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: Absolutely Fantastic! Netflix on Roku!
Summary: 5 Stars
We've had Netflix DVD plan for about 3 yrs already when we got the Roku this January (09) and it is so much better than the instant (streaming) video using a computer (a superb computer w superb 24" monitor). The quality of the video varies, but since we watch a lot of Foreign and independent films, many of which are old, the quality, just as with the DVD's is sometimes not great. This is not a Roku fault, just the fact that the video copy is not very good to begin with. Just recently with a new firmware upgrade (trouble free update via Setup Menu) we now get HD quality when choosing those movies which are available in HD. Of course it helps to have 6 Mbps download speed and wired (rather than the slower) wireless connection. Roku is extremely well made and the remote control has a large transmit window so that you don't have to aim it right at the Roku box. Very good remote control -good tactile feel and intelligently designed for ease of use.
If you primarily want movies and a small percentage of the best made for TV shows, save your money and get Netflix instead. Of course you may have to wait until movies are released on DVD and streaming. If you have a new HD TV or a digital receiver you can get all the local over the air digital TV stations for news and excellent Public TV documentaries. Then get all your movies from Netflix including some great British TV series as well as HBO on DVD and or via streaming Roku.
First class device and with Netflix this is the bargain of the century for any CineManiac. Unlimited no extra cost movies at any time? This is heaven!
I've ordered another Roku, for a friend and I have never had such horrible experience.
The items ships from Roku (tracking is not available on Amazon -even though most 3rd party sellers supply tracking info through Amazon). It was ordered on Nov 15, 2009 and Amazon shipping shows estimated arrival between Nov 19-Nov 24. Roku did not ship until Nov 20, then on Nov 24 (it took 4 days to go from one CA location to another CA location) it says estimated delivery is Dec 1. Clearly this will arrive way later than I expected. Amazon delivery estimate was THIS IS WORSE THAN GARBAGE. Great Product, but UNACCEPTABLY RIDICULOUS SLOW Delayed Shipping and HORRIBLY SLOW SHIPPING. There are no excuses for such poor delivery performance. A popular web vendor (hint name has 3 letters with two last letters are the same) has items w free UPS guaranteed 3 day shipping from CA to IL, so it's possible to ship cheaply and fast.
This is not Amazon's fault but Roku's. All of my Amazon orders (direct or 3rd party) have shipped promptly and fast.
Customer Review: A super item, but with crowd-overlooked drawbacks
Summary: 4 Stars
The Roku Digital Video Player is a fantastic addition for Netflix subscribers to today's range of entertainment choices. It's very easy to set up, assuming your home network is properly configured; within 5 minutes I was enjoying a favorite recent TV show without commercials while perusing the seemingly endless and ever-expanding list of choices. And I haven't even made it over to look at Amazon Video yet.
But I have discovered a few weaknesses in the system that I haven't noticed being mentioned in the sea of superlative reviews. I noticed them soon after I began watching. I always get four dots (maximum) in the connection quality display.
First, and to me, most irritating, is that the player has to be restarted to output the aspect ratio correctly for my TV, depending on the show's native ratio. As we know, media are distributed in differing aspect ratios. One, as expected, fills my 16:9 screen just fine. But when the show is a native 4:3 ratio, I need to change Roku's output to 4:3 in order to use my panel's picture justification routines and avoid the damaging black sidebars. A several minute restart is needed when I do this, which is unnecessary in any other digital video player I have, and reduces the Roku's attractiveness and usability to a significant degree. It should switch between output display ratios without needing a restart.
Second, I often observe significant video flaws when a picture is changing rapidly, especially when viewing IMAX type videos. Much streaking and "squaring" and jerking, sometimes to an unwatchable degree. This effect is highly variable and seems like it may stem from the digitization process used in the individual media.
Third, in every occasion where I've cared, as in concert videos, the sound is quite muddy, and especially the midtones (vocals) have a tendency to be muffled. On the other hand, I'm watching "Heavy Metal" right now, and the sound is reasonably acceptable.
Lastly, the navigation through any show via fast-forward and rewind is somewhat inconvenient due to the 20-30 second buffering reload every time, so rewinding like you do with your DVR to see what was just said while the dog was barking at the doorbell doesn't work well at all. You're sure to learn to only use these buttons on occasion of significant need.
So while I love my new Roku, and recommend it highly to everyone, I wanted to let you know of these few issues that remain and detract from the perfection of the player.
Customer Review: worth every penny
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this box because I had been watching my netflix instant play on my computer monitor and had lots of problems: reduced picture quality, frequent long pauses to adapt when my computer slowed down and mediocre sound. Not to mention that my monitor has a smaller screen. I wanted something that would work with my television and home theatre sound system.
I had read ads on my neflix jackets for quite a few devices that would give me the features that I wanted, but most of them cost a lot more and had features I did not want (such as video games, which I do not play, and blu-ray players, Which I already had) When the ad came for roku, it looked like the best deal on price and features, so I ordered it. I ordered the HD version since my tv was hi-def and the Roku HD player was only fifteen dollars more.
When it came, I was not able to install it for another month because my computer did not have a router, but this was an easily solved problem and I found out that the cheapest router I could find worked just fine. Once I had my router installed, setup was amazingly easy and as the ad said, I was watching movies in less than a half hour.
