Roku..Need some info..please

[lern4483]

Thinking of picking up one of these HD units
for living room. Already have apple tv in bedroom.

Which Roku model do you recomend. I already have an internet
connection from Uverse where the unit would go.

I have an acct with netflix through my lg blu ray player in my
bedroom. Can I use the same acct for the roku box?

Also hows the other stations?? channels? subscription ones? Are they vod or real stations?

Thanks so much,
Joel

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I got a ROKU HD unit in the mail today from last weeks Woot and just hooked it up.

I have a few boxes that can do NETFLIX streaming but the PQ on the ROKU is amazing.

The HD though is only 720p but thats ok.

I was hoping for more channels but what they have are not bad.

 

[Sileny Jizda]

I second the Roku HD unit. We've been using for several weeks now to replace Dish Network and it is great. The best part is no bills unless you opt for the paid programming it has available.

 

[Peter Parker]

Even if you have an ethernet drop near the current location I recommend the HD XR. The wireless N may not be necessary now but could be down the road.

Like others I like the access to free programming but the MLB coverage and netflix are the best parts for me.

I assume that by "real stations" you mean are they channels like USA or TNT. No. almost all of it is access to libraries of content. MLB is something of an exception to that. There are other sports related channels like UFC but I have never tried them.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

The UFC is interesting as some of it is free, while other programs on it are fee based.

I do wish there was more mainstream content there. Via playon I can watch things like NBC, HULU, Comedy Central, Fox News and others.

 

[Peter Parker]

If you are really interested in increasing content offerings you might want to join the official Roku forums and the Yahoo group. The Yahoo group in particular is a great way to find out about "private channels" that are not available in the Roku store. I have a few installed and we enjoy them.

FWIW Sony is about to come out with a box but it is my understanding that it will port what is already available through the Bravia/PS3 interface to a stand alone box. If you have a Sony TV, BD player or PS3 it would not add any choices (although if hooked up to a different TV it would give you a similar interface on all that TV.

Again for me the killer app was MLB and Netflix was a great addition. the rest is just gravy. But to each their own. BTW I did briefly try Netflix on my Sony BD player and was disappointed in the PQ. The Roku PQ is superior ----at least for Netflix.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Yes the ROKU Netflix PQ is worlds better then the Netflix I get from my Sony 3D Bluray player.

I did add a few private channels last night, got some good vintage tv and radio shows which are fun to watch.

 

[digiblur]

We have 2 Roku's in the house... we mostly use it for Netflix and love the quality. I have the regular HD models. I didn't need the XR as I've had no issues connecting them wirelessly across the house. We also use it for Pandora quite a bit on the weekends, and of course for watching Tekzilla on Revision3.

 

[Peter Parker]

The UFC is interesting as some of it is free, while other programs on it are fee based.

I do wish there was more mainstream content there. Via playon I can watch things like NBC, HULU, Comedy Central, Fox News and others.

Some of that is available on private channels (though not all) and the amazon VOD channel gives you some more-----but there is a charge of some kind. Not to mention that quite a bit is now on Netflix though again it is not as complete as some other services.

 

[TheKrell]

I don't understand why the Bluray players aren't doing as well as Roku. I have an LG something or other, and I must admit I couldn't watch it when outputting Netflix HD as 720p. But when I switched to 1080i, it was pretty decent and (before reading this) I assumed equivalent to the Roku.

 

[yaz96]

My PS3 looks pretty good with Netfilx. Anybody with both that can compare?

 

[Lee Smith]

I bought the roku for baseball (I have to watch my Red Sox from NESN).

Netflix is a nice bonus for me.

And roku tries to introduce at least one new channel a week (on Fridays).

I also use pandora, radiiotime, revision3 (tekzilla), Roxwel, Flixster, vimeo & Pub-D-Hub.

 

[iafirebuff]

We have the SD ROKU box in our bedroom - We have watched more movies in the last month than in hte last 5 years! LOVE IT!

 

[tigerfan33]

Some of the programs on Amazon are free. I got the last season of Dexter with a discount for $25. I have to say the pq was pretty close to blu ray as you can get. Neflex hd is good pq but not even close to Amazon IMO.

 

[tigerfan33]

More good news.

Roku lowers prices across the board: HD box now $69, $99 HD-XR to get 1080p support
August 30, 2010 11:41 by Nilay Patel

Looks like Roku's going aggressive on price with its lineup of streamers in response to Sony's new $130 Netbox streamer, the upcoming Google TV launch, and rumors that we'll see that rumored $99 iOS-based Apple TV arrive on Wednesday. The SD box is down to $59 from $79, the standard HD is now $69 from $99, and the HD-XR with dual-band 802.11n and soon-to-be-enabled USB playback support is now $99 from $129. The HD-XR is also due to get 1080p streaming support later this year; it'll be focused on USB playback at first since most of the streaming channels are 720p right now.

Those prices are definitely getting close to impulse-buy territory, especially since a Roku is now one of the cheapest ways to get Netflix and Amazon VOD on a TV, along with other channels like MLB and UFC. In fact, Roku says its goal is to put three streamers in every house -- one next to every TV in the average American home. We applaud the ambition, but we've got a feeling this entire market is about get turned upside down once Apple and Google launch their initiatives.

 

[Peter Parker]

My PS3 looks pretty good with Netfilx. Anybody with both that can compare?

Netflix looks decidedly better on my Roku than my PS3 or Sony BD player.

 

[yaz96]

Netflix looks decidedly better on my Roku than my PS3 or Sony BD player.

Thank you for that! :up


Any other opinions out there?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I agree with the Cheif. NETFLIX looks much better on ROKU then any other device including my new Sony 3D Bluray player.

 

[tomcrown1]

Roku was first introduced as a netflix player. Netflix made sure that this player shows off what instant streaming can be. Since it's first introduction roku has expanded beyond being a netflix player and in two months the RX box will do 1080P with a graphics update to equal apple tv.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

It will be better than the Apple as the Apple TV can only do 720p.

I am now looking at the Boxee Box. At $199 its a little pricy but seems to do everything in one box including play media from my NAS.