slapsymaxi wrote:Alright...so what's the better deal?

Here on woot XDS for $64.99 (with shipping), refurb

or

from the roku website, the roku 2 for $49.99 (free shipping and coupon), new?

There's a handy chart on roku's website... apparently 1080p, a usb port, and some type of better remote...

?

Max

...here's an independent review of ALL their boxes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roku

potter412 wrote:Has a lot of mixed reviews. Most of the cons refer to bad tech support and that they use a 3.5mm jack for component video. Most of the pros say there is a wide variety and it's easy to set up.

A lot to work from on CNet...

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-media-receivers/roku-xds-2100x/4852-6739_7-34182627.html?tag=show;full

why not to trust cnet:
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/CNET-CBS-Malware-Trojan-Nmap,news-13410.html

Setting up the Roku was painless and easy for this cord cutter. The only thing missing is someone to come dust it... once a week would be great, thanks.

Neither the Revue nor the Wii have the same offered channels that the Roku does, let alone the private channels.

Furthermore, Roku has the best Netflix UI (and many here have agreed), other than the Xbox 360.

Where I've really loved this thing is setting it up as a player for my media collection. I set up a Plex Media Server (works on Linux, btw) and they have a Roku channel that will load up all your goodies over your home network. Very, very nice. Plex has a lot of other platform clients too, which is a bonus:

www.plexapp.com

Plex Media Server setup info.

I have been finally catching up with all my old TV episodes I recorded with BeyondTV but didn't get around to watching. When those run out, I guess I'll fork out for one of the services.

UFC fans, the UFC channel is offered on Roku. This is the only reason I have it. Yes you still have to drop $45 for the fights but it beats having a two year contract with the satellite people.

does anyone know if this device can be used in other countries? more specifically... south america?

Same here. Ditched cable, got a Roku, and subscribed to Netflix and Hulu several months ago. Also got the NHL subscription and I have Amazon Prime so I don't miss cable at all. I saved $110 a month this way. I might have to pick up another one as they are great boxes.

jaburg wrote:For those of us that don't let our phone tell us what we can do - RFI is the Android app for Roku, free in the market. https://market.android.com/details?id=com.exavore.rokumote&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5leGF2b3JlLnJva3Vtb3RlIl0.

Wow, someone's in a bad mood. Such negativity. and btw - you're just plain wrong about iphones. But good luck with your Android!

I have a Roku XD and love it. Vastly easier to set up than a DVD and it streams perfectly. Lots of TV shows (all Startrek, Warehouse 13) available and lots of great films from Netflix.

I have never had cable and now I don't need it.

if you've got kids, i cannot in good conscience recommend getting anything but an XS. with rapidly expanding, dirt cheap games, the 1 xs i have gets more use than any of the other 3 older models.

Several flavors of angry birds, some tower defense, regular updates and under 5 bucks, they're a nice addition to what's otherwise still a solid deal for a high quality netflix box.

I heard from torrentfreak scene releases will now be coming in mp4...which the roku plays natively, so local streaming should get a whole lot easier shortly as well.

If you don't have one, but want to see what cutting the cable might feel like, pick up one of these, and grab a netflix trial membership. it's a cheap investment compared to a monthly cable bill, (i saved enough to get faster internet for better streaming )

(did i mention it gets free internet grown up videos, via private roku channels?)
I'm not a schill, just a Roku convert.

Don't really understand why people are paying the same price for the Roku 2 with lower res picture and no SPDIF output. Glad I could snag an XD|S before they're completely phased out.

I think the boxee box by dlink is way better. I had a roku and it was nice to cut out tv, but boxee gives your tv that whole "smart" feel.

theguruguys wrote:My experience over all on refurbished products, or actually electronic products in general, is that they are likely to fail within 90 days or not at all.

Actually refurbished products can be an excellent buy, but you should know what you're getting. There's a difference between refurbished, reconditioned, or factory recertified, the latter being what you want. These products have received the individual attention of a factory-trained technician; likely to have a lower fail rate than an assembly line product.

FYI, many distributors do their own reconditioning. This not the same thing. A factory-recertified product will generally carry a 90-day manufacturer warranty, versus a shorter, or non-existent, distributor warranty. Read the fine print before deciding. Hope this helps.

Does this version of the Roku offer all the same content as the Roku 2 boxes?

I had a Roku XDS that I purchased from Amazon last year...
I found that the menu transitions were horrendously slow, in addition no local network streaming (without a bunch of work), no local storage and just overall was very disappointing and had buyers remorse within a couple hours.

I gave it a go for a couple days, but the promptly returned it to Amazon and purchased the WD TV Live Hub. I was instantly impressed how much faster the device was, it also supports more services than Roku. In addition it also has 1TB of storage and supports a vast array of file types and codecs.

For streaming to the Roku, you need a PC running with a transcoder and a special app installed on the device itself. Trying to get 1080p to stream to the Roku is a joke, and you would be lucky if you can play 720p smoothly.

Take my advice, skip the buyers remorse and just buy the WD TV Live Hub instead!

richspirit wrote:I'm always leery of refurbished products when they don't have full warranties. What's the likelihood this will be ok/or fail right after the 90 days?

Actually refurbished products can be an excellent buy, but you should know what you're getting. There's a difference between refurbished, reconditioned, or factory recertified, the latter being what you want. These products have received the individual attention of a factory-trained technician; likely to have a lower fail rate than an assembly line product.

FYI, many distributors do their own reconditioning. This not the same thing. A factory-recertified product will generally carry a 90-day manufacturer warranty, versus a shorter, or non-existent, distributor warranty. Read the fine print before deciding. Hope this helps.

