Roku 3

[6/15/16] got my hands on a Roku 3 from Sue via Howard and tried it out.  Here's the play-by-play.

Got a picture but no response from the remote
Check batteries.  Felt a little "wet".
Wiped with napkin.
OK now it works

Connect to network
change from 1080p to 720p

System
model 4200X - Roku 3
software version 6.2 - build 3332
system update
last check June 15 2:37 a.m. (it just got checked)
last updated Apr 7 2:47am

Home Screen
Netflix          Amazon Instant Video  Hulu Plus
Vudu            Amazon Music             Angry Birds Space
Blockbuster  Target                          CBS News
Pandora        Weather Underground GLF (gofightlive.tv)
ESPN           Quello Concerts           Sportsfishing with Dan Hernandez
UFC TV

try out Netflix - error
Amazon -error
Hulu - no account; try login, exit
now only the above three channels are on the home screen / lots now missing on the menu options on left
system restart

still same screen - I think it wants me to log on with my Roku account
try sign into Amazon
Hulu doesn't run now

ok, let's log into my account
Stream channels - get started
roku.com/link on computer
channel update (on Roku) * of 94

ok now everything's updated with the regular menu on the left + 89 channels

check system info
software version 7.1.0 build 4062-04

Netflix error
reset Netflix to its original state
(now it works)

Howdini doesn't run (later I check on the Roku TV and it didn't run there either, so apparently it's the app)

Roku 3 has the same problem as the Roku TV
sometimes the back button doesn't go back (sometimes up works to do that)
have to press the home exit to exit certain applications

try the other roku remote
didn't work at first, but then it paired by pressing the button in the battery compartment
that was the Roku stick remote
so the Roku stick remote works with the Roku 3 (not mentioned on the Roku website)
haven't tested whether the Roku 3 remote works with the Roku stick

the Philips remote and generic remote work without pairing, but they are IR so you need line of sight.  The Roku Stick and Roku 3 remotes are RF so don't need line of sight.

Wikipedia says the remote uses wi-fi direct.  So is wifi direct the same as RF?  Looking here, wifi uses the 2.4 GHz UHF and 5 GHz SHF ISM radio bands.  So apparently it's using the RF band to communicate.

I kind of like the Roku 3.  It seems a lot faster than the Roku HD and Roku 2.  The Roku 3 runs at 900 MHz.  The Roku 2 (model 2720) runs at 600 MHz.  The Roku HD (model 2500) runs at 405 MHz.  And it actually feels about as responsive as the Roku Stick (3600) which is Quad Core.

The remote is solid and more hefty than the other models.  It supports motion control (which is why Angry Birds Space defaults to the menu).   The remote also has a headphone jack which I haven't tried yet.  But on the Roku 2, it seems to drain the battery and doesn't always work.

As far as captions, I still prefer the Netflix captions on the old Roku HD, but I prefer the Hulu caption on the Roku 3 vs. the Roku HD (after your adjust the caption size to small in the system menu).  But I still prefer the Netflix and Hulu captions on the Apple TV, followed by the Fire TV.  For other apps, I generally prefer the Roku captions over the Apple TV.

All-in-all, I give the Roku 3 a thumbs up.  However if you want to save a little money and aren't interested in the headphone jack and motion control, you might want to go for the current Roku 2 (model 4210) which is the same speed as the Roku 3.  The Roku 3 is currently $99.99 compared to $69.99 for the Roku 2.  The Roku Stick is an even better bargain at $49.99.  ( Actually these three models are all currently discounted $10 for Father's Day.)  So I would recommend the Roku Stick over the Roku 2.  The drawback for me is that you can't use an IR remote with the Stick (so I can't use my universal remote).  The Roku 3 works with both IR and Wifi Direct.

The current Roku 2 (4210) is IR whereas the old Roku 2 (2720) was both IR and wifi direct.

Looking further at Wikipedia, the current Roku 3 is model 4230 which came out in April 2015.  The only difference I see in the specs between the 4230 and the 4200 is that the newer model comes with a remote that supports voice search.  Maybe the only thing they changed was the remote?

What about the Roku 4?  Well it's the only one that supports 4K, so you have 4K that's the way to go.  It looks like the Roku 4 uses the same remote as the Roku 3.

*** 6/19/16

Hooked back my Roku Stick.  Booted up really fast but didn't recognize any remotes.  Good thing I had the Roku app on my iPad.  So I went to the remote control section in settings and pressed the button in the battery compartment to pair it.  (Come to think of it, it might have paired even if I wasn't in the remote control section.  Or not.)

Then I tried pairing the Roku 3 remote and that worked too!  Even the headphone jack worked :)  So yes, the Roku 3 remote works on the Roku Stick.  Looking at the remote section in the settings, my Roku Stick remote model is RC80.  The Roku 3 remote model is RC03.