Roku HD-XR Player
by Roku, Inc.
|
List Price: Category: Home Theater See more product details |
|---|
(Click here)
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Roku HD-XR Player
Customer Review: Movie lovers rejoice!!
Summary: 5 Stars
A few months back when my husband had started talking about the Roku box, I admittedly thought it would be a big waste of money. We aren't TV watchers and thus have lived on basic cable for years, but we do have our dedicated "movie nights" where we routinely enjoy watching movies together. We've had Netflix for about 6 years now and we've never gone back to traditional rentals. I thought our unlimited DVD rentals from Netflix was all we needed. It can't get any easier than picking a movie and having it show up at your door two days later, right?
I was wrong. ;)
Since we have jumped on the Roku bandwagon, I've gotten a lot of questions from others around me who are now considering the purchase. I find there is a lot of confusion about what exactly the Roku does, so here we go. The Roku box streams media (movies, TV series, podcasts, music, etc) to your TV in real time. You don't need a Netflix subscription for it to work, but it hugely enhances the enjoyment of the Roku box as it is undoubtedly the most popular feature of the device. With your basic unlimited Netflix subscription (beginning at $8.99/mo or $7.99/mo if you only want the Starz Play streaming media with no DVD option) you have unlimited access to watching streaming videos on your TV at any time of day or night. All you need is a TV (of any kind, new or old) and an internet connection. Cable or DSL is required for good performance of the streaming media. I wouldn't try this on dial-up. You can set it up via traditional ethernet cables or set it up on your wireless network in minutes.
One thing I've noticed in talking with people is that a lot of people may already have a compatible streaming device in their home and not realize it. If you own a PS3, Xbox 360 or Tivo, you can stream Netflix to your TV and you do not need to buy the Roku. Rumors of it coming to the Wii are on the horizon but are not confirmed, to my knowledge. Also, some select Blu-ray players and internet connected HD TVs are compatible as well. Check with Netflix for more information. Again, you do not need to buy the Roku if you already have one of these devices in your home!
The other main feature of the Roku is the ability to stream Amazon on-demand. If you have ever purchased a movie on Pay-per-view, Amazon on-demand will seem instantly familiar. You can rent movies digitally and stream them to your Roku (or other compatible device) any time for a fraction of the cost of your typical Pay-per-view movie. Amazon's digital rentals range in price from $0.99 to $3.99 for newer releases. Each rental has a specific rental time. Some you can enjoy and watch as many times as you like for a full 7 days and others for 24 hours. You also have the option to purchase media this way which is usually the same price or less than what you would pay for the DVD. This allows you to stream it any time and as many times as you like until the end of time. Without taking up shelf space! Pretty nice. You are also able to download it to your PC and/or portable media device for enjoyment on the go. You can download it as many times as you like. As long as you have your Amazon account, Amazon will remember what titles you have purchased and you will have access to it forever. It works just like Amazon's MP3 downloads.
The lesser known features of the Roku include instant access to 12 additional channels which include (in addition to Netflix and Amazon on-demand), MLB.com, MotionBox, MediaFly, Blip.TV, Twit.TV, Facebook Photos, Revision3, Frame Channel, Flickr, Mobile Tribe, and my absolute favorite, Pandora. If you have an account at Pandora.com, it takes seconds to link it to your Roku and start enjoying your music channels instantly. The Roku also supports different Pandora accounts if you have the need. Being able to listen to Pandora on our beautiful surround sound setup any time of the day or night is blissful. My 4-year-old's favorite feature, aside from the plethora of children's titles available on Netflix instant play, is the MediaFly channel which streams 5,000+ audio and video podcasts. Among them, two of my son's favorite video podcasts, Ultra Kawaii and Sesame Street. You have the ability to add your favorites to a list that you can quickly access at any time. My husband is in love with the Twit.TV channel which streams all of their internet shows, including This Week in Tech. The Flickr channel also has a really neat feature that showcases random artistic photos and is actually quite interesting to watch and is never the same. There is really something for everyone in this growing library of channels and it is far more than I expected from the Roku.
