Apple TV vs Amazon Fire TV vs Roku vs Google Nexus Player: Which one and why?

[jimbob200521]

As the title suggests, I'm looking for a new media player for our living room. TV will be a 50" 1080p LCD TV (no 4k required) playing through a 5.1 surround. I want to simplify (and update) from a previous gen Apple TV3 and another streaming device I use to run Kodi and Plex to something that does it all, mainly for less cable clutter and less power usage not to mention eliminating the need to swap inputs on the TV/Receiver. I'm debating between the newest Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku 3, or Google Nexus Player. My requirements are as such:

1) Must be able to run Plex
2) Must be able to run Kodi
3) Must be about $100 (eliminating the Nvidia Shield)
4) Must be wife user friendly

I'm personally leaning towards either the Fire TV or the Nexus Player but am open to suggestion. So, which one and why?

 

[isekii]

All you really need is Kodi.
Firetv/Stick for the win.
I have appletv roku wdtv live, and multiple firesticks along with a firetv.

 

[Strk]

Any reason not to get a Chromecast? Personally, I'd go Chromecast or Nexus Player (frequently drops to $49 at Best Buy). You can stream Amazon content from a Chrome tab.

 

[Ichinisan]

Love Apple TV 4.


Rechargeable Siri voice/touch RF remote includes IR for controlling TV power/volume.

AirPlay is better when you have an iPad.

 

[Ichinisan]

All you really need is Kodi.
Firetv/Stick for the win.
I have appletv roku wdtv live, and multiple firesticks along with a firetv.

The remote control on my Fire TV Stick is just awful. It always behaves as if I held the button when I pressed it quickly just to skip back a few seconds. Once it starts rewinding, it often goes absolutely bonkers, repeatedly misinterpreting what I press. As a result, I've hardly used the damn thing.

 

[gorcorps]

Any reason not to get a Chromecast? Personally, I'd go Chromecast or Nexus Player (frequently drops to $49 at Best Buy). You can stream Amazon content from a Chrome tab.

Having a separate remote with hard buttons has always been better to me than using the phone. Plus I don't waste my phone battery.

I have Rokus, I love my Roku and I won't bother with anything else.

 

[Ichinisan]

Any reason not to get a Chromecast? Personally, I'd go Chromecast or Nexus Player (frequently drops to $49 at Best Buy). You can stream Amazon content from a Chrome tab.

Chromecast is frustrating if you don't have a tablet. It's very disruptive when you get a phone call.

 

[SP33Demon]

Kodi on any Chrome OS box FTW. Just build your own. Why you would bother with anything else is beyond me.

 

[Strk]

Chromecast is frustrating if you don't have a tablet. It's very disruptive when you get a phone call.

I can't say I've had any issues with that with my Nexus 6, but if that's an issue I'd go with a Nexus Player. It is cheaper and can do all the content Fire TV can do (through a Chrome tab, as I said earlier).

 

[isekii]

The remote control on my Fire TV Stick is just awful. It always behaves as if I held the button when I pressed it quickly just to skip back a few seconds. Once it starts rewinding, it often goes absolutely bonkers, repeatedly misinterpreting what I press. As a result, I've hardly used the damn thing.

I have to agree FireTV remote does suck, but if you have a tablet, there's an app for that.

 

[jimbob200521]

Any reason not to get a Chromecast? Personally, I'd go Chromecast or Nexus Player (frequently drops to $49 at Best Buy). You can stream Amazon content from a Chrome tab.

I want something more powerful than a Fire Stick and with more potential for updates/future software down the road.

The remote control on my Fire TV Stick is just awful. It always behaves as if I held the button when I pressed it quickly just to skip back a few seconds. Once it starts rewinding, it often goes absolutely bonkers, repeatedly misinterpreting what I press. As a result, I've hardly used the damn thing.

That's some good feedback, little user quirks like that help make a decision. I hate it when remotes/UI goes wonky, drives me absolutely crazy.

Having a separate remote with hard buttons has always been better to me than using the phone. Plus I don't waste my phone battery.

I have Rokus, I love my Roku and I won't bother with anything else.

Agreed, I have used phones for remotes thus far and while manageable, it's not always the most desirable or convenient.

