Re: Google TV vs Roku

Awhile back I got a 50" 4K TCL with Google TV on sale for about $250. The
picture is surprisingly good. The sound is tinny but I already had a sound
bar; it pairs with Bluetooth. The TV pairs with headphones as well, but the
next morning when I turn on the sound bar, the volume's at max! I learned to
mute, then turn down the sound while the video stream reloaded.
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Google TV is based on ChromeOS, which is built using a Linux kernel.
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Google TV tries to do too much. The underpowered computer in this TV takes
forever when "Loading information". The information comes from YouTube TV
and bunch of other apps. Way too much navigation needed. And recently
YouTube TV started up with an earlier show loaded. More navigation. My use
case is more like watching TV than looking for stuff to stream. I don't need
a continuation of the morning news in the afternoon.
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Google TV has an "Apps only" mode which reduces the navigation, but does
nothing for the speed of loading.
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The ponderousness of it all made me want to use one of the small Roku
devices. (In fact when Google TV would prompt for feedback I'd write "Roku
interface!") One with a little more beef to it.
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Looking at pricing, I stumbled across the Roku Streambar. It's a small
soundbar with Roku built in, and it can take 4K content from other Bluetooth
devices and stream it to the TV. There's also a Pro version, but I bought
the regular one at a slight discount. It's connected via HDMI-ARC and can
control some TV functions. I set up the TV to use "the last used input".
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The picture is brighter and more saturated, so I had to tone that down via
the TV settings. The sound is decent. It can be improved with the purchase
of a subwoofer and 2 or 4 more satellite speakers.
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Both Google TV and the Roku provide voice-control, but the latter is faster,
partly due to the hardware, one would think.
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So far, so good for RokuOS. Another win for the Linux kernel!