Being the new spokesperson for Roku (I kid ;), I also hear a lot of concerns of TVs not being compatible with the Roku. No one should be concerned with this because the Roku ships with all cables needed to hook up to any TV, new or old. If you don't have an HD TV, you might be purchasing the SD version which will connect to any TV with the standard red, white and yellow cables. If you do own an HD TV, you will receive both an HDMI cable and the standard red, white and yellow, just in case. The same goes for the HD-XR version. As far as compatibility goes, there should be no reason that everyone can't have a Roku box, regardless of their type of TV.
In the same vein as the prior concern, there seems to be worry from the less than tech savvy movie lovers out there, fearing setup will be complicated and frustrating. Not so. Roku is able to hook up to your router via a standard ethernet cable or link seamlessly with your existing wireless network in a matter of minutes. Anyone can set this up and avoid frustration completely. It's very straightforward and simple and the onscreen prompts will guide you the entire time.
Now that we know what the Roku can do, I'm sure you want to know, does it actually DO them? Absolutely, YES! Obviously with the SD version, you will be viewing in SD, but the HD and HD-XR Rokus stream HD beautifully. We read some reviews that recommended using the wired ethernet connection to avoid hiccups during viewing, but we have had none whatsoever with our wireless network running on a cable internet connection. I would suggest trying the wireless first as it takes only minutes to do and requires no additional hardware, and if you have problems (which I tend to doubt) you can go the ethernet route. It should not be necessary as long as the Roku is within reasonable range of your router. Keep this in mind when choosing where to set up your Roku.
Navigation of the Roku menus is extremely simple and intuitive. There are your four directional buttons, select, home, and your standard fast forward, rewind and pause/play. I love the simplicity of this remote as our remote collection contains numerous remotes with countless confusing buttons that I have never even used. Don't be fooled by it's looks, however, because this remote is all you need to quickly and effectively access all of the Roku's features. I also wanted to point out that if you lose your remote and you have an iPhone or iPod touch, you can download an app that acts as a remote for your Roku. Sweet!!
Last but not least, you need to carefully consider which Roku you purchase. As nice as it would be to have an all-in-one box which includes all features at one price, currently you have to choose from three versions: the SD, HD and HD-XR. To put it plainly, they ALL have the same exact features. The only difference being the SD is limited to streaming only SD content, the HD can stream all HD and SD content, and the HD-XR can stream all HD and SD content and also includes an as of yet unused USB port (maybe for an external hard drive in the future?) and the ability to link with your "N" network. Given that the price difference is marginal, I would probably grab the next best up from what you are currently needing. If you have any intention at all at any point in the near or distant future to buy an HD TV, get the HD version. It's $20 more and you will spend much more than that getting a new box if you ever do get a new TV. Also, if you are at all enticed by the possibility of having an external hard drive to play all your own media, get the HD-XR. It's not been said what they intend to do with this USB port, but I think it seems fairly obvious what their plans are for it. You may not want to invest the money in a feature that is not yet supported, however. I do think it's a bit cheap to charge $30 more for a feature that should have been standard on all versions, but it is what it is.
In the end, if you love movies and like to save money, you will not be disappointed with the Roku. You will never have to visit a rental store or buy a pay-per-view rental ever again! And you may even save a nice chunk of change from canceling some channels that will now become obsolete with your new toy. If you are at all on the fence, rest assured that you will get your money's worth from this device. It's worth every penny.
Customer Review: Lacks N-networking and usb port - Updated 12/21/10
Summary: 4 Stars
First let me say I own a Roku and LOVE it! NetFlix and Roku are a marriage made in heaven as far as I'm concerned, and they are saving me tons of money and treks to the video store. The picture, ease of use, wireless capabilities, quality of video content... everything is great!
