Roku HD Player
by Roku, Inc.
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Our Price: $69.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home Theater See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Roku HD Player
Customer Review: Great Value in Home Entertainment
Summary: 5 Stars
The Roku HD Netflix player, is, as many others have already pointed out, probably the best value in home video entertainment today. For a one-time $99 investment and the price of a $16.99 monthly Netflix rental plan (or even cheaper $8.99 or $13.99 plans), one has access to the constantly growing library of Netflix streaming content, as well as video rentals from Amazon.com. The Netflix streaming content complements the DVD rental service in two ways. First, because newer releases are not available as streaming content until some time has passed after their DVD release date, one can use DVD rental slots to obtain new releases, while using the Roku to watch older content. Also, the streaming content ensures that you'll have something to watch while waiting for your DVD's to arrive in the mail.
As someone who doesn't have cable TV, I find the amount of content on Netflix streaming to be more than generous. I currently have over 320 titles in my streaming queue, encompassing a nice variety of documentaries, classic films, newer films, foreign films, and great TV shows such as "Prison Break," "Survivorman" and "Dirty Jobs." There is more than enough to keep you watching for a couple of years.
The player itself is easy to set up and connect to one's TV and surround receiver. Although the Roku offers the option of connecting to the internet using 802.11 b/g wi-fi, I HIGHLY recommend using an RJ45 ethernet cable to connect the Roku player to your ISP router, especially if you live in an apartment building, as this ensures the fastest possible connection speed and avoids potential wireless interference and drop-out issues. On my relatively slow 5 Mbs/second cable internet connection, using an ethernet cable, the Roku connection achieves great picture quality and only dropped out once during hundreds of hours of TV watching -- pretty damn good in my book. There is no question that the Roku transmits streaming video much faster and more efficiently, with far better quality, than using Netflix's website streaming and the Silverlight plug-in. Scene searching is pretty fast; it takes about 5 seconds to load a new scene. Picture quality on a 37" 1080p LCD television with an HDMI connection is excellent -- indistinguishable from a DVD, and probably better in most cases, and the surround audio through the optical cable is also excellent.
The remote is very simple and easy to use, with directional arrows for menu navigation, a "select" key, a pause/play key and forward and rewind keys, and a "home" key. Menu navigation through one's Netflix streaming queue is in the process of being improved by Netflix; currently, one can only cycle through one's streaming list left to right, by using the directional arrows, so if you have a lot of movies in your queue, it can take a while to go through them. For this reason, I recommend organizing your queue on the Netflix website before you use your Roku, sending the movies you want to watch to the beginning of your queue. Then, when you use the Roku, the stuff you want to watch will be at the beginning of your queue, and you won't have to cycle through all the titles.
Final verdict - Roku workds as advertised and is a great value for budget-conscious folks looking to stretch their entertainment budgets.
Customer Review: Doing A Great Job So Far
Summary: 5 Stars
The Roku player came in yesterday and I've set it up in my home theater system; last night we enjoyed our first movie and the Roku operated perfectly.
One of my interests was to be able to set it up where it could be operated through the TV alone or through the full component home theater system. I'm pleased to confirm that this was possible. I've used the stereo output and the composite video output to connect directly to the TV so my wife can go in and watch a movie without turning on the entire home theater system; that has been accomplished successfully. I also wanted to utilize the multi-channel sound option with the upgraded video using the component video output. I have an older Sony CRT HDTV which has very good sound for a TV and an excellent picture; I simply cannot talk myself into getting a new TV while this one does so many things well. It does not, however, have an HDMI input so I must use the component connections for the better quality video.
The multi-channel sound and component video have now been connected to my home theater system and it is producing great sound and a great picture with the Netflix streaming video. The only multi-channel sound output is via a Toslink connection so you need the optical input on your receiver or preamp/processor and a Toslink cable to connect.
The Roku needs to be connected to the web by either a wireless or wired connection. That is a critical part of the process as your Roku acquires a code number which needs to be entered from your computer. The Roku needs to be registered with Roku, and then registered with Netflix, and with Amazon Video on Demand. The registration with Roku and Netflix went flawlessly but when I tried to connect to Amazon Video on Demand the Roku said it could not connect. I tried several times with no success so gave up for the moment; last night I tried again and got right through and am now registered with all three.
