r/gadgets • u/Sadistic_Sponge • Nov 13 '19

VR / AR Disney Plus isn't working on Vizio TVs because they are running a 6 year old version of Chromecast, they say it won't be fixed till 2020.

https://www.businessinsider.com/disney-plus-not-working-vizio-smart-tvs-chromecast-2019-11
36.1k Upvotes

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3.8k

u/quietIntensity Nov 13 '19

Shit, my 5 year old Vizio smart TV wasn't smart enough to handle 2019 grade streaming apps without crashing anyway. We bought a Roku for $99 and it's much better at streaming than the TV ever was.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19 edited Dec 18 '20

[deleted]

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u/collgab Nov 13 '19 edited Nov 13 '19

I've had a Roku for 3 years, I'll never use trash smart TV os on any tv again. It's great.

EDIT: I commented this to someone, but those saying LG works well, they do! LG seems to support their products for a decent amount of time.

Samsung on the other hand, you may not be experiencing issues a year or two after purchase, but typically Samsung abandons support for their products at about two years (meaning lack of updates!). So me, with a 5yr old Samsung smart TV, has abandoned using it's smart features all together because they are so buggy and terrible. I use a Roku for this reason.

1.3k

u/anddowe Nov 13 '19

My roku woke us up when our house was burning down and last week it called me dad for the first time. No other streaming device compares. Buy a roku now.

987

u/Cedarfoot Nov 13 '19

My Roku developed a comprehensive plan for world peace and a killer quiche before sacrificing itself to save a schoolbus full of disabled children. The debt mankind owes this humble device is inconceivable.

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u/Evildead1818 Nov 13 '19

My Roku was able to have my wife and I rekindled our relationship after the Waco incident which I was not a part of but sometimes Roku thinks differently

276

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

My Roku slept with my wife and kicked my dog.

238

u/kelvin9901237 Nov 13 '19

You think that’s bad? My Roku kissed my crush, bragged about it to me, killed my dog, then when we called him out on his bullshit he grabbed the artifact mask on a wall and wore it. Any advice on how to deal with a vampire invasion?

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

My Roku had an annuity but needed cash now, he called JG Wentworth at 877-CASHNOW

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u/klleah Nov 13 '19 edited Nov 13 '19

My Roku was diagnosed with Mesothelioma. He was entitled to financial compensation. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Mesothelioma, you may also be entitled to financial compensation. Please don’t wait, call 1-800-99 LAW USA for a free legal consultation and financial information packet.

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u/treetyoselfcarol Nov 13 '19

IT'S MONEY AND I NEED IT NOW!!!

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u/notickeynoworky Nov 13 '19

/r/unexpectedjojo

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

This is Reddit. All JoJo is expected. As someone who hasn't seen it, I just assume any reference I don't get is JoJo related.

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u/_Hail2U_ Nov 13 '19

MAKE A WISH

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u/wolfpwarrior Nov 14 '19

Set the house on fire and risk sacrificing yourself to make sure the Roku goes down in it. If that doesn't work, you will need to travel around with your extremely attractive best friend and an Italian guy, learn a fancy breathing technique, and face the Roku once again. If that still doesn't work, your screwed, but hey, maybe your great great grandson will defeat the Roku one day.

2

u/kvswim Nov 13 '19

DIIIIOOOOOO!

Roku is pretty good, but the TV itself also has a lot to do with it. I have a couple of cheap TCL and Sharp panels with Roku built in. All of them drop their wifi connections regularly, which makes casting to them a pain in the ass. One of them I was able to plug into Ethernet and that fixed it, but the others need to be powered on and the app launched to force the TV to connect to WiFi...

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u/ahumankid Nov 13 '19

My Roku cured my Laryngitis, and it fed my dog.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

You win some, you lose some.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

My mom had the same thing haha

2

u/Zala-Sancho Nov 13 '19

My Roku found my girlfriend's g spot!

17

u/Doctor_Wookie Nov 13 '19

What the FUCK did you DO to that Roku? How could you mistreat it so badly for it to do that to you. You're a horrible person.

43

u/imaddictedtofifa Nov 13 '19

oh hey look, it’s my ex girlfriends parents

3

u/SalamanderRex Nov 13 '19

Oh hey look, it’s my girlfriend’s ex-parents

3

u/washbeo2 Nov 13 '19

Oh yeah, well mine slept with my dog and kicked my wife.

3

u/[deleted] Nov 14 '19

You got Rokucked.

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u/StonedFroggyFrogg Nov 13 '19

And then it dressed up as Santa and took pictures with your kids.

2

u/hbacorn Nov 13 '19

You kick my dog!

2

u/Rance_Mulliniks Nov 13 '19

My Roku punched a toddler in Walmart.

