You will love it. The only bad thing is to know kinda what you want to watch before entering Roku world because you will find yourself reading what is available more than watching!! Recommendations: Get from Channel Store: Archive.org (you can even watch Howdy Doody from 1949 there!!) HBOGo- If you know someone that has HBO, hook up with them to access it. Look around the web for Private Roku Channels, you will be amazed what you can get. Since this is a refurbished box, you may be able to get YouTube on. You will find codes for that in your search of private channels. New boxes for some reason will not accept the codes for YouTube (bummner)

dliidlii wrote:No USB is shown in picture of ports for this model Did Woot show the wrong picture??

USB ON FRONT OF BOX THIS TIME

New on Roku company website for $70 with free shipping, probably no tax.
This is not a deal at all, or am I missing anything here?

Seems like a good deal after reading all the comments. Im tired of paying $80 per month for cable but I'm hooked on the 24 hour news channels. Any suggestions other than "get a life".

I don't get it. I went to Roku.com and found the Roku 2 XD on sale for $69.99 with free shipping. Woot's price is $59.99 + $5 shipping for an older refurbished unit. What am I missing here? $5 savings does not seem like the Wooterrific deals I am used to seeing!

Fyi - you can activate Roku acct with paypal rather than credit card if you wish, per faq on website.

vwoom wrote:Is the XDS better than the 2 HD (other than the obvious more port connections; compatible to my old Samsung Tantus WS CRT, the best connection via component video YPbPr connection)?

I thought the other way..I missed the then cheaper $49.99 Amazon promo on the 2 HD last Fri 3/3. It is now back up to $67.

After reading the convincing comments on this model (well favorable to my flat screen WS CRT Samsung YPbPr ports), I went ahead and bought 1. Got tired of my basic OTA selections here in LA (other than the occasional HuluPlus viewing on my MacBook). Cut my cable years ago...

I've been contemplating on getting one since Roku came out (now that was a looong time ago), though not a priority. Patience ran out this time and caved in on this tempting "non-planned" purchase....haven't bought anything from Woot since '10. So much so for my NY Resolution of not buying anything unnecessary...

DAMN YOU, WOOT!!!!

I actually just got a Roku 2 XD from Best Buy for $59.99 with a great deal on a new HDTV too. I'm switching to the Roku from a Logitech Revue in my media setup. I find the Roku 2 is better at running the Netflix and Amazon Prime services that I use a lot, while the Revue is geared more closely to people who watch live TV and streaming is a secondary option. Another great part about the Revue is its ability to control other devices, but when you have a Harmony Remote, that is already possible. The Roku fits my needs a bit better, and takes up much less space.

Been using one a few months.
The only free things it's useful for are Pandora and Crackle. Netflix and HuluPlus cost money.
I'm not so sure this is as awesome as people say but it did inspire me to get rid of cable.
Am I missing something?

cleveroc wrote:...(you can even watch Howdy Doody from 1949 there!!)...

99% of wooters are doing a Google search right now on "Howdy Doody" :-)

This does not need any sort of SD card or microSD card. There is no place to add additional memory (nor is there any need for that if it were available).

That said, I bought this last time it was on Woot for my parents for Christmas. They love it! Netflix through this is generally 720p or higher; on their Wii, they were only getting 420p. It's noticeably better quality and they've never had trouble with buffering problems. It does take a little longer for the video to load, though.

As we usually stream Netflix through our PS3s (one in the bedroom, one in the living room) and we don't have any other game consoles or Blu-Ray players, I am opting to get this for the Amazon Prime connection.

To answer a question posted earlier: yes, Amazon Prime costs a certain dollar amount per year, but if you're a student with a .edu address, from time to time, they will offer free Prime accounts to students for up to 4 years of free Prime. I paid for my Prime for 2 years prior to signing up as a student (which I am!), and I'll have my free Prime account for the duration of being a student.

Admittedly, I'm only now beginning to reap the free benefits beyond free shipping - we're starting to explore the free movies/tv shows available, and I just rented my first book from the Kindle Lending Library.

