802.11ac Streaming Devices

[rhym1n]

I am upgrading some devices in our home for faster speeds (especially wifi) as we are switching to Sling TV and will be streaming on several devices, simultaneously and often.

I just purchased this 802.11ac router: ASUS RT-AC68U.

My question is, what is the best/cheapest device for app streaming, that supports 802.11ac. The Roku Premiere is the cheapest I have found, but it's still $50....which I found a little overpriced. The Chromecast Ultra is like $70.

I've considered turning a little raspberry pi into a streaming device, but I'm not sure that would be any cheaper.

Any suggestions or ideas are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[kanewolf]

The more streaming you can do on wired the happier you will be. Multiple HD streams across a whole house won't work well. 5Ghz radio doesn't cover as much area and 5Ghz is required for AC.

 

[rhym1n]

Good point, and that is one reason I was considering turning a raspberry pi into a wired streaming device as they already have Ethernet ports built in (wifi adapters are like $15+). Any idea on the total cost of doing that?

 

[rhym1n]

Well, not going the RPi router. You have to pay for an additional service in order to be able to stream Netflix? Joke.

Also, not sure if you can get slingTV on a RPi. I was reading maybe if you are able to install Android OS, you can, but I haven't seen anyone confirm this. Bummer. I might be getting a couple $90 Roku devices afterall 🙁

 

[kanewolf]

I had a MINIX streaming device and although it had standard Android OS, the Netflix app wouldn't stream HD. They have specific hardware that they "trust" for HD streaming. This is to prevent a hack which would allow you to save the HD content and then pirate it.

 

[rhym1n]

kanewolf, thank you for sharing that. I'll be going with the Roku 3 device for Ethernet connection and streaming Sling, Netflix, etc.