What TV Streamer do you use???

[Smoke-Chem BBQ]

Good info here on how to disable tracking on most popular smart TVs.

https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/home-entertainment/how-to-disable-acr-tv/

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I have 5 on TV's and 2 new in the box . Not standing up for Fire stick , but I've never had that issue , except for the Spectrum app , and that was Spectrum . They can target Amazon to a point , but thats usually when watching Prime for sports , which I hate .
They come pre loaded with most of the popular stuff .
This one was sitting on the desk .
View attachment 736348

I am an amazon fan. I bought one few years ago and every time I searched for a movie I only got amazon prime results. I ended up sending it back and bought another Roku. Maybe I was doing something wrong? I might give another chance.

 

[JckDanls 07]

Good info here on how to disable tracking on most popular smart TVs.

https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/home-entertainment/how-to-disable-acr-tv/

Big Brothers watching...

You would need a wireless network in your home though

I do...

" Fire TV "

Yes, This.. not firestick... my bad...

 

[chopsaw]

Yes, This.. not firestick... my bad...

Same difference really . You have an internet ready TV that runs the Fire TV platform .
I have older non ready TV's that I use a firestick on , but It's Fire TV platform .

Any thoughts on keeping Spectrum , ditching dish , and using the Spectrum TV app ?
Would be cheaper I would think .

 

[JckDanls 07]

No.. I want to stay portable for camping...

That's the purpose of going to Starlink for internet... At the moment I carry a portable dish for Directv ...

So If I go to streaming at home I would need the Starlink for camping...

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

I have two Roku Ultras and have never had a problem with them. I dropped DirecTv after 20+ years because the prices just got ridiculous. Three years now and I have adapted to the change in viewing habits and so far I do not miss modern TV shows.

The one thing I do pay for is NHL. It works fine with the Roku boxes.

Most of my time spent on viewing is on a large tablet watching YouTube.

 

[sandyut]

I learned something new. Roku has real people on a live chat to work through issues. Last time it was a community blog only, but that was many years back.

So I worked through it with them and it feels promising they might be on the mend. We'll see. Not thrilled about changing to a new streamer because I have used Roku for decades. fingers crossed.

 

[sandyut]

several hours later, I am happy to report the Ultras are working better than they ever have.

I did a hard reset with the reset button (on the bottom of the unit). Held it in for 1 minute. Now they operate WAY better, its shocking. I may stick with the Roku...time will tell.

 

[sandyut]

24 hours in after the repairs and all seems to be running smooth again.

 

[chopsaw]

24 hours in after the repairs and all seems to be running smooth again.

Glad you got it working .

For anyone interested in a Fire stick , amazon prime deal is 50% off right now . For 25 bucks I grabbed one for a spare .

 

[sandyut]

Glad you got it working .

Thanks! TBH I was pretty skeptical with what the tech support guy had me do. It looks like the Roku's update got interrupted or something...best I can tell. The home screen looks different and they seem to be working much better.

 

[chopsaw]

I have one Roku on a TV in the basement . Kids were using it for working out because it supported some Apple workout thing . It just quit working one day . Maybe it needs an update . I never mess with it .

My Fire stick in the bed room works , but won't control the TV volume after the last update .
I've tried everything , but can't get it back . I have another NIB , but the one I ordered today has the 4K streaming . I pay an extra 10 bucks a month for the UHD 4K or whatever it is . Be interested to see if that works on an older TV .

 

[sandyut]

I have one Roku on a TV in the basement . Kids were using it for working out because it supported some Apple workout thing . It just quit working one day . Maybe it needs an update . I never mess with it .

My Fire stick in the bed room works , but won't control the TV volume after the last update .
I've tried everything , but can't get it back . I have another NIB , but the one I ordered today has the 4K streaming . I pay an extra 10 bucks a month for the UHD 4K or whatever it is . Be interested to see if that works on an older TV .

The fix on my Roku Ultra was a hard reset using the reset button on the bottom, held it in for 1 minute and it was like new. takes a few minutes to get it all set up again, but since that worked it was worth it.

I had tried a factory reset using the on settings menu, but that didnt do it.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I pay an extra 10 bucks a month for the UHD 4K or whatever it is . Be interested to see if that works on an older TV

Usually the better video also has better audio which I'm after.

 

[chopsaw]

Usually the better video also has better audio which I'm after.