So, to bring this back to topic: I had the option of getting the wireless stick for our Samsung TV, or getting one of these. I'm not entirely sold on the Samsung stick thing, so I'm going to try out the Roku player. It seems like a neat idea.

i bought one of these during the last woot off. it was delivered with a broken remote.

ejtmjr wrote:COULD THIS BE USED IN A HOTEL?

I tried to use mine at a Crowne Plaza hotel, but couldn't get it to work. The TV/Pay Per View system the hotel used wouldn't recognize another input. It may be different at another hotel chain.

If you look at the image of package content, you will see there is no "Getting Started Guide".

http://sale.images.woot.com/CE02784C_Specs02.jpg

It is not essential but helpful.

MEDICINEMAAN wrote:Why would someone spend 59 on this when they can get one from Playon for 79 with lifetime subscription

You are right. I got this deal and I am thrilled to have Playon lifetime as well. I am this close to cancelling my Xfinity TV service soon. Just playing around with different plugins right now. Playon is really cool.

Can this stream to a computer monitor?

dliidlii wrote:USB port is stated by the price but NOT shown in picture of ports. Does this model have USB or not??

yes. the xd/s model comes with the usb port

this unit is junk if you need to play files on your media server via NFS, DLNA, etc...

mothersnakes wrote:Can this stream to a computer monitor?

Yes if you have an HDMI to DVI cable. But keep in mind it does not pull files from a media server, no NFS or DLNA support.

I have a Roku, not this nicer one, and I love it.

I did drop cable for Roku. I'd rather buy the shows one at a time through iTunes than pay for cable.

Most of my watching is movies. So between DVDs and Netflix Streaming, that's most of what I watch. There's a handful of shows I watch on Hulu.

The only times it's been a hassle is for sports. I'm down to mostly baseball, which I subscribe to MLB tv (and watch through Roku) since my team is out of market. But I've lost football, and college and pro basketball. There is an NBA league pass (which is too expensive IMO) but I don't know if that's Roku-able.

If you have a good TV and watch Netflix Streaming, I say, get the Roku. It's not much and the convenience is great.

ejtmjr wrote:COULD THIS BE USED IN A HOTEL?

I was recently in a remodeled Motel 6 and they now have flat screen TV's with an input panel below the TV. The input panel accepts VGA, HDMI, and composite video and it has a power plug nearby, which would make this work very well. Motel 6 also has mid-speed wifi available for $3/night. This could work for that.

bfleissner wrote:Does anyone know if has a browser to surf the internet? Or are you stuck with whatever website/companies Roku has an agreement with?

No browser.

So does the Xbox 360 do a better job with Netflix than the Wii and can you use the Xbox 360 with Netflix straight outta the box? I've been told that the systems don't matter it's the connection speed that matters.

Thank You

MEDICINEMAAN wrote:Why would someone spend 59 on this when they can get one from Playon for 79 with lifetime subscription

Point taken on the bargain lifetime Playon with the 2 HD $79.99 promo... I also agree to others here that Playon is more useable, more to my liking based on the channels available.

With that said, I'd prefer to pay the extra $5/mo for Playon and get piece of mind on this better rated/favorable reviews/feature laden (picture quality level indicator, various port connectors, dual band "N", etc) albeit refurb XDS, than get stuck to the somewhat spotty and unreliable track record (mostly wifi connection issues) on the brand new, but stripped down/wifi only 2 HD (based on Amazon reviews/1-3 star rants).

With the $15 or so difference between this refurb XDS and Playon promo 2 HD, for me it's like Playon threw in a bait of 3 months of Playon included with the $79.99 price. 3 months time...enough time to realize if ownership of the 2 HD is well worth it (or the lack of it/headaches).

I've read this thread, gone to the recommended Roku pages and I'm still confused.

1) I'd like to view free streaming such as PBS.org and Hulu regular. Apparently that's not possible?

2) I'd buy this in a shot if I was sure it provided Netflix closed captions. the comparison chart at http://shop.roku.com/ doesn't give that info.

3) The comparison chart http://support.roku.com/entries/20345913-product-comparison-all-roku-player-models lists this one on Woot as a model 2100x, but posters here are saying it is not a 2.