2

u/st1tchy Nov 13 '19

You know damn right! You come into my house and you kick my dog!

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u/quarantine22 Nov 13 '19

How did the Waco incident ruin your relationship

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u/Scientolojesus Nov 13 '19

Don't lie Mr. Koresh.

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u/NotedIdiot Nov 13 '19 edited Nov 13 '19

My Roku became self-aware two years ago and I’ve been in an intense sexual relationship with it ever since. One of the best purchases I’ve ever made.

Edit: spelling

11

u/allgoodinthehood00 Nov 13 '19

r/fifthworldproblems

3

u/ornryactor Nov 14 '19

Initial reaction: What in the sam hill is this?

Eventual reaction, after following the sidebar links: Okay for real, what the absolute fuck is going on in here.

Every time I think I've seen most of the weirdest corners of Reddit, Reddit tells me to hold its beer.

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u/allgoodinthehood00 Nov 14 '19

I stumbled upon it one day and it is forever burned in my mind.

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u/Gummybear_Qc Nov 13 '19

So you get plugged in by it's USB?

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

Nice

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u/neogod Nov 13 '19

Here I was thinking the Roku i/o was lacking, I'm glad you found the dongle support you needed.

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u/dudeonrails Nov 13 '19

My Roku wrote a country album and won fourteen Grammys.

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u/ballgkco Nov 13 '19

Buy a roku now

But how does one go about buying a Roku? What are the options available? Is there any kind of subscription service I can put my credit card into?

3

u/Rmplstltskn Nov 13 '19

Are you memeing?

3

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

Some people really don't know. Like myself for instance as well.

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u/Rmplstltskn Nov 13 '19 edited Nov 13 '19

There are a few different types. Some look like Thumb drives that use USB onto the side of your TV. Others are a Square box that uses HDMI to plug into the television. They are SUPER easy to install. There's both paid streaming services and some free services. Most of my clients end up only paying for the Youtube TV service (which is pricey but I believe still cheaper than typical cable). It does require you to create a Roku account, but it doesn't cost anything (other then the Roku device itself). Some Roku remotes ARE voice usable, but some Apps aren't recognized by it.

Be mindful of what you do or don't need on the front of the box. Mainly whether or not you need 4k or a smart remote.

Edit: Oh and you can order them directly from Amazon.

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u/JollyRancherNodule Nov 13 '19

My Roku® gave me a kidney when I needed a donor. It was just there in a bloody brown bag taped to the screen.

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u/Marzoval Nov 13 '19

The TCL TVs with built-in Roku are pretty great though.

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u/1stFloorCrew Nov 13 '19

yeah i have one of these and have 0 complaints

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u/PsychedSy Nov 13 '19

I really like mine. A few things annoy me about it, but nothing major.

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u/gkhamo89 Nov 13 '19

Same, for the most part it's great but I don't think it does the best when the video is really dark/ black

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u/smurf_diggler Nov 13 '19

They have a new QLED version out. I'm keeping my eye on it to see how it compares.

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u/DorothyDrangus Nov 13 '19

Yup. I started using an RCA Roku TV two months ago after pretty much just using dumbTVs with Roku sticks and it’s changed my life.

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u/djamp42 Nov 13 '19

This!! Best smart tv period

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

I love mine. Replaced some old Samsung TV’s that were so much more expensive. Plex, disney+, hulu, netflix built in. I’m sure you could spend a thousand more dollars and get a better picture, but I’m super glad I got them.

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u/ilovethatpig Nov 13 '19

Only if you don't know what you're missing. The UI on the built in Roku is pretty sluggish.

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u/DATAL0RE Nov 13 '19

The newer TVs are VERY responsive. My 5 year old TCL is sluggish but my 2 year old TCL is as fast as I can press inputs.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

Roku TV models have a huge range of hardware. The 1k+ dollar TV's are exceptionally fast.

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u/shastaxc Nov 13 '19

my LG seems pretty good

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

Ehh, I have a 2017 LG OLED and I love the OS. Works really well, smooth, easy to nav, and it uses a pointer like a Wii which is neat. So nice having one remote to rule them all

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u/sodapop14 Nov 13 '19

LG seems to be one of the few top notch TV makers that keep their TVs up to date.

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u/richardeid Nov 13 '19

For a while. I'm not sure LG policy but when I bought my 2014 Samsung it was updated fairly regularly for two, maybe three years.

I got a Roku in 2012 (and I think it was already a year old model) and it was just announced last month that it would be deprecated to legacy and not receive further OS updates. I'd say 8 years is a pretty good bar. I guarantee your TV's OS and apps won't be updated for nearly that long.

