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: The Honeymoon's over - not worth my time or yours
Summary: 1 Stars
Update
Finally got a replacement unit. Worked for about 3 days before I had to hard reset it to get it to work again.
This is a great concept but really just an experimental product. I'm done with Roku.
Update
I've had the player a couple of months now and while the concept is great the implementation hasn't been as great.
a. The player after 2 months has given out on me - it does NOT connect to the internet anymore.
b. Customer/Tech support just had me run thru my whole network a few times to figure out that the product is at fault
c. During the two months the software was continually getting slower in terms of response time - you'd click a button and after a couple of minutes it'd register.
d. I have had to twice hard reset the thing to be able to get it to work again. Doing that means you have to reregister all your apps (involves sitting down on a computer and going to every channel site)
e. The facebook photo app never worked. Great PR but if someone outside of Roku actually finally posted a hack/fix. Just shows you Roku's commitment in making the small stuff right.
f. I'm now going to go thru the process of getting a replacement but in all likelihood I'm going to go pick up an apple TV or something just to give the competition a fair stab at this.
My original
I love this product!
- Set up is a breeze.
- Streaming is amazing. U forget you're watching stuff over the internet
- Love being able to use my TV as a digital picture frame (with Picasa albums - the facebook stuff doesn't really work yet)
- The Netflix library has all my TV shows and movies and more (has the dragon tattoo movie already..)
- Amazon on Demand at the click of a button
Hoping the software gets an update to allow me to:
- Integrate with my facebook pics
- Get Hulu and more content on Roku
Next step is to get a digital antennae and then I'll be all set with live sports too.
Who needs Cable anyway!
Customer Review: MLB Fans Beware
Summary: 1 Stars
First of all, I should preface this by saying that the Roku box in and of itself seems like a pretty nice and inexpensive unit, and if you want it for Netflix and Amazon On Demand it's probably great. I however only wanted it so I could watch my MLB.TV computer subscription on my TV instead of sitting in front of my monitor. This was apparently working great when they rolled out the option half-way through the 2009 baseball season. In previous years, being a rabid Mets fan living in LA (okay, please refrain from guffawing)) I had to subscribe to both the computer package ($120/year) so I could watch and/or listen to games at work (and on my iPhone) and the cable package ($160) so I could sit on my couch.
The computer package always seemed to have some major advantages, most notably a choice between home or away broadcasts, and oddly enough, at times better picture quality than the SD only cable package (I understand the DirecTV option does have HD games, but I don't have a dish, and that option is more expensive). So when I heard about the Roku, and it's ability to let users access their MLB.TV subscription it seemed like a no brainer.
I ordered it during spring training, and was disheartened to discover that the MLB channel on Roku had been delayed (even though it worked last year, and during the offseason playing archived games) until opening day. Then they said mid-April, and now late April. That's a month of the season gone even though the Roku/MLB ads clearly states "Watch All 2430 Games".
I'm not about to miss a month of games (and that's assuming the late-April promise is even in the ballpark) so I guess I have to go the cable route. I feel duped by misleading advertisements from both Roku and MLB, though my guess is that this has more to do with MLB than Roku, and as I said, I think the Roku is a cool little gadget.
So my Roku will be going back within it's 30 day guarantee. Perhaps I'll buy it again if they and MLB get their acts together.
High marks for Amazon however for their speedy delivery, and for their no hassle return policy.
Customer Review: Roku Streaming Video
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased the Roku HD-XR as a birthday gift for my movie-junkie wife. She had no idea what it was, even when she opened the box and picked it up. The Roku is not visually intimidating, as it is very small at 5x5 (inches). There are no switches, buttons or dials on the front, just a classy understated "Roku" label in the corner. Once the device is plugged in and connected to your network, the fun begins. We are Netflix fans, and streaming Netflix movies are the primary reason I bought the Roku. Once you have signed on to Netflix and entered the appropriate pass code, you are connected to your account and can see your "see now" movie list or browse the Netflix inventory.
It did take several runs to my computer to log into [...] and to Netflix to get certain codes, then run back to the Roku connected TV and enter them, but overall set up was accomplished in less than 15 minutes.