As far as the Roku goes, my qualms with it include a not as powerful CPU/GPU, honestly I'm not as familiar with it as far as support for software, games, etc go, and to be honest I don't care much for the looks of it. I know the Roku is a very popular device but for some reason it doesn't do anything for me.

 

[jimbob200521]

Kodi on any Chrome OS box FTW. Just build your own. Why you would bother with anything else is beyond me.

Any options for DIY that can be as cost effective as one of the players I mentioned? And no, I don't want to go the Raspberry Pi route.

 

[Ichinisan]

Get the Apple TV 4 and return it if you don't like it.

I got it a day or so after release and my first one had a defective remote control (wouldn't click on the right side). Apple sent me another one and it works great now.

 

[slackerinabox]

Own:
Apple tv 4: Great all around box. Just love it, and it runs in the living room. I wish there were more games and that the controllers weren't $50 each. Airplay is super convenient . Plex works wonderfully, and it's the most wife/in laws friendly of them all.

Fire stick: Not bad, the games / non-media apps blow compared to the apple tv. the remote gets "stuck" sometimes (the command repeats) BUT kodi makes it very flexible. I also installed an airplay app that works 50% of the time. Overall, hella good deal

roku 3: Have multiple around the house for the TWC app (cable box free cable tv). Overall, feels a bit long in the tooth but is my #1 recommendation to everyday folks - it just works, the remote headphone thing is cool, and the apps store is robust (apple tv is catching up). roku's games suck if you care. Plex works great on it but is prettier on the apple tv/

Chromecast: HATED it (i had the s6 edge when I used it, now i"m on ios and it's useless aside from netflix and hulu on an iphone). With the fire stick out I don't see it as an option at all. Wife HATES having to dig through apps and not having a remote/interface and make sure the wifi is connected properly (we have 3 routers throughout the house and the chromecast if finicky if you're not on the exact router, vs. airplay working if you're just on the same network). I hojnestly don't get why people have such a hardon for it, I think they just like that it's cheap and haven't tried the fire stick.

 

[jimbob200521]

Get the Apple TV 4 and return it if you don't like it.

I got it a day or so after release and my first one had a defective remote control (wouldn't click on the right side). Apple sent me another one and it works great now.

I like the Apple TV 3 we have now and to be honest, if it supported Plex I wouldn't have made this thread. While the new Apple TV does support Plex it worries me that any app the all might Apple doesn't approve doesn't gwr to be used. If they were easily jailbroken that'd be a different story but they seem of make it so hard to make the device customizable.

 

[SP33Demon]

Any options for DIY that can be as cost effective as one of the players I mentioned? And no, I don't want to go the Raspberry Pi route.

Just buy a chinese kodi box on amazon and go the ARM route.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Just buy a chinese kodi box on amazon and go the ARM route.

God no! Those never get updated and use a hacked media player often times.

OP, of those devices it is simple given your requirements: Fire TV.

The Nexus Player sucks, sorry it just does the hardware is lacking for some reason. The Roku can't run Kodi, and neither can the AppleTV. That leaves the Fire TV. If you are a Prime member then that is your answer.

With that said I am so so on a Fire TV. I think a $50 Raspberry Pi 2 gives a better Kodi experience, while a $50 refurbished Roku could stream just as well. I would rather have that for $100, but I am picky about video playback and my Kodi experience (my living room setup is a HTPC built to max out Kodi).

I would consider just stretching your budget to the Shield as it is a home run for your requirements if you don't have Prime. Or asking yourself if you really need Kodi. Unless you are picky like me or need streaming unofficial sports/movies then Plex should cover it.

 

[Ichinisan]

Chromecast: HATED it (i had the s6 edge when I used it, now i"m on ios and it's useless aside from netflix and hulu on an iphone). With the fire stick out I don't see it as an option at all. Wife HATES having to dig through apps and not having a remote/interface and make sure the wifi is connected properly (we have 3 routers throughout the house and the chromecast if finicky if you're not on the exact router, vs. airplay working if you're just on the same network). I hojnestly don't get why people have such a hardon for it, I think they just like that it's cheap and haven't tried the fire stick.

