David Pierce
After three months of watching TV with a sleeping baby, I've come to one important conclusion: streaming boxes suck. All of them. And that's a real bummer. https://www.theverge.com/23621907/streaming-tv-boxes-roku-amazon-google-apple-nvidia
All the streaming boxes suck now

Streaming boxes have gone from promising little gadgets to ubiquitous headaches. No matter if it’s a Roku, Amazon, Google, or even Apple device, they all suffer from poor user experiences that haven’t matured in the past decade.

The Verge
Mar 6, 2023 at 3:41pmWeb
Show threadLaurens HofMar 6, 2023
@pierce 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️

(welcome back and good article)
Show threadCraig FroehleMar 6, 2023

@pierce "By now, if you own an Nvidia Shield, you’re probably shouting at your screen, WHAT ABOUT THE SHIELD? THE SHIELD IS AMAZING."

Yep...you got me to read your article because I did almost exactly that when I saw the headline. 😂 We bought one (2019 Pro) and loved it so much that we bought another one for the basement TV. And apart from some weird (and temporary) software bugs, it's been an absolute joy to use. But yes, the biggest limitation is every content app's isolationism.

Show threadDavid PierceMar 6, 2023
@cra1g The Shield is great! And I wish it could be The Thing! I'm just glad at least one company is like, "what if your TV was fast," so I'll take it
Show threadErlendMar 6, 2023
@pierce @cra1g But you are way too harsh on the Apple TV, man!
Very fast, decent remote, good support for standards, and plays well with other Apple products (but not useless without them). Also, you get the choice between the grid of apps (that some like), but also a place for content from all services (except one...). Is it perfect? No. But I have no idea how you can claim that it "sucks".
I'd probably be happy with the Shield as well. 🙂
Show threadTyler LundMar 6, 2023
@pierce I was amazed last year when I finally went from a Fire stick to an Apple TV which just how much faster and more usable it is. I really hope that Apple doesn’t start bloating it which does seem likely as they prioritize their own services.
Show threadCraig LeeMar 6, 2023
@pierce I read, "WHAT ABOUT THE SHIELD? THE SHIELD IS AMAZING." in Alex H. Cranz voice.
Show threadCraig LeeMar 7, 2023
@pierce Longtime #Roku user here. It always sat in the middle of the Venn diagram of the services I have. Others always seemed to lack something. And the company always seemed not evil. However, I have a #Chromecast that Google sent during the feud over #YouTubeTV. Didn’t use it much until I recently needed a non-smart TV hooked up temporarily. I particularly liked how fast you could get to live TV on it. If I were starting over, it might be a hard choice. Do I want Google knowing even more about me? I’d also look hard again at Apple TV since we’re already strong in that ecosystem.
Show threadmeehawlMar 6, 2023

@pierce Agree with the Shield and I like theory that Nvidia is just waiting for Nintendo to put in a giant order for a newer Switch SoC to update

It's the content owners that force the crappiness. Best boxes simply get buried. eg, Tivo as "better than anything else on the market." This erases history of the Andreeson-funded ReplayTV. Those boxes did auto ad detect & skip, recording streaming, remote access. ReplayTV was hammered by lawsuits, leaving only the gimped-by-design Tivo remaining.

Show threadlythanderMar 7, 2023

@pierce I concur with the article, I mostly landed in a Roku environment, but it's not a great experience.

You mentioned Slingbox and I'm searching high and low for something to do that thing again. I want to connect my (subscribed and paid) cable box in the UK to my TV in the states and it looks like I've got to engineer this solution on my own.