will i be able to watch videos on the tv through my computer with this device?

i could get rid of s-video finally if it is capable.

thanks!

robio wrote:This isn't a particularly great deal, but its 1080p for $30 less than the current generation. If you have a TV that's more than a few years old, this is the model you want. The newer ones don't have composite video out.

They ALL have composite video out, the newer models just use a special breakout cable while older models had full composite connections. See the product comparison link above and you will see that every single Roku model since day one has had composite video connections. If you have seen the size of the Roku2 units, you would see why they used a special breakout cable... There is simply no room for composite connections.

Love my Roku XD. Very simple to set up, and easy to operate. In fact, I love it so much, I bought a second a month ago to put in my bedroom. Great product.

p120ud213azn wrote:will i be able to watch videos on the tv through my computer with this device?

i could get rid of s-video finally if it is capable.

thanks!

Check out RoksBox. Looks like that does video streaming to the Roku. From their site, "your media can reside on your computer's hard drive, on an external drive, on a network attached storage (NAS) device located on your home or local area network, or on a USB attached device (XR and XD|S models)."

Will I be able to control the Roku with my Logitech Harmony One remote?

I bought this the last time on Woot and I have been so pleased with it. Easy set up. Great HD. I've been doing a Netflix marathon ever since. It's the same resolution as the $79 model on ROKU.com. The classy, purple, fabric tags help you pull off the battery cover.

Dianrez wrote:This is for people interested in closed captions. I bought this Roku at Wal-Mart last fall and tried it on a new Vizio TV. It installed easily (provided you know the password to your router.) It pulls in Vudu, Hulu, Netflix, TED, and a great number of other video services beautifully.

However, I took it back for a refund. Most of these services do not provide closed captions, which is a prerequisite for me. Very few CC programs were available, mostly TED. It does not stream ABC, NBC or CBS TV series episodes at all, which have captions.

It depends on the source whether or not you can get captions, and is not the fault of the Roku device. At this time the availability of streaming CC isn't worth buying the Roku.

Interesting...if you talk to the folks at Netflix, they'll say the inability to have closed captioning is a deficiency in the Roku. Netflix told me, and I'm no tech wizard to know if they were right, that the Roku didn't have enough memory dedicated to support captioning. Apparently, the next generation of Rokus addressed this.

I have a couple of this generation rokus. Absolutely love them, although I would like CC. I was a bit ticked off as when I bought my first Roku (a woot refurb, no less) I contacted Roku about CC and they said it was something in development and it should be available soon. This was over a year ago. Thus, I'm thinking this gen of Rokus will never have CC capability. Despite that one peeve, I found them to sub well enough for cable to cancel cable TV and go Netflix and TV antenna.

sethrachelson wrote:I love my roku!! No cable bill. !

Another person said that also.

What are you using to get internet access??

Roku: It's the new Sansa.

How does this do streaming from an NAS. I know my western digital box handles that like a champ. But this will let me use netflix and Amazon prime instant video.

So if this can handle files from my NAS, I don't think I'd use my media center PC at all.

And by the way, how about file compatibility? A lot of old threads in the Roku support forum say it struggles with MKVs and FLV files (in fact, my WD box plays everything I throw at it except FLVs). Any thoughts appreciated.

By the way, I'm aware of Roksbox, but I want something where I don't have to turn on a computer at all. I believe that to use an NAS to stream, I need to have a computer on at all times. If that's the case, then my media center PC wins.

shythai wrote:Will I be able to control the Roku with my Logitech Harmony One remote?

Survey says yes!

Yes, although the category that Logitech lists it under isn't exactly intuitive. You'll find it under DVD/Digital Music Server/Roku

shythai wrote:Will I be able to control the Roku with my Logitech Harmony One remote?

The included remote is IR, but you can also use an Android or iOS smartphone as a remote over your local wifi(RF) network.

I have one of these and a Roku 2. The Hulu client on these is buggy and crashes. This problem is known to Google, but apparently not Roku, as their support will spend a lot of time troubleshooting rather than saying it is a known problem. Hulu support at least admitted the developers were working on it. The Roku 2 does not SEEM to have the same problems, but I haven't had that one as long. YMMV.

On the plus side, the Hulu client does support closed captioning.

There are third-party channels that will allow you to watch just about anything that you can stream on your computer.

The codecs built into the Roku only handle mp4 (H.264) format. It won't struggle with FLV and MKVs, it won't play them at all.

The ROKU is a great streaming device from online services like Hulu, Netflix, etc. The interface and remote simple and effective. If you're looking for a replacement to do everything your media center PC does, look elsewhere. But keep in mind that your HTPC cost a lot more than $50. I use mind to complement my HTPC.

blaze1984 wrote:How does this do streaming from an NAS. I know my western digital box handles that like a champ. But this will let me use netflix and Amazon prime instant video.