But as a consumer it's important to understand the differences between the 3 Roku offerings so you can make an informed decision on your purchase. It does seem odd that Roku has simply not put out one device at one price for everyone with all the bells and whistles, but for now, you have to choose one... based upon your needs and budget.
THE DIFFERENCES IN ROKU PLAYERS:
Roku HD Player is capable of wired or wireless hook-up, but not at the fastest speed available from a 'N' wireless network. HD content streams to this device flawlessly (if the content is available and your home network is sending a proper signal), despite not being 'N' network ready.
That being said, Roku came out with Roku HD-XR Player which WILL stream the fastest 'N' network standard, provided the rest of your home network is also working with the same standard. That being said, this device is not at all necessary if you don't have all the devices on your home network using the 'N' standard, because the speed will only go as fast as the device with the slowest connection which is probably the 'B or G' standard.
The third device is available on Roku's website. Roku SD, which streams in standard definition, will not stream HD content, isn't capable of surround sound audio like the other two and does not have a HDMI connection. It only supports the red/yellow/white (composite video and audio) connections, but it will connect wirelessly or can be hardwired to the internet, working on a 'B or G' network. The Roku SD is about twenty bucks less than the Roku HD and , so again, consider your needs before buying. **Anyone with a standard def TV and who doesn't plan to upgrade to an HDTV with HDMI ports any time soon, would probably want this version.
The Roku HD-XR Player is a jump up from the HD model in wireless capabilities. All the Roku offerings will give you years of enjoyment by boosting your NetFlix subscription, streaming Amazon On Demand media and boosting your viewing library. What the HD-XR has that the others don't: 'N' network capabilities and 1 USB port for firmware upgrades and possibly, other media hook-ups via USB, but at this time Roku doesn't even bring up the USB on their website so I tend to wonder about this being a selling point. Is it worth the extra cost? Only you know the answer to that question.
MY CONCLUSION:
The quality of the streaming video on my 'G' network is perfect; standard and HD content, via my Roku HD, but since I don't have a 'N' network, nor do I expect I will in the near future, I saved myself a bit of money and didn't buy this one.
The only reason I give this product 4 versus 5 stars is because of the price bump for the ability to use an 'N' wireless network when frankly I believe it should be considered a standard feature, not an extra. The USB port, whatever it's used for, should also be standard on all models. Again, it would be wonderful to have one Roku with all the potential connections and wireless ability, and perhaps in the future there will be, but for now you need to consider these three: Roku SD, Roku HD and Roku HD-XR.
To may your own informed choice, evaluate your needs and buy accordingly. While the Roku products are not media storage devices or DVR's, they can give you a tremendous boost in your enjoyment of NetFlix and expand your viewing library.
ROKU HD-XR PLAYER SPECIFICATIONS (per the Roku website):
*Note the USB port isn't even listed as a feature.
Networking
Wi-Fi (802.11N/B/G "dual-band") with WEP, WPA, and WPA2 support
10/100 Ethernet (RJ-45)
Video Outputs
Composite video (480i)
S-Video (480i)
Component video (Y/Pb/Pr - 720p/480p)
HDMI (720p/480p)
Video Modes
16:9 High Definition (HD)
16:9 anamorphic
4:3 standard
Audio Output
Stereo (L/R RCA)
Digital Optical (Toslink - Stereo/Surround)
Digital over HDMI (Stereo/Surround)
Remote Control
NEC protocol, supported by various universal remotes
Power Input
5V, 2.5A provided by included AC adapter
Power Consumption
6 watts peak, 4 watts in standby
Size
5 x 5 x 1.75 inches (130 x 130 x 41 mm)
Weight
11 oz (300 grams)
UPDATE: 10/31/10
After using this item almost daily for over a year (even got a second one for a bedroom unit) I'm still convinced Roku's are fantastic devices for almost any home. We still have cable, but it's not piped to my daughter's room (the location of the second unit) and she doesn't mind a bit. With the upcoming addition of Hulu streaming to the Roku... the selection just keeps growing! A fantastic deal for $9 a month Netflix subscription.
