andrewteg wrote:FWIW, if you want the Roku 2 XD it's only $10 more at Roku right now. Just click the refurb button on the home or products page.

+1, I just did that. and it's free shipping too. no brainer.

My Blu Ray with built in wireless does all this, and plays Blu Rays. Cost about $115.

WARNING!
It's been mentioned before, but people still miss the fact that this is a first generation model.

I advise you to go to http://www.roku.com/roku-products#3 to see the second-generation models. The price isn't that much more and the shipping is free.

dogrrl wrote:This is the WORST streaming device EVER! I have bought 4 of them in the past year and only one works. Buyer beware.

I have 3 of these myself, have bought 2 for family members and encouraged others to buy them and use them. They work good as long as you have the internet bandwidth to handle streaming. (also make sure you update the device when an update is available).

ehejl wrote:A little FYI I just discovered after hooking up the Roku XDS I got from the last Wootoff; What Woot's description of the product doesn't mention is that, outside of whatever services you need to sign up for to use the Roku with (e.g. Netflix, Amazon, etc), you also need to sign up for a Roku account and give them a credit card number to keep on file before you can use the unit.

Not true, I used my PayPal account. If I buy something, it comes out of my bank account through PayPal, just like when I bough something from eBay.

drbiii wrote:I've had my Roku XS (older generation) for a couple of years now.

PROS: no cable bills, HBO Go, Crackle

CONS: I have to re-boot my unit every couple of uses because it will just freeze or loose the connection completely. Lack of good sports channels (like ESPN). The volume on my unit fluctuates dramatically when watching content (connected via HDMI).

All in all, it's pretty good for what it does. My main issue is with the volume. I need to upgrade my Receiver to one that accepts optical out so I can test the sound from the optical output of the Roku and see if that solves the problem.

How do you get HBO Go if you don't have cable? I thought you had to subscribe to HBO to have access to that service, thus you must have cable.

jd3538 wrote:Doesn't everyone have at least one of these by now? I already own more Rokus than I have TVs. Should I seek help?

No, just seek more TVs

glenncol wrote:WARNING!
It's been mentioned before, but people still miss the fact that this is a first generation model.

I advise you to go to http://www.roku.com/roku-products#3 to see the second-generation models. The price isn't that much more and the shipping is free.

Actually these are a second generation model, and the Roku 2 is the third generation. Unless you count the first Roku as the 0th generation.

http://support.roku.com/entries/20344226-product-comparison-all-roku-player-models

thanks to @robio for the link

I bought one of these and cancelled cable. I just signed up for Netflix and use Pandora for parties. I figured for one months cable cost that I barely watched anyway, I would give this a shot and it was completely worth it.

dcdjason wrote:According to this -
http://support.roku.com/entries/20345913-product-comparison-all-roku-player-models - no Netflix captions. Not sure about other sources.

Thanks!

stevethorpe wrote:Does anyone know if it can get HBO Go?

It is capable, but availability depends on whether your cable provider has an agreement set up with HBO for Roku. For example, Comcast/Xfinity now has HBO Go available on xbox360 but not yet on Roku.

My husband is a bicycling addict. Is there any way to use this device to broadcast Tour de France video on the big screen?

keithredding2 wrote:After you get one of these, hop over to WWW.CableCutterGuys.com and we will show you how to best use it.

Thanks for the recommendation. That site helped me realize how much money I was wasting on Cable and what the best alternatives were.

dcdjason wrote:According to this -
http://support.roku.com/entries/20345913-product-comparison-all-roku-player-models - no Netflix captions. Not sure about other sources.

I keep asking Roku if they intend to distribute a software update for older models for Netflix captions, since they have them on the newer models. I cannot imagine why they will not except that they can force people who actually NEED captions to buy new equipment.

This puts me in a pickle because I like the device but hate that reasoning, and thus don't want to reward the company by purchasing a new model from them. But when caption-capable models come here refurbished I'll Hop on one like it was a Pop.

I have one and I love it. Just a small suggestion. Unplug it when you are not usuing it. We had a day where our internet went to a crawl and could not figure out why. The box was trying to update all day while it was plugged in (but not in use). As soon as I unplugged it, our internet went back to normal speed.

Momster wrote:

The best part is I can check to see if my mom is still alive by reviewing the history on my netflix account. If there are a bunch of Jerry Lewis movies and Murder She Wrote episodes, she's still around for another day.

