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: Recommended, despite some setup and MLB.tv glitches
Summary: 4 Stars
This year I decided to try out MLB.tv after being an Extra Innings subscriber for the past six or seven years. My local cable system never offered the HD Extra Innings game, and the picture quality for the team I watched most often was worse than regular SD channels so I finally decided it wasn't worth the money. After a couple of weeks of watching games on my laptop I realized that wasn't going to be a satisfying alternative for the whole season, so I started looking for alternatives. Enter the Roku.
Setup was relatively easy, with a few hiccups connecting to the Internet through my wireless network (which uses a DSL connection). I had to repeat a few steps but ultimately was successful. Similarly, the process to download the firmware upgrade was a little dodgy and it took a few tries before the update completed. Despite the glitches I was ready to go in about 45 minutes or so.
The MLB.tv channel was still pretty new when I got the Roku near the end of April, despite the season being a few weeks old already. The channel is described as "beta," which is no doubt meant to explain away the connection/reload issues while watching games. After looking in the forums on the Roku site, I feel like my experience was better than many posting there but was still a little rocky, especially in the first couple of weeks after I got the Roku. Sometimes games would be interrupted with the "retrieving" message, and the screen would just hang - I had to exit to the main screen and re-start the feed. In the last couple of weeks, though, the baseball feeds have definitely been more solid in my experience.
Picture quality for MLB.tv is way better than what I had with Extra Innings (16:9 picture, for openers) but it does take a little getting used to. It almost looks like it might be playing at 24 frames per second, instead of the standard 30. (This may be a function of my connection - I haven't tried the device on anything other than my DSL network, so I can't say for sure.) The picture quality definitely doesn't detract from enjoying the games, it just looks a little different from regular HD TV.
I've only used the Roku a couple of times for Netflix, and it's performed perfectly: high-quality image and no retrieving/buffering issues. I haven't yet used any of the other Roku channels.
All in all, as I say in the review title, I recommend this device and am glad I bought it. Just be prepared, as an early adopter, for a few bumps in the road.
Customer Review: Really great device.
Summary: 5 Stars
We've used Netflix instant streaming on our computer for some time now, but wanted to be able to use our entertainment system as well. It's kind of a pain for the whole family to sit around the PC to watch a movie! So, since I already have a Blu-Ray player we really like, and are not interested in buying another gaming system (we have a Wii) I decided to try this stand alone product. I've always been an advocate for stand alone products anyhow. Jacks of all trades are always a master of none.
Anyhow, we tried using Play-On with our Wii, (this is software loaded on your PC that communicates with your wireless device like a Wii) and just HATED it. It is very awkward using the Wii remote to "press" buttons on the screen instead of simply having a standard type remote. The video controls are lousy - no fast forward or rewind for example, the Wii is only 480i (fine for Wii games, but not for movies or videos on a large screen) and finally, the video was constantly stopping. This is a real problem, because it doesn't always know where you left off, and you cannot fast forward to where you were! Very frustrating. Fortunately they allow a 14 day trial, so it didn't cost me anything to try it.
I finally decided to give the Roku HD-XR a try. We have a N-speed wireless network, and I can't image buying a low definition device when the difference in price is so minimal. It's true that Netflix does not have a ton of HD programming, and so far it is only 720p, but still it seemed worth it to me.
I am really happy with this little box. It has NEVER stopped playing, and the interface is super clear, uncluttered, intuitive, and just plain easy. The remote is very nice, with a comfortable heft and weight to it, and the feel of the buttons is really nice. They are rubbery feeling, and give a nice firm (but not too firm) feedback with a definitive "click" feel. Not everyone cares about that sort of thing, but it makes a difference to me.
It has no power button, and therefore stays on all the time. I don't like that, so I have it plugged into my receiver's switched outlet. Now when I turn off the receiver, it is essentially unplugged. The only drawback to this is that it takes around 30-45 seconds to initialize and link to the network. No big deal for me.
I have only used the Netflix channel, but there are about a dozen others too.
A great device that does exactly what they say it will do.
