FenStar wrote:$7.99 < $9.99 last time I checked. Unless you actually want DVDs the price is going down.

I would bet not many want just streaming as there is little streaming content unless you like watching old stuff.

stevedog1 wrote:Should be the same. If your PS3 buffers frequently then your Internet connection is at fault, not the PS3. Your PS3 should at least be receiving 1-2mbps to not have to continuously buffer. Check your Internet connection settings on your PS3 and use the menu options to "test connection" to see what your throughput is.

My PS3 buffers only when the movie starts and only then.

Alright I got 1.4 Mbps so I don't know if that's good or bad. Would plugging in through Ethernet be faster than wifi?

ryancooke wrote:Would plugging in through Ethernet be faster than wifi?

Oh yes.

ryancooke wrote:Alright I got 1.4 Mbps so I don't know if that's good or bad. Would plugging in through Ethernet be faster than wifi?

Yes, but again, your Internet provider is not going to be delivering faster than what either WiFi or Ethernet will transfer. Unless your Internet provider pumps out 1+Gb/s.

djames42 wrote:Because it's still a lot cheaper than buying the Miami Vice DVDs you'll only watch once... It's also cheaper than the gas to get you to the RedBox and back (which contains enough variety to keep you satisfied for a whole week).

Actually, I got the entire Miami Vice box set on Woot cheaper then this ;-)...but I still love my Roku.

cdheer wrote:For those interested in local streaming (in other words watching videos from a PC in your home)...this is not the box for that. It can do it, sort of, but you have to install software on the PC, and they have to be in a specific format. It's not worth it. Go find a WD Live box if that's what you want.

For stuff like Netflix, though, this can't be beat. That's one hell of a price, too.

thanks, just the answer i was looking for!

stevec5000 wrote:What I mean is a little bit of data is insanely expensive. On T-mobile I only get about 30mb per day for $1.49 on my cell. They also have a plan for 1Gb/mo, enough for a couple movies but it costs $50/mo!

Well, I have Verizon and tethering from your cell phone is $30 for 2GB/month and $10 for each additional GB. This is with the new pricing.

However.....

I, on the other hand do not have a tethering package. I pay $30 for unlimited data on my Android cellphone (which is rooted) and use Googles "Wifi Tether" app to use my phone as a Hot Spot. With this set up, my tethering usage (hot spot) uses my unlimited smartphone data plan and incurs no additional fees regardless of how much data I use.

Tethering is a natural ability of the OS which uses the phones own data plan and re-routes it through the wireless antenna thus forming a "Hot Spot". The carriers remove this ability when they sell them to their customers so that they can re-sell the data you already paid for, to tether it to another device. Google's app enables your phone to do this again but requires that you root your phone so that you can use your $30 unlimited data plan however you wish.

Here is a link to Google's download page:

http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/

stevedog1 wrote:Netflix streaming package is now $7.99 under the new pricing. If you want DVD (1 at a time) it is an additional $7.99.

Prior to the price change, it was $9.99 for both, but streaming only has not increased in price.

The real problem is starz has contract rules with netflix that allows them to pull their content and renegotiate pricing when netflix hits so many streaming subscribers. Happened in February, and again in June. Since netflix has nothing worth streaming without stars they have a lot of pull. People are expecting netflix licensing rate to go from 30 million to 200-300 million dolkars. So in reality the cost of streaming is going up, they are just raising dvd prices to subsidize it because they know no one would pay more for streaming with their crummy selection. They probaly realize a lot of people will drop streaming to since the selection on bluray is better and better quality. Less subscribers, lower licensing. What really sucks is they don't even offer a combo discount... Your better off getting 2 dvds out at a time now than streaming and having one

Also see ROKSBOX for streaming local content of many kinds to your ROKU on a private channel. http://roksbox.com

unksol wrote:The real problem is starz has contract rules with netflix that allows them to pull their content and renegotiate pricing when netflix hits so many streaming subscribers. Happened in February, and again in June. Since netflix has nothing worth streaming without stars they have a lot of pull. People are expecting netflix licensing rate to go from 30 million to 200-300 million dolkars. So in reality the cost of streaming is going up, they are just raising dvd prices to subsidize it because they know no one would pay more for streaming with their crummy selection. They probaly realize a lot of people will drop streaming to since the selection on bluray is better and better quality. Less subscribers, lower licensing. What really sucks is they don't even offer a combo discount... Your better off getting 2 dvds out at a time now than streaming and having one

That might be true for you. My family, and many others, are quite happy with Netflicks streaming selection and have actually dropped the DVD portion and kept only the streaming because we've never even ordered any DVD's, and doing so saved us $2/month from what we were used to paying, and $8 on the new price plans.

The only reason we even had the DVD package was because it was so cheap to do so. Now that it will cost additional $8 dollars, it is not worth it to "us". Last year we ordered only 3 DVD's, which is not enough to warrant an additional $8/month.

