My Chromecast - Roku HDMI stick face off

There are plenty of Chromecast vs Roku stick reviews on the net; but having used the 2 for a while I realized there are still some finer points nobody had mentioned, let me lay it out here. But if this is too long didn't read, yeah, I agree with the rest of the guys, the Roku stick won, hands down. It is indeed worth the extra $15-$20.

The Chromecast is attractive to the price conscious bunch - at $35, dropped to $30 after the Roku stick was released, it is somewhat competitive, but only somewhat. You want to see your media like pictures and videos on the big screen I get that, but chances are, if your TV has an HDMI port, you can already do the same through the USB port. Of course you want to do it wirelessly and you want the convenience, but I got to say, all those clicking on your iPad/iPod/tablets ain't that easy either, its a lot of finger hassle.

And if you want to watch Netflix/Hulu? Forget it. Tables/phones make lousy remotes; those tiny scroll bars can never replace the rewind buttons for fine searching and if you think wifi means you don't need to point you phone/tablet towards the TV to operate, you better remember, that's the least of your worry, cause there are no buttons, just a flat piece of glass, meaning every button click requires you to take your eyes off the TV, it really sucks.

The Chromecast does has its upside: it does boot up a whole lot faster than the Roku stick, if you choose to power it with the TV's USB instead of leaving it on always. It also comes with an HDMI connector which can be marginally useful if you want to press your TV really close against the wall, but don't expect much, well, the connector cable is tough and doesn't bend easily.

The Roku stick comes with a Roku remote, which works a million times better than using a phone/tablet, but I just think the Roku remote on its own simply has a usability design issue. First of all, the OK button is not in the middle of the arrow keys - who does that! Notwithstanding, there is another back button and another rewind and fast forward button and play/pause button. Why can't they make it like the Amazon Fire or AppleTV or just about every other remotes in the world, I like to watch TV, which means I am lazy and don't like to lift my finger too much!

Another thing few people noticed about the Roku is that, unlike what Amazon will have you believe, you can do voice search, so long as you use the iPhone/Android apps. You can either use their voice button or just use the voice recognition part of your device keyboard.

Overall, the Roku HDMI stick may be just a bit slower than its Roku 3 cousin or the Amazon FireTV, but it is economical and it does not take up another wall socket or any cabinet space. It is a fine lovable product.