As for missing the 'N-wireless'... I still don't. Could be because I've not upgraded my home network, but truly the speed of the uploads with this one are sufficient for my needs and my home network is stable and provides excellent picture quality with my set-up. I would say that if I buy a new one in the future, the recently upgraded units are the way to go though. Unless they significantly drop the price in this one. The newer ones have 1080p ability and the 'n-networking' as a standard. If you're going to pay the same amount for this one versus that one... it's a no-brainer to choose the upgrade.
The differences in the 'upgraded' offerings...
Roku HD:
Doesn't play 1080p...nor does it support 'n' or any other bumps in perks. It does however have wireless capabilities and is the cheapest of the offerings. Roku HD Streaming Player.
Roku XD:
Does play 1080p full HD video **(assuming the Netfix offering CAN stream in full HD - not all the offerings are in full HD)**, have an instant replay button, have extended range wireless (b/g/n compatible), and probably offers the best deal for most consumers as the mid-range offering. Roku XD Streaming Player 1080p
Roku XD/S:
Offering the most bang for your buck, this Roku has dual-band wireless N (the latest wireless standard and potentially the fastest if your home network is set up for it...), extended range wireless (b/g/n compatible), have an instant replay button, component video and optical outputs, and a usb port for playing music, videos and photos. Your Roku must be upgraded (available in 11/10) via software upgrade - done wirelessly by the Roku - to make this function work.
Roku XDS Streaming Player 1080p
Overall, my impression of the Roku is unchanged. It's a great device that just keeps getting better. I love it and will continue to be a loyal Roku and Netflix customer for years to come.
UPDATE: 12/21/10
The Roku HD that I purchased 14 months ago stopped locating my wireless network. Attempts to reset to factory settings, reboot, etc... didn't work so I checked the Roku.com site for support. The first call to support yeilded surprising results. The tech said they would be sending me a FREE replacement to my Roku. I informed her it was no longer under warranty, but this didn't matter, which totally floored me! I was told that all I needed to do was fax the proof of purchase (a copy of my invoice from Amazon) and call them back to let them know I'd sent it. I did this and the second support tech confirmed that they'd received the fax and would be sending me a new unit (not sure which one yet) and a pre-paid box to return the defective one.
I'm stunned by this, as my Roku is two months off of warranty. I was going to purchase a new Roku (as my current unit is not the current model sold by the company), however now I'm hoping to be back on track within 3 to 5 business days, and loving this product and company all the more!
Customer Review: Great for Major League Baseball Fans
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought the Roku because I wanted to be able to watch my MLB.TV subscription on the TV instead of on the computer. Since I bought it mostly to watch baseball games, I will leave discussion of the device's abilities with movies to other reviewers and direct my review to baseball fans.
I highly recommend this device to Major League Baseball fans! I have the premium subscription to MLB.TV which allows you to watch any non-blacked out game live on your computer (blacked out games are available to watch only after the game has ended). This is a great subscription for MLB fans, except that it can be somewhat inconvenient to watch games on the computer if you happen to be working on the computer at the same time. Therefore, I also pay for the MLB Extra Innings package through Comcast Cable so I can watch the games on TV when I am working on the computer. The Roku does a great job of solving this problem. MLB.TV is one of the channels available on the device. Because I am happy with how this device works, next year I will save the money and not subscribe to MLB Extra Innings through cable.
I found the device easy to hook up to my 32" Samsung HDTV with an HDMI cable I already had. It easily found my home wireless network and connected. (Make sure you have a computer close by and the password to your network before you start hooking up the device.) It took only 10 to 15 minutes to get the Roku up and working, including activating it with my MLB.TV subscription and connecting it to my Amazon.com account for Video On Demand (this is why you need a computer during installation). It was very easy to do, even though I am only modestly tech savvy.