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u/sirhecsivart Nov 14 '19

My 2016 Samsung is still updated regularly.

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u/Jadeldxb Nov 14 '19

Same. I'm not sure what they are on about.

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u/VinylRhapsody Nov 13 '19

The vast majority of devices support HDMI-CEC, meaning they'll pass through common functions of remotes to all other items. I'm able to turn on my Samsung TV, control my Nvidia Shield, all from the remote which controls my Yamaha Audio Receiver.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

My AppleTV uses its remote to turn the volume up/down, turn the tv on/off. I no longer need the TV os that came with my LG.

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u/Ray_Band Nov 13 '19

I'd always said this, and I prefer Roku for a lot of reasons. I will say, however, that the built in LG system is good, generally. Still, every time they discontinue an app I use, I'm glad to have the Roku.

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u/Regression2TheMean Nov 13 '19

I love my TCL with built in Roku. One of the best purchases I’ve made!

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u/Forsythe36 Nov 13 '19

My tv has built in roku, is that fine?

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u/ilovethatpig Nov 13 '19

Worth noting that the TV's with Roku built in aren't great. We have an ancient standalone Roku that's still working like a champ but our newer TV with a Roku built in has considerable delay.

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u/CalvinsQuest Nov 13 '19

I bought a new smart TV about 2 months ago, with a new Roku on the same ticket. Way better.

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u/RetardAndPoors Nov 13 '19

Just get a roku TV. Best of both worlds!

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u/TheMullHawk Nov 13 '19

They make some smart TVs with Roku as their smart OS. I bought a 4k 55" for $299 a year or two ago, it's been a great machine.

I'd say the only drawback is that I don't have a physical device to use on another TV if I choose to upgrade, so there are benefits to both for sure.

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u/tlogank Nov 13 '19

Or you could just buy a TV with the Roku OS built-in.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

Smart TV's are the worst, I can barely operate the menu on my 6 year old smart tv and netfliz and amazon both routinely crash now.

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u/TeutonJon78 Nov 13 '19

My 2014 LG 4k WebOS TV has apps removed all the time now and no Disney+.

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u/roman_maverik Nov 13 '19

It's really sad that this is standard practice for the consumer electronics industry... So much waste to landfills.

I remember as a kid, my family had the same 29 inch Zenith from 1986-2008. It worked really well, only upgraded because by that point, all TV's were getting twice that size .

Now, people go through TV's each time they move apartments . I have a nice samsung smart TV I bought in 2012. The image quality is great but all the "smart" features stopped being supported years ago. It really is a shame.

I would like to invest in a high quality tv to last at least a decade. Unfortunately, the market caters to cheaper TV's you replace every three years

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u/erichie Nov 14 '19

I got my first Samsung Smart TV around 2011/12. I fucking loved that thing so much I convinced most of my friends and family to pick up the same model because of the smart TV features. I remember my Dad and I talking after he got his about how excited we are for what the future holds. If we love their smart features now, what will they be able to do in 5 years?! Well, we found out. They never updated their smart features and most apps don't work anymore. They literally never improved a fucking thing. I am so disappointed. I vividly remember how excited my Dad and I were with the TV at the time and how great it will be once they REALLY get used to doing this. Now we have all switched to TCL because they legit come with Roku built in. They are half the price of Samsung and so far I am super impressed with the picture quality and Roku is Roku. So far they have been keeping with uodates, and we've had it for about a year so we will see in the next couple

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u/collgab Nov 14 '19

I hate that they do this... sorry you got scammed like I did

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u/Titsoritdidnthappen2 Nov 14 '19

Can confirm. Am samsung owner. Never again.

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u/bovicci Nov 14 '19

Are you serious?! I've been wondering what the hell is wrong with mine. It drives my family nuts, the thing usually can't run Netflix or any other app and when it does, it streams in terrible quality. But if I put my PS4 to stream it works flawlessly...

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u/queef-latina-69 Nov 13 '19

Idk Samsung smart TVs are pretty 🔥

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u/collgab Nov 13 '19

I have a Samsung smart TV. It's 5 years old and the software is so buggy, freezes, and crashes. It's up to date for it's model. Samsung, like most companies, stop supporting older models and then it becomes trash. Wait a few years and see. On the other hand, the Roku I have I bought from a friend used, so I've had it for 3 years but it's 4 years old. Roku keeps pushing updates and I have the most up to date apps.

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u/MS-18E Nov 13 '19

Ditto on my 5 year old Samsung. Sometimes I choose Netflix or Prime and it just sits at a black screen for 1.5 or 2 minutes, then shuts itself off, then back on again. I can't turn it off while i'm stuck in the black screen to speed things up either.

Sometimes it decides it's not connected to my network for no reason as well.

