My primary interest in the Roku streaming stick was so I could wirelessly play my spotify music through my tv which is connected to my home audio system with optical audio out. This is more about the spotify app than the streaming stick itself. The spotify app interface was really underwhelming. Honestly, it was a let down and almost unusable from the remote. I already had a smart tv, so i could already use apps like netflix, pandora, and others through the tv, but the model year didn't support the spotify app. I ended buying a competing product that lets me cast and stream (or mirror my phone screen) directly without a separate spotify app on the device. Since then, I have since unplugged my Roku streaming stick. No real complaints about the Roku itself though. I didn't use it with auxiliary power - just the HDMI and USB, but it seemed as if the video quality wasn't as high quality as I was used to, but it might be fine if powered to a wall outlet. Setup was easy, and the interface was easy to use for the apps I tried other than spotify.
I already had a roku box, so I decided to purchase the streaming tick, I am so glad i did! The area where my TV is located is narrow, the box would have been precariously unbalanced, now I need not worry.
I was given my Roku as a gift and I've used it constantly since. I love being able to access Pandora and Netflix and especially my church's channel. My only complaint is that the remote stopped working completely within the first 2 weeks. Thankfully I was able to download the roku app on my phone but that also seems to glitch often. I've had to re download it nearly a dozen times in order to get it working. Admittedly this was only an issue because I enjoy using the roku so much. Overall it is an excellent product that I will continue to recommend to friends.
Wi-Fi in same room with great signal, stick would heatup and dump the internet connection. Called help line on remote and went through changing batteries and removing stick to get system to work. (remote not working) this happened all the time, so I bundled it back up and returned to store. Still looking for streaming device I can trust.