I think that the picture quality is outstanding. Perhaps it is not quite as good as from my Blu-Ray player, but it is much better than a standard picture, and, the difference is not noticeable to me. There are a few pauses where the picture quality needs to be adjusted, but not very often, and the pauses are very short, usually less than twenty seconds. On my computer, the pauses often came as many as five to ten times during a single movie and lasted as long as five to twenty minutes.
The sound quality is excellent and makes full use of my surround sound system. In fact. I often have to turn it down because the sound in some tv programs, particularly during the opening credits can be painfully loud, but this the fault of the producerss of the shows,not the Roku.
I am totally happy with my Roku. With it I can be watching movies and shows twenty four hours a day seven days a week if I wanted to. But who wants to?
I haven't cut down the number of Netflix I take at a time because, right now, there aren't nearly as many titles available for streaming, and the newest releases aren't available for streaming at all.
With the other sources available, such as Amazon Video on Demand it's possible for a fee to watch videos that have a long waiting list from netflix. There are quite a few other internet sources available, and possibly more in the future.
Altogether, this is the best entertainment value Ive found since the invention of widescreen HD tv.
Customer Review: Fixed at Last
Summary: 4 Stars
This is my amended review. As suggest by one of the comments I plugged the machine back in to see if the newest firmware fixed my issue. Much to my surprise it has. That changes my mind about most everything. For the price it really is a genius idea. I watch a lot of old movies and love B type horror films. That being the case the instant offering is great for me. Once I found out my machine was working I started to fill my queue again. So far after 3 days of running I only had one rebuffering issue and that was on my end because my husband was doing a room search for gaming and that will even lock all of the computers in the house. I have told him no searching without letting me know and things have been perfect since. 4 dots all the time. I have watched all of the Monty Python series without problem as well as ten or more films. I have seen over five hundred titles I would watch and can't think of a better way to get them-free to your TV instantly. Provided my box keeps working I will begin again to recommend this to my friends.
I also wanted to touch on my anger at customer service. When I was calling like a mad woman I got no response but today I got a call out of the blue, due to this review I am guessing. What that tells me is they do care about the name of their company. I am still not pleased with my initial service but can see a brighter future. I would advise people who get nowhere with telephone calls to post a review of the exact issue and then when the company sees why you are displeased they will respond.
OLD REVIEW
This must be the worse spending decision I have ever made. At first this box worked perfect and then they added HD. With the new firmware I haven't been able to watch a movie without rebuffering repeatedly. Customer service is a joke. I have tried everything including changing ISPs, upgrading speed, having my ISP come out in person and check line speeds, and finally decided if I can't watch a whole movie on a 20mbps connection they had issues. I unplugged the system and use it as a paper weight on my desk to remind me to read all of the customer reports before buying. Apparently I am nowhere near the only customer who can't get this thing to play a whole movie uninterrupted. This is the first report I have written here and I hope I save someone else the headache. Roku blames the ISP and when I told them I have now been through two ISPs and four speed upgrades they blamed Netflix. I am tempted to plug it back in and try Amazon on demand to see if the issue still exists-- I wonder how they might deny responsibility then?
Customer Review: Excellent accessory for existing Netflix subscribers
Summary: 4 Stars
Background:
As an existing Netflix customer, I was looking for a way to take advantage of Netflix's streaming video, without the expense of building or buying a Media Center PC. My initial solution was to use MediaMall's PlayOn software to stream Netflix content to my PlayStation 3; unfortunately, that software has been plagued recently with Netflix compatibility problems. So, I decided to give the Roku player a try.
Pros:
Easy setup (a computer is required to complete the Netflix setup).
Easy to use controls.
Good picture/sound quality.
Can work well over a wireless connection (see comments below).
Nice variety of A/V output choices.
Good option for existing Netflix members (see comments below).
Cons:
No power (on/off) button (see comments below).
Detailed review:
I have been very pleased with the Roku player. Setup was easy, although you will need to use an Internet-connected computer to complete the process of linking the player to your Netflix account. The controls are simple and straightforward, and audio/video quality is at least as good as standard cable television.
I had anticipated that I would need to use a wired connection to my router to avoid any performance problems, but I've found that it works quite well over my Wireless-G (802.11g) network. (Note: the player is within 30 feet of the access point and I don't normally have other wireless devices active on the network when I'm using the Roku player.) I was also pleased with the variety of audio/video output choices, making it easy to connect to a variety of newer and older equipment.
My one criticism is that there is no power button, on the device or the remote control; if the player is plugged in, it is on. I'm guessing that it doesn't draw very much power when not in use, but I have not tested this assumption. For those concerned about this, the company's web site suggests simply unplugging the player.
Many of the negative reviews of this product seem to focus on the poor selection of streaming content provided by Netflix. I think it is unfair to rate the product poorly due to a flaw in Netflix's service, but the point is valid: the selection of streaming content available from Netflix is spotty at best, so if you're not already a Netflix member, Netflix/Roku is probably not the best option. If you are a Netflix member, however, I think the Roku player is an excellent way to take advantage of what content they do offer.