Roku HD Player
by Roku, Inc.
|
Our Price: $69.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home Theater See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Roku HD Player
Customer Review: Up Yours Time Warner!
Summary: 5 Stars
For years cable customers have been complaining about ever increasing rates for the television service that the cable companies provide. These increasing rates have been justified by the cable companies as increased expenses to widen the selection of channels that they offer. But upon further inspection by the consumer, these additional channels ended up being gems such as "The Bass Fishing Channel" and "Gay People TV" and other crap-tastic programing that nobody watches.
The answer to the customers' problem was a simple one; a la carte programing where you would only pay for the channels that you actually watched. And the cable companies immediately told us "no way", claiming that it was an impossible business model and that many popular stations would go out of business from the revenue loss. Theirs was a policy of using quantity, not quality, to justify their ever increasing rates and many of us, myself included, had to pony up the money every month because there simply wasn't a viable alternative.
UNTIL NOW!!!!!
Enter a tiny black box called Roku. If you haven't figured it out yet, Roku plays movies from your Netflix Instant queue and plays rented and/or purchased movies and television shows from Amazon Videos On Demand. Yes, you have to pay for a monthly Netflix membership. And yes, you have to pay for the movies and television shows that you rent/buy from Amazon Videos On Demand. But chances are, most if not all of the shows that you watch regularly on television are available on one of those two services. I sat down with a calculator and figured out that by canceling my cable service and buying all of the shows that I watch through Amazon VOD, I'd be saving somewhere around $600-700 a year. That's not even counting the shows that I can watch over Netflix, such as Heroes, for the cost of my Netflix membership (the cost of the Netflix membership being a non-issue since I would have that regardless of owning the Roku). It was a no brainer. I called my cable company and told them to take a hike. For years I've dreamed of doing that, and it finally came true.
A few things to take note of before you buy this little marvel of a box:
1-Your picture quality depends on your connection speed to the internet. Broadband is a must! And I'm not talking about a 750Kb or 1.5Mb DSL line. Based on my experience, you're going to need at least a 3Mb/sec line if you want to watch anything in HD. The faster, the better. I'm running a 15Mb/sec line so everything available in HD is displayed in HD and my load times are pretty short. Your experience probably will vary.
2-The Roku does not have an external antenna for wireless connection. I have found that despite many claims to the contrary, internal antennas don't receive a wireless signal as well as external ones do. Therefore, you'll need to have your wireless router positioned to give the Roku the highest possible signal strength to maintain a good connection speed.
3-The sound output options are limited. Roku can deliver digital sound via HDMI or optical toslink. If neither of those work for you, you're limited to stereo analog RCA plugs.
In conclusion, this thing is a cheap alternative to the high prices and lack-luster service of cable tv. Not only that, but it makes the Netflix membership that I've been paying for even more valuable since I'm now taking more advantage of the instant queue. So buy this thing and give your cable company the finger.
Customer Review: A truly awesome product at a stellar price
Summary: 5 Stars
I think Amazon's description sells this device short. Sure, you can purchase/rent from Amazon's VOD service through Roku. And yeah, you can also steam any of Netflix's "Watch Now" movies, some of them in high definition (720p). But there's so much more you can do with this service that it's just amazing. But let me back up a bit. There's a lot of devices in the market now that are trying to take over your TV watching. Game devices like the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 offer a myriad of choices in streaming media from your PC or from Netflix or, via software, allowing a bunch of internet channels to be streamed. With services like PlayOn, Netflix, Hulu+ and others being introduced constantly, the need for having a cable bill is drastically going down. With so many devices out there that allow you to access the multitude of content on the web, it's difficult to decide which is the best for you. Before Apple unveiled their newly refreshed Apple TV, Roku did the smart thing and slashed their prices. Honestly, this move benefits consumers so much because this device is the one I'd choose, hands-down, right now.
Lets start with the hardware. The Roku is made so that virtually all TVs can use it. It has the new plugins like HDMI, but it also supports component and composite cables, so everything from your latest LED TV to an old, 10-20 year old CRT with mono sound will work with this device. It even includes the "S-Video" for TVs that supported it, prior to HD. For those with a receiver that doesn't support HDMI, it also comes with an optical port for sound. Basically anything you probably could want for your TV, the Roku has, from standard to high definition. To connect to the internet, it offers both a wired option and wireless b/g; no n, unfortunately, in this model. If you want Wireless-N, check out the upgraded model XD. The other thing to note about the HD is that this device will only output up to 720p. The XD one includes up to 1080p, but most content right now is maxed at 720p anyway so the upgrade isn't that huge of a deal right now.
