Roku SoundBridge M1000/M1001 Network Music System
by Roku
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List Price: Category: Receiver or Amplifier 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 SoundBridge M1000/M1001 Network Music System
Customer Review: Almost perfect solution
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had my Roku for about a month now. I have a huge collection of songs - none of it Itunes DRM I should add (perish the thought) - and was looking for a solution. The Roku does exactly what you think it will - with a few bells and whistles.
Setup is easy. I'm running a older "b" wireless network, over about 50 feet, through 1 wall and I've only ever had 1 problem (and I think that was a bad mp3 file). It does all it's buffering before it starts to play - brings in a slight delay if you're watching it, but nothing noticeable if you're sitting back listening. It can now connect using WAP or WEP security and getting it to do so was easy.
I've been running it using ITunes on the host PC. Bit of a pain in that ITunes has to be running on that PC, but I'm looking to either move the files to a NAS or maybe try Media Player (I don't think that has to be running).
The updated Internet Radio tuning - you don't need to have your PC on - is pretty good (I found a few stations from back home I can listen to!) and there seems to be good functionality for finding more.
The only quibble I have - which stopped it getting 5 stars - is that you can't save your "playlist" you create on it. Other than that, this is "the business".
Customer Review: Roku Soundbridge M1001
Summary: 3 Stars
The Roku Soundbridge does what it was made to do. Play music from your computer on any stereo system you plug it into, and play Internet radio. Unfortunately, even though I got the latest version, it only accepts the rather basic WEP wireless security settings. My laptop doesn't even offer WEP, because the encryption is easier to break than the newer security protocols, so I had to run Ethernet from my wireless router to get it to work. Unfortunately, my router is upstairs, and the radio system I connected it to is downstairs. You see the problem.
Had I realized that the Roku Soundbridge was nearing the end of production, I would have purchased a Logitech Squeezebox instead. I really don't understand why Roku didn't set their new video bridges to play music files or Internet radio as well, when their Soundbridge is becoming obsolete. I'm waiting for the day when Roku shuts down their Internet radio website, and my Soundbridge won't be able to find any Internet radio stations other than the ones I've loaded into it.
So in sum it works great, but I had to plug it into Ethernet because my wireless laptop doesn't use the low-end security encryption that the Roku requires to work wirelessly.
Customer Review: Absolutely Love It - I have 3 SoundBridges
Summary: 5 Stars
I absolutely love the Roku SoundBridge. I love it so much that I have three of them: One M1001 and two M500s. They're pretty much the same except for the display.
The Soundbridge is absolutely fantastic. I've used it with Windows Media Connect, the server built into Windows Media Player, with Rhapsody, and with Yahoo Music. It plays all of the songs in my library and licensed tracks as well.
The sound quality is great. It's actually much, much better than connecting my PC to my stereo (either using RCA cables or digital optical/coax).
I've also had absolutely no hiccups or stutters either using wired ethernet or wi-fi. It blows the SlimDevices Squeezebox I used to have completely out of the water.
What else is there to say.... there are third party applications out there that let you control the soundbridge from your PC or mobile device and use the display for other purposes.
Minor complaints would be that the navigation is not as intuitive as it should be and it would be nice to have more hierarchical navigation so that you could easily go 'back' to the last thing you were doing instead of going back to the root menu.
Customer Review: Great product turned into junk
Summary: 2 Stars
I just bought my second soundbridge. After I bought my first soundbridge I was enthusiastic about this product- it set up easily and allowed me to quickly tune into stations from all over the world and then store them in my presets so I could access them anytime.
My recently bought second soundbridge has a software "upgrade" that requires the use of a web based service ([...]) to store presets. In other words the new soundbridge needs a PC to store presets while the old one had this functionality built in. Presumably Roku thinks that it is more userfriendly if you can select your stations on the PC. Maybe so, if this feature would work reliably. Unfortunately I had nothing but trouble with it. Aside from the fact that you have to go through a registration process and a lengthy setup their server seems to be down a lot and I cannot access my presets at all. Without that finding and selecting statios becomes very time consuming and cumbersome. The new software pretty much turns a previously great product into a useless piece of junk. I hope that the folks at Roku realize that and at least give users the option of not using their web-based preset software.
Customer Review: I wish I could give it zero stars
Summary: 1 Stars
The Roku Soundbridge is a VERY buggy product. I live in a condominium in which many neighbors use wireless internet. The Soundbridge will frequently (and without warning) switch to a neighbor's network. Correcting this problem involves re-keying in my wireless key, one character at a time with a scrolling selector, and restarting the unit.
For this reason, I now use the ethernet connection. The problem here is that if the unit detects a wireless signal ANYWHERE, it connects to it and disables the ethernet connection.
The only way I have found to avoid this behavior is to reboot the unit while placing it in a large metal toolbox, which sometimes blocks the RF signal from my neighbors. Even this strategy requires many (25 or more) restarts of the unit. Even when it is functioning correctly, the unit will switch to a neighbor's wireless network every couple weeks, leaving me to go through the above-detailed process.
Technical assistance is non-existent, and Roku refused to exchange my unit under warranty for the above-described software defect. You would be well-advised to avoid this product.