Not a fan of the Chromecast as a primary device, but it sounds like you can optimize your WiFi a bit. Only 1 router should provide private LAN IP addresses via DHCP. Configure the secondary routers in bridge/AP mode. Then it won't matter which WiFi you are on. All the wireless networks will lead to the same LAN and all your devices (wired or wireless) will be able to find each other. Your current setup has a private network behind a private network.

 

[SP33Demon]

God no! Those never get updated and use a hacked media player often times.

OP, of those devices it is simple given your requirements: Fire TV.

The Nexus Player sucks, sorry it just does the hardware is lacking for some reason. The Roku can't run Kodi, and neither can the AppleTV. That leaves the Fire TV. If you are a Prime member then that is your answer.

With that said I am so so on a Fire TV. I think a $50 Raspberry Pi 2 gives a better Kodi experience, while a $50 refurbished Roku could stream just as well. I would rather have that for $100, but I am picky about video playback and my Kodi experience (my living room setup is a HTPC built to max out Kodi).

I would consider just stretching your budget to the Shield as it is a home run for your requirements if you don't have Prime. Or asking yourself if you really need Kodi. Unless you are picky like me or need streaming unofficial sports/movies then Plex should cover it.

FFS, just update it yourself. It's not that hard. But you want everything spoonfed to you, right.

 

[poofyhairguy]

FFS, just update it yourself. It's not that hard. But you want everything spoonfed to you, right.

That is not what I am saying. When it comes to Kodi, I am not a spoon feeder I promise. My setup is customized like crazy.

What I am saying is often those Chinese boxes have either very hacked versions of Android or they have a hacked version of Kodi installed on the device (Kodi can be forced to use an external player for playback) to get certain advertised features of the box to work (like HEVC decoding, VC1 decoding, refresh rate matching, etc.) so if you try to manually update Kodi yourself you are stuck with a suboptimal experience. Kodi only supports certain SoCs fully or partially out of the box, and even if all that is fine the OS itself might never be updated with new features or bug fixes.

There are some great "chinese" boxes that do it right and contribute back to Kodi or Openelec for real support, but just telling someone to buy a random one off Amazon is like telling them to walk into a device minefield.

 

[Ichinisan]

That is not what I am saying. When it comes to Kodi, I am not a spoon feeder I promise. My setup is customized like crazy.

What I am saying is often those Chinese boxes have either very hacked versions of Android or they have a hacked version of Kodi installed on the device (Kodi can be forced to use an external player for playback) to get certain advertised features of the box to work (like HEVC decoding, VC1 decoding, refresh rate matching, etc.) so if you try to manually update Kodi yourself you are stuck with a suboptimal experience. Kodi only supports certain SoCs fully or partially out of the box, and even if all that is fine the OS itself might never be updated with new features or bug fixes.

There are some great "chinese" boxes that do it right and contribute back to Kodi or Openelec for real support, but just telling someone to buy a random one off Amazon is like telling them to walk into a device minefield.

...and FireTV Stick is just $40

 

[SP33Demon]

...and FireTV Stick is just $40

And way slower.

 

[SP33Demon]

That is not what I am saying. When it comes to Kodi, I am not a spoon feeder I promise. My setup is customized like crazy.

What I am saying is often those Chinese boxes have either very hacked versions of Android or they have a hacked version of Kodi installed on the device (Kodi can be forced to use an external player for playback) to get certain advertised features of the box to work (like HEVC decoding, VC1 decoding, refresh rate matching, etc.) so if you try to manually update Kodi yourself you are stuck with a suboptimal experience. Kodi only supports certain SoCs fully or partially out of the box, and even if all that is fine the OS itself might never be updated with new features or bug fixes.

There are some great "chinese" boxes that do it right and contribute back to Kodi or Openelec for real support, but just telling someone to buy a random one off Amazon is like telling them to walk into a device minefield.

I see what you're saying. Yeah, I'd stick to a trusted brand that does auto update like Minix, there are some good ones out there though depending on the brand:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGVFdUWnSuc

 

[Raduque]

I use and love the Roku Stick. It's plugged into HDMI and USB and completely hidden behind the TV. I only use Netflix and Plex on it, and it plays everything fine.

 

[Graze]

Chromecast is frustrating if you don't have a tablet. It's very disruptive when you get a phone call.

What!?


To answer the op's question. Get the Nvidia Shield TV