So if this can handle files from my NAS, I don't think I'd use my media center PC at all.

And by the way, how about file compatibility? A lot of old threads in the Roku support forum say it struggles with MKVs and FLV files (in fact, my WD box plays everything I throw at it except FLVs). Any thoughts appreciated.

By the way, I'm aware of Roksbox, but I want something where I don't have to turn on a computer at all. I believe that to use an NAS to stream, I need to have a computer on at all times. If that's the case, then my media center PC wins.

ovirto wrote:The codecs built into the Roku only handle mp4 (H.264) format. It won't struggle with FLV and MKVs, it won't play them at all.

The ROKU is a great streaming device from online services like Hulu, Netflix, etc. The interface and remote simple and effective. If you're looking for a replacement to do everything your media center PC does, look elsewhere. But keep in mind that your HTPC cost a lot more than $50. I use mind to complement my HTPC.

Ovirto: have you tried Roksbox? From what I can tell, it addresses this need. I keep meaning to set it up myself, but I haven't gotten around to it.

I started up Xbox 360 for the first time in months cus I read hulu and other streaming services work on it now... turns out to use hulu I need a xbox live gold membership to use hulu.... well screw you microsoft!

spending 50$ a year to use something that costs me 8$ a month... right now I'd rather spend 50$ on this... and stick to pc gaming...

Is this worth it for someone that already has a computer hooked up to their TV? I run Hulu+ and Netflix, but I miss a bit of the random stuff (like current episodes of the game show Jeopardy..).. My slingbox would work great for this, but I don't run it hooked up to a DVR, just straight up cable.. So, it's only really useful for the SuperBowl and other live events..

capecodbob2 wrote:Another person said that also.

What are you suing to get internet access??

I am wondering the same thing. I assume they are referring to TV portion of their cable bill as you need Internet to use this.

How does this compare to Boxee Box ?? Is it possible to get your typical regular cable type TV programs - CNN, ESPN,FOX, etc.??

Will this let me watch shows that I watch on the cable channels, such as ABC, CBS, NBC, History, FX, etc at about the same time as I normally would ... or do you have to wait until someone captures the original shows and uploads them?

jclmaster wrote:Will this let me watch shows that I watch on the cable channels, such as ABC, CBS, NBC, History, FX, etc at about the same time as I normally would ... or do you have to wait until someone captures the original shows and uploads them?

Roku doesn't actually provide the content itself, you use it to access services such as Hulu or Netflix. I'd suggest you get a Hulu membership ($8 a month) which includes streaming shows from ABC, NBC, Fox, and various cable networks. They currently don't have a deal with CBS. The shows are generally available the following day after airing.

Great customer service experience. Got this as a refurb from Woot before last Christmas, but didn't hook it up until January. It initially worked fine but locked up suddenly after just a few views. Tech support walked me through a few failed troubleshooting steps, told me to send it back for replacement. The unit they sent back to me seems to be brand new in original packaging! They counted the 90 day warrantee from the date of initiation (not the purchase date).

I did not care for the Roku players. I returned both types that I purchased, and opted for the Western Digital Media Player instead, and am glad that I did.

I'm able to use my Logitech Harmony One with the Roku 2 XS. Works fine with the Harmony, although I mapped a couple extra buttons...

Does this machine work in international places....like the Kingdom of Bahrain???

Dianrez wrote:It depends on the source whether or not you can get captions, and is not the fault of the Roku device. At this time the availability of streaming CC isn't worth buying the Roku.

As clintone mentioned, on Netflix the ability to get closed captions does depend on the Roku device. As far as I know, only the Roku 2 devices can display closed captions/subtitles for Netflix. Previous versions (like this one) cannot.

I've had one for a year or more. Not one hiccup or glitch using it. I use it to watch YouTube videos, almost all military/history documentaries I want to see are somewhere on YouTube. I just ditched my cable TV,

One thing, very small, it has no OFF button. It's meant to leave on all of the time. plug it into a power strip if you just have to have an OFF switch, or just pull the power cord from the back of the box.

I just ordered 2 more so all of my TVs will be Roku TVs. I;ve not had any problem using a very long WiFi network key, and I turn off power to the Roku box when I'm not using it. It always connects to my WiFi router, no matter how many days it may have been un-powered.

There is almost an insane amount of stuff you can watch on the Roku, the problem is sorting through stuff to make what you want easy to have handy. NowhereTV helps, but there is no Roku search function. Each app, like YouTube or Amazon Instant Video, or Netflix, or Hulu et al have their own search function and you can make channels appear on your Roku Home Screen after you find them. But you can just search using your PC and that will make finding it on Roku easier.

