Roku HD-XR Player
by Roku, Inc.
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List Price: 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-XR Player
Customer Review: Very Clever device
Summary: 5 Stars
Being someone whom is picky about my audio and video quality, I have to say, I am more impressed with my Roku than I thought I would be.
First and foremost, if your cable modem does not have an extra available Ethernet port, you will need to purchase a router in order to connect this device.
In my case having a Motorola modem from Comcast, there is only one Ethernet port so I used a Linksys BEFSR41 cable/DSL router which has an internet "in" port and then 4 additional Ethernet ports. That's 3 more ports than what I needed but it was the least I could find. BTW it works flawlessly for 49.99 + tax. The picture streams smoothly, in fact better than when viewing on my computer...another thing that surprised me. I was a little concerned how smooth it would stream with a 50 dollar router but works fine. Oh, I forgot to mention, I prefer to be hard wired to my computer so this was not a "wireless" install. That's just my choice.
So in a nut shell connection wise, Ethernet out of comcast modem to internet Ethernet port "in" of Linksys with the supplied blue Ethernet wire that came with the router. Then ethernet from computer into port 1 of Linksys then Roku Ethernet into port 2 of Linksys. To know if you were successful, if your computer is able to access the internet after this set up, your fine! Done. Then in my application I connected the Roku via component(red, blue, green) to my TV
My television only has two HDMI ports but one is being used by my Comcast modem and the other by my DVD player.
If your TV has an available HDMI then the Roku DOES have an HDMI port. Then I took the Roku audio left and right and connected to an available audio on my receiver (in my case I used the tape audio out). Bingo, fantastic audio out via my receiver; I just hit the Tape input on my receiver remote when using Roku for my audio.
Depending on the movie you stream from Netflix, the picture quality for most movies is very good. Some of the movies are streamed in a HD format for example The Story of Weeping Camel. The overall picture quality very acceptable where I have no buyers remorse whatsoever. And believe me, I am one to have tendency for "buyers remorse". Not this time. I suppose if one was forced to shut down their cable/satellite service with the bad economy, this is one alternative to have a fairly good selection of stuff to watch via your computer streamed to your TV and simply pull in your locals OTA until things improve.
Once your Roku is connected, you follow the prompts on your Roku which will appear nice and crystal clear on your TV screen and it will also allow you to set up for your applications that apply to your TV such as 16:9 format and so forth. It will then display a code number that you will use at your Netflix member website to authenticate you as a Netflix member and activate your device. You go to netflix, sign in, go to your member acct and you will see an option to activate your device. Once that is done, (it takes two seconds) any movies you have in your watch instantly queue, will be accessible on the screen of your TV with your Roku; BTW Roku has a nice interface to it.
With your Roku remote you can navigate through your queue using the left and right arrow buttons and when you see the movie of your choice just hit your select key and there you go. I have a high resolution screen computer and one big surprise to me was the picture quality on my TV is actually better than what I would see on my computer screen. Go figure! Now keep in mind, I have a 65 in TV and even on such a large screen it is superior than it is on my 17 inch wide screen computer. That was the thing that impressed me the most. It really did exceed my expectations. I give it a two thumbs up!
As I said in the subject line...VERY CLEVER DEVICE!
Customer Review: My Favorite Thing, EVER! Very Highly Recommended!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Roku is almost certainly one of the best purchases I have ever made. If you know what this does and have been on the fence, just buy it now. You will not be disappointed. This is one of the few pieces of technology that worked exactly as advertised, with no issues or problems experienced with installation or use. For those that need more information, read on:
This very small device enables content streaming to your TV from the Internet and works over your home wired Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection. There are several versions of the Roku devices that all provide the same basic functionality, but I bought the Roku HD-XR because I plan to upgrade to a dual-band "N" wireless router in the near future.
Installation was unbelievably easy: unboxed, connected it to my HDTV with an AmazonBasics High Speed HDMI Cable (9.8 Feet / 3.0 Meters) [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging], used the on-screen menus to configure the Wi-Fi (with WEP), the Roku "phoned home" (connected to the Roku site) and updated it's firmware. After it reset itself and came back up, the installation was basically over except for adding the "channels" I wanted (all under 15 minutes). The image and audio quality of the streamed content is nothing short of amazing, and also plays flawlessly. This was somewhat surprising to me since my unit is installed fairly far from the wireless router and only gets "fair" signal strength.