The picture quality is very good. Because the Roku is 720p, the picture quality is not as good as the HD broadcasts available through cable TV (my television is 1080p capable). However, it is MUCH better than the standard def broadcasts that are available through the Extra Innings package. Every now and then there is some minor pixilation but overall the quality is very good.
The player is relatively easy to use. You can navigate to any date over the last 7 days and then navigate to whatever game you want to watch. Unlike the video player available on the computer, the Roku only allows you to watch one game at time. In this respect it is more like the TV viewing experience and less like the computer viewing experience, which allows you to watch up to 4 games at once and easily switch from game to game or inning to inning.
The Roku does have a number of advantages over watching the games through the MLB Extra Innings package. With Roku, you can watch either the home team or away team feed of the broadcast (with Extra Innings you have to watch whichever broadcast they show). Therefore, with Roku, you are always able to watch your favorite team's broadcast. You also can choose where to start the broadcast. The Roku allows you to choose whether you want to start watching from the beginning of the game, at whatever half inning you choose, or to join the game live if it is currently in progress. Changing from game to game or from inning to inning within a game on the Roku is somewhat cumbersome and not as easy as with the computer video player or changing channels on the TV. With the Roku remote you must navigate with the arrow buttons through different menu levels to get to what you want to watch. And when you fast forward or change to a different inning or game, there is a brief delay as the Roku retrieves the internet feed and buffers it. Once it begins playing, however, there is no delay or buffering of the video. I have high speed internet service through Comcast which provides up to 8000 kbs (MLB.TV recommends 3000 kbs to watch the HD broadcasts). With this connection, I can surf the internet while my son plays Xbox Live without causing any hitches or delays in the Roku video feed. One thing that does interfere is our microwave oven, which interferes with our wireless network such that when the microwave is in use, the Roku video feed will pause and say "loading" until the microwave stops. I believe this could be fixed by wiring the Roku directly to the router if your router is close enough to the Roku.
Another advantage the Roku has over watching games on TV is that with TV broadcasts, you can watch live or record a game to watch later. You must therefore decide ahead of time which games you want to record. If something special happens in another game that you have not recorded, you cannot then go back and watch that game. With Roku all games are archived and available to watch later. So the next day (or up to 1 week later), you can watch any game you might have missed and want to see.
If Roku is going to make improvements to the player, I would recommend giving it the ability to show more than one game at a time like the computer video player does. I would also recommend allowing access to all games previously played (like the computer video player which allows access to all games going back several years), rather than restricting access to games played within the last week. I'd also like it to be easier to navigate from inning to inning in a game, perhaps using the right and left arrow buttons to skip forward or backward ½ inning at a time. It would also be nice if the video were available in 1080p instead of just 720p. Finally I would recommend allowing access to minor league games by adding MiLB.TV (a subscription to minor games similar to MLB.TV) as a Roku channel.
Overall, the Roku is a FABULOUS device with which I am exceedingly pleased! I am very glad I bought one. It is great, not just for movie fans, but also for baseball fans.
Customer Review: Good within its limitations
Summary: 4 Stars
I have the Roku-XR box hooked up to a 2002 surround receiver, with no HDMI inputs. The 2 HDMI inputs on my 50" Panasonic 720p plasma are in use by my cable box/DVR, and my standard DVD player. I used component (not composite) connector cables from the Roku box directly into my television. The sound is carried by optical cable from the Roku box into my receiver. The Roku came with only composite video cables, which will work, but the sound and video quality will be lower.
Once you get the Roku GUI on your television screen, the program takes you through the set-up. I found this to be very simple, which is good, since I am not a techie. I had someone else set up my antique, D-Link "B" type wireless router some years ago, and I have not messed with it since.