We like the selection. All of the TV shows we enjoy are there, especially cartoon series for the kids, and we always find something new to watch. We are very, very satisfied with paying the $8 for Netflix streaming, especially since we also watch it from our Smartphones and IPad's when away from home (or in the bathroom ;))for no additional charge.

mjamesb80 wrote:What formats will this play? .mp4? .avi?

h.264 and VC1.

AVI isn't really descriptive. "Audio/Video Interleaved". It's just a container. The codecs used to compress the streams within the container are the deciding factor. An AVI container can contained any compression - and in this case - it's h.264 or VC1 or you're looking at something other than Roku.

I wish I could still get my hands on the Roku HD XR. Just like this with USB, Composite, Component, S-Video, HDMI, 1080p, ethernet port and wireless N.

It's the perfect box but hard to come by, and wish I had bought more when it was on Woot sometime last year.....

I'm streaming Arrested Development from Hulu Plus on my Roku right now. I use it every day. I'd be tempted to get this for my other tv, if I had the money right now.

I have a Roku... not this old of a version but not the newest one either. I actually got it for less than this because I got a 50% off coupon for Amazon from my Kindle. That cool point aside, I have to say it was the best money I've spent recently. The interface is seamless and the extra channels, while not the most exciting things in the world, really give this an edge over other netflix streamers. Linking it to the your various streaming accounts is as simple as I can imagine it being and it really never bothers you about it again.

What it boils down to is really that nothing about this thing is complicated. The only issue I've heard about (but not experienced) is that they have really rough customer service. However I haven't had a single issue with mine over the past couple of months and I don't imagine I will. If you don't have another way of streaming to your television, this is definitely worth every penny. It's basically killed my desire for cable.

Just a quick question as I'm trying to decide if I want to get this or not.

Basically with this version, you get everything (all the channels) that you get with the newer V2, right?

I understand you don't get the motion sensor games so I'm not worried about that.

Just want to make sure you get all the same content channels wise as the Version2

scutterbear wrote:Just a quick question as I'm trying to decide if I want to get this or not.

Basically with this version, you get everything (all the channels) that you get with the newer V2, right?

I understand you don't get the motion sensor games so I'm not worried about that.

Just want to make sure you get all the same content channels wise as the Version2

That is correct.

stevedog1 wrote:That is correct.

excellent! Thank you for the reply.

I have appletv (won it in a contest) and it's been good for netflix, which is about all I use it for. The youtube on appletv is a joke and waste of time.

But this seems like a much better upgrade from appletv, even if it is an older model.

Question - Does this (or the other ROKU boxes) allow you to view online video from A&E,USA, TNT, NBC, ABC, CBS - and any similar 'direct' connections through the internet?

I would be connecting the box with a fast cable internet connection.

??

stevedog1 wrote:

We like the selection. All of the TV shows we enjoy are there, especially cartoon series for the kids, and we always find something new to watch. We are very, very satisfied with paying the $8 for Netflix streaming, especially since we also watch it from our Smartphones and IPad's when away from home (or in the bathroom ;))for no additional charge.

I'm sure you are satisfied, the actual cost of what your getting went way up, your price didn't and "I'm" paying the difference LOL. That's the part that "grinds my gears". It's still reasonable. Any price hike that percentage though is gonna irk people, especially when its so "unbalanced" when compared to the old.If I want to watch every episode of some tv show one month ill turn it on for a bit.

krenbaird wrote:I'm on the fence about this. What does the Roku 2 add to the equation besides newness?

For those of us who like charts here is the difference between the $59/$79/$99 Roku boxes

http://shop.roku.com/

SecretAgentWoman wrote:Is there any point in buying this if you don't pay for subscriptions with Hulu, Netflix or Amazon? I mean, if you are so cheap (broke) you want nothing but free content, does this offer anything at all besides a nifty way to collect dust?

Don't know if you're a fan of the TWIT network (Leo LaPorte), but it works nicely with that. Experience with MLB.TV (fee) was certainly hit or miss initially. Somewhat reliable now.

Does anyone know if this will also run on 220 volts power? Basically, does the inverter accept 220 volts. I've checked the Roku web page but can't find the specifics for this.

stevec5000 wrote:Yes, Hulu + is the same price as Netflix but it's useless, all they have are old b/w movies nobody would want to watch and clips of TV shows but not the actual shows.

i dropped hulu plus due to the commercials...netflix has no commercials

I love Hulu Plus. I use it way more than Netflix. I get current episodes of tv shows, plus I can watch past episodes of my favorite shows. There aren't many movies, but the tv shows interest me more than the movies anyway. YMMV.

These have never played very nicely with any type of network storage setup. I considered one last year while I was searching for a set top box to stream media from a network share, but the roku is very restrictive when it comes to that type of media source. I guess I'll be sticking with my AppleTV running Boxee for a little longer.

midasnyc wrote:Now that Netflix has raised it's price by 60%, what exactly is the point of buying this thing? Maybe Amazon will step into the void, but it hasn't yet. Other than those two, there's nothing on Roku worth owning it for.