100% . I pay extra with You tube TV to get the 4K stream . I have 2 TV's that are UHD , so when the content is streaming in 2160 ( not all of it is ) I can watch it in ultra high def .
The sound is awesome . Especially with movies , but some of the Nascar races are 2160 . Sounds like the cars are running around the room .

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

100% . I pay extra with You tube TV to get the 4K stream . I have 2 TV's that are UHD , so when the content is streaming in 2160 ( not all of it is ) I can watch it in ultra high def .
The sound is awesome . Especially with movies , but some of the Nascar races are 2160 . Sounds like the cars are running around the room .

Apple Tv has the best audio I think of everyone. Now if they could just stream DTS but it takes up to much bandwidth. Now if you really want to hear something good get the Pink Floyd Delicate Sound Of Thunder - Restored, Re-edited, Remixed. Wow! They did a great job remixing it but not so much on the video.

 

[Quiganomics]

Chromecast on most of our tv's. Mainly because I like the ease of customizing and side-loading apps. Our main tv is an nvidia shield though, love it but they're spendy.

 

[fxsales1959]

This came up in another thread, so I didnt want to highjack the topic.

Ive been a roku user for decades, but have started to run into some issues with the Ultras. Nothing huge but real annoying. and roku was bought by Fox, and that tends to upend things.

SO: AI says Apple 4K + is the best and way to go. I am an iPhone user, hate macs. Seriously considering the apple option when they release the new version soon.

What do you use, what issues do you have, whats your recommendation?

Not sure how to answer, or the exact question. We have Dish for programming, (4 TVS, they did install).
however, in the winter I pulled CAT-XX cable from my main unit in my office, through the attic and down to the living room. There I have a 8 port hub to feed all the crap in my entertainment center. Samsung TV, DVD player, PS4, and dish box. I stream a lot with dish programming. Samsung TV is "smart" so it has it's own apps if needed. I did add the Fox Nation app there, as they have some good historical programming. also Prime app is on Samsung. I don't really like or trust Wi-Fi, but I get a pretty steady 400MBPS on my laptops and tablet
I do have a free sub to HBO Max with my broadband. If we watch Max, I do it on my Ipad and cast it to the Samsung.

 

[KonaRich]

This came up in another thread, so I didnt want to highjack the topic.

Ive been a roku user for decades, but have started to run into some issues with the Ultras. Nothing huge but real annoying. and roku was bought by Fox, and that tends to upend things.

SO: AI says Apple 4K + is the best and way to go. I am an iPhone user, hate macs. Seriously considering the apple option when they release the new version soon.

What do you use, what issues do you have, whats your recommendation?

We have Roku Streambars on 3 TV's for both streaming and sound, which is awesome. We do not subscribe to any streaming service, and use the Tubi client more than any other.

They support the Emby client, too, which connects to the Emby server on my dedicated media server PC. The Emby client/server software is free, and works very well. Most of what we watch is downloaded via Bittorrent, if ya know what I mean...

Living way out on acreage in the rural part of my island, away from people, my best broadband speed is around 6.5 Mbps at its best. I barely get a cellphone signal here, so Hawaiian Telcom provides a landline phone service and DSL internet. No fiber way out here yet.

I have a truly vast library of movies, TV shows, music and ebooks, over 10tb at the moment. We LOVE to watch reruns and collect entire series of classic Brit detective shows. I'm kinda a nerd on collecting everything in certain areas, like all the Star Trek movies and entire TV series. Don't get me started on Dr. Who....I have it ALL!

 

[KonaRich]

Not sure how to answer, or the exact question. We have Dish for programming, (4 TVS, they did install).
however, in the winter I pulled CAT-XX cable from my main unit in my office, through the attic and down to the living room. There I have a 8 port hub to feed all the crap in my entertainment center. Samsung TV, DVD player, PS4, and dish box. I stream a lot with dish programming. Samsung TV is "smart" so it has it's own apps if needed. I did add the Fox Nation app there, as they have some good historical programming. also Prime app is on Samsung. I don't really like or trust Wi-Fi, but I get a pretty steady 400MBPS on my laptops and tablet
I do have a free sub to HBO Max with my broadband. If we watch Max, I do it on my Ipad and cast it to the Samsung.

We finally cut the cord from Dish Network a number of years ago, switched to Roku, and never looked back. Another bill eliminated. Now, I have Emby as my client/server media system. The server is a dedicated PC with 8 external hard drives connected to it via a data hub holding my vast repository of media. The client is the Ruku-supported Emby app. Works like a charm. I acquire media via Bittorrent at zero cost.