So the Roku has a lot of connection options, but that would mean nothing if the content wasn't there. Luckily, the Roku has so much to offer you. Much more than just Netflix or Amazon VOD (not to slight either service because that, in itself, is huge). A recent addition to the Roku is Hulu+, an upgraded monthly-paid content service that provides HD and surround sound TV shows from NBC, ABC and Fox (no CBS). I've been a member of the preview program right now and it's nice even though it's not as full-featured as hulu is (some shows, like Fringe, are missing). Other channels include both free and premium (i.e. paid) content that ranges from UFC to sports and news channels to pandora to independent films to picture sharing sites like flickr. There's just a ton of content; I'd recommend checking out the Roku website for a full list of supportable content. And as the recent addition of Hulu+ shows, the developers will presumably add additional channels as they are available.
The point of these devices is to offer you choice. And as a standalone device, the Roku player seems to offer the most bang for your buck. It's incredibly easy to set up and use and it just includes so much content. If you're looking for ways to complement or possibly eliminate your cable, I'd really recommend checking Roku out. It's the least expensive device out there and offers content that some devices do not.
Customer Review: Don't waste your money
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased two of these, and I have to say that most of the time it does work really nice with NetFlix. I've had few issues with NetFlix content and enjoy it. However, with Amazon's content it's another story: I've had to contact Roku support for help, and their support group is about the worst I have ever seen, and totally worthless.
First, I emailed the issue to Roku's support team...I have a dedicated T1, no traffic on it except the Roku, and am using the connection almost exclusively for the Roku. I rebooted the Roku box, and still Amazon content repeatedly times out 10+ times when watching a simple TV show on SD quality. I am good at networking and diagnostics (I'm an engineer) and can validate there is no traffic, so I have a free 1.544 Mbps connection for video streaming. Roku's support team responds several days later, telling me to "reboot your Roku" and check your network connection...already did this, multiple times, respond to them again...no response, and it's been a week. I'm 100% certain there will not be a response, and if there is it will probably be "reboot your Roku box" and check your network connection!
Next, their support group appears to be outsourced and overseas, and because of the issue above and the completely unhelpful generic response, I would qualify that their staff doesn't understand English, or at least not enough understanding to be helpful. Factor this into any purchase decision since you will have to contact the support group should you have an issue with this product.
Finally, responding days later is unacceptable. Then not responding when you point out your issue was not addressed is intolerable. Basically Roku is telling me that they do not want my business, or anyone else's business that I know since I will tell everyone about my experience. I write few reviews but thought this was important to share.
There are issues with this box and streaming Amazon content. If you have any kind of problem, do not expect a helpful answer from the Roku support team unless they fund brain transplants and English translators for their staff. I am throwing my boxes away and looking for another device. Don't waste your time and get frustrated with Roku.
**** 10-22-2010 **** Update from their incompetent support, the same generic useless information that will not address the problem, and the response is days after the help request. Note: If you have any problem with this system this will be the response you receive when you contact them, their solution to everything.
"Dear Don ,
Thank you for contacting ROKU Customer service. My Name is Ranjini and I will be helping you with your query.
I apologize for the inconvenience and delay in responding to your email query.
Kindly go through the following steps
1 . Push and hold the reset button continuously at the back or bottom of the player for 40 seconds when it is plugged in.
2 . Release the reset button after 40 seconds and unplug the power cable and plug it back after 10 seconds.
3 . Then redo the setup of the player and activate the device.
Please feel free to email us for further queries.
Thank you for providing us with an opportunity to assist you and thank you for choosing ROKU.
Best Regards,
Ranjini
Roku Customer service"
It doesn't matter if you tell then 100 times this does not help, you will still receive it from them incessantly.
Customer Review: Video quality and Netflix features are mediocre
Summary: 3 Stars
Just a few comments to anyone that is a videophile and wondering about the features and quality of this box.
My wife purchased this as a Christmas gift for me. After setup I tested some Netflix HD videos to see what kind of quality difference, if any, there was between this box and the Netflix streaming I have with my PS3. After loading the same videos on both the PS3 and the Roku, going back and forth, it was apparent to both myself and my wife that the Roku's video quality was softer and had slightly less contrast than the same videos on the PS3. So that got me thinking that maybe it was the difference in cables, etc. After swapping cables between the 2 units, nothing had changed - the Roku's picture still had less definition. Then I thought I would check the difference between viewing an Amazon On Demand HD video sample on my computer (which is also hooked up through my system) as opposed to watching the same HD sample on the Roku. Again, the Roku looked softer with less definition.
