Roku HD-XR Player
by Roku, Inc.
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List Price: Category: Home Theater See more product details |
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(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: Works great... after I got it to work
Summary: 3 Stars
I ordered this from Amazon and had got the box before my HDMI cables came in, so I set it up with the included RCA cables. I used all settings for HD and everything worked great. Setup was easy, syncing to my Apple Extreme network was brainless. I watched a show from my Netflix queue and life was good. The next day, I got my new HDMI cable in, plugged it in, and could receive sound but the picture was only a blank blue screen. RCA hook up continued to work, just not HD.
I'm no expert, but I know enough about technology that I rebooted, restarted, switched ports, unplugged, flipped, and replugged. I still had the same problem. I bought a new high end HDMI cable. Same problem. I finally stripped apart my setup and used the HDMI from my blu-ray, same problem.
I sent it back to Amazon and got a second Roku. This time I connected only using the HDMI cable. Same problem. I returned it and Amazon refunded my money saying they have had similar complaints.
The standard Roku support is terrible, as has been said elsewhere, and offered nothing to me. However, I had been sharing my problems on the Roku support forums on the Roku website and found this to be an uncommon but not rare problem. One day I get an email from a guy who claimed he was from Roku support in California. We emailed back and forth and eventually he included a phone number for me to call (not an 800 number). We talked about the problem for a while and he agreed to prep a box and send one to me that he could guarantee works in his lab.
A few days later, a box arrived. I plugged it in via HDMI and.... blue screen! ARGH! I unhooked everything and boxed it up. I let it sit for a few days, but decided that before I sent it back to the support tech who went out of his way to help, I would give him another shot. This time. I set up it with the HDMI and all went perfectly. That was two weeks ago, and I have not had a single problem since.
Apparently the issue has something to do with the digital "handshake" between the Roku and the TV. I have no idea if it is only certain TV's that have this problem or not. I still dread the time that I have to unplug the box and start over. I worry that I'll have to deal with the handshake issue again, but until that point... It works great. I can watch an HD movie and rarely have a buffering delay like many on here claim. I have connected the sound to my tuner via Toslink digital audio cable, and aside from a curiously tight fit with the Roku casing directly above the port causing a brief locking problem with my, perhaps, abnormally large handled Toslink cable, it works awesome.
Final word: Get it, try it. If it works, you'll be happy. If it doesn't work, get something else, but the purchase on Amazon is pretty risk free as long as you try hooking things up within a few days.
Customer Review: Not ready for prime time
Summary: 1 Stars
I wish I could report that my experience with the Roku HD-XR Player was as positive as the five star reviewers'. They should consider themselves lucky.
As background: I purchased a Panasonic TC-P50G15 HDTV earlier this year, partly on the promise that the "infinitely upgradable" Vieracast feature would shortly offer Netflix streaming. Now that Panasonic has announced the addition of this feature, it applies only to forthcoming 2010 models. That's a subject for a separate scathing review.
I have had a wireless-N router and several devices throughout my house working at a high bitrate for the last two years. During installation, the Roku correctly located the network, linked to the internet, upgraded its software and activated an account. In order to access any streaming features, it is then necessary to connect to the Roku Channel Store and select the desired services.
After multiple "channel store unavailable" screens, I contacted the euphemistically titled Roku Customer Support--a typical out-sourced experience. A weird and uncomfortable interaction during which most of my questions elicited no responses, I had the distinct impression I was talking to myself the majority of the time and the technician was checking in on the conversation occasionally to inquire if the unit had started working. Resetting the unit and repeating the entire process of connecting and activating were of no result. When it actually did manage to find the Channel Store and I selected Netflix, it would disconnect, timing out before the process completed.
Clearly disinterested in offering any further assistance, the technician then informed me that I needed to contact the vendor for my router and ask how to change it to "Channel 11", because it is too underpowered for the Roku. This begs the question why every other device on my network functions (including streaming Netflix on my laptop, which is located at an even greater distance from the router than the Roku) and how the Roku managed to find the network, update its software and activate the account in the first place.
Having wasted enough of my time and money, I am returning the unit to Amazon. I am relieved I did not order directly from Roku, after reading the customer support experiences of the other negative reviewers.
I would strongly suggest that, instead of a Roku player, consider putting the money towards one of the many Netflix enabled devices now available for very little more money. These include all the major game consoles (Xbox, PS3 and WII), network-enabled blu-ray players and home theater systems. In the meanwhile, I will continue streaming Netflix the old-fashioned way, via my desktop and laptop computers. Good luck to you.
Customer Review: Roku delivers, but be aware of content restrictions
Summary: 4 Stars
I found all the reviews praising Roku's ease of set-up and its operational reliability to be accurate. I first purchased a new modem (Motorola SB6120 SURFboard) and router (D-Link DIR-655 Extreme N) to ensure my home wireless system would support the HD-XR. I have cable service from Comcast and these components are compatible with both Comcast and the Roku. I stream HD movies wirelessly with no problems.
I want to be careful to provide a review of the Roku and not necessarily Netflix or Amazon, but they are closely connected. As a piece of hardware, the Roku has Apple-like elegance and simplicity. It performs flawlessly and is easy to use.
It's the content that merits a less than five star review.
