Help picking streaming device.

Rev

Thanks but I'd rather have the app on the device as my Aunty uses it too and casting would be beyond her.

EdwardB

Rev wrote: »

Okay, wasn't sure if this should be in here or the TV section but figured I'd get more knowledgable responses here.

I have a NowTV box, picked it up with I ditched sky to go along side a Humax freesat box, I went for it because you c ould sideload plex which lets me stream all my own media. Now the latest update has removed this, bit disspointed but I can understand Sky's reasons.

So now I need a replacement and can't decide between a full fat Roku 3 or an android TV box.

My TV isn't 4K so I'm not worried about that, just as long as it's got full HD and can be connected via ethernet. And must have plex. I've discounted the fire stick because I'm not sure if nowtv is available via that or plex and I want to keep the entertainment pass.

So, am asking if someone could give me some advice as to wether a roku 3 or android box would be best? I did read on the nowtv forum that sky owned shares in roku and am wondering if that's the case what's the chances of they removing plex from the roku app store?

thanks

My sister still uses a white NowTV box that cost £5 off ebay to watch Plex for her own media, she does not allow updates. I will have to check with her son how he blocks the updates (could be in the device or on the firewall).

Sky's investment in Roku was "strategic" because Sky was basing their whole NowTV offering on Roku kit, they were asking Roku to create a cut down version and the investment partly funded that.

Roku is an open platform and Plex is massive the world over, I really can't see Sky making Roku dump Plex, remember Plex is a legitimate App. Of course for their OEM'ed NowTV they can argue they do not was the "developer" sideload to be an option, but that is very different from telling Roku they can't use an App. Also as pointed out in the articles below, Sky put $11m in as part of a $45m investment into Roku, they have used that money to partner with other providers the world over. A lot of those companies like Plex as their customers prefer it, they still get their Subs through Plex paid services.

Now that the Roku4 is out you can see a lot more Roku3 devices on eBay.

I happen to have a Roku3 and I have both the Plex 4 client and the RarFlix client, both have their merits. In some ways Rarflix is better at handling a large library. Note the Plex3 is now Open Source and anyone can develop it into what they want and onto what they want.

I setup three Amazon installations and you will need to visit the Plex forums to consider those issues and even to answer your question more fully.

Issues I saw were around licencing, where you were only supposed to pay for a Plex Client once, except nobody told Amazon that, so they charge you for every device. Plex is a bit daft in this regard because they allow shops to do licensing, that would be like Microsoft allowing Dell to issue Windows keys.

The Amazon Firestick is great if you want to take the it to a friends house and just plug it in; my nephew does that at his girlfriends, they watch his mum's content, she has Amazon Prime and buys a lot. He has his own collection as well. Strictly speaking he does not need the Amazon firestick as Plex can be delivered in the same way directly to his browser for free or to his iPad for $5.

Having installed the Amazon I did not like the way it lost settings, had to be reauthenticated with Amazon when Plex did updates and generally how getting help from Amazon was a nightmare. These problems were the same on both Amazon FireTV and Firestick.

Also I did not like the way Amazon is in your face, forcing you to go via their user interface with their content (bit like advertising) while Roku just takes you a menu of apps. I do not watch live TV so I deleted BBC iPlayer, in fact I just have 4 apps, Plex4, Plex Rarflix, Netflix and Amazon. That is how I like things to be, I also like that the Roku goes to sleep by itself and wakes up where I left it, the Amazon product always leave you in Amazon and you have to go through the Amazon hurdles to get what you want in Plex. Now some might like that if they are big Amazon prime users but not me.

The Roku3 is way smoother and more reliable, it has a wired ethernet as well as wireless and does higher res, (BTW the NowTV was only ever going to do 720p). Like you I only use it for my own content, I have no plans to subscribe or stream, my lifestyle is such that I like my media to revolve around me not me around it.

This is a review of the devices. you are considering.

https://www.cnet.com/news/chromecast-vs-apple-tv-vs-roku-3-which-media-streamer-should-you-buy/

These show the intention of the Sky investment


2012

Initial

http://www.techradar.com/news/television/roku-gets-major-investment-from-new-partners-sky-and-news-corp-1090185

Follow up
https://thenextweb.com/media/2013/05/09/bskyb-nabs-a-1-9m-stake-in-roku-taking-its-total-investment-in-the-tv-streaming-service-to-11-9m/


2015

The Sky pitch

https://corporate.sky.com/media-centre/our-blog/2015/roku-and-sky-a-partnership-in-action

Rev

EdwardB wrote: »

My sister still uses a white NowTV box that cost £5 off ebay to watch Plex for her own media, she does not allow updates. I will have to check with her son how he blocks the updates (could be in the device or on the firewall).

Sky's investment in Roku was "strategic" because Sky was basing their whole NowTV offering on Roku kit, they were asking Roku to create a cut down version and the investment partly funded that.

Roku is an open platform and Plex is massive the world over, I really can't see Sky making Roku dump Plex, remember Plex is a legitimate App. Of course for their OEM'ed NowTV they can argue they do not was the "developer" sideload to be an option, but that is very different from telling Roku they can't use an App. Also as pointed out in the articles below, Sky put $11m in as part of a $45m investment into Roku, they have used that money to partner with other providers the world over. A lot of those companies like Plex as their customers prefer it, they still get their Subs through Plex paid services.

