For Christmas two years ago, I got a Roku from my mom and a Chromecast from my dad. After that, I started giving them separate Christmas lists... it actually worked out though, because I use the Roku in my bedroom at my apartment and the Chromecast in the living room. I have used Roku and the Chromecast stick a lot over the years because Netflix is life (am I right?). My mom also recently got an Amazon FireTV stick that I have used on occasion, so I feel qualified to share my opinions of these three products. You may be wondering: Is there really any difference between all of these streaming devices? Is one really better than another? What does "Roku" even mean? Why is it called the Amazon FireTV Stick: is it because it's so easy to use even a caveman could do it? Oh, wait... no, that's something else. Scroll down to learn more than you ever wanted to know about the streaming devices that are enabling college students everywhere to binge watch their favorite shows and movies instead of studying for their classes.
1. Roku (starting at $49.99)
The picture below of the Roku CEO, Anthony Wood, alone should be enough to make Roku your number one choice. I mean, how adorable is this man? Look at his suspenders! Roku is the sixth company that Wood has been a part of. According to some forum posts, "roku" means "six" in Japanese and is symbolic for Wood's sixth company. This might be a bit of a stretch, because I couldn't find any information tying Wood to Japan; but, either way, it is a fun fact! Now, about the product: Roku is my personal favorite streaming device because of how easy it is to use. I use my rook on my bedroom TV. Once you plug the stick into the HDMI port on your TV, you can enter an app store where you can go to download the services you use most like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Instant Video, Youtube, and Pandora just to name a few. All you have to do is log into your account and start streaming! Roku comes with a remote, but there is also a free Roku app that you can download on your smartphone to use as a remote if you are a cheap college student like me, and you don't want to spend money on new batteries for the remote.
2. Chromecast (starting at $35.00)
Chromecast works quite differently than Roku. Unlike Roku, where everything is stored on the stick, Chromecast works completely from your smartphone, tablet, or computer. Nothing is stored on the stick itself. In order to stream using this device, you must download the free Chromecast app from the app store along with the apps that you want to stream from such as Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, etc. There is one app that you cannot stream to the Chromecast from, and that is Amazon Prime Instant Video. Also, I have had struggles with getting the Chromecast to work. You have to be on the same wifi as the Chromecast stick, and even then it is kind of finicky on if it shows up on your phone to cast to or not. Basically, this is the cheapest option as far as streaming sticks go, but the trade offs are losing memory space on your phone and the inability to stream Amazon Prime Instant Video.
3. Amazon FireTV Stick (starting at $39.99)
They call this the FireTV stick because it's fire...I'm sorry...I tried. This streaming stick is a close second to Roku for me. I only say that because I can count the number of times I have used my mom's on one hand. Similar to Roku, this stick comes with a remote. However, this remote differs from that of Roku because it has a scrolling circle, similar to old iPods. Does anyone know what I am talking about, or am I old now? Some might be thinking, "Hey, that is probably easier to navigate with than pressing a button that looks like its from an old Nintendo 64 controller, right?" To them I say, "WRONG!" I found that navigating using this controller is actually pretty difficult. It looks sleeker than Roku's controller, but it definitely takes some getting used to. As far as I know, there aren't any extremely popular apps that cannot be downloaded on this streaming stick. Overall, This is a fair compromise between cost and content.
Also, one of my new roommates has an Apple TV box that she is going to bring to the apartment, so leave a comment below if you would be interested in a review of that once I try it out!