Adding and configuring the channels involves following the TV on-screen prompts (to generate codes) and using a PC to register at the appropriate website. I was able to quickly add Amazon On-Demand (giving me access to the content I had bought in the past), my Netflix account, my on-line social and photo accounts (including Facebook Photo, Flickr, and Frame Channel which gave me access to my existing photos), and several other very cool channels that provide everything from technical blog casts (Mediafly and Revison3) to streaming music (Pandora). A visit to the Roku Channel page is worthwhile to see exactly what is available. I should mention that all of the TV On-Screen entries were made using the included remote control, which is incredibly simplistic and intuitive. The only problem I encountered during the whole process was on adding the Facebook Photo channel, and that was because the Roku presented a code that was all in uppercase and the Facebook page wanted it in lowercase (a very minor annoyance).
I have already turned off my cable TV (one month's savings more than paid for the Roku) since we get the major broadcast stations. The Roku more than fills in the gap of video on demand type services with it's easy integration to Netflix and Amazon. It is so good and easy to use I am seriously considering getting one for my technically challenged mother.
Very highly recommended indeed!
Customer Review: Excellent replacent for cable/dish TV
Summary: 4 Stars
If you like movies more than you like TV series and news (and you can always get over the air TV for that...), Roku is for you.
It is extremely easy to use: add "channels" from a list (some might require paid subscription), navigate to it, select the program you want and this is it! You will end up watching more TV than you thought you should, so many choices you now have.
Installing is very easy and should take less than 5 minutes (from opening the box to watching the first program).
Usage is also easy. Probably easier than regular TV: select the "channel", select the program, watch it.
Tips:
- Use HDMI cable: less connections, more quality. And you can find one here at Amazon for less than US$ 10.
- Use wired network: wireless works very well, but if you require a password to access it (and you absolutely MUST), it will be displayed in the settings, which might be a security risk, especially if you have to enter it in front of a guest. Also, sometimes, after a power failure, you have to reconfigure the wireless.
- Subscribe to Netflix and use their "instant queue". Not expensive and you will have access to more movies that you can watch. It takes them a while to convert newly released DVDs to the instant queue, though.
- If you like baseball or basketball, subscribe to the respective channel. It is expensive, but you can watch almost all games (local games and some special times, like Sunday night baseball are blacked out) live.
In my opinion, the pros far outweigh the cons. Here are some of them:
Pros:
- Very easy to use. You almost don't notice it is there. As easy as DVD without having to put the disk in.
- Very small footprint. Fits anywhere and it is very discreet.
- Very good sound and video quality. At least as good as DVD.
Cons:
- Only 720p. When you get used to 1080p, you will notice the difference. But, for a while, except for games and Blu-ray disks, almost all programs, including cable/dish TV are 720p and 1080i.
- Cannot see movie in FF or REW. If you have a DVR or DVD, you are used to seeing the scenes while you try to quickly advance or return to a point in the movie. Roku will only show small boxes with a picture for scenes 7 seconds apart.
- Pause won't show the entire picture. Not a chance of seeing that beautiful scene or bad mistake in a movie. The dreaded small box is there again, with the chain of other boxes (see previous).
- No frame by frame advance or return. See previous.
- No way to organize your channels. You will end up having your favorite channels but they are mixed up with other you like enough to keep (or doesn't dislike enough to delete). It would be nice to be able to change the order the channels are displayed and even better to be able to group them (in "favorites", "sports", "movies", etc).
Customer Review: Best Christmas Gift Ever for My Elderly Parents
Summary: 5 Stars
My mom has been a huge fan of my ability to stream Netflix videos via my Nintendo Wii since first experiencing it and has been hinting for some time that she was interested in setting up something similar for herself. My parents are not gamers, however, and it made no sense to buy them a Wii just to stream video, even taking into account occasional visits by my 6 year-old nephew.
