Get Ready for ATSC 3.0

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by andy

Streaming devices like Roku and Apple TV have even shorter lives than broadcast standards. After a few years, they start dropping compatibility with older models. They either don't issue needed software updates, or certain services require more computing power than the older models have.

How many years do these players usually last before the software becomes obsolete and/or the processor becomes too slow to keep up with current standards? I upgraded to Roku 2 from Roku 1 about a year or so ago. Both players are still working very well (I tried my Roku 1 with my 22-year-old Zenith Sentry 2 TV the other day, and it still works great), although my Roku 1 is very slow compared to the newer one. If push comes to shove and I must get a new Roku next year, I will (I might upgrade even sooner, as the Roku Streaming Stick is even cheaper than what I paid for my Roku 2), but it seems I will be stuck in an endless cycle of updates--in another year or two, the Roku Streaming Stick will be rendered obsolete and I'll have to buy a new one (even though the old one may still be working perfectly well, if slowly), the player will work a couple more years, and then...here we go again.

Oh well. As I stated earlier, the Roku Streaming Stick will cost me even less than a cable subscription (I don't have cable any longer, but must at least have a cable account so the Spectrum/former Time Warner Cable TV app will receive local TV stations), and I may not have to upgrade again for at least a couple of years, or whenever Roku declares the Streaming Stick obsolete (however, they probably will have a newer version of the stick available by then, so the chances are I will probably have nothing to worry about). If I didn't have a DVD player, I'd upgrade to the Roku version that has a universal TV remote, but that remote presently won't operate auxiliary devices such as DVDs; besides, I already have an RCA universal remote that has operated my entire video system, including the Roku, flawlessly for the last couple of years, so having a universal Roku remote would be redundant, to say the least.

One nice thing about the Roku players, IMO, is the basic ones won't empty your wallet and so can be replaced with newer ones at minimal cost, although the more advanced ones go for over $100. I think a lot of Roku owners who have version 4 and up won't be too happy with having to spend another $100+ when the units eventually go out of date.

Well, that's the way it goes, I guess.

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

How many years do these players usually last before the software becomes obsolete and/or the processor becomes too slow to keep up with current standards?

I was thinking how it's the same thing with modern computers, after about a decade using them to ride the information superhighway is like driving a car with a plugged cat. Of course the software upgrades cost more than the computers which is one reason I'd prefer to do most other things on a pre-candyland Power Mac given the choice.

[andy]

...

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by andy

While, the Roku 1 still works, it has limited compatibility. For example, HBO no longer works on the Roku 1. I'n not sure which other services stopped working.

My Tivo series 3 still works fine as a DVR, but it has lost most of the streaming services, it can no longer be programmed via their web site, or app, and Tivo won't let new customers activate them.

I recently read online that the Roku 1 is now considered obsolete; support for it will end in a very short time. Roku's other Internet devices (Roku 2, 3, 4, et al.), however, will continue to be supported until further notice. That the HBO app no longer works on your Roku 1 bears this out, and is only the beginning. You will probably (even likely) notice that, one by one, the streaming apps will stop until nothing works. When everything stops, you will know your Roku 1 is no longer usable. I have a Roku 1 myself, but I am not in the least concerned about it becoming obsolete for at least two reasons: one, I have had a Roku 2 (which still works very well) for over a year, and two, I just purchased a 32" flat screen TV, to which my Roku 2 is connected. I mention this because I had originally planned to use the Roku 1 on one of my analog TVs if and when my 19" flat screen fails; however, since I now have the 32" Insignia FP and will keep the 19" set for a standby unit, I have no use for my Roku 1, which has composite video output. This type of video and audio output is, you guessed it, obsolete, which is why Roku's version 2, 3, 4... Internet devices only have one HDMI port for audio and video output to the television. This was done because analog TV is now obsolete, and most folks now have flat screens. There is just no use for composite audio/video output jacks on Rokus any longer.

Your DVR is likely obsolete (or close to it) as well, if most streaming services no longer work. TiVo is refusing to allow activation of any DVR as old as yours because they cannot be bothered with old technology. Time marches on, and eventually even the newest technology will become obsolete. There once was a joke in computer circles that said a computer (for example; this applies to other technology as well) will be obsolete the second you walk out of the store with it (or get it home). Today, however, that isn't a joke anymore. Technology changes so rapidly that most of it is obsolete (or, again, close to it) shortly after the devices come on the market.

[etype2]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

There once was a joke in computer circles that said a computer (for example; this applies to other technology as well) will be obsolete the second you walk out of the store with it (or get it home). Today, however, that isn't a joke anymore. Technology changes so rapidly that most of it is obsolete (or, again, close to it) shortly after the devices come on the market.

Steve Jobs one half joking said “We redesign the iPhone every three years, so customers will have to prepare for this.”