Fire Stick vs Roku

[Hal...]

I've got a Fire Stick and I'm thinking of switching to a Roku. There are a few reasons but the biggest three are:
• beginning a few months ago, my FS will suddenly restart without warning. It was bad when it first started but only does it occasionally, now. It still does it, however.
• the ability to arrange the home screen how you like it. The FS has way too much shit I don't care about. And when it restarted the other day, the home screen had changed and I had to rearrange my apps again.
• an ongoing problem with Paramount+.

Now I'd really like to hear from anyone who's had both a FS and a Roku, but I don't expect there to be anyone. Still, I'd like to hear from both groups of owners about your experiences.


And I'd really like to hear from anyone who also subscribes to Paramount+ because I'd like you to do a simple experiment for me. My problem is that when I'm watching a soccer "match replay" and then rewind a few seconds to re-watch something, the video resolution drops down to like 360p or maybe even 240p for ~25 seconds before it settles at HD. I contacted Paramount about it but they insinuated it's a problem with the FS because they claimed they couldn't reproduce the problem. In addition to various suggestions, they told me to check my router settings, but this problem has been ongoing since I first subscribed to Paramount through my FS and was on a different router in a different part of the country, not to mention the problem is only with Paramount+ and only with soccer match replays. FYI, I do not have the problem with my PC nor the app I can access through the cable box/DVR. So it's either their app for the FS or the FS itself. Of course, it could be my FS.

So if anyone subscribes to Paramount+ and has a FS or Roku, can you see if you have the same problem? Just select one of these soccer leagues – the NWSL, Barclays Women's Super League, or Series A (I've never checked any other league or sport) – select a "match replay", start watching, rewind, and then begin watching again to see if the video goes to shit. I would really appreciate it.

[Jerjo]

I actually dropped Paramount+ a month ago from my Firestick after Strange New Worlds ended. The app has difficulties on FS, that's for sure. But not as much as Apple did. That piece of shit would buffer like I was on dialup.

[Dave (in MA)]

I don't have a firestick, but we have built-in apps on the TVs, some are built-ins in the cable set top box, plus we have Rokus on both TVs, and a Chromecast.
The Mrs. can pretty much get by on the Roku, but last night the stream for Bosch Legacy wouldn't go to the next episode; it just showed the spinny thing, so I switched over to the Amazon app built-in to the TV and we were able to keep going. We (and maybe you with the firestick?) might need to power cycle the Roku, or something.

[Hal...]

By power cycle, I assume you mean unplugging it for 10 or 30 seconds or whatever. I've done that. It is not a long term solution.

[Hal...]

I actually dropped Paramount+ a month ago from my Firestick after Strange New Worlds ended. The app has difficulties on FS, that's for sure. But not as much as Apple did. That piece of shit would buffer like I was on dialup.

I remember you saying something about that a week or two ago. Luckily, I don't recall ever having an issue with Apple. Still a shit app, tho. Their layout is the worst, imo, and trying to find the stuff I added to my watch list was like trying to find the Sword of Gryffindor. I only got it for Foundation, which I was promptly disappointed by to the extent I cancelled my subscription less than a month after the show was released.

I did like The Morning Show, tho, but not enough to continue with the subscription.

[progmatist]

I had a similar problem with my FS spontaneously rebooting....which I fixed by replacing the micro USB cable used to power it. A major advantage the FS has over the Roku is its ability to play Hi-Res audio from Amazon music. In full quality. Or what Amazon terms "Ultra-HD." They call CD quality music "HD."

[Paulie]

I have both. I only keep the Firesticks for the 3rd party movie APKs that I can install without hassle. Other than that, I prefer Roku due to the familiarity I can set in each TV (my wife's head explodes if something is out of order). No problems with Paramount+ on Roku, however, Apple TV will not work on my Roku stick ("failed to launch video" or some stupid shit like that), while it works just fine on my Roku TV.

[Hal...]

I had a similar problem with my FS spontaneously rebooting....which I fixed by replacing the micro USB cable used to power it.

I've read about that. Seems to me that the wrong USB cable or power adapter causing it to reboot is a major design flaw.

A major advantage the FS has over the Roku is its ability to play Hi-Res audio from Amazon music.

Don't need it. And that's another thing that annoys me about the FS: I can't delete the Amazon apps that come with it.

No problems with Paramount+ on Roku...

You actually tried the experiment with a match replay of a soccer game?

...however, Apple TV will not work on my Roku stick ("failed to launch video" or some stupid shit like that), while it works just fine on my Roku TV.

Odd. But I'm not concerned about Apple TV. They don't really have anything I want. Prime is another one I hardly watch, even though I've seen some really good stuff on it; mostly music documentaries. It's just too few and far between.

I also just cancelled my Disney+ subscription today, right before the price hike. With that one, tho, I'll probably wait until mid-winter or spring to renew, after they release their new seasons of Star Wars shows, all of which are good to excellent, btw.

Most of what I watch is on Paramount or HBO. There are a couple shows on Hulu and one on Showtime I watch, but if I wasn't splitting the cost or had to pay for the subscriptions myself, I wouldn't bother. I also don't actually watch Netflix that much, either, now that I think about it.

[progmatist]

I've read about that. Seems to me that the wrong USB cable or power adapter causing it to reboot is a major design flaw.

The micro USB form factor is itself ill suited for supplying power. It's even more of a problem with the Raspberry Pi, and similar single board computers. Which draw considerably more power. I power all my single board computers bypassing the micro USB connector, and plugging directly into the GPIO Header.