What's the best software to rip my DVDs to hard drive for this thing?

jaburg wrote:For those of us that don't let our phone tell us what we can do - RFI is the Android app for Roku, free in the market. https://market.android.com/details?id=com.exavore.rokumote&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5leGF2b3JlLnJva3Vtb3RlIl0.

Could not agree more - works with my Roku XR, the first generation, too.

Got the model one below this in a previous wooting. I don't know how I lived without it. Pure Awesome.

It sounds like stephanie never even dated him if she was against the ROKU. She may of thought they were dating but they weren't. People always have bizarre ideas in their head before they actually happen in real life. Now everyone can have obtain more bizarre ideas in their head from fake reality shows that are told to be real life with the ROKU streamer. Live in twilight zone!

I own a Roku XR, the first generation with YPbPr component output besides the 1080p.

I have been waiting for one of the XDS because of that tiny YPbPr component output. You can record 720p in Hauppauge 1212 PVR ! Newer i.e. Roku 2 XS does not have it.

Besides that you get BBC international, CNN, for free besides many other channels. You need to setup for BBC,CNN.

I am not into Angry birds, Wii or something similar is much better.

Humble advice - do not miss it even though it is refurb.

If by "constantly expanding their library of streaming entertainment," they mean "haven't added really any content since 2010," someone give George Lucas a call!

Love this little box. I have two. Cable is gone. Watching show and movies from NETFLIX. The USB port on the side allows you play downloaded content. You can stream PANDORA too. Now you can even play some game on this thing... Angry Birds. You don't know Jack. Super Easy to set up.

USB Port? Yes.

File format support? Hardly.

MP4, MKV. That's it.. I just returned my Angry Birds XS unit. I already have a PS3. I only bought the Roku so I'd have some decent extension support.. That was not the case.

If you have a Wii, Xbox 360, or PS3, this is not worth purchasing, no matter how much you rationalize it.

Seems like a great deal! I wish I could just cancel my TV service and drop that bill but my family would never go for that.

I have the roku 2XD, and just wish I'd have bought the "S" so I had the gaming remote. But otherwise, for the money it's a great product. I can only afford basic cable, and this at least has given me options. So nice to choose what I want to watch, instead of being limited to what a corporation is choosing for me.

BTW a helpful site is www.rokuguide.com, which is not affiliated with roku directly, but evaluates new channels as they are added, and gives lots of other good advice.

I don't check woot very often anymore, but I did today . . .
Six weeks after a bad breakup with a woman named Stephanie. . .
Who used to correct my posture on a daily basis. . .
and I read the blurb.

I don't know what kind of sick game you're trying to play, woot, but I don't care for it at all!

Component video pinout:

http://forums.roku.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=32376&start=90#p219505

so what can i see for just $59.99?
if i don't pay for anything but the box?

any cool hidden / private channels?

I love this player, especially when combined with Amazon or Crackle. You have hours, or shall I say days of entertainment at your finger tips. Easy to setup and use, but requires a reliable high speed Internet connection. Using the remote to navigate through the on screen menus may take some getting use-to, but after a while you'll get adept.

someone mentioned CC, can you get closed captioning with this?

theguruguys wrote:With Logitech Revue's selling for $99 at Compusa and other venues, the older Roku's are not as much of a value as they used to be. That being said it is still a great media streamer and is a bit easier to use and a lot easier to setup than the Revue. The Roku interface is great for Moms, grandparents, and those who are a bit tech unsavvy.

You do realize that the Logitech Revue is dead and that it's issues will never be resolved, right? Meanwhile, any issues that the first and second generation Roku units have will still be updated.

richspirit wrote:I'm always leery of refurbished products when they don't have full warranties. What's the likelihood this will be ok/or fail right after the 90 days?

I've never had a single refurbished product purchased from Woot ever fail on me. That includes two Rokus, my Philips HTIAB, my Musted DVD Recorder, two Philips learning remotes, and my wife's Dell laptop.

I have had a couple of wifi routers from Newegg that were refurbs both end up being lemons, but that's pretty rare. Those are the only two refurbished items I can think of that actually died on me.

rakshan wrote:Anyone getting this should look at the "Remote for Roku" iphone app as a worthy companion, for those days when you cant find the damn remote or your wife wont let you have it (pun intended).

https://sites.google.com/site/remote4roku/

jaburg wrote:For those of us that don't let our phone tell us what we can do - RFI is the Android app for Roku, free in the market. https://market.android.com/details?id=com.exavore.rokumote&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5leGF2b3JlLnJva3Vtb3RlIl0.

Or you can get the free official apps released by Roku. (Android version just out!) At the Apple/Google app stores.

THX for all the positive comments. I am in for one. I have an older Sony that does not support internet streaming. Looks like this box will do the job and then some.

Does anyone know if this works with Plex? I might have to get one for my dad... I'm pretty curious about this myself too actually.

If I'm not mistaken, this model also has 5GHz WIFI for dual-band routers. The newest models dropped the 5GHz radio (only 2.4).

jaburg wrote:For those of us that don't let our phone tell us what we can do - RFI is the Android app for Roku, free in the market. https://market.android.com/details?id=com.exavore.rokumote&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5leGF2b3JlLnJva3Vtb3RlIl0.

I actually used the one you mentioned for awhile. You get what you pay for, it was sluggish and dropped commands a lot. I really recommend these two apps instead:

http://www.amazon.com/Gregg-Reno-Remote-for-Roku/dp/B004I4GPC6/ref=cm_cr-mr-title
A really good remote app.

And this one lets you stream content from Android device to your Roku easily:
http://www.amazon.com/Gregg-Reno-Juice-for-Roku/dp/B007AJR13I/ref=cm_cr-mr-title

The amazon pages I linked have video reviews showing them in use for anyone interested.

Do they still require that you sign up for an account and give them your credit card just so you can activate the box?