Absolutely dying laughing here!!! Hilarious!!!

Is there a way to sort the channels so you don't have to scroll through the ones you def don't want to watch?

What is the reason for requiring the credit card to open a Roku account? Must you use a credit card to open this account or could you use a PayPal account?

So, you get rid of cable completely with this? What if you want to watch the local news, or current tv shows? Seems to me that you still have to pay for several of the channels. Is it really worth it?

phekno wrote:How do you get HBO Go if you don't have cable? I thought you had to subscribe to HBO to have access to that service, thus you must have cable.

MsNterprted wrote:Is there a way to sort the channels so you don't have to scroll through the ones you def don't want to watch?

Yes.

http://support.roku.com/entries/221073-how-do-i-remove-a-channel-from-my-roku-player

Thanks! I'm -this close- to buying one!

ngrant wrote:Yes.

http://support.roku.com/entries/221073-how-do-i-remove-a-channel-from-my-roku-player

MsNterprted wrote:So, you get rid of cable completely with this? What if you want to watch the local news, or current tv shows? Seems to me that you still have to pay for several of the channels. Is it really worth it?

You don't have to pay for local stations. Most (if not all of them) still broadcast over the air and that includes all of your network television, so any of the big-four shows plus your local news is completely free, you just need a pair of rabbit ears (depending on how far away you are from those antennas).

Both my Roku 2 XS and my Roku XD units work quite well with Plex clients. Most of my video collection is in .avi, .mp4, and mkv containers with x264 or Xvid formats. A few older items are .mpg amd .wmv formats. All stream well to the Roku via the Plex application. I don't know the audio offhand, so I can't comment on that.


Most of the .mp4 stuff is x264 on an external drive. (edit: note that Plex natively streams .mp4 content directly without transcoding, so there's less of a hit to your Plex server computer if you use that container) I used to plug this directly into the USB port of my Roku 2, but I would get occasional lockups. Keeping the external drive on my main computer and streaming using Plex solved all those problems. Please note that I have a hard-wired connection between my Roku and my router to optimize the streaming for greatest resolution. YMMV.

msingerman wrote:Does anyone know the following:

(1) Does this work well with the Plex Connected Devices channel thingy?

(2) What file formats does it support for containers (mkv, m2ts, avi, mp4, etc.), video (H264, XviD, etc.), and audio (AAC, AC3, DTS, etc.)?

ehejl wrote:A little FYI I just discovered after hooking up the Roku XDS I got from the last Wootoff; What Woot's description of the product doesn't mention is that, outside of whatever services you need to sign up for to use the Roku with (e.g. Netflix, Amazon, etc), you also need to sign up for a Roku account and give them a credit card number to keep on file before you can use the unit.

A credit card is NOT required for a Roku account. You used to be able to skip it in the setup process. Now I think you can contact customer service to bypass it. read this: http://forums.roku.com/viewtopic.php?p=339591&sid=a9ef2a06555d30a0f988717c7f52ecca (or google it like I just did)

nyfantom wrote:I had a great experience. I got mine from Amazon at Christmastime.

I use it at my house back in Ohio that has no TV access..I use it for hotels who don't offer free channels.

I am tapped into my netflix account and amazon prime as well as others.

I suggest plugging it in at home and getting it all set up and updated before using it in hotels.

This way you are familiar with it and "good to go" when you reach your destination.

It's good for the traveller.. or the lazy who only have cable in the living room and don't want to get out of bed..

Its really way too easy to activate and get started..

Happy wooting, eh?

What about hotels that require accepting their terms of service or signing in of some kind?

I like this model because it streams at 1080p, and (unlike the Roku 2 XD) has a wired ethernet connection.

MsNterprted wrote:So, you get rid of cable completely with this? What if you want to watch the local news, or current tv shows? Seems to me that you still have to pay for several of the channels. Is it really worth it?

My family used DirecTV for two years after moving to this house. Once we got our first Roku, we couldn't wait to cut the cable. I took down my DirecTV antenna and put up a powered OTA antenna to get the local digital channels. After purchasing the Netflix ($7/mo), Hulu Plus ($7/mo) and PlayOn ($40/year) subscriptions, we have nearly everything we need or want on TV and are still coming out ahead by almost $100/mo. More than enough to pay for the occasional RedBox DVD rental. We use a Logitech Harmony One remote to automatically switch TV inputs and manage the audio. One month's cable savings would pay for that bad boy. Two months' savings pays for the antenna, the Harmony One remote and all the subscriptions.