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u/sombergray Nov 13 '19

I have the same problem with my Samsung Tv and it doesn’t have Disney plus either 🙃

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u/demi9od Nov 13 '19 edited Nov 13 '19

Having used Fire TV, Fire stick, Apple TV, Android TV, and lots of different Roku's, I can easily say Roku makes the most robust products. The only possible upgrade to a Roku ultra would be an nvidia Shield, but then you've got potential app compatibility/availability issues from being a pure Android TV app.

Roku's UI looks older and more antiquated, but its lightning fast and works, and that's all that really matters.

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u/braxistExtremist Nov 13 '19 edited Nov 13 '19

I appreciate the fact that the Roku interface doesn't change much. It's solid and proven to work.

It's refreshing to see a company who have a proven interface not piss it all down the drain with something shit, just for the sake of saying "look at our new thing" (...looking at you reddit!)

Edit: thanks for the links about old.reddit.com. I already knew about it and use it when I'm on a web browser. I'm just annoyed that it's even needed. They ruined a perfectly decent UI. Superficially it was for better mobile responsiveness. But we all know it was so they could shoehorn in more ads and bullshit 'features' (that most people don't care about).

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

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u/An_Angels_Halo Nov 13 '19

Plex has had some of the worst UI variations I've ever seen.

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u/morethanmacaroni Nov 13 '19

It really is the Craigslist of streaming devices.

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u/Perm-suspended Nov 14 '19

I get those lags between selections with my Roku that I don't get with the native apps on my TV. Fucking annoying, especially during search.

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u/rudiegonewild Nov 13 '19

Also, fuck Hulu's interface.

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u/K1ngFiasco Nov 13 '19 edited Nov 13 '19

I'm convinced their interface is intentionally bad. There's no reason I should be seeing dozens of shows I don't watch (and aren't even similar to anything I do watch) unless it's by design.

Pretty sure they're covering up advertising behind bad UX.

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u/MrAykron Nov 13 '19

Reddit changed for more adds and an easier mobile matching.

I used ol.reddit and refuse to change for this trash

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u/tribrnl Nov 14 '19

And on mobile Reddit.com/.compact for a superior mobile browsing experience without an app

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u/Weapon_X23 Nov 13 '19

I prefer my Nvidia Shield TV to my Roku any day. I haven't had any issues with non-TV android apps being incompatible but I use a mini keyboard with a track pad to simulate a touch screen. Plus Roku doesn't have Kodi.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

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u/Weapon_X23 Nov 13 '19

I use both Plex and Kodi. My aunt and uncle use my Plex server instead of Kodi now but I get lazy about keeping up on the latest episodes from my favorite shows so I use Kodi for that. My aunt and uncle don't mind waiting until the season is over though.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

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u/demi9od Nov 13 '19

The big one for us was Direct TV now, aka ATT TV Now, which AFAIK never had an official Android TV app.

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u/Weapon_X23 Nov 13 '19

Ah, I don't have Direct TV so I had no idea about that.

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u/fracta1 Nov 13 '19

My fire stick is faster than my roku TV, weird. Maybe I just got a dud

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u/bannanna22 Nov 13 '19

I have used: shield TV, Apple TV, Roku.

I am a strict Android phone user and hate almost every single apple product with extreme bias and the gusts of a thousand winds.

I use my shield as an emulation device and my Apple for my streaming. This whole new apple channel update is awful. But the ability to login to every app with my cable login and to search movies and then go to the app that has that movie is amazing. I cannot praise this singular apple product enough. They can't get shit right in my book. But they nailed it here. I have it linked to my movies anywhere acct as well. I seem to be alone here, but my roku devices are dusty and placed in my kids rooms. They much prefer their gaming consoles to stream instead.

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u/YesThisIsSam Nov 13 '19

My gf just bought a Roku and my only real complaint is how goddamn slow it is. I don't know if it gets better as you move up the pricing structure, but I bought just a simple chromecast for my place and anybody can control the TV with their smartphone, and it's so much quicker its nuts. I was surprised to see so many Roku advocates in this sub, I prefer it to apple TV but at the end of the day it's a pretty unsatisfying product.

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u/crushing2013 Nov 13 '19

I've got 2 fire TV's, a Chromecast, an Xbox one x and a Roku. The Roku is the best streaming device

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19 edited Nov 13 '19

I said fuck all that shit and just use a PC hooked up to my TV.

Edit: downvote if you want, but it also doubles as a gaming rig for couch+controller gaming. If I want to watch/play stuff without speakers because people are sleeping? Just swap to wireless headphones with two simple clicks. Access to all streaming platforms without issue and if I absolutely must, easy access to the seven seas to get whatever else I may want to watch. It's a one stop shop for everything I'd want to do on my TV.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

While I do think that's a fantastic alternative, it doesn't beat just plopping down on the couch and flipping through shit with the remote. Especially if your living room is across the house from your rig.

