Roku Express Box or Amazon Fire Stick
LongLostFriends
Posts: 12 Forumite
in Techie Stuff
We are on a Virgin Package which includes both Broadband and TV. We have read in an article in the Daily Mail television magazine recommending the Roku Express Box and/or the Amazon Fire stick. what extra channels films etc can you receive free with either of these items. We only have the basic TV box (not Tivo) or a Smart TV. if so which is the better.
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LongLostFriends wrote: »We are on a Virgin Package which includes both Broadband and TV. We have read in an article in the Daily Mail television magazine recommending the Roku Express Box and/or the Amazon Fire stick. what extra channels films etc can you receive free with either of these items. We only have the basic TV box (not Tivo) or a Smart TV. if so which is the better.
Most of what you ask is covered by the article. Basically listed below but others are available depending on device and most require subscriptions except terrestrial channels streaming services (but excluding ITV Hub+):
Fire TV, Amazon Video and terrestrial channels streaming services, Netflix, Eurosport player (expensive there is other was to get it cheaper see below if required), Youtube.
Roku box, Amazon Video and terrestrial channels streaming services, Netflix, Now TV, Red Bull TV, Rakuten TV, Youtube.
There is also mentioned in the article, Google Chromecast which can be used for most of the above plus BT Sport (depending on supplier), Eurosport player (£30 per year or less via this method or PC etc) and many others.0 -
If you have not got a Smart Television, what are the advantages of buying either Roku Express box or an Amazon Fire Stick. What exactly do they do that is free that would improve what I already have .I presume you need a combined Television and Broadband package to be able to use these gadgets which I do.Will it make any difference if your provider is Virgin Media, BT ,Sky, Talk Talk etc. Thank you for any simple easy to understand explanation.0
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An external device is more likely to a) get software updates itself, and b) receive updates to the apps running on it. A "smart" TV is subject to the whims of the TV manufacturer ... many 2-3 years old TVs now no longer receive updates, thus some apps no longer work.
An external device will also usually offer a much wider range of apps, to extend your viewing options. A "smart" TV will have a reduced set (and also be prone to loss of features when updates cease).
Only some apps will depend on your provider and the package you have. e.g. BT Sports is only available via app if you subscribe to BT Sports (but is probably not so dependant on your ISP).0 -
The box or stick replaces the "smart" bit of the TV. As mentioned above the TV manufacturers lose interest after a few years and don't update the apps. A firestick costing £25 - £35 is pretty much disposable when it gets past its sell by date unlike a £500 TV. When some of my family asked about which smart TV to get I said don't,get the best TV you can and a stick.
You need an unlimited internet package, some of the older BT ones were limited to 10Gb, not a lot of use when you can easily get through 20 -30 a week with moderate on line TV watching !0 -
i am on A virgin Broadband/Television Package that includes catch up TV. So if my interruption is correct you gain hardly anything else, and therefore there is little benefit in purchasing either of the above fire sticks unless you pay a subscription to Amazon Prime,Netflix or Now TV.. If this is incorrect please let me, so i will reconsider, as it won't be the first (or last) time I have got something horribly wrong.0
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Dean'sDilemma wrote: »i am on A virgin Broadband/Television Package that includes catch up TV. So if my interruption is correct you gain hardly anything else, and therefore there is little benefit in purchasing either of the above fire sticks unless you pay a subscription to Amazon Prime,Netflix or Now TV.. If this is incorrect please let me, so i will reconsider, as it won't be the first (or last) time I have got something horribly wrong.
Without knowing what you actually can receive or what you wish to view no one but you can answer that.0 -
The cheap deal of £24.95 which was available at Argos, John Lewis and Currys seems to have expired, possibly just A Black Friday offer that lasted a week. It now appears to cost £39.99 everywhere. I have therefore unfortunately missed the boat. Hopefully it will be reduced again sometime in the near future. In my opinion the Amazon Fire Stick looks to me to be an infinitely better product than the Roko Express Box. Maybe someone will tell me differently!!!0
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I got a Fire TV Stick from Amazon for £24.95 during the BF sale period. I've already side-loaded several additional apps (Kodi, BT Sports, etc.) using Apps2Fire on my Kindle Fire 7.
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If you have neither a smart box (in your case Tivo) and neither a smart TV then you have the choice of
HUMAX HDR-1100S
AMAZON Fire TV Stick
AMAZON Fire TV with 4k
SKY Now TV Smart Box
NVIDIA Shield TV 2017
or an
Apple TV 4k
Decide on your budget and go for it. You probably won't need to bother upgrading your TV either if it is already full HD. If you have a smart TV already then you really do not need these devices for that functionality.
You can go for the Android Boxes but those are mostly used for piracy and many are really low quality builds.0 -
you missed raspberry pi. main benefits cheap, versatile, no bloat and can update"The Holy Writ of Gloucester Rugby Club demands: first, that the forwards shall win the ball; second, that the forwards shall keep the ball; and third, the backs shall buy the beer." - Doug Ibbotson0
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