Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/03/23/rokus-streaming-stick-makes.html
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My experience is that the HDMI port on the hotel TV is always disabled. They want me to buy their streaming movies, not plug in my own gadgets. The last time this happened, the front desk told me I needed their “business remote” and they would send it to my room, but it never arrived.
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What about the Fire Stick?
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Streaming Stick
You mean like a home pregnancy test?
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[quote=“naterxp, post:3, topic:97585, full:true”]
What about the Fire Stick?[/quote]
That’s what we use. Since it is an android box, you can run load or sideload basically anything on it (eg Kodi) and use its internal memory to store a movie or two. It also has a much smaller remote. The Roku does have a better user interface, including a great cross-app search platform.
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I travel with my laptop and an hdmi cable. Problem solved.
Out of 20 or so hotels I’ve stayed at in the last couple years I think I’ve only run across 1 where I wasn’t able to figure out how to switch inputs on the TV
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I use the app and leave the remote at home. I rarely lose my iPhone, a remote is less intuitive to remember to pack.
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We’ve lost the remote to our Roku so use the phone as well, but we’ve almost completely stopped using the Roku in favor of the firestick (which is plugged into the back of the same hdmi switch as the Roku).
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that works for me too
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I don’t think I have switched on the TV in the hotel rooms I have used for the past 20 years. When I travel, I have more interesting things to do than watch movies.
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Half of the problem however is that most hotels are getting tech savvy finally. For instance I was visiting a con at the Gaylord Convention Center on the Potomac near DC. They charge a fee for wifi now, and they actively block free wired internet in the rooms unless you pay. (Used to be free!) I used to bring a simple Apple Aiport Express or now smaller HooToo wireless router, (it let me connect a USB drive to it for extra media)
Some hotels even tried blocking your own cellphone to become a hotspot which is illegal! (Gaylord in middle america was found guilty and fined for this)
I worked out of a Rochester Comfort Inn for 3 months a few years back and can’t imagine not having the ability to have a Roku or laptop with me. Roku and Fire Sticks (plus Google Chromecasts) allow for Plex as well which really opens up your options.
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have you considered Plex? Instead of a movie or two you can have your music and other media on your home server and access anywhere with wifi. It is free. I haven’t actually tried it with movies but it works well with music.
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Takes a bit of VPN-fun for me but I can make it work with my ISP. I love Plex.
I’ve used Plex, which is a proprietary fork of Kodi’s predecessor XBMC, but I prefer open source.
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