There are other ways to obtain newer shows that aren't yet on Netflix and the like, but I won't advocate piracy here. However, the PlayOn app gives you all the media the major networks and cable channels are streaming, including full episodes of many popular series that have aired earlier in the week.

There's a number of other free Roku channels that fill out the video viewing experience. For your anime viewing, there's CrunchyRoll. There's also a lot of older b/w stuff on retro channels. If you look up the Justin.tv Roku channel, there's streaming content from around the world - everything from critter cams to news broadcasts. My kids especially like the subtitled Japanese variety shows - they're actually learning some Japanese! Yay Matsumoto-san!

Go ahead and take the plunge - cut the cable. We did and our kids (and pocketbook) couldn't be happier.

Be careful with these refurb Rokus. I bought one and the wifi has never worked. I wired it in, so all is well, but if you need wifi I'd by a new one.

Every time I think about Roku to replace my multi-device miasma, I find that they still haven't added any sort of DLNA support, and the third-party hacks to get DLNA-ish support are pretty gimpy. If you care about DLNA at all, I wouldn't recommend a Roku.

I think this would be useful if I did not have my HD DVD player. My Sony HD Blue-Ray DVD player (bought for under $100) does all this streaming and a whole LOT more). I get almost everything I need to stream video and audio including Amazon, Hulu+, Netflix, Pandora, YouTube etc etc.

This Roku XD 1080p streaming Player might be good deal for an isolated TV that does not DVD player already hooked up.

Didnt see a mention of YOUTUBE. I love surfing youtube content on my rokuae. I have one on each TV, also great for keeping the kids busy when you are sick of everything on TV.

Does anyone know if this older unit allows you to use HBO GO or do I need to buy the new upgraded Roku2?

I have one of these, I believe the Roku HD (looks identical to this) and since I've had it, the remote seems to not work very well. You have to aim it directly at the box in such a way that I've never had to do with any other device. It also doesn't seem to use regular IR as I wasn't able to get it to "learn" on my Philips universal. Has anybody else run into this? I have since moved apartments and swapped TVs twice so I don't think it's environmental/interference.

beavervalleymall wrote:I have one of these, I believe the Roku HD (looks identical to this) and since I've had it, the remote seems to not work very well. You have to aim it directly at the box in such a way that I've never had to do with any other device. It also doesn't seem to use regular IR as I wasn't able to get it to "learn" on my Philips universal. Has anybody else run into this? I have since moved apartments and swapped TVs twice so I don't think it's environmental/interference.

I would recommend waiting for the newer version. You don't have to point the remote at that one.

beavervalleymall wrote:I have one of these, I believe the Roku HD (looks identical to this) and since I've had it, the remote seems to not work very well. You have to aim it directly at the box in such a way that I've never had to do with any other device. It also doesn't seem to use regular IR as I wasn't able to get it to "learn" on my Philips universal. Has anybody else run into this? I have since moved apartments and swapped TVs twice so I don't think it's environmental/interference.

I have this unit and you do absolutely have to have line-of-sight for the remote to work. The new version doesn't have that issue. That being said I do tend to use my AppleTV more than my Roku but that has the same line-of-sight issue as well.

stevethorpe wrote:Does anyone know if it can get HBO Go?

Should be able to; it's a function of your cable provider. I'm Time Warner and they've recently made HBOGO available.

andrewteg wrote:FWIW, if you want the Roku 2 XD it's only $10 more at Roku right now. Just click the refurb button on the home or products page.

Yes. Saw that on Roku website. Actually the difference is only $5, since shipping is free. But, is the new Roku 2XD better than Roku XD? I have my doubts now...

techknight wrote:Yes. Saw that on Roku website. Actually the difference is only $5, since shipping is free. But, is the new Roku 2XD better than Roku XD? I have my doubts now...

The Roku XD has an ethernet port for a wired connection. The Roku 2 XD does not. (You must use wireless.) Some prefer wired since it seems to be more reliable for streaming.

theguruguys wrote:That is one of the few things I don't like about Netflix, no ability to erase any history.

sounds like someone is trying to hide something ? eh !

stevethorpe wrote:Does anyone know if it can get HBO Go?

Hi, I got the old Roku player (the first ones that they came out) and I got HBO Go on it so this one should have it.