The Roku Digital Video Player - AWESOME

[JohnKleban]

Hi All,

Say, my favorite toy of the year, is the Roku. I re-joined Netflix for their $8.99/month package, but mainly for their unlimited streaming. The Roku player allows you to watch SD or HD streaming material (movies, tv shows, etc.) right on your TV. Further, you can have it hooked up wireless, or wired and because it's so small, can easily be moved around to another TV in your house. They also have other channels too, such as Amazon Video on Demand and Pandora Internet Radio - great stuff. I bought their HD-XR box which is $129, but for most, even their HD $99 box would work fine.

Just thought I'd share; amazing how cool this device is. I'm passing on blu-ray, movie and online streaming is the future as far as I'm concerned.

You can check out their short demo video if you have interest here:

http://www.roku.com/

John

[JPaul]

I had this capability with Netflix but found that Netflix does not stream HD nor does it have surround audio (stereo only). Otherwise, it works fine for SD/stereo. Hopefully they will upgrade in the future. For me, I rent Blu-rays for the extra $2 per month. Yeah, who knows what the future will bring?

[JohnKleban]

Hey Paul,

Correct about the audio with Netflix; as of now no 5.1, just stereo; but that doesn't bother me at this time. Some of the Amazon Video on Demand is 5.1 and in HD; as our titles and shows via Netflix - just watched the first 4 seasons of The Office and those were in HD. Only a matter of time before Netflix sends 5.1 audio, I would guess sometime next year, it's a given at this point I think. Prior if you think about it, any streaming abilities were only intended for one to do on their pc, so no need for most in that camp to have concern or need for anything more than stereo sound. But, now that the ability and quality of the image is on par, the audio changes I expect to see up-coming. Frankly, some of the stuff I watch is later at night anyway when the kids are sleeping and such, so I wouldn't want to crank up action sounds and have my floor and walls rattle. And, those who know me, I am a bit of an audio freak, with all B&W speakers, sub-woofer and a Marantz receiver.

I will say with about 250 titles loaded in my instant que for immediate watching, I find that a couple titles I put in there I have on DVD, but (not to be lazy), it's nice not having to get up and find the disc, load it and skip through the previews to get to that damn menu to play the film. Thus, a few favorites I just keep in our instant que all the time. Finally, actually purchased Stuart Little and Surf's Up for the kids via Amazon Video on Demand; I like how it keeps this stuff on their server and I can bring it up anytime - $5 each; about what I would pay for a non-physical disc, yet own the title (so to speak).

[JPaul]

John,

This is good info for me to store away. I do have a Panasonic Blu-ray player and with the $11/month Netflix I usually get 7-8 movies per month in Blu-ray. The picture and audio are stunning! This is for now probably the best/cheapest way of watching hi-def movies. A few months ago I purchased (but later returned) the LG 390 player which has built-in networking. It hooked up with my wireless router and I was in business. I didn't realize that the movies I got were in stereo and average video quality. I called Netflix and they informed me that was the best they could do... for now! I also see a problem with bandwith as hd video and 5.1 surround requires lots of data flow. As a sidenote, the LG was also able to download pics or anything else from my PC wirelessly. I would have kept it but decided to wait for now since Netflix movies were not top quality.

It appears that once you rent the Amazon movie, you can view it at any time. Does that mean you can view it more than once? Any time limits?

[JohnKleban]

Paul,

If you rent a movie via Amazon, it states how long you get it for; ie. 24 hours, 48 hours, 4 days, etc. Most are 24 hours and last weekend we rented Aliens in the Attic for $1.99; the next day my daughter's friend came over and with 3 minutes left till it expired, I played the movie for them - and, it played all the way through, not just for 3 minutes. So, if you start a movie before it expires, even at the tail end, you'll get to see the whole movie. As far as the two I bought for $5, can watch those anytime we want.

I actually ordered my Roku and before it arrived, I bought a Insignia blu-ray player that also offered Netflix streaming abilities. Well, turns out the blu-ray would skip and freeze on DVD-R media, the upconvert over-saturated reds and after comparing, the Netflix movies didn't look as sharp as they do on the Roku. Further, that blu-ray player only offered Netflix, not all the other channels I get now. So, within about 4-5 days I returned the blu-ray and decided to keep the Roku. Granted, Insignia is Best Buy's brand and not the best, but I just don't buy many movies anymore (never did a ton anyway, more so, older TV shows I liked) - but it's rare for me to find a film I would want to watch repeatedly.

John

[TomHajewski]

Yeah, John, it's getting rare to find a movie I'd even want to watch once!

This Roku sounds very interesting. Great reviews on its web site. I read that they only provide 720p, no 1080p. Does that provide any kind of concern? My son pointed out that a DVD player would get me 1080p. From your comments I assume you're O.K. with that?

Also, you have to buy from the Roku web site? I didn't see where it was being sold by anyone else.

Thanks for your comments, John. This could solve some Christmas gift problems.

[JPaul]

It does sound good so long as you realize that you will not get the HD video and full uncompressed sound. You will be limited by what the vendor is sending, how much bandwith you have, and the limits of your own equipment including the Roku. Also, some dvd players and all blu-ray players upconvert SD disks to 1080 but it's not the same as a disk recorded in 1080. This is more pronounced the larger your viewing screen size. Netfilx is still the cheapest way to go if you want to rent blu-ray disks recorded in full HD 1080p. They also have an awesome selection of new and older films. No, I'm not affiliated with Netflix nor do I own any of their stock!

[JohnKleban]

Hi Tom,

Good to see you're still checking things out in Cassie land. Say, my two HD sets are 720P, so, no it doesn't bother me. Both sets are 37", frankly, unless one has a 50" or larger unit, I don't see any difference; and in the mid to smaller sizes, you just can't notice a thing. Also, not sure if this is still true or things have been adjusted, but for sports action in HD, they use to suggest to 1080P folks, that your image will actually look better if you switch to 720P - something to do with motion issues I recall with 1080P that don't exist in 720P land. Anyway, 720P is still HD.

As far as purchasing, yes, mainly through their website; stuff ships from CA. You might find used stuff on ebay, but for the $99 or $129, I want new and from them directly. These two units come with a HDMI output on the back and a digital audio out, in addition to the other connections. I really love the thing, small and portable for around the house if you ever wanted to move it. And again Tom, it's not just Netflix titles you get, but also access to order anything from Amazon Video on Demand, Pandora Internet Radio (this thing is great) and other channels with programming. And, too, heck, even with my $8.99/month Netflix account, I still get one DVD in the mail at a time; still sitting on Transformers for a few weeks now. If you're into the latest and greatest, the DVD in the mail will get you that, if you are into movies and TV shows in general (spanning a wide range), some more recent and tons within the past 1-3 years or so, plus foreign and some obscure titles, the streaming is perfect. Netflix streaming is used number one for us with the Roku, followed by Amazon, which on the past few weekends, runs rental specials for $1.99, and sometimes a small selection for free as well. Pandora radio is free of course as well as all the other stuff they have.

Finally, as far as internet speed, you can check yours on their site here, and this will verify if you're good to go, or if you'll need to upgrade to something faster.

http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

[Jeanton]

Hi John

I would have liked to buy one but here in Australia we are far behind on internet speed.
You could sign up for a much faster speed but it will cost you heaps.
It doesn't look like that will change real fast in the future eather.
So I am just stuck with normal reception for now- anyway more time to do things around the house I suppose
those jobs need to be done too.