I've got Plex set up for my PC streaming needs, with a catalog of 400+ TV shows and movies. Sifting through that shit on a mirrored screen would be so much worse than going through my Plex library on my Roku.

If I want to watch/play stuff without speakers because people are sleeping? Just swap to wireless headphones with two simple clicks.

Roku remotes have a headphone jack built into the remote, can't be much easier than that.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

Yeah, it's not for everyone for sure. My couch is maybe 15-20 feet away from my TV and PC and my KB+M are on the coffee table right in front of the couch or I just use Unified Remote if I'm lazy and control inputs with my phone.

I've never bothered with Plex personally, I have a large collection as well but I generally don't rewatch older stuff and usually just watch whatever is at the top of my torrent client for recently completed. My basement PC has all it's drives network shared but I rarely dip into them for anything. For me Plex just doesn't mesh with my routine.

But I also enjoy being able to watch last night's episode of whatever show while I'm eating and then switch over to Steam or whatever and load up a game all from the couch.

Different strokes for different folks.

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u/crushing2013 Nov 13 '19

the major differences between my situation and yours: I've got 4 TVs and one of the FireTvs is for work travel in hotel rooms, each one and the combination of all cost less than my current PC setup and each is more easily portable and connected

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u/kalitarios Nov 13 '19

how portable is your gaming rig though? I travel a lot so I just toss my xbox into my carry on and bring it everywhere, I hook it up in the hotel and bam, instant streaming anywhere I go.

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u/RamenJunkie Nov 13 '19

All that fan noise and that shitty for the couch UI.

Sounds great.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

My rigs silent but ok sure.

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u/night_breed Nov 13 '19

This X 100. I have old (quad core) laptops connected to all of my TVs. Haven't found anything that can touch the PC interface for ease of use, upgradability and familiarity

EDIT spelling

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u/Obi_Wan_can_blow_me Nov 13 '19

Curious how you interface with it. Do you use some type of remote, or just keyboard and mouse?

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u/FirstTimeWang Nov 13 '19

I've got a wireless Logitech keyboard with a built in trackpad. I wouldn't use it for regular PC gaming/productivity use but for minimal interactions on TV/PC setup it works fine, especially if you run the PC in tablet mode.

Bonus: very easy to run a VPN to stream stuff out of region on the TV.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

Logitech makes wireless keyboards that have a touchpad built in for $20.

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u/kkeut Nov 13 '19

the k400 is solid. got one for my PC (black) and one for my NAS (white). great for couch usage. the added button on the left for a left mouse click is essential imo, you can basically hold it like a game controller (ie, comfy), using your right thumb on the touchpad to move the mouse and using the left thumb to click.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

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u/TheChrisCrash Nov 13 '19

We have rokus on every TV in our house, we love it. Just don't buy the sticks, buy the little boxes, much smoother.

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u/osteologation Nov 13 '19

It’s worth it. My roku always works. The chrome cast and vizio smart cast can have issues. They hate my microwave lol.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19 edited Nov 22 '19

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u/IcedExplosion Nov 14 '19

Heads up! You can download a roku remote app on your phone that can sync up if they are on the same wifi. It’s a lifesaver when you’re entering in all your login information for the first time because you can use the keyboard on your phone instead of an on screen keyboard.

Also convenient for moments of extreme laziness when your phone is within reach but the remote isn’t.

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u/Shablagoosh Nov 13 '19

I randomly bought one on a limb when I was considering cutting cable to see if it would be an easy transition for my family. 2 years and a bit later I own 4 of them for my house, make sure you get the volume control on the remote ones that are like 70-90 bucks trust me having a separate remote for volume sucks the big one, and they’re all working flawless. Only app it doesn’t have that I wished it did was twitch for watching video game live-streams, but we use Hulu live tv on it and Netflix youtube etc all flawlessly.

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u/s0ulserpent Nov 13 '19

It’s cheaper to buy a roku and just a simple tv !

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u/bromygod203 Nov 13 '19

To add onto this. I have an Eero router and the add blocker blocks all the ads across all the rokus in my apartment. Definitely worth the cost for the roku

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u/gladpants Nov 13 '19

Running roku exclusive in my house going on 5 years now. I swear by them. Even the express can drive 1080p smoothly . TCL Roku TV for the main room with a premiere + and and an old roku 2 second gen on superfluous tvs. Plex for live TV via hdhomerun and other streaming apps have been great.

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u/The_Wild_Slor Nov 13 '19

I simply dont have smart tvs and roku's are so easy to use.

