Why has there to be an alternative?
Just don't. Roku is not exactly solving world hunger, it is not essential.
Just don't. Roku is not exactly solving world hunger, it is not essential.
Or to rephrase my question - what should I use for streaming, for example, Netflix to my nice big tv?
Google ChromeCast dongles cost a third or half as much a equivalent Roku gadgets. More importantly, Google doesn't make any attempt to prevent you from running vlc or mpv apps that you download.
Roku explicitly blocks 3rd-party media playing apps. The Roku media player has a terrible UI/UX and can't play many file codecs.
Also, Roku has nothing resembling a web browser app, whereas there are a few crappy web browsers available for Google devices. This isn't my use case, but it could be important for some.
Having spent time with both Roku and ChromeCast, I am hard pressed to present a single compelling reason to stay on Roku, much less choose it over Google.
It doesn’t. You need a set-top box. Those can run Roku, fire tv, chrome cast, Apple TV or something else. So for the third time - which of those does the OP which is so vehemently opposed ro Roku, recommend?
It’s not a hard question if you stop being snarky about it.