Roku?

BetsyDBetsyD Cincinnati, OH Icrontian
edited January 2012 in Hardware
I found the Roku 2 XS at Costco and am thinking about getting it. Anyone around here have one? Opinions?

This is the one I'm talking about: http://www.amazon.com/Roku-XS-1080p-Streaming-Player/dp/B005CLPP84/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325713560&sr=8-1

Comments

  • ardichokeardichoke Icrontian
    I bought my family the Roku 1 for Christmas in 2010. They loved it. I loved it (when I was in town visiting). If you don't have another way to watch streaming media on your TV (most notably netflix) then I say it's a great buy. If you already have a PS3/HTPC/Xbox 360/other streaming media center then I'd say don't bother.
  • BetsyDBetsyD Cincinnati, OH Icrontian
    All of our streaming items are attached to our big tv. This would be for the little TV in our bedroom so I could watch things from bed or while we are getting ready in the morning.

    Our other option is to get another streaming blu-ray player.

    How many "apps" can you download to it? I'm assuming that it must have a library of apps for various streaming options?
  • ardichokeardichoke Icrontian
    There's a good number of channels for the Roku. A lot of them were stuff I'd never heard of (some of which turned out to be pretty entertaining). You can browse what they offer here: http://www.roku.com/roku-channel-store
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    Let me know how that works for you; I tried Boxee and couldn't find the free content underneath all the pay-per-view stuff that couldn't be filtered out of the results. I'm looking for a viable alternative to keeping cable.
  • CBCB Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Der Millionendorf- Icrontian
    What I want to know is if it will be able to access media on other systems on the network.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    Supposedly, you can. Looks like it involves setting up your own "channel" through a third party app.
    http://forums.roku.com/viewtopic.php?t=26058
  • quake101quake101 Ohio Icrontian
    Playing local media is the one think that holds me back from wanting a Roku box. Maybe they updated them from the last time I checked...

    Looking at the Roksbox "channel" that @GHoosdum pointed out, it looks like it has limited to file formats that it supports:
    "Video: mp4, mov, m4v, wmv
    Audio: mp3. wma
    Photo: jpg, png, gif"
  • ardichokeardichoke Icrontian
    Of course it's going to be limited to certain file formats. Every consumer device like this is as it only has certain codecs built in and optimized for the hardware.
  • quake101quake101 Ohio Icrontian
    If I remember correctly, they have an update planned to add more codecs to the software. Sooner or later I might have to pick one up. :D
  • BetsyDBetsyD Cincinnati, OH Icrontian
    We did end up buying the Roku and have been very happy with it. Very simple to set up, very simple to use. Fits exactly what I wanted.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited February 2012
    The Roku store has the Roku 2 HD for $49.99 right now. I just got one, gambling that there will be enough free content available to achieve WAF.

    What channels do you favor, and how do you use your Roku?
  • BetsyDBetsyD Cincinnati, OH Icrontian
    We watch Netflix, Hulu and Pandora the most. We have downloaded the Disney channel (mostly an advertisement for a real Disney channel or movie) and a couple weather channels. We haven't found any major news station that have a channel but that's ok because we don't watch news anyway.
  • ardichokeardichoke Icrontian
    We watch Netflix, Hulu and Pandora the most. We have downloaded the Disney channel (mostly an advertisement for a real Disney channel or movie) and a couple weather channels. We haven't found any major news station that have a channel but that's ok because we don't watch news anyway.
    Actually, most of the major news channels have at least some content on Roku... they're just through the Roku Newscaster App, not their own app.

    http://www.roku.com/roku-channel-store#newscaster
  • doabarrellrolldoabarrellroll San Jose, CA Icrontian
    Roku is a frankly, a waste of time here. The options are incredibly limited in terms of providing additional content for your TV.

    I currently use the Sony Internet TV box, http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&partNumber=NSZGT1

    This uses the Android platform for apps and such, with hopefully a "jailbreak" feature soon for 3rd party apps. You can play Netflix, Hulu, etc on it. In addition, I personally run a media server from my back bedroom computer and can stream content directly over the network through a free app. The media formats are just as broad as VLC too. Includes .mkv and goofy formats like that. Oh, and it's a Blue Ray player in case you don't have one.

    IMHO, TV is going this direction anyway, through the Internet.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    How does it work since Google's not really giving proper support to the Google TV initiative?
  • doabarrellrolldoabarrellroll San Jose, CA Icrontian
    Google has developed certain things for it like Redux. It compiles quality videos and divides them into categories. Personally, I like the "Rides" channel where it shows related automotive type videos like Car and Driver reviews or a 20 minute documentary about Autocrossing. They aren't all in yet, but you can see their current apps here, http://www.google.com/tv/apps.html

    It categorizes everything on TV like shows and movies and gives you several different providers you can purchase individual episodes or seasons directly. Also, if you configure the Chrome browser, you can watch the TV episodes online for free as if you were on your computer. Currently, most sites block this capability.

    The best part is the controller, it's a mini keyboard!
  • midgamidga "There's so much hot dog in Rome" ~digi (> ^.(> O_o)> Icrontian
    I just have my computer in my living-room using my tv for a monitor. It's like a whole sackful of birds with a small rock :D
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