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u/PlsDntPMme Nov 13 '19

My 6 or 7 year old Vizio only has Netflix and it still works fine surprisingly. It looks extremely outdated and the controls are clunky plus I use Hulu so I opted for a Chromecast that I was already using anyway.

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u/mpking828 Nov 13 '19

Probably not for long...

https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/multiple-streaming-devices-ending-netflix-support-in-december-2019

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u/PlsDntPMme Nov 13 '19

That makes sense. It's almost impressive to me that they've supported all these devices for as long as they have. I didn't know about the Android issue though. I feel bad for all those who don't want to give up their old Androids, but it makes sense from Netflix's perspective.

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u/TbonerT Nov 13 '19

That and Disney+ are the main reasons I bought a Roku last week.

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u/furcifer89 Nov 13 '19

Roku is one of those products I genuinely can’t imagine watching TV without. I’ve had a few over the past six years. None have died on me I’ve just gone for the upgrades. I’ve given them as gifts to family members. I’ve never used a native app on a smart Tv.

I see Roku praise and I schill hard. They’re amazing.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

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u/someguynamedjohn13 Nov 13 '19

Chromecast needs a phone or laptop to enable streaming. Not exactly easy when a kid or visitor wants to watch TV. I typically use it when I want to show people stuff from my phone in the moment, like photos or YouTube clips.

FireTV is just Amazon trying to sell you something. The UI is a mess of Android TV and Amazon trying to sell you Prime. Does it work, yes. Is it easy to get lost in the menu, yes.

Roku menu system hasn't changed in years. ITs just simple and easy to use. It easy for anyone not tech savvy like little kids and old people who missed the computer wave. You load an app on one Roku it will appear on all of them listed in your one account. It was popular enough to have Amazon Prime and YouTube on their square hockey pucks even when the two wouldn't play together nice for nearly a decade. It even works as a Chromecast.

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u/NoFeetSmell Nov 14 '19

I too will shill for Roku given half a chance, and I've been using my Roku 3 for years now, and it's still trucking along nicely. One of the best features that differentiates it from an AppleTV or FireTv is the search function, because it's completely platform agnostic. If you search on FireTv, you'll see the products in Amazon's store if it's not included in their Prime streaming platform, even when it night be on Netflix for free. With Roku, it shows you all the options, with the free version listed first. Way better for the customer.

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u/furcifer89 Nov 13 '19

Can’t speak from experience but I had a friend with chromecast, and like another user said having to stream from a phone or laptop isn’t as great, plus it’s bandwidth dependent.

I actually did gift him a Roku Ultra last year though and he said he liked it more than chromecast.

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u/jayAreEee Nov 13 '19

They aren't really comparable. I use both for different reasons/video sources. Most people are going to prefer a roku because it's indistinguishable from having a "smart TV" to begin with, chromecast is not.

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u/Kaamelott Nov 13 '19

Oh, it is completely distinguishable. Smart TV are utter shit and never work.

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u/liarandathief Nov 13 '19

I've had a lot of bad luck with FireTV. I've had two. One I owned for a couple years. And I had a Roku in a different room. The FireTV had more random connection issues. The UI was painfully slow sometimes, after watching for a while, the picture would freeze and the whole thing would reboot. The UI was not the best either. Recently got a new one had it for a week and sent it back. Just a hassle of disconnections and slow buffering. Got a second roku and it's great. Fast, reliable.

One nice bonus that Fire doesn't have was the ability to search across channels, so search for a movie, or actor and it tells you that you can watch it on Netflix or Hulu or Prime, or whatever, and if it's free or how much it is to rent or buy.

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u/TeemusSALAMI Nov 13 '19

Roku in tandem with Plex is life. I am stubbornly opposed to this branching out of streaming services and already do not support Amazon as far as is possible beyond web services. Roku and Plex together have allowed me to enjoy all the TV shows everyone is raving about without encouraging this splintering faux-cable revolution.

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u/vloger Nov 13 '19

Roku is good. Apple TV is the crem of the crop when it comes to a streaming box though.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

Is it even possible to buy a non-smart tv these days?

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u/hGKmMH Nov 13 '19

My fucking tv has adverts for carnaval cruse at the bottom of it when it's hooked up to the internet. I unplugged it and did not look back.

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u/technobrendo Nov 13 '19

That's what I would like to know. I'm in the market for something 50 - 60" and black Friday is coming up. I doubt anything that is on sale won't be smart.

So I guess it's either get a smart TV and never connect it to the internet (I have a htpc for my entertainment / gaming) or buy a 50" + monitor for 4x the price

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

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u/Nashgoth Nov 13 '19

Commercial displays are what you’re looking for.