If I want Netflix with CC and I want to hook it up to older CRT TVs (major tightwad here) Which model should I buy?

schipdog wrote:I've read this thread, gone to the recommended Roku pages and I'm still confused.

1) I'd like to view free streaming such as PBS.org and Hulu regular. Apparently that's not possible?

2) I'd buy this in a shot if I was sure it provided Netflix closed captions. the comparison chart at http://shop.roku.com/ doesn't give that info.

3) The comparison chart http://support.roku.com/entries/20345913-product-comparison-all-roku-player-models lists this one on Woot as a model 2100x, but posters here are saying it is not a 2.

If I want Netflix with CC and I want to hook it up to older CRT TVs (major tightwad here) Which model should I buy?

Read the reviews (or rants) at Amazon. I read two "regrettable" posts on the Netflix close caption feature (that does not work), at least on the 2 HD.

Most complaints wanted the old Roku models (this XDS included) back. Quite a few would even resort to Craigslist to search for these discontinued models.

This XDS/2100X has no Netflix close caption feature available, and is from the old Roku Series (not part of the new 2 Series i.e. 2 HD, 2 XD, 2 XS).

Looking to use this as primarily a usb connecting for .avi and .mkv.

Good choice in that regard?

Still decent quality on an oldschool tv?

Can this be used with my Directv DVR to record a show? Or would I have to have a separate DVR device...or it won't work that way?

watzkej wrote: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.

How do you deal with the NHL games that are local market games? I've been told that I won't be able to watch my local games unless I have cable. NHL Gamecenter blacks out local market games apparently.

Have 2 Roku XDS, love them, about to buy this refurbished model on Woot!

foxtrot3 wrote:Appears to be about half the price of a new one. If I wasn't broke I'd be a player.

Just bought a new at WalMart for the same price as this refurb. Works great.

charlespkim wrote:yes. the xd/s model comes with the usb port

Exactly, the USB port on the xd/S model is on the front right side, I never had tried it but just did, found pics easily on the usb flash drive I inserted.

Also, for those making comparisons with the new XD 2 by Roku with the $69.99 (after $10 off) and free shipping, that could be a good deal but it doesn't look like that model has the USB port, if that's important to anyone.

Anyhoo, love my 2 Roku XD/S's, they've been reliably bulletproof and well worth the money, we cut our cable way down while checking out Netflix and HuluPlus via Roku, may get the HD antenna for local channels and drop cable all together.

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

At least as far as netflix, no CC now, no CC ever. You need the next version roku for that -- or hook up a PC instead and get netflix CC and all the rest of the PC streaming available -- with an upgradeable piece of hardware [your pc] instead of this brick which they won't even upgrade to CC.

schipdog wrote:I've read this thread, gone to the recommended Roku pages and I'm still confused.

1) I'd like to view free streaming such as PBS.org and Hulu regular. Apparently that's not possible?

2) I'd buy this in a shot if I was sure it provided Netflix closed captions. the comparison chart at http://shop.roku.com/ doesn't give that info.

3) The comparison chart http://support.roku.com/entries/20345913-product-comparison-all-roku-player-models lists this one on Woot as a model 2100x, but posters here are saying it is not a 2.

If I want Netflix with CC and I want to hook it up to older CRT TVs (major tightwad here) Which model should I buy?

No netfilx CC with this box.

Regarding the Roku 2 XD player available new for $60 with free shipping: it does have 1080p but not usb or ethernet. What is the usb for? If I have wifi is there any need for ethenet?

Got two of these last August and couldn't be happier. I've used it to watch HuluPlus almost everyday, Netflix, Crackle, listen to Pandora.

In HD.

Before that I tried the other routes, connecting and unconnecting a computer or laptop was a hassle, tried a dedicated laptop but the laptop was over there, I was over here, lots of back and forth, wireless keyboard worked fine, but crowded the coffee table, etc.

Much easier to just pick up a remote and press a button.

Recommend.

mikec83 wrote: If I have wifi is there any need for ethenet?

Yes, if you issues with wifi connection...the hard wire ethernet will save your day.

can i stream music from my PC on this bad boy?? is that an option??

So can I watch mkv x264 HD videos that are stored on my NAS with this?

If so, I think I'll pull the trigger