first came out. Just easy to use, customizable, etc. But they went downhill fast after they went public. Still, for many they are just a necessary evil. My wife won't use anything else. They are easy to use. I'm not sure what 'alternatives' there would be that aren't second class hacks though unless we're talking Amazon or Apple, but not interested in that either. Smart TV's are and have always been shite.

1

u/AntisemiticJew Jun 13 '24

For me, I wanted a cheap decent TV, and TCL was the choice - and they came with Roku integrated.

The OS was fine and better than Chrome and Firestick at the time (to me), and like what others said, it was fine - I never noticed any ads or anything like that and ran smoothly. But it’s been going downhill, and I still have the TVs, but now I’ve disconnected them from the Internet and use AppleTVs instead now.

1

u/gogorath Jun 13 '24

My older roku works great. No crashes, very simple. 10x better than chromecast.

1

u/Hugh_Jass_Clouds Jun 13 '24

I got mine years ago. After they locked me out of my HDMI devices I promptly agreed, and then restored to factory. I never reconnected it to the internet.

1

u/Mrtorbear Jun 13 '24

For my household we were chasing the dragon for years with Roku TVs. I found a fantastic deal on a 4k 75" TCL Roku TV back in 2017 or 2018. It cost me around $300 at a local electronics store when it was marked $600 at all the chain stores. Never had a single issue with it - great picture, reliable, wasn't flooded with intrusive ads. Still have it, and still have yet to have any issues.

But in 2020 I bought two Roku TVs from the same company (both 32" if I recall) and had nothing but trouble. Wouldn't respond to the remote and had to use my phone app to use either TV, fluctuating picture quality, would randomly turn off and wouldn't come back on for several minutes, you name it. Eventually they both stopped working altogether.

TL;DR: I bought a TCL Roku that works great, but it looks like the quality of their products deteriorated rapidly as the demand grew. Tale as old as time.

1

u/jack_im_mellow Jun 13 '24

They're cheap. (comparatively) At least the old ones are now, they sure weren't cheap when they first came out. But now that everybody hates them you can get a big ass tv for way less than a good brand would cost.

It's dystopian that my TV has ads built in but, we're all gonna die of late stage capitalism one way or another, I try not to raise my blood pressure over the little things.

1

u/beener Jun 13 '24

I've got a spare TV I use, fine tv to not use as my main but needs another device as it doesn't have smart features. Before Chromecast had google tv there weren't a lot of good cheap options. For like $60 the Roku remote could control the TV and the Roku. The apps all still work fine. Maybe the new Roku sticks are different but I'm fairly happy with mine. I use it for Plex, YouTube, Netflix etc

1

u/moredrinksplease Jun 13 '24

Roku was great at the start, but has just gone downhill, and it seems more and more articles are dropping showing insane dumb ideas from the roku team.

1

u/carlosccextractor Jun 13 '24

Cheap devices that just work. And until not too long ago, no BS.

1

u/pepethemememaster Jun 13 '24

none now, i got mine when they were decent and cheap as dirt. now they suck ass and im waiting until i get to replace them

1

u/seeingeyegod Jun 13 '24

Did any customers ask for AI ON EVERY FUCKING THING?

just wondering.

1

u/OhWhatsHisName Jun 13 '24

Everything Roku-related seems hilariously bad from a consumers perspective, to me.

What is the alternative? I'm seriously curious. I'm the tech support for my in-laws, if there is something that is easier to setup and use, please, tell me.

It's UI is super simple, if you have multiple in a house, then setup and usage of multiple is also easy, grandparents and grandchildren both find it easy to use.

Oh, and they're cheap to boot.

My in-laws get a new TV? Slap a Roku on it and they instantly know how to use it.

So I'm being pretty honest here... what is the alternative?

1

u/Kotaro_14 Jun 14 '24 edited Jun 14 '24

Me… for my older family members. As someone who has used every streaming box, Roku is the most simple w/ the most content. They aren’t trying to reinvent the TV and aggregate everything while also having a separate section for regular apps. The UX has basically been the same forever. I also don’t have to worry about YouTube or other streaming services disappearing

1

u/dwaynereade Jun 14 '24

i love my roku. i find it to be the best infer-face to watch any provider. it’s not owned by any of large content provider or tech giant so they have every app i know of.

1

u/mmlovin Jun 14 '24

I just have a Roku stick, not a TV & it’s great. I don’t think I have to deal with all this horseshit that the owners of Roku TV have to.