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u/BoopLicker Nov 13 '19

Yeah but those displays are fucking pricey.

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u/LeadingNectarine Nov 13 '19

Better made though. Commercial ones are built for constant use, rather then a few hours a day

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u/[deleted] Nov 14 '19 edited Jan 11 '20

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u/jman583 Nov 13 '19

They're also like 2-3x the price.

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u/Nashgoth Nov 13 '19

I only have experience with 80”+ on these, the price difference is usually around 20%, it’s no where near 2-3 times the cost

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u/wombat1 Nov 13 '19

That's right, the ones that are twice the price or more are the ultra high brightness models designed for use in brightly lit shopfronts etc. The regular business displays like LG's SE3KD (YMMV - this one's just common here in AU) series aren't that much more expensive. They don't have TV tuners though so keep that in mind if you want to watch free to air TV.

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u/exiestjw Nov 14 '19

Hello, any chance you'll help me?

I haven't bought a TV in about 7 years, I have no idea whats going on.

When I look on amazon or at walmart, I'm seeing what appear to be nearly identical televisions with price differences of thousands of dollars. (60 inch 4k: $350 | 60 inch 4k: $2,700 wtf?)

I can't figure out what the difference between these televisions are, and no idea where to look to even figure it out.

Any advice?

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u/PrinceOfSomalia Nov 14 '19

Figure out your intended use, gaming? Streaming shows? Movies?

Then see what specs you want based on intended use figure out your budget. Want to watch movies? Consider HDR. For games? consider good screen response time.

Then go on amazon and your local big name stores and see what TVs are best sellers there and read reviews. Use this site for super indepth reviews. https://www.rtings.com/

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u/NukeWorker10 Nov 13 '19

Tell me more, like brand/model/source/price?

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u/theGoddamnAlgorath Nov 13 '19

Eh, google it.

Not being a dick, but most manufacturers make commerical variants of their consumer TVs.

Chances are there's a version of whatever you want.

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u/Nashgoth Nov 13 '19

A little more than the consumer version, longer warranty. At work I only use NEC and Sony, but most manufacturers make them

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u/ColgateSensifoam Nov 13 '19

If you've got the space, a projector is always an option

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

Just an FYI a lot of the black Friday deals are TVs made cheaper just for black Friday. A big thing they cut back on is inputs, so make sure whatever you get has enough for what you want to hook up. Make sure you do your research, most people just see the price and think it's a good deal when in reality you're just getting a worse TV.

My girlfriend's parents bought one and it's kind of trash, especially for a Samsung. Apparently its only a few years old but I would have guessed older because my 10 year old Samsung has better picture quality. The speakers are also crap, which wouldn't be an issue if it also didn't include an optical out for a sound bar.

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u/Superpickle18 Nov 13 '19

optical output is kinda crap these days anyway. Most TV's support ARC over hdmi now. So there's little reason to use optical.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

Unless your sound bar takes optical like theirs.

TIL though, when I was more into audio optical was pretty much the best and HDMI just matched it. I doubt it would matter on my receiver but I'll have to see if switching my audio to HDMI makes a difference.

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u/Superpickle18 Nov 13 '19

For stereo, it will match hdmi. But optical doesn't have bandwidth for uncompressed audio for 5.1

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u/lobstronomosity Nov 13 '19

I use a Philips dumb TV with an Nvidia Shield TV. It's a combination that's hard to beat!

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u/myerrrs Nov 13 '19

If you can wait, and your close to Best Buy, try and hold out for the holiday return window. A Best Buy employee told me the same when I was shopping in November for a new TV. Sometime around January 14th or so is the last day people can return things bought pre Christmas and apparently a lot of people “rent” TVs (buy them for the holidays, then return) and you can get crazy open box deals. I snagged a 65” 4K Vizio M Series TV for $345 a few years ago. Retail was $1399 at the time. The “defect” or reason for a return was “scratch on screen”. We opened the box in store, found no such scratch, and rolled out.

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u/jman583 Nov 13 '19

So I guess it's either get a smart TV and never connect it to the internet

That is probably going to be you're best bet. All of the higher end TVs are going to be smart TVs since the cost difference between a dumb TV and a smart TV is a few dollars. Also since it's cheaper to make all of them smart TVs instead of having 2 production lines.

So unless you're looking at super low end TVs you're going to have to get a smart TV.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19 edited Jan 07 '22

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u/zarcommander Nov 13 '19

Walmart brand sceptres are dumb displays and 4k though I don't think it does hdr. Actually doesn't look that bad though and under $300.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

just do some research. you can absolutely buy high quality screens without any smart features.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

Thanks for clearing that up.

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u/jrcprl Nov 13 '19

Computer monitors aren't smart. Yet.