I was motivated, in part, to expand my content options beyond what was available to me from Comcast. The descriptions of the abundant content available through Roku appealed to me, but I confess to being slightly disappointed. First of all, with Netflix, you get a great bargain with a standard membership because you can have unlimited streaming movies included with your monthly fee. The problem is that the number of movie titles available for immediate streaming is considerably limited. Don't expect new releases or even recent box office hits to be available for streaming through Roku. Check the Netflix website and evaluate for yourself what is available via DVD-through-the-mail versus what they offer "instantly" through Roku.
Amazon's content offerings are considerably greater, but are ala carte - meaning you pay for each movie or TV show (as opposed to the flat monthly fee with Netflix). Again, it's a good idea to evaluate the selection and prices to determine if they will work for you before committing to the Roku.
After using the system for a few weeks, I can say that our household does indeed have access to much more content than we did with cable alone. However, I can't say that we have access to more of what we really wanted, which would be newer movies. The "new releases" section of Amazon's video on demand looks remarkably like Comcast's "on demand" menu, and the only way to get (most) new releases from Netflix is to order the DVD through the mail. We've found some gems in the indie, foreign and documentary corners of the library, but in some regards it's a little reminiscent of another 50 channels of cable.
Still, Roku offers what appears to be an increasing selection of web-based content, like Pandora, Flikr, and web TV. Presumably the content selections will improve.
I can testify the system works great, but advise that a cursory review of available content may be in order to avoid disappointment.
Customer Review: Underwhelming, and NO MLB!
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this because I really wanted to watch 2010 MLB.tv on my television, and no other systems officially supported it. It seems like everything from wrist watches to refrigerators offer Netflix streaming these days, but so far MLB content is exclusive to PCs and Roku. I picked the HD-XR because I wanted 802.11n support.
The good:
The device is fairly easy to set up. It really doesn't have many features, so I honestly think it would be hard to make it difficult. It does stream Netflix video well enough, and Pandora works too.
The bad:
HD support- Roku only supports HD in 720p, *not* 1080i. Many older HDTVs (mine included) do not support 720p. If your TV does not support 720p natively, you don't get to use HD with this. There is no upconversion option, and if you set the device to HD you're greeted with a fuzzy, unreadable screen until you find a way to change it back.
Netflix queuing- You can't actually browse Netflix on the device. You have to use a PC to add movies to your instant queue, and then browse the instant queue via the Roku box.
Wifi- Two things... First, typing in your WEP/WPA key is *painfully* slow. Mine is long for security, and it took me several minutes to click it all in with the laggy remote and onscreen keyboard. Once you've survived that, it mercifully remembers the key, but seems to lose the wifi connection every time the device goes idle. You have to go back through the wifi setup screens every time you watch a movie, because it has disconnected you and won't reconnect on its own.
Power management- You cannot turn off the Roku box. Ever. Unless you physically unplug it. There is no power button on the remote, and no power off option in the software. Not even standby. The best you get is a screen saver that kicks on when the system is not in use. Bizarre.
The worse (update @ 4/20/10):
MLB.tv support has not yet materialized (2/3 of the way through April). First they offered preseason, but that deadline slipped. Then opening day came and went. The current promise is to have MLB support by "the end of April." What a joke! My Roku is on its way back to Amazon on account of false advertising. Shame on them for promoting this feature without having any product ready to deliver! Do not buy this expecting to watch your MLB.tv without checking to see if they've actually released it, because who knows how many more times they'll push back the release date.
Customer Review: THE FUTURE OF TV IS HERE
Summary: 5 Stars
Let's face the facts: Too many of us have been growing more and more frustrated with our cable bills. We pay too much for too many channels that we don't even watch. It occurred to me recently that what has been said about television for years may indeed be coming true: "TV rots the brain." Anyone who sits in front of their set mindlessly switching channels for hours is sure to suffer from a little brain rot. And when you get your news from the Internet, and sites like [...] allow you to legally watch television shows at your leisure, why would you want cable? Sounds like it's time for the ROKU digital media player.
Even if you're not a savvy techie or heavy Internet user, it's easy to recognize the future of viewing movies lies in streaming. Netflix, for example, has been offering a selection of streaming movies for a few years now. As part of your monthly package, you pay nothing extra to watch these. With ROKU, you now have the convenience of watching these streaming movies from any television in your home. No longer are you restricted to watching movies on your monitor only. Even better, the list of titles continues to grow, as do the quality of the titles. Meaning: You're not stuck watching a bunch of "B" movies here.
Want to catch a movie or television show that's not available on Netflix? ROKU offers access to AMAZON's Video on Demand service where you can rent or buy episodes of your favorite series (even current episodes) or the latest movies released on DVD. The AMAZON channel also allows you to access your digital "library" at any time to watch any of the selections you purchased whenever it's convenient for you.
The HD-XR version of the ROKU player is set up for Wi-Fi and has an HDMI (high-definition) connection. Though this version of the player runs $129.99 on Amazon, other versions of the player go for as little as $79.99, depending on whether or not you want HD and/or Wi-Fi. Since set-up is fairly simple, you'll be accessing whatever you want to watch within minutes of taking the ROKU out of the box. Best yet, a DSL connection of 6 Mbps is just fine for accessing and playing your ROKU selections.
Overall, the ROKU digital media player is a great deal for a piece of emerging technology. Other channels are available (music, sports) and more are planned. The only drawback right now for some: no closed captioning. Still, one can't help but think that the future of television is here and that this is only the beginning.