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New Roku lineup and MI Box (1 Viewer)

Cranston37+

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We have a number of new streaming players hitting the market - 5(!) new Roku players and the Mi Box (Android TV). Also rumored is a new Nvidia Shield TV, but nothing is known about that yet.

As far as I can tell, the Mi Box seems to be the best buy. It has the same features of the Roku Ultra (4K 60fps HDR10, DTS and Dolby, etc) but adds Chromecast capabilities, Google search, and a remote that can control volume - for almost half the cost. ($129 vs $69).

Curious to read your thoughts...

Roku

https://blog.roku.com/blog/2016/09/...press-roku-premiere-roku-premiere-roku-ultra/

Mi Box

http://www.mi.com/en/mibox/
 

Scott Merryfield

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Since the Mi Box is Android, would all apps available in the Google Play store be available? I am still waiting for the Comcast Xfinity app for our Roku devices so I can eliminate a cable box in one room, but there is an app available for Android -- I have it installed on my phone.

According to the Roku article, there is a 4K box available for $79.99 -- the Roku Premiere. The Ultra is $129, and adds Dolby Digital Plus decode, voice search and lost remote finder features. They also have a new 1080p box available for $29.99 -- the Express.
 
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Cranston37+

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Since the Mi Box is Android, would all apps available in the Google Play store be available? I am still waiting for the Comcast Xfinity app for our Roku devices so I can eliminate a cable box in one room, but there is an app available for Android -- I have it installed on my phone.

The beauty of an Android box like the Mi is that since it has Google Cast you can use any Android app that is Cast enabled from your phone.

Remember too that for something like Comcast Xfinity you don't necessarily need the app - you can just use your credentials to log into individual channel apps.

There's also an app called Side Launcher but I'm not sure how that works - there are YouTube videos showing how, though.
 

Robert Crawford

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Roku offered me $50.00 off the Ultra unit because I was one of the first to buy the Roku 4. I have about a month to consider it which I'll probably do to replace one of my older Roku units I have setup in my Bedroom HT.
 

Cranston37+

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Some reviews have begun popping up for the Mi box and to put it simply, it looks shockingly bad.

When running it through benchmarks, it scores something like 4200 whereas the Nvidia Shield scores 40,000+.

And look at this video comparing the two. Nvidia plays smoothly and beautifully while the Mi stutters and skips



Since I already have a Roku 4, and am in need of another box, I'm going to get the new Nvidia when that is announced. No sense doubling up what I already have and I'm interested to see what the Android TV platform has to offer...
 
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[email protected]

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I guess I have never had issues with Roku, always looking for better though, is there another player that has most of the apps like Vudu, Amazon video and Google play?
 

Stephen Brooks

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Anyone else having issues with Vudu on Roku? I have the newer model Roku stick and about 2 weeks ago, it started buffering every few seconds on Vudu. It says I have insufficient bandwidth even though I have a full strong signal. My other apps on Roku work fine and even Vudu works great on non-Roku devices connected to the same network. I emailed Vudu support about it but haven't heard back from them.
 

Scott Merryfield

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The old Roku 2 in our home theater room has been having some issues lately, dropping connection with NHL.tv and Vudu and requiring an occasional reboot. So yesterday I ordered a Roku Premiere to replace it -- the new device should be here on Monday. I'm going to move the old Roku into the spare bedroom with my wife's treadmill. I can then get rid of the cable box in there, as she only watches HGTV in there and there is a Roku app for that.

I do not have a 4K display, so that feature of the Premiere will be wasted. However, it has a faster processor and better wifi than the old Roku 2, so hopefully it will provide a more solid connection. It gets frustrating having the stream drop in the middle of watching a hockey game.
 

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