Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Chromecast or Roku?

  1. 29th March 2015, 02:24 PM #1
    PhilipA
    PhilipA is offline Swaggie Subscriber
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Avoca Beach
    Posts
    14,152
    Total Downloaded
    0

    Chromecast or Roku?

    I was looking at the various media centres today as I was interested in the ALDI Cocoon which was recently on a special buy.
    I studied up on Whirlpool and they generally canned it and judging from the hassles that they had and those reported on other sites , it sounded like just too much of a PITA.

    It seems to me that Chromecast will do most of what I want to do by accessing Stan and also being able to access missed shows like on the 2 and 7 websites.Dick Smith and Stan have a joint promotion at the moment with Chromecast at $39 and three months trial of Stan.

    The other best alternative is a ROKU 3 which is quite expensive and you seem to need a third party proxy to get the US providers such as Netflix at a cost. The apps are preprogrammed so can you load the ABC and channel 7?

    The major question I have is whether Chromecast uses my windows computer video card or whether it pulls the video directly from the net. Someone on Whirlpool indicated that Chromecast only uses the PC as a menu interface.
    The reason I ask is that my old HP 7700 has a low score for video and would not give smooth HD, although I believe Chromecast only offers SD anyway. I doubt whether I would even have good SD.

    I would appreciate any comments and recommendations.
    Regards Philip A
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  2. 29th March 2015, 02:27 PM #2
    Eevo's Avatar
    Eevo
    Eevo is offline Swaggie Subscriber
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Adelaide Hills
    Posts
    13,383
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by PhilipA View Post
    Whirlpool indicated that Chromecast only uses the PC as a menu interface.
    i belive this is correct.
    i havn't used one myself.
    but a few of the guys at work have one and speak well of it
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  3. 29th March 2015, 04:23 PM #3
    bsperka
    bsperka is offline Wizard
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Brisbane
    Posts
    1,317
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Video stream via wifi. Your device(Android phone etc) is only a controller.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  4. 29th March 2015, 05:02 PM #4
    loanrangie's Avatar
    loanrangie
    loanrangie is offline LordRover Subscriber
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    St Helena,Melbourne
    Posts
    16,777
    Total Downloaded
    1.13 MB
    I have a chromecast and its now back in its box replaced with an aldi cocoon android player, the cocoon is not perfect bug much more user friendly than the chromecast.

    Sent from my GT-I9300 using AULRO mobile app
    MY08 TDV6 SE D3- permagrin ooh yeah
    2004 Jayco Freedom tin tent
    1998 Triumph Daytona T595
    1974 VW Kombi bus
    1958 Holden FC special sedan
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  5. 18th August 2015, 11:40 AM #5
    Disco-tastic's Avatar
    Disco-tastic
    Disco-tastic is offline Wizard
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Central Coast NSW
    Posts
    1,888
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Only just saw this.

    I have a chromecast and with the right plugins you can stream anything from a Chrome browser window to the chromecast. i.e. anything you can view on your computer you can view on your tv. I have issues with it as i think my modem/routers bandwidth is low (it's the standard telstra one) and so I get low quality video.

    I use it frequently to watch youtube using my phone as a remote. The chromecast itself connects to the web address and it streams directly to the chromecast without going via your phone. I've found it works really well and is very convenient.

    For other products (such as Stan or Netflix) the phone app has to have chromecast support for it to work seamlessly, else you need to use the chrome browser with plugin option. I have an app called Crackle which works really well (I don't have Stan or Netflix).

    My biggest limiter is my internet speed and my router. Your usage may vary

    Cheers

    Dan
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  6. 18th August 2015, 01:06 PM #6
    PhilipA
    PhilipA is offline Swaggie Subscriber
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Avoca Beach
    Posts
    14,152
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Just to follow up I ended up buying an Apple TV.

    It seems great on download. For example my wife watches the Bachelor on Channel 10 streaming and it hardly if ever buffers. ( not for 3episodes and once for a few seconds on the latest) AND NO ADS during the program.

    The only pity is that the other TV free to airs are not on the menu, but you can do a work around and mirror your IPhone screen on the TV.
    Stan and Netflix are on there as is CBS sports .
    I believe that Telstra is introducing a streamer that will have the free to airs on it.

    Regards Philip A
    Last edited by PhilipA; 18th August 2015 at 01:07 PM. Reason: more info
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  7. 18th August 2015, 02:01 PM #7
    Tombie Guest
    We have..


    1. Samsung TV with Media Hub
    2. AppleTV
    3. Chromecast
    4. XBOX One
    5. FetchTV
    6. A media Centre Router/hub

    multiple computers PC & MAC (all can stream to any of the first 4)

    Fetch TV can access the Media Hub and has USB capability as well

    Win10 has a nice "Cast to device" function now which makes life easier on those machines..

    We also have Netflix running on the Fetch TV, AppleTV, Ipads and iPhones - which can stream to the TV in the Camper

    We certainly aren't lacking for capability to get A/V entertainment...
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
« taken a long time but the day is nearly here.. | sick of Win 10 sending stuff back to Microsoft? »

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Forum Rules

Search AULRO.com ONLY!
 Search All the Web!