![]() ![]() It's a great feature because it allows you to ditch your TV's own remote and use the streamer's clicker for everything. Sarah Tew/CNET Best for TV and device control: Fire TV (especially Fire TV Cube)īoth Roku and Fire TV offer devices with buttons on the remote designed to control your TV. With a mute key and the ability to command sound bars and receivers in addition to your TV, Fire TV's remote is better for device control. ![]() Amazon lacks a way to handle the audio lag (lip sync error) and you'll need to have a volume control built into the headphones. Roku claims that up to four people can listen privately at the same time with audio that is automatically adjusted to work with each individual's headphones.įire TV's only option for private listening is to pair Bluetooth headphones, but it's not nearly as effective. Roku rolled out its OS 10.5 system upgrade last year which attempts to fix the audio lags that can occur when listening through Bluetooth headphones. Plus, every Roku device offers private listening via the free Roku app on your phone - just fire up the app and attach headphones to your phone. They can just navigate to the Sound Settings menu to pair their wireless headphones directly through the Roku. Additionally, those with a Roku Ultra or a Roku Streambar don't need to plug their headphones into anything in order to use private listening. You just plug your headphones into the clicker and the audio on the TV or soundbar mutes automatically, and sound comes through the headphones instead, complete with volume control on the 'phones. Roku has long had a really cool feature on its higher-end players: A headphone jack built into the remote control itself. You can use the Roku app on your phone for private headphone listening with any Roku player Sarah Tew/CNET Best for private listening via headphones: Roku Still, if you own a Google speaker already and want to use it for TV control, Fire TV isn't an option. Roku players work in the same way with Alexa and Google Home/ Google Nest speakers but not as well - you have to remember to say "Roku" at the end of every command ("OK, Google, launch Hulu on Roku"). Say "Alexa, watch Roma" and Fire TV launches Netflix and starts playing the movie, for example. , you can do pretty much everything hands-free on Fire TV (no remote required) with standard Alexa commands. Alexa's voice also talks back through the TV's speakers. Most Roku players also offer voice remotes using Roku's own voice system, but the cheapest models lack that feature.īoth voice systems let you easily search, launch apps and control playback (fast-forward, pause, etc.) via voice, but Fire TV also lets you do everything Alexa does, including control smart-home devices, get a weather report and answer questions, complete with on-screen results. If you care about using voice control to find TV shows and movies, Fire TV wins.Įvery Fire TV device from the Lite on up has Alexa voice capability built into the remote. Sarah Tew/CNET Best for voice: Fire TV with Alexa Want to watch TV hands-free, commanding the TV with just your voice? Fire TV + Alexa speaker, like this Echo Dot, works better than Roku + Google Assistant/Alexa. ![]() It gets to the apps and shows want quickly, without filling the screen with other junk. There are really just two major reasons.īetter menus. Roku's no-nonsense menu system places the apps front-and-center and lets you arrange them however you please, just like on your phone. Our go-to recommendation is Roku over Fire TV. So which one's better? Best overall: Roku Both have multiple models, starting with basic streamers up to 4K-compatible versions with voice control built into the remotes., so you can ditch the remote that came with your TV if you aren't bouncing around to other inputs. Both (except for the cheapest Rokus) offer remotes with TV volume and power buttons to control most.The latest models of Roku and Fire TV are pretty much equally quick, responsive and reliable as long as you have a solid internet connection.Most apps look and behave basically the same on both. Both have access to thousands of TV apps, including all of the major ones.Both are super-affordable, starting at $30 for their cheapest players, and they often go on sale for less. ![]()
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