Since you can not actually rent HD movies through the computer from Amazon's On-Demand service, that was one of the main reasons why I wanted the Roku, since I already had access to Netflix video playback through my PS3. Plus I thought it might be a better all in one solution for both, plus the other features it had built in.
Unfortunately, because my 60" Kuro made the differences in video quality between my PS3 and the Roku obvious to me, I am returning this unit, even though I think the concept of this unit is pretty well done.
One other thing you should know about the difference between the PS3 Netflix experience and the Roku is that with the PS3 you can search and add movies to your queue, but you can not do this on the Roku player. You have to go to your Netflix account via your computer to add any movies to your queue in order for them to show up on the Roku Netflix interface. Not a very intuitive interface for that service (though I hear that Roku may update their Netflix interface in the future to make it more like the PS3). Also, rewinding videos on Netflix through the Roku took much longer to come back up when hitting play vs the same action taken through the PS3.
I realize that many, if not most, manufacturers make product to a price point rather than to a "best quality" standpoint, but i would have been happy to spend an extra $20 to $30 more had they spent a few more dollars on better video components. As it stands, it will be tough enough for them to survive for this particular niche considering that many of the new BluRay players and HD TVs are coming with most of this content built in to their product (Netflix, Pandora, Vudu, etc). To me this is even more reason why their product needs to be of equal or better performance to the competition.
UPDATE Jan 24 2010 - RETURN NIGHTMARE!
As a few others have stated, it is a bit of a nightmare to reurn this product. It took a long time and numerous calls to get the RMA and FedEx call tag. After sending this back it has been over 3 weeks since it's been returned (the return address is but a few minutes from my house in Santa Clara CA) with no refund. All emails have been replied with "we will escalate this to the finance department". Nothing has been done, nothing back on my credit card. If you decide to buy, I hope you love it because it will most likely be a problem to return.
Customer Review: Amazing device! Cancel HBO & Showtime!
Summary: 5 Stars
I setup one of these up for my mom after she inquired about it. I heard that you could stream movies from a Xbox 360 and other devices using your Netflix. Knowing that Netflix had thousands of movies in their instant view catalog. This seemed like an amazing concept but would the Roku be able to hold its own? My mom told me to do some research to see if there was an exclusive Netflix player. I found this and my mom was sold when she found it was just $100. I was a little skeptical at first about Quality, buffering and streaming. My mom's TV has component and not HDMI, its a slightly older LCD TV. Thankfully, the Roku seems to support all major outputs (HDMI, component and regular video with both Analog and Digital audio outputs). When the Roku arrived, I was blown away by its size. Its about the size of a cable modem and this little monster packs a mean punch. I hooked up the component video (bought cables separate--Roku comes with regular Video & Audio -yellow,red & white) to the tv and the audio to the Surround sound stereo and directly plugged it in from the wireless router (has jacks) using an ethernet cable. When the Roku came on the TV, it instantly connected to the Roku and automated an update. Once the update was complete, went through the setup process which just involved typing the code that the device gave us into netflix.com/activate. After activation, the Roku instantaneously refreshed itself and was to ready to be used.
The Roku has 3 main items in its menu: Settings (I set my display to 16:9 wide but it also has Hi-def (HDMI) and regular TV formatting), NETFLIX (set your instant queue and watch them here) and AMAZON Video (not sure what this feature is, I think you can order HD Videos from Amazon and stream them directly to your ROKU). I clicked on NEtflix and all the movies I added to my Instant Queue came up. You have to first go to your NEtflix account, add movies to your instant Queue (not DVD) before viewing them on ROKU (otherwise the list will be empty). You are allowed 40 in you queue at a time.
My first movie was Seven Years in Tibet, a movie I had wanted to watch for awhile. I was blown away by the quality (DVD-esque maybe better) and sound (Crisp and sounded amazing on the surround sound). It was like watching a DVD instantly without having to drive to BlockBuster and stick it in the player and worry about late fees or my dog chewing on a DVD. Just use the Roku remote (up, down, right, left, select, play, pause, fast forward and rewind and home button) to select your movie from your list, it took maybe 5 seconds to load and the streaming was seamless, no hiccups or delay, no quality deterioration or things you come to expect from a streaming video! Brilliant, crisp, clear, super frame-rate, DVD quality video and sound right at your disposal and finger tips. And not only that but NETFLIX has thousands and thousands of movies, shows & videos in their arsenal for you to choose from. This is so much better than HBO or Showtime because everything is on DEMAND plus you can pause, play, rewind or fast-forward with the touch button. Roku even resumes where you left in the movie if you have to come back to it. The Roku interface is pretty, intuitive and easy to use and Roku player takes up less space than your modem and packs more of a punch than a bulky DVD player or cable box.