My router is one floor up and across the house from my Roku box. The old router streams at 11 Mbps (according to my laptop). Roku says you can stream video with a minimum of 1.2 Mbps, but recommends at least 2.6 Mbps for high quality sound and video. The XR is N capable, and the N routers will stream at up to 250 Mbps, but my cable ethernet on its best day is streaming no faster than 14 Mbps, and not much more than 8 or 9 Mbps, depending on who's hooked up at the time, according to online speed tests. In any event your router is never going to stream any faster than your incoming internet feed.
During set-up the Roku box detected my wireless network as requiring a security code, and put up an on screen keyboard with which to enter the code. There is an on screen set of little green lights to let you see how connection with the internet is progressing.
Once the wireless was set up I could connect with Roku online. You use the handy keyboard to enter the code which registers your particular box. Codes are provided to activate your box with the various channels, but you have to use a separate computer to go to the channel web site (Netflix or Amazon, for example) and enter a code to start your subscription. This is a little tedious but I have only had to do it once.
Once online at Roku Home, you use the Roku remote to get to your chosen channel. On Netflix you can pull up your Instant queue, but you can't add to it with the Roku remote. You have to add to your Netflix Instant queue separately online, with your laptop or desktop. This is not very convenient, either, but I usually queue up my movie choices in advance, anyway.
Note that you can only browse your queue serially, from front to back, or back to front, one title at a time. If you get to the last title and continue, the queue continues from the first title again. You can't search within your list, or change the position of the titles in the queue. For that reason I limit my queue to about 25 or 30 titles.
The video quality (even without HDMI) varies from acceptable, for old television titles, to excellent, for newer HD titles. Some older source material on rare occasions streams unevenly at times, producing a momentary "ghost" effect. This could be an internet problem. Sound appears to be in stereo, not digital surround, but my receiver converts the sound to surround sound, as it does with any non-digital sound source. It sounds very good to me. Sometimes (again with older source material) there is a lag between the video and the sound, so that dialogue is not in synch.
Aspect ratio is set by Netflix, at what I assume is the original aspect ratio. So older television from BBC, or PBS, is set to a 4:3 ratio on my television screen. Widescreen titles appear as widescreen.
In two weeks of use I have had loss of wi-fi signal two or three times, i.e., failure of the box to recognize the network when I come back to the Roku after viewing another source. The GUI then takes you back through the wi-fi set up, but it remembers your security code so that you don't have to type it in again. This takes two or three minutes.
This has never happened while I was watching a film, although the stream has been interrupted for a second or two, and then resumes at the exact frame where it lost the stream. This is irritating but not unexpected, and it may simply be a problem with my internet feed, or with the age of my particular router. I have the same problem with YouTube, Skype, and other streaming services while using wi-fi, and less often with my ethernet connection.
I find the remote intuitive and easy to use. It only does a few things, so it doesn't take long to learn how to use it. The Netflix interface is also simple and easy to use. Most films have a "frames" feature which allows you to click through to a particular scene within the film, and resume the film from that point. You can also fast forward and reverse using this feature to find a particular scene.
I have read the reviews and the comments from folks who may have unreasonable expectations for an internet streaming device. At present, I doubt if anyone will get true HD quality from an internet feed, and certainly not from a device which you can buy for $100. At best it approaches DVD quality, and non-surround cable television sound. I am confident that video and sound quality will improve rapidly in the future.
The little Roku box meets my needs admirably for now, although like most people I wish for more choices on Netflix. I do appreciate being able to watch indie and foreign films which normally never make it to my small city in southwestern Virginia. Overall I give the Roku box a solid B, and I recommend it to anyone look to supplement (if not quite replace) regular DVD rental, provided that you have high speed internet.
Customer Review: Worth it despite content issues and UI failings
Summary: 4 Stars
I'll preface this by saying that I'm a web application developer with a degree in design. Some of the issues I think are critical design flaws may not bother you in the least. Also, I've got a 25 ft hdmi cable running from my receiver to my computer, gmote on my android phone and a really nice bluetooth keyboard. Anything other content delivery system than my computer needs to have some obvious advantages for it to be with the money and effort.
