Roku stick performance

[Anonymous User]

I have a Now TV box in 3 rooms, but I also have Amazon Prime and Netflix accounts.

In the living room, I don't have a spare HDMI to plug in 2 separate devices, so rather than getting another Amazon Fire Stick and some sort of splitter to use that alongside the Now TV box, I was thinking of replacing the Now TV box there with a Roku, either a stick or the Roku 2. How does performance compared with the Now Box and / or the Amazon Fire Stick? Would I notice a significant drop off? Obviously the Roku stick is the cheapest option to go for, but if it's too slow that would put me off (I can actually access Netflix in the living room via my TiVo as we have virgin, however it's so painfully slow to use it puts me off bothering)

[schnapps]

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@Anonymous User wrote:
I have a Now TV box in 3 rooms, but I also have Amazon Prime and Netflix accounts.

In the living room, I don't have a spare HDMI to plug in 2 separate devices, so rather than getting another Amazon Fire Stick and some sort of splitter to use that alongside the Now TV box, I was thinking of replacing the Now TV box there with a Roku, either a stick or the Roku 2. How does performance compared with the Now Box and / or the Amazon Fire Stick? Would I notice a significant drop off? Obviously the Roku stick is the cheapest option to go for, but if it's too slow that would put me off (I can actually access Netflix in the living room via my TiVo as we have virgin, however it's so painfully slow to use it puts me off bothering)

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@Anonymous User

I have both the black NowTV box and the Roku stick.

The Roku stick is a little sluggish navigating around the NowTV menu compared to the NowTV box but its bearable imo for £29.

If find the Netflix app takes forever to open (about 30 secs) and is noticeably slower than the AFTV stick navigating around the Netflix GUI.

Also the Amazon Video GUI on the Roku stick is totally different to the AFTV stick.

If you are in no rush to replace the NowTV box, Roku have just released a new faster version of the Roku stick in the States and hopefully it will be released in the UK sometime in the future (No Guarantee of that mind).

If the new 2016 Roku stick does come to the UK and is priced around the £35 to £45 price mark then it might be worth considering.

See link for details of the 2016 Roku Stick.

http://community.nowtv.com/t5/Roku/New-Roku-2016-Streaming-Stick/m-p/362576#U362576

[Anonymous User]

Thanks it sounds like it's worth waiting for now then, and putting up with the slow interface for Netflix on the TiVo, until the new stick comes out

[schnapps]

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@Anonymous User wrote:
Thanks it sounds like it's worth waiting for now then, and putting up with the slow interface for Netflix on the TiVo, until the new stick comes out

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If you are prepared to wait, then it could be an option to consider should the Roku 2016 stick come to the UK.

Again, if you are prepared to wait and Roku decide to sell the Roku 4 in the UK then maybe the Roku 3 box price will drop further and get closer to the price that you are happy to spend on a new player. 

[Anonymous User]

@Anonymous User I use the newer Roku 2 in the living room now as it gives me access to Netflix and Amazon Prime. Other than the extra apps it's pretty similar in speed and functionality as the current black NOW TV boxes. It's worth keeping an eye on Amazon as the price drops under £50 every so often.

[Anonymous User]

I purchased Streaming Stick in Jan 2015 when Roku screwed up an upgrade to Roku LT - it was cheapest option at £39 and does it's job well

Using NowTV black box does show that Stick is a little underpowered - really noticeable when loading Demand5 - black box is much faster

Roku LT dates back to Dec 2012 and is still used in guest bedroom hooked up to 22" Finlux.

All 3 devices display well which is ultimate test

[schnapps]

@Anonymous User

If you are looking for a Roku player with good performance against cost, then like artesea said in his post that the Roku 2 might be the way to go, especially if the price drops below £50.

Another bonus with the Roku box is that it will have an Ethernet port on the back, so you can either set the box up over wifi or go down the route of hard wired (which is a better solution if it's practically possible in your home environment).

Whatever Roku player you decide on, I am sure that you will be pleased with it.

[dr_necessitor]

I am well pleased with our Roku 2 (picked up from Amazon on one of their frequent sub-£50 offers, as @Anonymous User has recommended). All the major UK terrestrial channel catch up services + apps for NOW TV, Netflix, Amazon Video, Sky Store, TuneIn Radio, Google Play etc. Even found an app that, ahem, streams some of the Freeview channels. It's so good that I've binned off plans to upgrade to Apple TV 4th Gen. for the forseeable future.

[commanda6]

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@Anonymous User wrote:

@Anonymous User I use the newer Roku 2 in the living room now as it gives me access to Netflix and Amazon Prime. Other than the extra apps it's pretty similar in speed and functionality as the current black NOW TV boxes. It's worth keeping an eye on Amazon as the price drops under £50 every so often.

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Hi @Anonymous User 

in August last year. I purchased a Roku 3 because it was on after the price had dropped from around £100 to about £65. It also included a three month now TV entertainment pass which I have yet to apply to my account but will do so at the end of this month. It's fair to say it would have been rude not to buy one at the time.  The version I brought was the European economic area version which has pretty much the same hardware inside as the new Roku 2 @Anonymous User has suggested the only extras you get with the Roku three are the point anywhere remote and Private audio. I would recommend you get a new Roku two as @Anonymous User suggests is that gives you best value for money. Just make sure you're getting the new version and not the old one, because there is a massive difference between the two

[Anonymous User]

Thanks all, Roku 2 latest version sounds a good bet then, I might see if there's any offers come up over the bank holidays. Think it's £59 on Amazon at the moment, will keep my eye out in case it dips under 50!