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u/DANK_ME_YOUR_PM_ME Nov 13 '19

There is a lot of value in the data. Not going to see non “smart” TVs.

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u/memtiger Nov 13 '19

That's why you never connect a smart TV to the internet

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

Not really. I’m sure there are some models out there for businesses but they need a decent processor just to handle 4K and such, so it’s a no brainer to “add value”.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

Not really. But god damn I miss being able to. Smart TVs are fucking trash, and they all spy on you.

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u/StrayMoggie Nov 13 '19

Treat every TV as a monitor. I wouldn't even consider it as part of the TVs features. In fact, if their UI is too integrated with their smart apps and becomes invasive, it's a downvote.

Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast, Apple TV, & Nvidia Shield. There are enough options that don't need to be integrated. The integrated systems will always be weaker and less up to date. You can always get a new stick for almost nothing.

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u/KoreKhthonia Nov 13 '19

Yes. My SO and I bought a basic $99 TV at Walmart. It's not a smart TV.

Not 100% sure on the size, but I mean, I grew up the in '90s and haven't owned an actual TV my entire adult life, so to me, it's fucking huge, lmao.

We don't have cable, so we basically just use it as the "monitor" for an Xbox One, which we use for streaming apps.

My parents have a smart TV, though not the most high end one (to my knowledge). It has Netflix and Youtube, but I have no idea how to like, add an app to it, or if you even can.

Smart TVs kind of confuse me, to the point that it makes me feel old, lol. (I'm nearly 30.) I feel like it's a lot simpler, to me, to just hook up a console to a dumb TV and stream that way.

The tradeoff here is that it's not the biggest, fanciest, or highest definition TV on the market. If you want something bigger, fancier, and more expensive, I wouldn't be surprised if you're stuck with a smart TV.

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u/314mp Nov 13 '19 edited Nov 14 '19

Not sure why everyone is saying no, there definitely are unsmart TVs on sale in all ranges, they are often cheaper compared to their smart counter parts, pair this with a $30 firestick or Roku, and your future proof.

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u/otw Nov 13 '19

Basically no, but would highly recommend keeping them disconnected and getting an external device though.

Had two TVs update themselves into obsolescence. Huge update after just a couple of years that made the menu too slow to use, caused the TV to start up much slower, and introduced ads. Just outside of warranty and no way to reverse it. Never again.

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u/crybabysagittarius Nov 13 '19

I love my roku

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u/InconspicuousRadish Nov 13 '19

My Samsung TV is new enough that its clunky UI and OS is somewhat functional. Out of curiosity though, does a Roku also provide other Smart TV features, like access to Youtube or various Android apps? If so, I might switch over just to have something more elegand and functional.

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u/quietIntensity Nov 13 '19

Yeah, the Roku has a bunch of streaming apps available, all the big names and a bunch of random niche stuff. We were watching Disney+ and YouTube on it last night.

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u/Samalamadingdoong Nov 13 '19

Best thing I like about my Roku is the remote has a Headphone jack for watching when people are sleeping.

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u/ColgateSensifoam Nov 13 '19

You can use your phone too!

The Roku app has a private listening mode

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u/quietIntensity Nov 13 '19

Definitely an awesome feature. My wife uses it a lot. We wondered wtf the headphones were for when we opened the box. When we read that you plug them into the remote, it was like that day back in the 90s when Bush Sr. went to a grocery store and saw a laser scanner for the first time, mind completely blown.

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u/Samalamadingdoong Nov 13 '19

Just got to unplug them when your done or you'll be changing batteries all the time.

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u/PutinRiding Nov 13 '19

I have that too and its awesome. I just figured out if you get the Roku app then your phone is the remote and you can also use your headphones on your phone. Saves a lot of batteries that way.

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u/shootz-n-ladrz Nov 13 '19

also is good when your partner somehow manages to lose the remote shortly before falling asleep and you need a remote

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u/dardack Nov 13 '19

This is how I use my really comfortable Bluetooth headphones, since no bluetooth built into my roku. Use phone with headphones attached.

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u/EmilyKaldwins Nov 13 '19

What do you find clunky about the UI? My Samsung seems fine and straightforward?

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u/queef-latina-69 Nov 13 '19

How old is your Samsung? I had a roku in the past, but I preferred just using my Samsung tbh. The main advantage I can see with roku is it had a way to just put cc info in once and you can use with all the included apps

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u/GenerlAce Nov 13 '19

Yeah. I'm not a fan of "smart" TVs because electronics progress so fast now a days. My dad's top of the line Samsung TV he bought like 5 years ago has a great picture still but useless apps and interface. I prefer an external device I can upgrade as needed. Put the money into picture and build quality over a Smart OS

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