To complicate matters, my parents have an old console TV that they use in the living room, where they watch the majority of their TV. They've already jury-rigged it for a VCR/DVD player combo and to receive a digital signal, but I figured that adding any VOD device to this already labyrinthine set-up would require a great deal of creative problem-solving and a few trips to Radio Shack, at the least.
After carefully reading the tech specs on this Roku player and deciding that, worse come to worst, I could always return it, I placed the order for the device, figuring it would make a great Christmas gift.
Come Christmas, the present was unwrapped and much excitement was expressed. So far, so good. New Year's Eve, I traveled to my parents house to set it up (a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to finish the task until a few days into the New Year, when Radio Shack would once again be open).
I kid you not, the most complicated part of setting up the Roku player was getting the back of the remote off and putting in the batteries correctly.
1. Place the Roku player on top of the TV (it's an old-fashioned console TV, remember).
2. Plug the power cord into the Roku player and then a power strip.
3. Plug the video cords from the back of the Roku player into the inputs on the front of the DVD/VCR player.
4. Change the channel on the VCR/DVD player until the Roku welcome screen appears.
5. Enter the information for the wireless network.
6. Grab a laptop and activate the Roku player on the Roku website (5 minutes at the absolutely most).
7. Set up accounts on Netflix and Amazon Video on Demand for my parents and connect them to the Roku (a very simple, almost instantaneous process, 10 minutes at most).
8. Walk my parents through how to use Netflix and add videos to their instant queue (the bulk of my time spent).
My mom is in love, and my dad is somewhat impatiently waiting his turn with the Netflix queue. They both agree that it has been the best Christmas gift ever, and they're so excited to be "in the 21st century" with their new entertainment setup. Even better, now when I don't know what to get them for birthdays and anniversaries in the future, I can just gift them another few months of Netflix membership or add funds to their Amazon VOD account or maybe even give them a trial Hulu Plus subscription. Their entertainment options are now endless, and they are extremely happy for it!
Customer Review: A must have for Netflix subscribers
Summary: 5 Stars
If you have the Netflix Watch Instantly available to you, this enables watching it on your main TV instead of just on your PC. My first Samsung Blu-ray player had this Netflix feature built in, but the player went bad in less than a year and that left us with no way to play discs from my Netflix subscription or Watch Instantly. The ordeal with getting the Samsung repaired is another story, but I bought an OPPO BDP-83 instead.
The OPPO was not cheap at $500.00 and it does not have the Netflix feature, but it is an amazing player for everything from CD, SACD, DVD-A, plus Blu-ray and DVD movies. That too is another story, but I think the improvement in sound quality for movies alone is worth the difference in price.
We have gone for several months without access to the growing list of movies and tv shows available on Netflix Watch Instantly and have many times wished it was in the living room again, where it is much more comfortable to watch a movie. From what I read, it sounded like the Roku was the best choice for a stand alone solution and among the lowest priced options. Of the three models Roku offers, I went with this HD-XR because we have both the HD video and the WiFi N dual-band home network. The box is small and takes up only a small area of the top shelf of my equipment rack below the TV. A 3' HDMI cord was plenty to reach the connection for the monitor's sound and picture and I also ran a cable from the optical out to my HT receiver for surround sound. There are also connections for component video and analog audio/video plus S-Video, if needed. I echo everyone else who said how easy it was to connect to their equipment and wireless network.
The main reason for buying a Roku, for us, is Netflix, but there are other good channels and features. Pandora is excellent for listening to your own radio stations that you create on the PC. It too was very easy to connect. Amazon Video on Demand looks interesting, but I won't be renting $5 HD movies when my Netflix movies come by mail or I can pick up a Blu-ray movie at the local Redbox for $1.50. I can even reserve the Redbox online and know it's there when I want to pick it up a few minutes or a few hours later. Some of the deals on AVOD look ok and there is some free content, but I think they need to be more competitive with some of their pricing considering the options we now have.
I find the Roku easier to use than the Netflix receiver in our former Blu-ray player. There are more players and even some TVs with Netflix built in that were not available when we got our first Samsung player, which didn't come with wireless built in. I recall that wireless adapter we had to buy separately cost almost as much as the Roku. Now, if we have another problem with the Blu-ray player, we will still have access to Netflix movies with the stand alone Roku player.