[Poisoned Youth]

I have a bunch of Fire sticks and one older Roku. I do not have any systemic problems with the Fire sticks, so I don’t really use the Roku at this point. Usually when I have a specific problem with the stick or an app, restarting the stick, clearing cache, or reinstalling the app fixes the problem.

The two apps I have had the most performance issues with are Paramount+ and Pluto TV. I am not convinced either are a Fire stick issue. Paramount issues were usually tied to things like playing a trailer, then navigating to a program and the trailer is still playing in the background. And there are navigational issues, and a times you have to restart because you can’t get back the Paramount home page.

I did check out one of the soccer games and I did have pretty bad quality issues. It could possibly be a server issue for that content since it’s only these soccer games that seems to be a problem.

[Hal...]

I did check out one of the soccer games and I did have pretty bad quality issues. It could possibly be a server issue for that content since it’s only these soccer games that seems to be a problem.

It cleared up after about 25 seconds, tho, didn't it?

I read somewhere that when a streaming server is connecting to your device, it streams lower resolution video at first and then increases the res as it analyzes the stream, eventually topping out at the max your device and/or ISP can handle. Supposedly. This is supposed to take milliseconds. But I've wondered if the problem is that Paramount doesn't "lock in" what you're capable of streaming and then goes through that process again after you rewind, except that it has some problem where it takes so freakin' long. I've also wondered if it isn't a cache issue. I don't know. But I'm glad to see it's not just me.

[Hal...]

The micro USB form factor is itself ill suited for supplying power. It's even more of a problem with the Raspberry Pi, and similar single board computers. Which draw considerably more power. I power all my single board computers bypassing the micro USB connector, and plugging directly into the GPIO Header.

OK. Ευχαριστώ. Θα κάνω πως το κατάλαβα.

[hippypants]

I have a Roku and 2 Firesticks. I prefer the Roku, it just seems it's better laid out to me and easier to navigate. The two Firesticks are on TVs I don't use as often.

[Hal...]

[Vic2012]

A digital antenna.

[Poisoned Youth]

It cleared up after about 25 seconds, tho, didn't it?

Yes, it did.

[Rick L.]

Two sticks enter.

One stick leaves.

[Hal...]

I did check out one of the soccer games and I did have pretty bad quality issues.

Forgot something: thanks for checking that out for me Sean. Much appreciated.

[progmatist]

OK. Ευχαριστώ. Θα κάνω πως το κατάλαβα.

In layman's terms, a micro USB cable is too thin and fragile to carry power. Any device designed to be powered by micro USB shares the same inherent design flaw as the FS. It's not quite as bad when charging a cell phone. If the phone receives partial power, it will still charge. Albeit more slowly.

[Plasmatopia]

I noticed online that there are ways to "jailbreak" a Firestick. I wonder if there are any benefits to that. I'm sure you'd at least be able to get rid of the Amazon apps. But since it sounds like the Paramount+ app is crap it won't necessarily solve all issues.

[Hal...]

I noticed online that there are ways to "jailbreak" a Firestick. I wonder if there are any benefits to that. I'm sure you'd at least be able to get rid of the Amazon apps. But since it sounds like the Paramount+ app is crap it won't necessarily solve all issues.

Yeah, I've seen that you can hack a Fire Stick. I haven't watched any videos or read any articles about it, tho. I am seriously considering getting a Roku and if I do, it won't matter.

I think the Paramount+ app is okay; not great but not crap, either. There are worse. The thing I've noticed it doing, lately, is that if I exit in the middle of a show, it isn't saving where I stopped watching, so I can't "resume".

The one complaint I have with all of them is that your watch list isn't right next to the home page. Why do I have to scroll to get to the stuff I have already looked at and put on my watch list??? One of them (MGM+?) makes you select "settings" to find your watch list. But that's about the only thing wrong with MGM+ – it's actually one of the better apps – so I can live with it.

The same goes for the Fire Stick app and having to scroll to get to a particular app. At least with the FS, I can use voice commands. Unfortunately, that's not 100% accurate, either.

[moecurlythanu]

I noticed online that there are ways to "jailbreak" a Firestick. I wonder if there are any benefits to that. I'm sure you'd at least be able to get rid of the Amazon apps. But since it sounds like the Paramount+ app is crap it won't necessarily solve all issues.

Side loading a Firestick (a way more accurate term than Jailbreak) will not allow you to remove unused Amazon apps. At least, I haven't found a way to do that yet. What it will allow you to do is download and install free apps through which shows, movies and sports can be watched.

[Jerjo]

Our local cable/internet/phone coop now uses Firestick for its cable. The coop has its own app and you access all your channels through the Firestick control after you open the app. It works fairly good though there are occasional glitches. We DVR a lot of shows and that aspect works well. But some channels have blocked DVR - such as HBO. I can just go to Max for that but it's still irritating that they are that paranoid about their content being recorded.

[Plasmatopia]

The one complaint I have with all of them is that your watch list isn't right next to the home page. Why do I have to scroll to get to the stuff I have already looked at and put on my watch list??? One of them (MGM+?) makes you select "settings" to find your watch list. But that's about the only thing wrong with MGM+ – it's actually one of the better apps – so I can live with it.

That's a problem with various apps these days. My wife started watching a show the other day and even though she liked it she was falling asleep so she asked me to add it to her list. The next day we had to search high and low to find it. I guess it's all about advertising their new shows and they know better than we do what we'd like to watch.

[Plasmatopia]

Side loading a Firestick (a way more accurate term than Jailbreak) will not allow you to remove unused Amazon apps. At least, I haven't found a way to do that yet. What it will allow you to do is download and install free apps through which shows, movies and sports can be watched.

Bummer.