Trying to decipher all the different models of roku devices for an older, non-smart TV but with hdmi ports.
But I can't find a chat or anything to help with my questions. Usually answers to questions bring up other questions I had no idea to ask so not sure this is even the forum to post this request.
Did I miss somewhere to actually contact a sales person?
You can compare players here:
https://www.roku.com/products/compare
Or if you want to get a bit more techy, here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roku
@RichEcommunity, contacting a real human from Roku is darn near impossible. You should know that going in. In addition, the cheapest models (the "Express" models) don't qualify for agent support even after purchase.
All that being said, this is probably the best place to ask any pre-sale questions you have.
As long as your TV has an available HDMI port, any of the current models will be compatible with your set. I'd suggest doing some future proofing by getting a Roku model that has 4K support, even if you currently do not have a 4K set. They will work fine with a 720 or 1080 HD TV as well.
On the subject of future proofing: Over decades of using tech products, I see at least two strategies for this:
1) Buy the best you can in the hopes that it stays usable the longest.
2) Buy the cheapest under the assumption that they’ll all soon be obsolete anyway.
(And 1.5 is simply anywhere in between based on the cheapest possibly not having all the gizmos you want.)
I don’t know that any strategy can be proven more correct. A few things that make this easy is that in the world of Roku: Cheap ones, and expensive ones are all pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things. In addition, upgrading to a new Roku is much easier than a new PC or a new physical media format. So, I think you can use any strategy and be happy.
Well when upgrading PCs I often run into apps that don't run on current OSs, data/format incompatibilities etc. Of course, I've been using personal computers since the 1970s, with Altair DOS and still have 8" floppies, 5.25" floppies, ... the other day I was cleaning some stuff out and found a ZIP disk. I've also had QIC tapes, and Altair-format cassettes, North Start format disks, CP/M, ISIS, iRMX etc.
I just had a flashback to 1976 when someone wanted me to port his paper tapes onto a newer medium and I had no paper tape reader.
Even today, I'm occasionally tempted by macbooks, but held back by finding cross-platform development tools that I like.
On the other hand, when I get a new Roku, I just plug it in, activate it, and log into some stuff and it's good to go.