I had read about discs becoming obsolete because of streaming video and am now beginning to see how that could happen. I'm definitely getting short on storage space for my discs and see streaming video as at least an excellent way to supplement my collection of discs. I must admit that some of the discs I've ordered, hoping they would be good if not great, have been a disappointment, but I haven't been able to bring myself to give or throw them away.
In summary, I'm sorry I didn't take the streaming video plunge sooner; it really makes a lot of sense and looks and sounds very good indeed. The picture quality on my TV is completely satisfactory and the surround sound leaves nothing to be desired. The set-up of the Roku can be very simple; I've read the accounts of people being in business in three minutes; they must have been sitting in front of the TV with their laptops to do that. My installation and setup took a lot longer than that, due in no small part to my integrating it into my home theater system as well as directly connecting it to the TV.
If you ever have the question circulating around your house, "what do you want to watch tonight," streaming video will definitely provide many more alternatives. I am really delighted to have it in operation and think you might enjoy it too.
Customer Review: This is too good to be true
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been using the Roku (Roku HD - $99 Amazon - free shipping, no sales tax) for just three days now, but so far I am very, very impressed with the value for the money. I am not computer literate. Yet I was able, without even looking at the instructions, to get the unit connected to the Internet via our wireless router. You obviously need high-speed internet. It has its own internal WiFi receiver and is ready when you turn it on to find the signal from a wireless router. There was one scary moment when I entered the WEP code for the wireless router, it accepted the WEP code, and said it was connected to the Internet, and I thought I was good to go. Then, instead of completing all the on-screen registration processes for me, it went through the same wireless initialization procedure again and said it couldn't recognize my wireless router and couldn't connect to the Internet. I tried a 3rd time, and got on.
You need to have a Netflix account with at least a one-at-a-time-with-unlimited-streaming (instant watch), currently priced at $8.99 a month ($10.99 for blu-ray discs) to get the best value of your money with Roku. You need to activate your Roku unit online with Netflix, and need to register your unit online with Roku, so you need to have your laptop fired up and nearby when you set up the unit. Since then, it has been smooth sailing (knock on wood, I have read all the one-star comments on this page, and hope that my unit does not fail, does not fail during updates, and/or that I never need customer service). By scanning the search screen for Netflix instant watch, I initially thought that Netflix offered only a limited number of instant watch titles of Movies and TV shows. Then, I found a website much more user-friendly in terms finding instant watch movies ([...]), and learned that there are many, many more titles available than originally thought. If Roku does not fail, and if Netflix maintains its current reasonable pricing for instant watch, I intend to drop Directv (and the $100 monthly bill I am paying it for HD DVR, and all its nickel and diming services), and I plan to buy a Winegard HP 7694 (Amazon) over the air (OTA) HD antenna and an OTA HD signal amplifier, and a Tivo HD Premiere box (OTA HD DVR - $12 monthly fee) and cut my TV monthly bills to less than $25 a month). College and pro football games are in HD on local OTA channels, as are Sunday news shows. The rest can be Roku and Netflix. The only thing I will be sacrificing is Fox News and other Fox shows, but, although it is refreshing to watch news that is not liberal propaganda (only kind of "news" that is available OTA), I can't see paying $75 a month, or $900 a year, just for Fox News. (Sorry, Rupert -- I'll read Drudge or RCP online instead).
In summary, Roku is a very promising way to save money on entertainment, and to use Netflix to its fullest. You can also use Amazon Video on Demand on Roku, but there is nothing like Netflix's free "Instant Watch" free streaming movies on Amazon VOD -- with Amazon VOD it is purely pay-per-view, which is not that exciting. In these "austerity" times, Roku is a great way to save money on entertainment.
Customer Review: Excellent idea, good execution, and a few fixable flaws.
Summary: 4 Stars
If you have a Netflix account and a reasonably good internet connection then this is an absolute must-have. There are thousands of movies, including lots of kid's stuff, on Netflix, and surprisingly some really good TV shows as well. You won't get Netflix's complete collection, but I was able to watch the first 3 seasons of Heroes in HD without waiting for the DVDs. Other TV shows (as of this date) include Weeds, Californication, Jericho, etc. You'll also find lots of documentaries, quirkier stuff, Indie movies, etc. We recently watched some great kids movies including Wall-E and Happy Feet. A sampling of documentaries includes Chop Shop, King Corn, Born into Brothels, Ken Burn stuff, etc. Also, some recent movies available include Pineapple Express and Letters from Iwo Jima. Lots of old school, including Enter the Dragon, Cool Hand Luke, and Chariots of Fire. The quality in HD is pretty good, and if you consider it's being streamed to the smallish box on your TV stand it's pretty remarkable. That said, the S&H is outrageous (I just tried to buy a backup remote from Roku and they want $6 for S&H? The thing is tiny and light!). The shipping time can also be slow, and there are some interface issues that need to be addressed.
