New Roku Streaming Stick Vs Chromecast

Three Reasons why Roku's new entry model Streaming Stick is better than Chromecast

Good things often come in small packages and the new 2nd generation Roku HDMI Streaming Stick was designed to replace their entry Roku LT model. With full 1080p HD Video resolution and a low price of only $15 more than a Chromecast, this may end up being a very popular Roku model.

Roku may have built their new Streaming Stick to directly compete with Google's Chromecast.

Here are Three Reasons why we think the new Roku Streaming Stick is a much better value than it's closest rival.

The Streaming Stick comes with a real remote you can hold in your hand. You don't have to control it from a tablet or phone. It has real buttons you can push and control with tactile feedback. You won't miss out on the joy of holding onto a solid conventional remote. Surfing through Roku channels, fast forwarding and rewinding the latest episode of House of Cards or pausing your video when the phone rings is all easily done with it's dedicated remote. With RF technology you can aim the remote anywhere and still control your Roku. Besides, what would you do if you could no longer spend time searching all over for the remote or fighting on who get's to push the buttons.

Use Roku Search to find what you want to watch. No need to go to each app or channel and see what's playing. Search for your favorite shows either by program titles, actors or even directors. Roku will tell you what channel it's playing on and even take you directly to the show or movie. If you don't get a particular channel Roku Search even gives you the option to subscribe to that channel. This makes searching across many channels quick and easy.

One Thousand Channels! Chromecast while new still has very limited channels or apps available. Roku has an open source attitude towards it's platform and some of it's channels are private and were created by developers for fun or as a hobby. With Roku's huge channel selection and almost every major streaming content provider supporting Roku, there is a never ending supply of something to watch on Roku covering almost every subject imaginable. These channels alone makes the Roku Streaming Stick a far better value currently than Chromecast. View our large Roku Channels list to check out some great channels available for Roku.

YouTube Ready

The Streaming Stick is currently the only other model besides the Roku 3 which will let you watch YouTube content with a dedicated YouTube Channel. We are glad they included this feature in their new Streaming Stick and hope at some point they add the YouTube channel to the rest of their current model lineup.

Casting vs Streaming

While the Roku Streaming Stick while it may look a little very similar to a Chromecast, it is actually very different. Roku works like many other media streamers in that it can stream video and audio content directly from the internet onto your television.

Chromecast on the other hand relies on a computer, smart phone or tablet to select the content which is then handed off to Chromecast to play on your television. This means you constantly need to have another 3rd party device on and use in use for browsing, and to control and initiate playback of media. Roku on the other hand is completely stand alone and can be controlled directly from it's included remote and needs no other devices on choose it's media.

Roku Casting

Some people still may like to send videos directly from their mobile devices to play on their television. Roku also offers a couple of Apps to make this possible. Both YouTube and Netflix will let you send videos right from your smartphone directly to your TV through Roku.

Roku Streaming Stick Specs

Networking
802.11 dual-band (a/b/g/n compatible) with WEP, WPA, and WPA2 support

Video Outputs
720p
1080p

Audio Output
Digital over HDMI (7.1 and 5.1 surround pass through)

Power Consumption
Less than 2W (typical) when streaming HD video

Power Input
5V – 1A power adapter

Size
3.1 x 1.1 x .5 inches

Weight
0.64 ounces

Availability

As of this time, the Roku Streaming Stick is still not yet released although it is available to pre-order. To Check all Roku models and read reviews, check here.

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