I find a lot of the audio is a little "hot" coming from the internet. Say I watch cable tv and the volume level I normally use is 15. When I play many internet sources via the Roku, a volume setting of 15 might shake the windows in the house and I may lower the volume to 2 or 3. I just have some speakers connected to TV with their own volume control so I can adjust the volume low enough to avoid distortion and loud enough to hear comfortably.

There is not one thing I would let me from buying this. I only regret I didn't get one sooner. This price is awesome. and Yes the newer ones are newer, but big deal. As soon as you buy the newer ones you will find rumors some kid in Japan has the prototype of the new-new one and for some people that is an emotional crisis. I got over that years ago. It does what it is supposed to do with less problems than any other device I've had connected to the net.

marklwood wrote:I was wondering if the remote is IR or RF. I would like to just attach it to the back of the TV to keep the clean look.

If you want an RF remote, you can get a Roku 2 and the Game Remote (this remote comes with the Roku 2 XS). But I don't believe the game remote is compatible with this version of Roku for sale on Woot.

My father has this exact model, he pretty much uses it non-stop. He originally bought it to use for Netflix and MLB.TV (except when they black-out the damn Cubs games *shakes fist in air*)

But there are so many free or 99cent channels that he pretty much only uses the Roku and rarely the cable. His current obsession has been old tv commercials from when he was a kid...yes I'm serious, and no idk where he found a channel that is all old commercials.

Anyway, for him it works fine on his HDTV, no problem setting it up, except for a brief problem remember the wireless password, and he runs it pretty much all the time, so no problems with constant use for hours and hours on end.

I use this thing every day. A couple of things you might not know:

MLB.tv Premium allows you to watch most out-of-market baseball games. No, you can't tune into anything that will be available to you via cable, but it's been a great to watch my beloved Dodgers from Oakland.

This box is the best way to watch Amazon VOD. Yes, you can get some content via Amazon Prime, but it's just as easy to buy TV shows on a per-episode basis, or rent movies for $3 or $4. I must have all of Archer, bought via Amazon, usually available the night after airdate.

The slowness of the interface will slowly drive you crazy. It's a low power chip, so getting into the video can be a hassle, and interacting with the box will strain your patience.

To sum up, the great channels are: Netflix, Amazon, Hulu Plus, MLB, NHL, Pandora, among many others. Happy Roku'ing!

Has anybody tried streaming MLB.TV with this model in HD? Perhaps even this season? Is it consistently HD quality? Any buffering issues?

People say they got rid of cable...use hulu, etc. What about sports networks? Live?

blaze1984 wrote:How does this do streaming from an NAS. I know my western digital box handles that like a champ. But this will let me use netflix and Amazon prime instant video.

So if this can handle files from my NAS, I don't think I'd use my media center PC at all.

And by the way, how about file compatibility? A lot of old threads in the Roku support forum say it struggles with MKVs and FLV files (in fact, my WD box plays everything I throw at it except FLVs). Any thoughts appreciated.

I'm not certain of the details, but this seems to be the best bet http://www.plexapp.com/
By the way, I'm aware of Roksbox, but I want something where I don't have to turn on a computer at all. I believe that to use an NAS to stream, I need to have a computer on at all times. If that's the case, then my media center PC wins.

BryanGawthrop wrote:Has anybody tried streaming MLB.TV with this model in HD? Perhaps even this season? Is it consistently HD quality? Any buffering issues?

Dad has no problem running MLB.TV on his and rarely a buffering problem. I will say the Roku is run on a 5GHz wireless router though, not sure how much of a difference it makes.

I can now get Hulu Plus to stream through my Wii. With that plus Netflix streaming, I'm just not sure what Roku offers (other than Amazon) that I don't already have.

I've been thinking a lot about cutting my cable off recently I'm just a barely informed consumer who isn't sure why one product would suit my needs better than another.

sudanf6 wrote:People say they got rid of cable...use hulu, etc. What about sports networks? Live?

No ESPN's, no Fox Sports, no TBS, no TNT, MLB and NHL are available but you have to pay for subscriptions.
No good live News channels. None of your typical cable channels available, except the programs available on services like Netflix etc. Hulu plus was horrible, poor choices, poor streaming, tons of advertising, frequent lock ups on my Roku.

I have an internet-ready tv with apps like Hulu, Netflix.... is this pretty much the same thing except in a self-contained unit or can you get more free stuff than that?

do not like this one - does not have subtiles for this version - for few bucks more I can get Roku 2

My ReadyNAS has a built in DLNA server, so I already have a couple of Sony N200 boxes. The N200 supports XVID format as well.

The packaging for the Roku units doesn't state whether it would work from a NAS, so I bought the Sony instead.