Okay, everyone here knows I am a geek. 
I have become very attached to my digital assistants, and I have the three top media streaming solutions to compare:
Google Home + Chromecast
Amazon Alexa + Amazon Fire TV
Roku Streaming + Quick Remote (for both Google and Alexa)
I just received my first Amazon Fire TV stick on Friday, and it is the winner hands down. I have had my Chromecast for about a year, and my Roku for about 8 months. I have an Amazon Echo Dot and a Google Home Mini to use with these devices. So how do they compare?
3rd Place
Chromecast + Google Home ($50.00 for Home, $30 for Chromecast)
I got my Chromecast before I got my Home Mini, and even then it was very useful to be able to mirror my phone screen or desktop to the TV because I could play my own content (using VLC), or stream content from the web (using the Cast feature in Chrome). There is no remote, which became an issue when sitting on the couch watching my TV and then having to get up to stream anything new, or have to pick up my phone to select something to stream. It was cool, but I wanted more so I got a Google Home Mini. With it, I could now tell my Chromecast to stream using my voice. But the big drawback there, was not being able to get the Chromecast to display the Netflix home screen, or give it a web search on a browser, or get it to stream Amazon Prime (because Google and Amazon are rivals and Google refuses to open up to Amazon). I found it limited and the Google Home lacks the ability to output the sound to external speakers. I needed more, so I got a Roku.
2nd Place
Roku + Google Home + Alexa ($50.00 for Echo Dot, $30.00 for the Roku)
Roku is a great streaming solution. With it, you can stream both Amazon and Netflix, plus thousands of other sources. You can install apps on it, including Kodi, and you can control it via an app made for both Google and Alexa called Quick Remote. But it is limited, and the experience is buggy. The Quick Remote app will not send a search request across the apps installed to find media. Also, you have to give it wordy commands like "Alexa, ask Quick Remote to play Star Trek Voyager on my TV". It comes with a remote and has a higher quality streaming than the Chromecast. It also allows streaming of home content by installing apps like Plex. It has an app which allows you to use your phone as a remote as well. It was almost there, but not quite the level of control or integration with my digital assistants I was looking for. So, last week I ordered an Amazon Fire TV Stick.
WINNER:
Amazon Echo + Amazon Fire TV stick ($50.00 for the Echo Dot, $50.00 for Fire TV Stick)
This solution turned out to be exactly what I wanted. I have had my Echo Dot for longer than I have had my Google Home, and I have been using both to do different things. Both the Google Home and Echo can control my smart plugs and lights, give me the weather and answer questions and interact with my Google Calendar and order things, but the Echo has an external speaker jack which the Google Home does not. This means you can output the sound to external speakers or an amplifier. Until now, I have used it to stream music while I am using the Google Home to stream video from Netflix or YouTube. Both the Google Home and the Amazon Alexa Dot can control my smart plugs and lights. Why is this one the winner? The Amazon Fire TV stick changed everything. It has 8GB of internal space to store apps and content, is android based which means I can also install Kodi or even better yet, ES File Explorer which allows me to browse and play my own media from my computer. It plays Netflix, Hulu, HBO, DirecTV and also YouTube and Amazon Prime, and it can search across all installed media sources and give you choices of which you want to stream your requested media from. The quality is equal or better than the Roku, and with the Voice Remote it comes with (Alexa is built into the device), you can search with your voice. It also has a BROWSER (Firefox or Silk) which you can search with. You can pair a mouse and keyboard to it, which I have done. You can even play games on it with a Bluetooth game controller.
I have disconnected my Google Home and now I use my Amazon Echo Dot + Fire TV to do everything. It can search Google, give me directions, even make phone calls and read my texts for me. And unlike Google, I can go into Amazon and see or delete every command I have given my device. There are so many cool things that keep coming out for it, it is a far more capable device than the Google Home + (anything).
I have become very attached to my digital assistants, and I have the three top media streaming solutions to compare:Google Home + Chromecast
Amazon Alexa + Amazon Fire TV
Roku Streaming + Quick Remote (for both Google and Alexa)
I just received my first Amazon Fire TV stick on Friday, and it is the winner hands down. I have had my Chromecast for about a year, and my Roku for about 8 months. I have an Amazon Echo Dot and a Google Home Mini to use with these devices. So how do they compare?
3rd Place
Chromecast + Google Home ($50.00 for Home, $30 for Chromecast)
I got my Chromecast before I got my Home Mini, and even then it was very useful to be able to mirror my phone screen or desktop to the TV because I could play my own content (using VLC), or stream content from the web (using the Cast feature in Chrome). There is no remote, which became an issue when sitting on the couch watching my TV and then having to get up to stream anything new, or have to pick up my phone to select something to stream. It was cool, but I wanted more so I got a Google Home Mini. With it, I could now tell my Chromecast to stream using my voice. But the big drawback there, was not being able to get the Chromecast to display the Netflix home screen, or give it a web search on a browser, or get it to stream Amazon Prime (because Google and Amazon are rivals and Google refuses to open up to Amazon). I found it limited and the Google Home lacks the ability to output the sound to external speakers. I needed more, so I got a Roku.
2nd Place
Roku + Google Home + Alexa ($50.00 for Echo Dot, $30.00 for the Roku)
Roku is a great streaming solution. With it, you can stream both Amazon and Netflix, plus thousands of other sources. You can install apps on it, including Kodi, and you can control it via an app made for both Google and Alexa called Quick Remote. But it is limited, and the experience is buggy. The Quick Remote app will not send a search request across the apps installed to find media. Also, you have to give it wordy commands like "Alexa, ask Quick Remote to play Star Trek Voyager on my TV". It comes with a remote and has a higher quality streaming than the Chromecast. It also allows streaming of home content by installing apps like Plex. It has an app which allows you to use your phone as a remote as well. It was almost there, but not quite the level of control or integration with my digital assistants I was looking for. So, last week I ordered an Amazon Fire TV Stick.
WINNER:
Amazon Echo + Amazon Fire TV stick ($50.00 for the Echo Dot, $50.00 for Fire TV Stick)
This solution turned out to be exactly what I wanted. I have had my Echo Dot for longer than I have had my Google Home, and I have been using both to do different things. Both the Google Home and Echo can control my smart plugs and lights, give me the weather and answer questions and interact with my Google Calendar and order things, but the Echo has an external speaker jack which the Google Home does not. This means you can output the sound to external speakers or an amplifier. Until now, I have used it to stream music while I am using the Google Home to stream video from Netflix or YouTube. Both the Google Home and the Amazon Alexa Dot can control my smart plugs and lights. Why is this one the winner? The Amazon Fire TV stick changed everything. It has 8GB of internal space to store apps and content, is android based which means I can also install Kodi or even better yet, ES File Explorer which allows me to browse and play my own media from my computer. It plays Netflix, Hulu, HBO, DirecTV and also YouTube and Amazon Prime, and it can search across all installed media sources and give you choices of which you want to stream your requested media from. The quality is equal or better than the Roku, and with the Voice Remote it comes with (Alexa is built into the device), you can search with your voice. It also has a BROWSER (Firefox or Silk) which you can search with. You can pair a mouse and keyboard to it, which I have done. You can even play games on it with a Bluetooth game controller.
I have disconnected my Google Home and now I use my Amazon Echo Dot + Fire TV to do everything. It can search Google, give me directions, even make phone calls and read my texts for me. And unlike Google, I can go into Amazon and see or delete every command I have given my device. There are so many cool things that keep coming out for it, it is a far more capable device than the Google Home + (anything).
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