Funny, I asked this last time

I have a computer acting as a dedicated media box attached to my TV. Are there ANY, and I mean ANY, reasons why this is better than that?

rubydoob wrote:This will have Hulu Plus when it comes on line BUT it will cost 9.99 a month. More than what I pay for Netflix.

So just Hulu Plus? No regular Hulu? That's a shame. I wonder what license agreement prevented that.

Download Roku Player Open Source Resources here

FAQ

JinnRikki wrote:Can I trade in a Kodak door stop I bought a couple of months ago?
Yeah, I didn't think so.

I couldn't agree more. I use mine as bookend though.

tovark77 wrote:Just got the Roku a few weeks ago (thanks Woot). We love streaming Netflix!

Talk to me like I am 5 years old. What other options do I have through Roku. Amazon, I have heard, but haven't used yet. How do I stream Pandora?

You can go to the channel box and then choose what channels to add...highly recommend the pandora one and the news channel one...really otterific!!

Owned the regular "HD" version for over a year and it's fantastic! Sadly just bought one when they lowered the price a couple of weeks ago and still had the mp3tunes discount so I got a NEW HD for $50. Doesn't look like the mp3tunes site discount still works so this woot is a decent price, but not considering the HD version is same price NEW ($10 shipping) and only adds wi-fi "N" and 1080P for $20 more (NEW).

Roku offers lots of content channels so it's a really neat device! Can view Netflix on up to 5 devices so if you go in for 3 you can put the same Netflix account on them without issues.

Will this connect to adhoc WiFi networks?

The only internet connection in my home is the WiFi router app on my Windows Mobile phone, which creates an adhoc network. I need to be sure this will connect.

waffle wrote:Funny, I asked this last time

I have a computer acting as a dedicated media box attached to my TV. Are there ANY, and I mean ANY, reasons why this is better than that?

I have that kind of setup in my house, and my answer would be "no." I like having a web browser and full keyboard along with streaming everything to my HDTV, so for me personally this box would be a downgrade.

tovark77 wrote:Just got the Roku a few weeks ago (thanks Woot). We love streaming Netflix!

Talk to me like I am 5 years old. What other options do I have through Roku. Amazon, I have heard, but haven't used yet. How do I stream Pandora?

to add a channel to your box. Go to the channel store on the home screen..

Click what you want then click add. For pandora when you first use it you well enter a code on there site the box well give you a code to enter.

Once set up your ready to rock out.

Can someone give us a Cliff's Notes about what this thing is or does??

Does this only play subscribtion streams? Can you stream videos stored on your computer or from free sites like Justin.tv or Hulu?

TomNibs wrote:I own one and love it so much I want to buy one for my kids in college and one for the bedroom.... On 1 account on Netflix can we all use the account? How many can connect at once before Netflix says NIX?

You can have up to 6 streaming devices (PC, laptop, Wii, Roku, Blue Ray player, etc...) registered with one account and the devices can be in different physical locations.

omnipotentq wrote:My inlaws claim to be running 3 people in 3 different geographic locations off of one netflix account without a problem....

I can vouch for this as well. My sister uses my account in IL, while my brother and I use it in NC. If I remember correctly, you just can't have more than 6 computers enabled at a time. I don't know how it'd work exactly with a Roku, though (since I don't have one).

tovark77 wrote:Just got the Roku a few weeks ago (thanks Woot). We love streaming Netflix!

Talk to me like I am 5 years old. What other options do I have through Roku. Amazon, I have heard, but haven't used yet. How do I stream Pandora?

Turn on your Roku and TV. Go to the Channel Guide. Look for Pandora. Click on Pandora and you're there. :-D

Or you can check out the other options if you don't already have a Roku by going to their website and looking at the available channels on their website. They have a TON of channels.

Ha, I just emailed Woot and requested this item a week ago. Thanks for listening! ;-)

I have questions!

Anyways, what is this new October model people are talking about? Is it a real thing or just sour grapes from the people who bought the HD last month and then the HD-XR is on now?

Also, does anyone have info on Roku's refurb standards?

Oh, and would anyone buy the extended warranty from Square Trade?

