
Why Roku’s IPO Will Be Worth Watching - jpelecanos
https://www.valuewalk.com/2017/09/rokus-ipo-will-worth-watching/
======
azurezyq
What amused me most is that the market share of Roku differs A LOT across
sources:

(I own a chromecast so I just compare Roku vs Google.)

18% vs 30% [https://www.valuewalk.com/2017/09/rokus-ipo-will-worth-
watch...](https://www.valuewalk.com/2017/09/rokus-ipo-will-worth-watching/)

8% vs 16% [http://www.businessinsider.com/roku-hits-a-new-milestone-
as-...](http://www.businessinsider.com/roku-hits-a-new-milestone-as-its-
market-share-continues-to-soar-2017-7)

36.9% vs 38.9% [http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/roku-apple-tv-
chromecas...](http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/roku-apple-tv-chromecast-
amazon-fire-tv-market-share-2017-1202506850/)

I can understand these are sensitive numbers and can be difficult to get. But
these agencies strived to reach completely different results. How can this be
possible?

~~~
josteink
Roku is an _extremely_ US-centric device, to the point that it's almost
impossible to set up properly unless you are in the US.

I had to use a proxy and fake a US mailing-address to be allowed to use
Spotify (a European service!), from Europe. And I had to try 3-4 times, with
different email-addresses, because I had to create new accounts.

This thing took a reasonably seasoned hacker some serious effort to set up.
I'm not buying a single device from this company ever again.

Compare that to Chromecasts: You can give those to grandmas and they'll just
work.

My guess is if you compare global numbers to US-only numbers you will get
_very_ different results, and you will find Roku having almost no marketshare
what so ever outside US-borders.

~~~
kitd
I'm in the UK and I haven't experienced those sorts of issues. Maybe I've just
been lucky with what I've signed up for, but I think it would be unfortunate
to paint a really good product (IMHO) as bad unnecessarily.

The only issue I have is that, in the UK, you can't preload Amazon movies via
the web for watching later, but that's an Amazon thing AIUI not Roku.

~~~
izacus
The author might not be from UK (he just said "Europe") so his experience
might be completely different from yours.

I've met a fair share of devices who simply refuse to work in continental EU
while still demanding registration to US streaming services. Stupid issues
like not being able to update Spotify app on Android (due to Play Store
geoblocking) while the app demands update (and works after manually applying
it).

------
sparrish
Roku devices are great. For less than $70 I got a box that plays Netflix,
Amazon Video, Google Play, Youtube, Hulu, and a lot more that I don't use.

The big selling point for me was the built-in headphone jack on the remote.
After the wife, kids go to bed, I can still enjoy a late-night movie without
waking anyone up... so long as I don't laugh too loud. (grin)

This is my second Roku device - been using them for about 5 years now. Kids
broke the remote on the last one and it was nearly as cheap to buy a whole new
device than replace the remote.

~~~
StavrosK
I got a Xiaomi Mi box and find it similarly amazing. It runs Android TV, which
means I can install Kodi, which has been amazing for watching my movie
collection, I don't know if Roku supports that.

I used to have a Chromecast but the Mi box is much more convenient.

~~~
jasonsync
Here's my evolution:

2008 - Eureka LX350HD Really buggy, crashed often, no MKV support, but played
most of my library from back in the day

2010 - WDTV Gen 1 Great upgrade from the Eureka, MKV support

2012 - WDTV Live Streaming Gen 3 I still consider this the best media player
I've owned, but it got slower over the years as apps improved (got bloated).
Supported all video formats, supported all major online services, ability to
mount over network, lots of advanced config options, and native playback from
local drives via multiple USB ports.

2013 - Apple TV Gen 3 Having to transcode all MKVs / stream them from my Mac
Mini was a non-starter, very slow, but I thought I'd give it a try (The WDTV
Live could play all formats natively).

2014 - Roku 3 (+ Plex) Eventually the WDTV Live got too slow and firmware
updates didn't help. Roku was a huge upgrade for online services, and Roku +
Plex made transcoding tolerable (more-so than the Apple TV). Headphone jack in
remote was a nice touch, and hidden private channels were fun.

2016 - Xiaomi Mi Box (Official Android TV + Kodi) This is the best media
player I've owned since the WDTV. Kodi / SPMC does everything the WDTV could
do and so much more. Ability to mount over the network and native playback
from local drives means NO MORE TRANSCODING or remote media servers. Although
Roku + Plex made transcoding tolerable, native playback (smooth seek / fast
forward etc.) can't be beat.

The only negative with official Android TV is limited apps, compared to
Android + Chromecast or the older Android boxes. Android TV desperately needs
a native Chrome web browser without side loading. The CBC app is great, for
anyone in Canada! And Netflix / YouTube runs faster compared to the Roku 3.

Android TV via the Xiaomi Mi Box or NVidia Shield with Kodi currently provides
the best overall experience, and most options in terms of playback, apps, and
advanced setup options.