Netflix is only raising the price if you get DVD's with your subscription, the streamless stays the same!!

For any that might not know, there is a secret menu you can access on the Roku. It has, among other things, a setting to force a quality speed preventing the box from automatically downgrading the quality. I usually set it because I'd rather it rebuffer than drop down from HD quality.

To get to the menu: press home button 5x, rewind button 3x and fastforward button 2x

On a related note, I often struggle with maintaining an HD stream for the entire movie length even though I'm on 25Mb cable. I do have it using Wifi but G speeds should be more than capable (54Mb). In any case, I haven't done enough testing on a physical connection to know for certain if it's just the wifi holding it back or if it's something my ISP is doing.. or if it's Netflix congestion at the time or what.

Personally, I wish they'd toss a big chunk of buffer memory into these things.

kpk02 wrote:For any that might not know, there is a secret menu you can access on the Roku. It has, among other things, a setting to force a quality speed preventing the box from automatically downgrading the quality. I usually set it because I'd rather it rebuffer than drop down from HD quality.

To get to the menu: press home button 5x, rewind button 3x and fastforward button 2x

On a related note, I often struggle with maintaining an HD stream for the entire movie length even though I'm on 25Mb cable. I do have it using Wifi but G speeds should be more than capable (54Mb). In any case, I haven't done enough testing on a physical connection to know for certain if it's just the wifi holding it back or if it's something my ISP is doing.. or if it's Netflix congestion at the time or what.

Personally, I wish they'd toss a big chunk of buffer memory into these things.

When viewing my Roku, it never drops from HD or re-buffers ever while viewing through my wireless G access point or when hard wired directly to my Lynksys WRT54G. I also do not notice a speed difference between the two connections. My ISP is Optimum and my connection ranges from 7-14mbps. (peak/offpeak).

In for one! Woot is a mind reader or something because i've been on the verge of buying the middle priced Roku because the HD is always "sold-out" on the official site.

Just signed up other day for the netflix streaming and its a great service! Use PS3 to view in game room on 32", but in living room with our bigger television makes sense to have options to watch in there too. Very Excited!

I have this Roku and love it. I've used it on new and old TVs and picked up this second one. I have Netflix on a Wii but I don't like the controller nearly as much.

We've never had any hesitation or streaming problems using wireless g, works flawlessly.

Can free content from TV networks be seen with this?

Roku 2 is coming out. This unit can not be upgraded to that level.

Great Product, but buyer beware

Unless you need all the channels, the WD Live TV Plus is a far better box, with a much better interface. The Roku interface is painful at best.

stevedog1 wrote:I wish I could still get my hands on the Roku HD XR. Just like this with USB, Composite, Component, S-Video, HDMI, 1080p, ethernet port and wireless N.

It's the perfect box but hard to come by, and wish I had bought more when it was on Woot sometime last year.....

I concur. The HD|XR seemed to offer the best bang for the buck. Though $40 for an N1100 HD is a pretty good deal for basic streaming IMO.

Here's a comparison table I made last year between the specs for the legacy and the new units - before the Roku 2's were announced. Ignore the "price" column - that's clearly out of date:

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/3913/compareroku2.jpg

(Note - Updated the link to include the new Roku 2 models)

Just like to point out there is no way to turn this baby off outside unplugging the thing. So if you or someone you love is an electricity Need more history channel. then good luck

ericcs wrote:Would someone please look at their Roku 2 (or the Roku 1) and see if it supports 220 (110-240 on the adapter) I'm currently deployed and I would love to pick something like this up without having to stick it on a transformer! Thanks for looking

thehenkels wrote:Does anyone know if this will also run on 220 volts power? Basically, does the inverter accept 220 volts. I've checked the Roku web page but can't find the specifics for this.

Just looked at mine (I have the exact same model as today's woot) and the Roku's power supply supports 100-240v on 50 or 60 hz. ... so all you should need is a plug adapter and you should be able to run it wherever you are with no transformer (the plug is basically a wall-wart with no ground).

Is there an equivalent for soccer, like for baseball that you can watch with this? Preferably European and Latin American soccer. I would buy this for sure if there was!

smithj33 wrote:Unless you need all the channels, the WD Live TV Plus is a far better box, with a much better interface. The Roku interface is painful at best.

In your opinion.

For anyone who is wondering what channels are available, you can find a complete list here.

nytimez wrote:Too bad -- I'm giving up Netflix streaming and going back to disc-only. They ain't got enough content for the $7.99 a month... and Roku ain't got enough content without Netflix.

I think they are even reducing the streaming content in the attempt to force you to to the higher spending tier. My daughter went in to my account to queue up a movie that she was previously able to stream only to find that in was available only now in DVD form.
The r@t b@st@rds.