Anyone know the size of downloading an average show or movie and if it will FAP those on a limited 250 MB per daily limit download (Hugesnet)?

I bought one of these for my mom so she could watch Netflix instantly. The remote is so simple and uncomplicated that she was watching a movie before I got halfway through showing her how to use it! LOL

Once the box is set up and activated (which takes a while), you can browse the movies in Netflix Watch Instantly, add or remove movies from your queue, and watch them. It's wifi and the range is really good. The video quality is very good on most of the movies and I like being able to click forward and backward almost frame by frame in a movie. It's HD, but only 720p. I'm pleased to see there will be a free firmware upgrade to full HD sometime this year.

I have a Wii, an XBox 360 and a PS3 and prior to getting the Roku, I used them to watch Netflix on TV. They worked fine but I gotta say, I like the Roku remote so much that I always opt to use it. (No more finding my glasses and turning on a light to try and find the Pause button.)

In an effort to answer a question I KNOW is going to be asked by someone...
The only difference between this player and the one from a few weeks ago is the USB port - and the claim of extended wireless coverage. I'll leave the wireless claims for others to debate, because as mentioned above, a wired connection will always give you better results.

Another answer is : Yes it can play local media either streamed from the local network (you have to get a channel added for this to work) or from the usb port (again you have to add a channel) - but the channels are not hard to find.

The ANT...

omnipotentq wrote:I have that kind of setup in my house, and my answer would be "no." I like having a web browser and full keyboard along with streaming everything to my HDTV, so for me personally this box would be a downgrade.

You, my friend, are a valued Wooter. I wanted to have a reason to buy this. Alas.

drstranglove wrote:Can someone give us a Cliff's Notes about what this thing is or does??

You can watch the internets on your TV!

Plays Netflix movies and more
Built-in wireless & wired (Ethernet) connection
Sets up in 5 minutes
Plays DVD-quality video (standard definition)
Plays High Definition video
HDMI connector
Optical audio output for surround sound
Extended range wireless (Wi-Fi N)
Capable of Playing 1080P HD Video
(via free upgrade later this year)
Roku HD-XR Player Specifications
Networking
Wi-Fi (802.11N/B/G "dual-band") with WEP, WPA, and WPA2 support * 10/100 Ethernet (RJ-45)
Video Outputs
Composite video (480i)
S-Video (480i)
Component video (Y/Pb/Pr - 720p/480p)
HDMI (720p/480p)

Video Modes
16:9 High Definition (HD)
16:9 anamorphic
4:3 standard

Audio Output
Stereo (L/R RCA)
Digital Optical (Toslink - Stereo/Surround)
Digital over HDMI (Stereo/Surround)

Remote Control
NEC protocol, supported by various universal remotes

Power Input
5V, 2.5A provided by included AC adapter

USB Port

Power Consumption
6 watts peak, 4 watts in standby

Size
5 x 5 x 1.75 inches (130 x 130 x 41 mm)

Weight
11 oz (300 grams)

Presently Roku only supports .mov, .mp4, .m4v
via RokuLab Forum

I have some MP4 movies on a hard drive, will the Roku play those file types? I also have the tech capabilities of a 3 year old so how easy is the menu to use?

This is excellent for streaming Netflix and this is a great price for the HD model. Netflix does not have that much streaming HD content but what it does offer looks excellent with this.

The Netflix interface on the Roku is also excellent and much better than my Blu-ray player.

waffle wrote:Funny, I asked this last time

I have a computer acting as a dedicated media box attached to my TV. Are there ANY, and I mean ANY, reasons why this is better than that?

I bought one of these when they first came out for 129. I have been wanting a second for the longest. They are amazing for netflix and they update the firmware, they have updated the firmware three times since I purchased it, all of which have gone smooth. So the support of the manufacturer is definitely there.

To answer your question if you have multiple tvs in the house and you are a netflix subscriber then this here is a easy and inexpensive solution.

Hope that helps, I have a feeling this woot won't last considering people that already own these are buying more!

I have one and love it. It's a great buy at this price. If you have Netflix and don't have one, then buy this.

I want to be able to stream content from my Desktop PC to my big screen TV.