My home network is via Comcast cable and I routinely get a download speed of about 20-25 Mbps (tested via [...]). I have multiple "N" routers connected to my modem, with 7 wired to desktops and a wireless bridge connected to my DVR, Playstation 3 and Wii. Since I have decent wireless connection for several laptops, I initially set up the Roku wireless as well. I expected I would soon have to run Cat5 to the box, but so far it is working fine. There are routinely a few seconds of buffering at the start of a movie (most noticeable for HD movies)but rarely any other pause or buffering during a movie. I may eventually run a hard wire to it to see if there is any difference, but for now my wife and I are happy with the streaming quality and speed. The visual quality is fantastic, as good as or better than a DVD. We have not explored much of the the other streaming vendors available on the Roku (Amazon, Pandora, MLB, etc) but I do know some of it is free, and others are subscription based (like Netflix) or pay-per-view like Amazon). I am very happy with my purchase both in the quality of the Roku box and the video product (streaming video). As always, my Amazon transaction was quick and painless.
Customer Review: It's a piece of junk
Summary: 1 Stars
I have had one of the old roku boxes- I think it's now called the hd- for over two years. The old roku hd has worked flawlessly. I was so impressed with its capabilities that I have recommended it to friends and family. I even bought one for my tech-illiterate mother, and she loves it. I was tired of moving the one roku-hd between the TV in the living room and the tv in the gym, so I bought an hd-xr.
The hd-xr was problematic out of the box. Initially it would not connect to the internet through my wireless network. After repeated factory resets, I eventually figured out that I had to allow it to finish set-up before changing resolution to HD. That got it connected, but sporadically. Even though it was in the same spot as the old one, loading times were noticeably slower when retrieving movies and it would constantly drop the connection.
While it worked -which it only did for about a week- it was noticeably slower retrieving movies compared to the old box. Signal strength (picture quality) varied without any apparent change in the network conditions, activity of other devices, or location of the hd-xr. It repeatedly dropped the network connection. Sometimes this occurred while watching, sometimes while loading, and even sometimes while browsing selections. Occasionally it would reconnect immediately when I went through the wireless network settings. Often it would not reconnect to the wireless network for hours. It has now stopped connecting to the internet entirely.
Roku's support forums are laughable. The staff will not respond to substantive complaints by users. I bought the hd-xr because roku said it would eventually be able to stream a 1080 signal. It doesn't stream anything. Roku has made a more expensive product that is worse than the less expensive they sold two years ago. Are these issues acknowledged by the company? No. Is this something that can or will be fixed by a future software update? Who knows. Roku isn't saying. I'm returning this and going back to swapping the old box between tvs. The Roku HD-XR was a waste of $100 and a waste of time,.
Customer Review: One Trick Pony, with Swiss Army Knife Potential
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this for its Netflix "Watch Instantly" feature, and for that, it can't be beat. Of course, if you already have that feature through your television, your blu-ray, or your receiver, you may not need it all over again. Yet. But this box (like Pandora's box) comes with hope....
The gizmo was up and running in about five minutes, and the streaming works well on a wireless-n network (assuming you have the appropriate broadband speed). Video and audio quality are as good as the provider (can't knock Roku for this--they can only deliver what they get from Netflix, Amazon, etc.), and you have every option imaginable to connect to the rest of your home theater (hdmi, component, s-video, composite--even toslink for digital audio).
I also registered my Amazon "channel," so I can rent things through there, and set up my news (includes streaming from big networks and podcasts from others), music (local radio and Pandora (see? this box comes with Pandora)), and cartoon channels. They each took a couple minutes to register. And other than the "gee-whiz" factor of having them at all, I didn't see any compelling reason to buy the Roku just for them. Still, that isn't Roku's issue--they can only deliver etc. etc. etc.
But the potential! If only Hulu (or individual cable channels) would see fit to make their content available through the box. This could be the iPad (or Pandora's box) of set-top boxes with apps apps apps everywhere. It is the promise of what it could be that is almost as impressive as what it is: an inexpensive way to entertain yourself and reduce your reliance on cable.
But for now, that one trick is enough to justify the purchase.
There are two other versions of the Roku device. If you need hd video or digital sound, you will want this one or the hd box. And if you want to use it on a wireless-n network, you will want this one (the hd is wireless-g). And if you want to dream of the potential represented in that as-yet unused usb port on back, this is the one for you, too.