Pros:
- Near instantaneous watching with reasonably good quality
- Some good recent TV series and movies are available from Netflix
- Large collection of older movies and shows
- Access to more movies on a pay-per-view basis through Amazon
- Easy setup
- Small box footprint
- Reasonable price
- Watch stuff without commercials! Maybe even ditch cable and save yourself hundreds!
Cons:
- Linear list format: if you have lots of movies / shows in your Netflix instant queue it can take forever to scroll through the entire list! Where's the tagging so you can only go through the ones you want? For example, I would tag some media "Kids" and some "documentaries" and some "TV Shows" so I could drill down to the type of content I was interested at any given moment. As is, I have to scroll through over a hundred titles sometimes.
- Roku sells direct: where is the reseller? Seems like Roku is making a tidy profit on their expensive S&H.
- Need more Netflix content: obviously this isn't Roku's department, but it is a limitation of the device.
- Along the same lines, Netflix content sometimes has an expiration date, so a movie you added to your instant queue may not be there for very long
- Occasional hiccups in quality when watching (but this is probably dependent on your internet connection)
Some things to consider:
- If you are a die-hard HD fan you might be disappointed, but hey, this content is streamed!
Overall: a good, cheap way to radically extend the value of your Netflix subscription and have access to lots of recent releases for reasonable prices from Amazon as well. As soon as they allow you to purchase from 3rd party resellers, fix the linear content selection screen, and add a little more content this remarkable little box would easily rate five stars.
Customer Review: Great value
Summary: 5 Stars
First off - other reviews are spot on with the slow shipping. If you take the free shipping option, keep that in mind - it took mine nearly two weeks to show up, and even though I was expecting slow shipping thanks to the reviews here, I was starting to get impatient waiting for it. If you're buying this as a gift or need it before a specific time frame, pay extra for faster shipping, unless you have three weeks or more to wait.
The box itself was very simple to hook up and get setup. I have a wired internet connection, so I didn't have to fiddle with the wireless. It took me less than 15 minutes to set up and start watching something - and the only reason it took that long is because I was BBQing steaks at the same time and was running back and forth between the grill and the entertainment center.
For me, picture quality is pretty good. The only times picture quality has dropped out on me has been when I've had internet issues, which has only been a couple of times. Based on my experiences, the faster and more stable your internet connection is, the happier you'll be with picture quality. I'd say it's comparable to my satellite in most cases - and with less disruption to my picture during bad weather.
I've only used it with netflix, pandora and facebook photos. Be sure you're happy with the content Netflix provides as instant before you purchase - there is a lot there, but most of it's older. There is a huge selection of children's programming though - my 6 year old is always asking "Let's watch the Roku!" because it gives him a better choice at any given time than satellite does. Amazon Video on Demand has more choices, but for most of the stuff I've looked at on Amazon, I'd rather pay a bit extra and buy the DVD.
I purchased my Roku and got it a couple weeks before the release of the additional channels like Pandora and Facebook Photos. The upgrade went smoothly, and adding a Pandora account was easy. I thought it was a good value before the additional channels, it's even better now.
My only complaint at this point is that the rewind/fast forward controls are taking a little getting used to. I wish it were more like my DVR with the 30 sec skip forward and 6 second skip backwards, but I think as I get used to it, it won't be so bad.
Overall, I think this box is a great value - if you have the network and broadband to support it. It works very well on my business class cable with a wired connection. A friend of mine has it, and it works well on his DSL - but he has upgraded DSL because he works for the phone company. Not so sure it will work on my parents microwave based broadband, nor would I rely on a wireless network for using this - my own wireless network can be flaky sometimes.
If you have any doubts about your internet speed, I'd recommend looking for a friend or family member who has one and seeing if you can try it out for a few hours to get a feel for it. That's what I'll be doing for my parents - taking my box up to their house the next time we go visit - I have my doubts it will work as well there, though.