However, Im interested in being able to play my PC games on my big screen as opposed to just watching video content.

Will this allow me to do that?

ErinJade wrote:I can vouch for this as well. My sister uses my account in IL, while my brother and I use it in NC. If I remember correctly, you just can't have more than 6 computers enabled at a time. I don't know how it'd work exactly with a Roku, though (since I don't have one).

Really?? Huh! I figured it was against their TOS so I turned my inlaws down when they offered to share it with me. I may have to revisit that offer.

kwelles wrote:The new Apple TV has rendered all of Roku's overpriced products obsolete.

Suckers buy into crApple's proprietary platforms. Apple TV plays a very limited subset of the MPEG4 H.264/AAC standard. Apple TV owners constantly have to transcode videos so that they can play it on their device. Granted Roku isn't much better, it has limited codec support as well. Devices such as the Patriot Box or Popcorn Hour are far more flexible for local network streaming. If Roku would officially support the major codecs, it would be a killer device. As it is, I have both a Roku and Popcorn Hour to do what I need.

Can I hook this up to my AppleTV?

kcmark wrote:You can have up to 6 streaming devices (PC, laptop, Wii, Roku, Blue Ray player, etc...) registered with one account.

Yep - this is true. I've got six on my account. And when you go over, Netflix just lists all of your devices and tells you to disable one in order to enable a different device.

Ant says... "or from the usb port (again you have to add a channel) - but the channels are not hard to find."

So I could use the USB port to hook in an external HD and view any media I had stored there, through this device? (The one I bought last month doesn't have the USB port, so I don't know...)

This is great, but I can't play Mario Kart on it like my Wii

ErinJade wrote:I can vouch for this as well. My sister uses my account in IL, while my brother and I use it in NC. If I remember correctly, you just can't have more than 6 computers enabled at a time. I don't know how it'd work exactly with a Roku, though (since I don't have one).

But you can't all be watching a WI selection at the same time though right?

Wondering if I should buy this or wait for the Google TV Box. I like the idea all of roku's players features, but I feel the Google TV Box may have more to often in the near future: web browsing, channel surfing, Youtube browsing and probably other things as well.

Can this thing play MKV and DiVX files?
or is it strictly a Netflix streamer?

So, will this let me stream videos from my PC as well? And if yes, are there format limits?

llamabox wrote:But you can't all be watching a WI selection at the same time though right?

Actually you can, at least on two computers anyway. I just tested this with my friend in Chicago and me near DC. we both went via our computers to the instant watch and both had videos playing. Didn't leave it up for long, but we didn't get kicked or locked out from our short test

waffle wrote:Funny, I asked this last time

I have a computer acting as a dedicated media box attached to my TV. Are there ANY, and I mean ANY, reasons why this is better than that?

The main reason this might be better is that it uses a LOT less power than the attached computer. 6 watts vs. the 100+ watts the computer idles at.

We purchased the last Roku offered here at Woot, and think it's great. We've discontinued cable TV and just stream content from Netflix and other channels. One can find news and weather by subscribing to free channels at the Roku website.

Video can be streamed from a hard drive. The file needs to be converted into mp4 format, and can be wirelessly streamed through the router direct from the hard drive to the Roku through a channel like Chaneru or Roksbox. We do this from our external drive.

I've found the Roku forums very helpful.

If I didn't already have a Roku,I'd be all over this.

I've got the XR and love it! The USB port is great for watching all my Handbrake converted DVD movies, as well as music & slide shows.

I only have a "G" wireless network, and MLB.COM has some streaming issues if others in the house are sucking bandwidth, so I'm likely to extend an Ethernet cable to my bedroom soon. I have Comcast and speed runs @15mbs.

Make sure to buy the "Moonlight Movies" and "Drive in Classics" subscriptions for $3 a year.

Netflix is perfect! Just watched "The End" with Burt Reynolds, Sally Fields, Dom De Louise from 1978 - had been looking for years and it was on free streaming. Very cool!

Also, I do NOT subscribe to cable TV any longer! $8.99 a month Netflix along with the over the air & other Roku channels is plenty! As I mentioned, I am also a MLB.com junkie!