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Nowadays cutting the cable cord is a common occurrence in households across America. Cable companies like Comcast get away with charging $100+ dollars per month for repetitive programming, tons of additional channels nobody watches and on demand services with inferior navigation menus. If you do decide to get rid of cable and instead buy a few streaming services, there are a plethora of ones to choose from. Amazon Prime can be had for less than $10 per month and includes free 2-day shipping on many Amazon items. Netflix and Hulu Plus are also both under $10 per month. If you have a smart TV such as the wildly popular VIZIO 50-Inch 1080p Smart HDTV , most of these services are going to come built-in, but if you’re like me and have a “regular” HDTV with no internet connection, you may want to look into a dedicated streaming device. Although many Blu Ray players and video game systems provide this functionality, sometimes you don’t want to have to boot up another system just to watch TV – sometimes you want something that’s simple, fast and effective. I found the perfect combination of price and function with the Roku 3500R . With that said, lets get into this Roku 3500R Streaming Stick Review!

The Roku 3500R Streaming Stick comes with a remote, a USB power cord with wall adapter attachment, and the actual unit, which is about the size of a USB thumb drive. Simply plug the 3500R into an available HDMI port on your TV or AV Receiver and plug the USB cord into an available USB port (or connect the wall adapter and plug into a standard outlet if you don’t have USB power available), and you’re off and running. The Roku will guide you through a set up process which involves connecting to your wireless network, going online and setting up a Roku account if you don’t have one already, adding all your channels to the unit and finally signing in to the services you intend to use. Roku has the most “channels” (or apps) by far of all the streaming devices available – there are over 1000 to choose from!

Using the unit is a snap. It comes with its’ own remote, and can also be controlled via an app on your mobile device of choice. The mobile app is great for conducting quick searches, although I find the remote a bit easier for navigating around in general. Speaking of searches, they can be conducted within each app or can be carried out across all apps currently loaded on your Roku 3500R . This feature is very useful, providing a list of available apps that carry that program or song and the associated prices for viewing them in each channel.

There are a couple of other USB stick type units out there besides the Roku 3500R . The most well known and only other true competitor is the Google Chromecast . I also have a Chromecast (review here) and although it is a great piece of equipment, it really provides a different experience from the Roku. Whereas the Roku has the apps on a main screen and you can download or delete them at will, the Chromecast doesn’t have any built in apps or download feature, instead relying on you to “cast” streams using your phone, tablet or PC. The action is a bit different with the Chromecast, but seeing as I’m an Amazon Prime member, the Roku seems like an ideal unit as you can’t natively cast to the Chromecast from the Amazon app. Also, it’s better for others in my household to be able to use the unit without having to involve a phone or other device. However, the Chromecast is ideal if you want to cast a web browser or anything else to your television, as the Roku can only cast a handful of apps at this time.

When looking at options for a Roku, you are presented with a couple of choices. Although the Roku 3 is a popular unit, it is basically the same as the Roku 3500R only it includes the capability to directly link an ethernet cable to the unit and includes headphones that plug into the remote. The Roku 3 is also twice as expensive as the streaming stick at $99. Otherwise, both are great units and make fine additions to your home entertainment setup for streaming movies and music. I personally went with the streaming stick due to size and appearance; the stick tucks out of the way behind the TV/receiver.

While using the Roku 3500R , I have only run across a couple of things that would be considered negatives. The first issue is the remote. While it basically works, it’s a little laggy sometimes and is not backlit. The combination of not being able to always see the buttons, and sometimes accidentally pressing a button too many times waiting for a response from the remote make this pretty much the only issue. Still, the remote does not need to be aimed directly at the unit, which is a plus. The phone app as a controller is in my experience not much better – it also seems to work sluggishly and does not always find the Roku on the network right away. My only other beef with the unit is that if you are powering it from the USB port on your TV or receiver, when you turn off the power source, the Roku also turns off. The downside here is that the streaming stick takes a couple of minutes to fully boot back up again. Not fun if you just want to sit down and start watching some TV. I wound up just using wall power so that the 3500R stays on. This method provides an experience more similar to cable where it’s ready to go as soon as you turn on the TV.

Thus concludes this Roku 3500R Streaming Stick Review. All in all, it’s the best new addition to my household (I already have 2 hooked up) and can provide you with enough entertainment to allow you to safely cut the cord on your cable bill. I highly recommend the streaming stick to anyone with streaming service memberships that doesn’t have a smart TV. You can cop one for around $49 here . If you liked this review, check out some of the other product reviews I’ve written!

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