Customer Review: Not so fast there
Summary: 2 Stars
Okay, well I'm not too sure who is to blame for my frustrations (roku or netflix) here. I'm not looking to say bad things about this device, but my beef is entirely with the so called ease of set up and the lack of integration that has been advertised. So upon setting up my roku device it took a few times to connect to my local home network and each time it did it had to run updates for the device. After each update it had diffuculties connecting back to the same home network, of which all the computers in the household had no difficulties. Once it finally did reconnect I was asked to log back into Netflix (on my computer) to activate the account. Only problem is that my original account was set up as a bare minimun Netflix account (1 DVD at a time and limited online viewing). Upon upgrading the account to unlimited (required, but never mentioned before), Netflix confirmed the upgrade but listed it as taking effect not until the following day???? That being said this so called 5 minute set up couldn't even be done in the same day. This is extremely frustrating and not nearly as user freindly to set up as advertised. I'm not saying this is a bad product, but in my case, it was rather frustrating to get up and running out of the box. Perhaps it was much easier to those who have already subscribed to an unlimited plan, but I was very displeased to sign up for an upgrade only for it not to take affect immediately. As of the moment I can not stream using the device because Netflix won't recognize my upgraded account until the clock strikes 12:00 midnight, and for that I'm quite dissapointed because this $130.00 device is useless until they do. So I'm at a loss as for whom to blame, Roku or Netflix for this problem. I guess I'm just disappointed that after reading all of the descriptions for how easy this is to set up, that the problem lies within the account set up. Again, it may not be the actual product that's the source of this frustration, but all in all this should work seamlessly considering the cost and the fact that I already have an account set up, no matter at what level it is. (This product should work hand in hand with both the parent company of Roku and Netflix, since it's basically worthless without each other). End result, not a very merry Christmas for a rather anticipated gift. Maybe tomorrow will bring a different story. One last thing!!! Why this device has not power/on off button makes absolutly zero sense to me on any level!!!Customer Review: Not worth buying the box... plus Roku customer service is horrible!
Summary: 2 Stars
Before purchasing, we called both our Internet provider and Roku, and were told that our current router would allow the XR box to work properly in our house. We got the Roku box, set it up, and of course, we couldn't use the Roku box in any other rooms in the house. So the extra $30 was a waste of money.
We had it for a few days and realized, quite quickly, that Netflix's selection of movies that can be instantly downloaded (using the Roku box) is pretty poor. Don't get me wrong, there are some really good movies. But if you're looking for new releases, forget it and the number is very limited. There's a ton of obscure movies that you've never heard of and don't want to see. Also, we figured out that you can download these movies to your laptop, and then plug it into the TV and achieve the exact same goal as you did with the Roku box. And all you have to pay for is the Netflix membership and a cord.
So we tried to return it. I have been dealing with Roku customer nonservice for TWO WEEKS now, and I still was no closer to returning the box that I was on day one. I emailed them and said I wanted to return it. Two days later, I get a message saying, "somebody will contact you in the next 2 days." 5 days later, I was still waiting, so I called and waited for 20 minutes on hold. They asked for the serial number on the box... something I didn't have since I made the call from work. I then emailed it to them. Another few days go by and now they say without my purchase number, they can't let me continue the return process. So I have now sent several emails giving them all the info they need, and it's been 2 weeks and I still didn't have the so-called "free shipping" label I have been waiting to receive.
I finally called tonight, gave them my serial number, and the guy puts me on hold to "look me up." I'm on hold long enough to brush my teeth. He then comes back on the line to give me a return authorization #, and says I'll get a prepaid shipping label emailed to me in another 2-3 days. So yes, if you want to return the box, expect it to take about 2.5 weeks to get this resolved.
If you buy this box, don't waste money on the XR model, and definitely get it through Amazon, whose return procedures are a dream, comparatively. But overall, I recommend just investing in a cord so you can plug your computer into the TV. No need to spend this much money on a box to get old or mediocre movies.
Customer Review: Easy and Straightforward
Summary: 5 Stars
The box has been great
I purchased it for my girlfriend for her birthday, we set it up together, and i'll summarize the important things i have to share.
1. i got free shipping, and i will say, the box took 9 days to get here. It would have been nice to get it earlier, but they said i would have it in 7-10 days, and i did.
2. i was going to connect this directly to the router using an ethernet cable because i thought it would be easier, but it doesn't come with one and my girlfriend didn't have an extra. So we just went ahead and plugged in the power. Just like that it had found a few networks in her apartment building. We choose hers and it was off and running.
3. We choose the network and set that all up, and then it started to download an update. It automatically restarted and we found that we had to enter the info again. This took less than a minute and we haven't had to enter it again.
4. When choosing the channels (IE netflix, pandora etc.) i was expecting us to get tired of activating all the products she wanted by going to their websites on her laptop, but i found it was almost kind of a fun satisfaction to punch in the code on the site and have the box respond almost instantly that it had been connected.
5. I can't vouch for how far you can take this box as it's almost right next to the router in her setup, but i can say that her router is wireless n and we haven't once lost our connection.
6. Having said that. I think the box is just a bit overpriced for having only having the upgrades of the Wireless N and an extra USB port that as of right now doesn't do anything. I got this box because i didn't mind spending the extra $30 to make sure it was "future-proofed" for the near future at least but I'd say for most people, if they don't want to spend the extra $30, the regular Roku HD would be fine.
I was looking for a little more from Roku when i heard a new Roku HD-XR box was coming out
-Ability to stream files over a network
-Ability to play files off a usb external
-Ability to browse netflix (at least as much as the xbox setup)
But after reading up, i knew what i was getting, A Roku HD with wireless N and a still unused usb port.
And everything Roku says this box will do, it does, and does it well.