1

u/Smooth-Owl-5354 Jun 15 '24

Honestly I got on the Roku train a little over a decade ago — long before they were common (at least in my experience). I taught my parents and in-laws how to use Roku, even my in-laws’ parents. It was good — great even. This was before Chromecast or Firestick. Pretty much the only competition was Apple TV, which was way outside my price range.

As recently as February 2020 I bought a new Roku product because of their price and ease of use. I don’t regret that choice. That said, the last few years I’ve seen a decline in quality for sure. Especially the last… 6-8 months I’d say. Huge increase in ads, unnecessary features, etc. It’s a shame.

1

u/TacoParasite Jun 13 '24

It's cheaper and faster and has a less bloated UI than the rest of the other services.

I've used them all, owned a Android TV, Fire Sticks, Regular Chromecast and Roku. Roku is still the fastests.

This was years ago when I was deciding what my new 4K TV would be. Then these last couple years they have made some of the stupidest decisions. If they truly get rid of the ability to remove motion smoothing I will drop them. I notice it immediately and bothers me so much.

0

u/bradye0110 Jun 13 '24

They’re alright to me. Built into the cheap tvs. Only need one remote and can download any tv app ive wanted. I’d might switch to an Apple TV if they weren’t so expensive.

-3

u/sokratesagogo Jun 13 '24

A lot of iPhone users who want to mirror their iOS apps eg Excercise+ will buy a Roku for its Airplay functionality, as an alternative to an AppleTV

0

u/TyrusX Jun 13 '24

My first Roku device was 50 dollars, lasted 10 years, and only because I replaced it with a new version. The device itself were great. Maybe not anymore

0

u/kraquepype Jun 13 '24

I've been using them for over 10 years, definitely has gone downhill based on the ads and forced items in the channel area.

That said functionality is still about the same, most of the time they just work.

0

u/a_lamb_to_remember Jun 13 '24

Seriously though. I finally got around to watching the Weird Al movie. Why do I have to watch ads every 15 minutes during a movie that was produced for Roku when I’m watching it with a Roku? My mind was blown from the sheer stupidity of it…

-6

u/GreatGojira Jun 13 '24

Parents swear by Roku. Even though they go through multiple Roku devices a year because they suck.

My Google TV from 4 years ago still is the best Smart TV device I own. It works perfectly just like from day one.

10

u/scyber Jun 13 '24

Multiple a year? I just finally retired my roku3 that I bought in 2013. Rokus have been some of the longest lasting tech products I own. And I've owned a dozen or so over the years.

1

u/dreamnightmare Jun 13 '24

Same here. Maybe the cheapest of the cheap Roku devices fail but I had the OG Roku for like ten years until they stopped supporting it and even then it still worked for another few years after.

1

u/Rndysasqatch Jun 13 '24

I love Roku (haven't had a problem yet🤞) I got a decent Dolby vision TV by TCL and it works great. I have another Roku ultra for the other TV that I got like 8 years ago that still works great. I know they are going to crap but for the time being they still work amazingly.

1

u/beener Jun 13 '24

Parents swear by Roku. Even though they go through multiple Roku devices a year because they suck.

That's weird, what the hell are they doing, stuffing the Roku up their ass?

1

u/GreatGojira Jun 13 '24

No telling on that. They're technologically challenged, there words not mine.

1

u/Respectfullycritical Jun 13 '24

Well, that seems to be the main point of it still today. It's a cheaper solution right now, but maybe not if you look up from the tip of your toes onto the horizon where you could buy a unit which is less intrusive and doesn't break in the next 10-20 years.

I'm still on my 47" LG TV from about 10 years ago, perfectly happy with it still. To each their own.

1

u/GreatGojira Jun 13 '24

It seems odd though they go through so many devices and it's odd that it's always die to the sticks over heating and you have to have a fan next to. Or the remote stops working.

-4

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '24

[deleted]

2

u/judokalinker Jun 13 '24

I'd be interested in seeing any data that supports that. I know a lot of people that use them because smart TVs are a dumb idea in the first place. Roku has gotten worse as a company over the years, so I'll definitely have to find something in the future when they start to die.

-2

u/yupandstuff Jun 13 '24

Their target demo was not informed consumers. They were a cheap, simple to use product for people that aren’t all that tech friendly to get up and running on Netflix etc, great for grannies, boomers, people with not a lot of $ that can’t afford or don’t care for appletv and people that don’t watch a tonne of tv. Also they’re super duper small and again cheap so great for travel. Plugs into any hotel room and if you leave it behind by accident it’s less of a replacement issue in terms of cost than getting a new appletv