Now that the Roku4 is out you can see a lot more Roku3 devices on eBay.

I happen to have a Roku3 and I have both the Plex 4 client and the RarFlix client, both have their merits. In some ways Rarflix is better at handling a large library. Note the Plex3 is now Open Source and anyone can develop it into what they want and onto what they want.

I setup three Amazon installations and you will need to visit the Plex forums to consider those issues and even to answer your question more fully.

Issues I saw were around licencing, where you were only supposed to pay for a Plex Client once, except nobody told Amazon that, so they charge you for every device. Plex is a bit daft in this regard because they allow shops to do licensing, that would be like Microsoft allowing Dell to issue Windows keys.

The Amazon Firestick is great if you want to take the it to a friends house and just plug it in; my nephew does that at his girlfriends, they watch his mum's content, she has Amazon Prime and buys a lot. He has his own collection as well. Strictly speaking he does not need the Amazon firestick as Plex can be delivered in the same way directly to his browser for free or to his iPad for $5.

Having installed the Amazon I did not like the way it lost settings, had to be reauthenticated with Amazon when Plex did updates and generally how getting help from Amazon was a nightmare. These problems were the same on both Amazon FireTV and Firestick.

Also I did not like the way Amazon is in your face, forcing you to go via their user interface with their content (bit like advertising) while Roku just takes you a menu of apps. I do not watch live TV so I deleted BBC iPlayer, in fact I just have 4 apps, Plex4, Plex Rarflix, Netflix and Amazon. That is how I like things to be, I also like that the Roku goes to sleep by itself and wakes up where I left it, the Amazon product always leave you in Amazon and you have to go through the Amazon hurdles to get what you want in Plex. Now some might like that if they are big Amazon prime users but not me.

The Roku3 is way smoother and more reliable, it has a wired ethernet as well as wireless and does higher res, (BTW the NowTV was only ever going to do 720p). Like you I only use it for my own content, I have no plans to subscribe or stream, my lifestyle is such that I like my media to revolve around me not me around it.

This is a review of the devices. you are considering.

https://www.cnet.com/news/chromecast-vs-apple-tv-vs-roku-3-which-media-streamer-should-you-buy/

These show the intention of the Sky investment


2012

Initial

http://www.techradar.com/news/television/roku-gets-major-investment-from-new-partners-sky-and-news-corp-1090185

Follow up
https://thenextweb.com/media/2013/05/09/bskyb-nabs-a-1-9m-stake-in-roku-taking-its-total-investment-in-the-tv-streaming-service-to-11-9m/


2015

The Sky pitch

https://corporate.sky.com/media-centre/our-blog/2015/roku-and-sky-a-partnership-in-action

Thank you! This is pretty much the type of answer I was after. I discounted the fire stick as it doesn't have Ethernet (I know the firebox does but the roku is cheaper and doesn't try to ram prime down your throat).


I wasn't really sure what type of stake Sky had with Roku but am feeing more confident now knowing it's highly unlikely that plex will be removed given Sky's investment was basically to cover the cost of cheap nowTV boxes.


Think I'll go with the roku 3.

EdwardB

Thanks, those are exactly the right words, Amazon does ram things down your throat, hell even on a webpage for a product they put a bloody hurdle in their "above the fold" saying here is what other people bought, is such poor design.

I used Amazon Box for two months and it drove me nuts, I just wanted Plex and having to get past their crap all the time. So glad I am past that.

dipsomaniac

if you want a box that doesn't include any bloat and has no ties to any of the big censors then raspberry pi might be the perfect solution

i haven't used it as a plex client (use chromecast) but use it for kodi and prefer it over any of the other options as it is so flexible and easy to program

i picked up some pi 3's for £28.80 (damaged box) delivered on ebay recently. you will need a sdcard, hdmi, power cable, lan and case (optional) but will probably have some of those gathering dust around the house

Rev

EdwardB wrote: »

Thanks, those are exactly the right words, Amazon does ram things down your throat, hell even on a webpage for a product they put a bloody hurdle in their "above the fold" saying here is what other people bought, is such poor design.

I used Amazon Box for two months and it drove me nuts, I just wanted Plex and having to get past their crap all the time. So glad I am past that.

Yeah my friend has the firestick and I'm always put out by how much they try to push prime on you. I get why they do it but I'd prefer not to deal with it.

dipsomaniac wrote: »

if you want a box that doesn't include any bloat and has no ties to any of the big censors then raspberry pi might be the perfect solution

i haven't used it as a plex client (use chromecast) but use it for kodi and prefer it over any of the other options as it is so flexible and easy to program

i picked up some pi 3's for £28.80 (damaged box) delivered on ebay recently. you will need a sdcard, hdmi, power cable, lan and case (optional) but will probably have some of those gathering dust around the house

How user friendly is the pi? This will also be used by my 75 year old technophobe aunty so needs to be as easy to use as the nowtv box.

dipsomaniac

Rev wrote: »

How user friendly is the pi? This will also be used by my 75 year old technophobe aunty so needs to be as easy to use as the nowtv box.

once programmed the user opens a app (kore if on android, don't do apple) switches the hdmi source to raspberry pi and accesses the content via the app. no bloat no problem