Please note that I'm primarily responding to software issues. Roku is capable of addressing many of these issues by pushing down a software update. I'm merely pointing out my take on the current service provided with this product.
Pros:
1. The navigation is surprisingly intuitive and attractive. They do an excellent job of providing a rich user experience with a handful of buttons in a tolerable form factor for a remote.
2. It remembers where you are in a series and has a nice visual indicator for how much of any title you have completed watching.
3. It remembers state within Netflix so you don't have to track down what title you were on when switching between channels.
4. Currently the only way to get high(er) definition streaming Netflix content.
5. Gives you a simple interface to Netflix streaming that can be navigated with a remote and doesn't cause obnoxious issues like -> doing anything on your computer that will cause full screen to go away, needing to do something on a different screen than the one displayed on your tv, having overscanning or underscanning issues such that you loose screen realestate or some of the content, or processor intensive activities starting on your computer that impacts video playback.
Cons (in no order):
1. The authorization process is ridiculous. If anyone is in the same room as you during a purchase (or other authorization), they'll immediately know what the code is (you navigate to numbers and hit enter, hard to miss). I understand the limitations inherent in a remote that has no numbers on it but I think too much was sacrificed in the name of simplicity on this one. However, I might have been more comfortable if they went one step further and made the code be a sequence of directions (like an old NES cheat code). For instance, up up right up left down appearing as * * * * * * on the screen would be ok by me.
2. List navigation is terrible. Since we're limited to Netflix movies previously queued, I've usually got upwards of 150 items in my queue. Trying to move through that list makes me feel like I should take a nap while holding down the left or right button. They could have at least taken a lesson from cheap alarm clocks and sped up the rate when holding the button down. However, if the cover art isn't loaded yet (or it's not helpful), you've got a secondary issue of recognizing the item you're looking for... my next point.
3. A textual representation of titles other than the selected title should always be displayed while the thumbnail is in view. It doesn't matter if it's small or truncated, it's a necessary element of the scanning process when you're trying to move quickly through a large list.
4. This is a big fat duh, you should be able to shop for Netflix titles through the interface, not just work with titles already in your queue. At this point I wouldn't even care if it were as lame as the Amazon streaming interface for finding titles. That being said, it really should have: new releases, genres, friend list interface, search, cross-linking by writer, director, or actors, and all lists should be sortable by release date or stars.
5. The content is just too limited. There are pretty much only 3 things worth your time, Netflix, Pandora, Amazon streaming (only because I keep getting promo credits). Maybe the sports channel if you're a sports fan. The rest of the stuff is total junk. I know Hulu is the "holy grail" and unlikely to happen any time soon but what about reaching out to Google for Youtube content? Getting some network to test out some over priced content stream? Whipping some interns into cobbling together some feeds for popular online comic strips?
6. Half-hearted Flickr feed. It's great that you can stream stuff in higher definition than you can through a web page. However, the transitions are jarring, it cuts off the content instead of continuing to the end, and you can't stream music at the same time (tricky feature request maybe but it turns this into killer background when friends are by). Also, you should be able to control slide speed and info display options among other things.
7. Sluggish button response combined with action queue = accidental navigation. It's easy to go too far in navigating since the feedback isn't immediate. I often find myself accidentally choosing the channel store instead of Netflix because I hit a button too many times without realizing it.
8. Lots of wasted space. While the navigation is attractive, there are more effective, more information dense layouts that would work better for power users. I'd very much like this configurable. And, as a minor nit, don't fill up the empty space with a lame ad for something you already have. Seriously, I've already added the Pandora channel, you don't have to hit me in the face with a banner to tell me about it.
9. You can't reorder your channel listings. I keep a number of the channels in case I get bored enough to go fishing for content. However, I really want all of the things I use most often to bubble up to the left for ease of access.
I'll try to edit this review as new things are noted or new software releases come out that address or add items to these lists.