~~~
StavrosK
That echoes my experience. Is Firefox not available for Android TV yet? I
don't really use a browser on the TV, so I haven't even tried installing one
(not sure if it already comes installed with Chrome).

I know you said "no sideloading", but downloading and installing the Firefox
APK right from Mozilla's website should be simple, no?

~~~
jasonsync
I sideloaded Chrome and Firefox a few months ago using the sideload launcher
app
([https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.t...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.tv.sideloadlauncher&hl=en)),
but the browsers have issues, mostly UI / UX tweaks to make them usable with
the onscreen keyboard, Android TV remote etc. without buying a bunch of extra
hardware.

The easier work around at the moment is to cast from a laptop.

------
subroutine
Since other comments have already pointed out some negative aspects of roku, I
just wanted to say that I really enjoy my roku. Moreover my parents and non-
tech-savvy friends love it. I'm not sure why, but when it comes to roku vs
similar products these demographics just seems to 'get it'. I refuse to get
cable TV since everything I want to watch can be streamed; but my roommate
complained almost every day that he didnt know how to stream, he didnt like
the chromecast or PS4 and "why cant we just get cable?!". Unrelenting I picked
up a $50 roku premiere hd. For whatever reason, he loves it. He says it feels
familiar - whatever that means.

~~~
hkmurakami
The chromecast pairing can be rather unintuitive for a first timer. Hell I
always fumble around when I have to set the thing up once a year when I travel
to a random ski lodge.

------
27182818284
Roku's products are in a stage of rot that is very disconcerting.

For example, despite Rdio failing as a company, Roku lacks the ability to map
their Rdio button to a different function. This seems to indicate
_fundamentally_ bad practices by their engineering department. Similarly, it
is possible to quickly hit the search button too fast and cause the entire
Roku device to freeze. On top of all of this, there are some channels that
seem to be impossible to remove from their devices.

~~~
freestockoption
Roku apps feel pretty clunky/jerky compared to Chromecast and Apple TV. Feels
like a product built in the 2000s.

~~~
josteink
Until recently the Plex-app available for Roku literally looked like something
out of the _90s_. I've seen fancier menus on my old Amiga.

The eco-system and its apps are not really built to impress.

~~~
freestockoption
Makes me wonder: if the Roku was released today, how successful would it be?
Seems like they have a huge first mover advantage in that people know it. But
now there are lots of big players in the game who can really polish their
respective products. I guess this IPO is supposed to help with that, but I
feel this just means that there's a challenging road ahead.

------
gordon_freeman
I am still using Chromecast (1st gen) device to cast pretty much every video I
can find on my phone. For the video apps without cast option (like Amazon
Instant Video for example), I simply cast entire phone (Android system 'Cast'
that mirrors screen ) on my TV. This solves fragmentation issue for me as I
can cast pretty much everything: YTube, Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, Amazon Video,
CuriosityStream, etc. Works great for me.

~~~
StavrosK
The nice thing about Android TV boxes (which I think Roku doesn't run) is the
remote, so you don't have to use the phone. You can also pause/rewind etc from
the remote, which, to me, is more convenient than the phone apps. I made the
switch and much prefer it over the Chromecast (mostly for Kodi, though).

------
wlesieutre
I have a Roku 3 and don't plan on buying another. They plastered ads all over
the home screen.

Luckily I'm in the Apple ecosystem, so I've got a good backup option when this
one dies.

~~~
seanp2k2
4K ATV comes out this month apparently. I'm a FireTV owner (current gen, got
it when it came out) and I've been pretty pleased with it. Works with HBO Go,
VLC, Kodi, Netflix, Spotify, and Prime. It's the only game in town that will
do all of those without jail breaking / messing around a lot with the
software. It's not perfect and the dist of Android has some issues, but a
~weekly reboot isn't bad for how often it works well enough. I wish it was
more responsible and didn't have issues with the remote disconnecting, I wish
the launcher was better, a usable browser would be nice, etc but again it all
works with the least amount of hassle vs the other options.

It's currently unavailable on Amazon, and there are rumors of a new one coming
soon, which seems very likely to compete with the new ATV even though I've
considered Amazon Fire TV and sticks to be ahead of the other offerings for at
least a year at this point.

We've come a long way from MythTV / XBMC days. It's an exciting time to be a
content consumer, hah.

~~~
j_s
> 4K ATV comes out this month apparently

Any official links I can share with my friend who is an Apple fan? All I came
up with in a quick search was the rumor sites.

Thanks in advance for your time.

~~~
karkisuni
nothing yet but should be announced tomorrow

[https://www.apple.com/apple-
events/september-2017/](https://www.apple.com/apple-events/september-2017/)

------
noir_lord
Roku's are great, my elderly mum loves hers as it just works.

Best birthday present I ever gave her (according to her).

------
jdlyga
Well, they make the best set top boxes. They were first for Netflix Instant
and are still the best. Even beats Apple TV.

