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at least a couple of years, or whenever Roku declares the Streaming Stick obsolete (however, they probably will have a newer version of the stick available by then, so the chances are I will probably have nothing to worry about).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owners who have version 4 and up won't be too happy with having to spend another $100+ when the units eventually go out of date.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.