We had big hopes the Roku HD-XR streaming player would add local streaming when
those leaked pics showed a USB port, but we just got the official launch materials and a review unit, and as of right now the only difference between the new $129 HD-XR Player and the existing model is an upgrade to 802.11n WiFi -- the USB port is for "future use." Now, we're
big proponents of 802.11n, so we're not complaining, but we've never had a problem streaming
HD Netflix or
Amazon with our regular Roku HD Player on 802.11g, so we're not too sure the HD-XR is worth the $30 premium right now. Roku is gearing up to launch a new Channel Store with additional content in the coming weeks, however, so there's a chance this little box will need the extra bandwidth sometime soon -- we'll have to wait and see.
Roku's also launching the SD-only Roku SD Player for $79, which might actually be the more interesting product here, as we know tons of people with old TVs in bedrooms and basements who would love some cheap movie streaming. It'll be in the same enclosure as the HD Player and the HD-XR Player, but only have 802.11g WiFi and RCA audio / video outputs.
posted Oct 27th 2009 8:30AM
I have a regular $99 Roku box and I love it for Netflix streaming. None of the continual buffering issues that I run into with the Silverlight plugin for Windows nor Mac and the HD quality is very good (not quite Blu-ray but around or a little better than some DVD)
Is there a Roku solution that allows streaming of my own content over a network (from my pc?)
Anyone know if this going to become possible in a future update. I have read that later this year more content providers are being added to the mix but is network browsing going to be included at some point?
Ditto - same concern. In this era of user-supplied content, Roku's limitation to Amazon and Netflix for movies and TV shows is a bit retro, to put it charitably. I have a lot of home video and picture content from family events, trips, etc. that I'd like to access thru the Roku instead of wiring up a lot of additional hardware to the television.
I'll take SIX of them
The Xbox Netflix experience is so much better than Roku it is really shocking. The poor Roku user can only view items in their Netflix queue while with Xbox you can select titles from all categories, recommended and view recent.
Do yourself a favor and get an Xbox, you can share the same Xbox live and Netflix account with a friend.
Actually I consider the Roku interface a plus, so it depends on your use for it. We have Roku boxes in our three children's rooms. They absolutely love the interface and it is much easier for them to use than the DVD players we pulled out. They just scroll through the DVD cover art until they see what they want to watch and hit play.
My wife and I love the fact that they can't search through all the content on Netflix and choose just anything. We set of the instant que to have just about every movie in the children's and family section and some content from other sections that we deem appropriate and we are safe knowing they can use it all they want without us needing to worry. In the living room we have a netflix enabled BD player and a WD TV Live that can stream from the computer.
The thing that makes the Roku a better choice than the 360 though is the fact that you can use Amazon's VOD service. We have stopped buying any physical media if we can help it and purchase all our content through VOD now.
the roku player will be updated to match the xbox interface in the coming months.
I hope they have some way of setting the box to not allow the editing of the instant que then or password protecting the search and editing functions so that it can be made to work like it does now, otherwise there will be three units getting pulled out of service in our home.
"Now, we're big proponents of 802.11n, so we're not complaining, but we've never had a problem streaming HD Netflix or Amazon with our regular Roku HD Player on 802.11g, so we're not too sure the HD-XR is worth the $30 premium right now"
do you know why???
BECAUSE ITS STREAMING FROM THE INTERNET!!! and the connection from the internet is SLOWER then your G wireless connection.
this is why N has no effect on INTERNET content.
N will improve throughput of your local LAN, increase range of your local LAN, but until your internet connection AND the connection to the other end is FASTER then your wireless G, N wont make much of a difference.
So everyone who is complaining about N not being in the iPhone, or JUST showing up on X360 stop and smell the coffee.
Some people like to keep their network 802.11n only, so your router doesn't have to run in mixed 802.11g/802.11n mode (and the 802.11n devices won't slow down when talking to each other). Even better if you can get your devices to be all 5Ghz 802.11n so you can free up the 2.4GHz spectrum for your other devices like cordless phones, etc.
Also the improved range and interference handling on the 802.11n allows you to set up that Roku box further away than 802.11g.
calm down. Who wouldn't want the best technology in whatever they're buying? why would you want something outdated on a new device? Really, you're just an apple fanboy who couldn't find an apple post to comment on.
David S FTW
so what download speed should i upgrade my internet speed to. Currently all i have at my house is 1.5mb download speed. for 15 bucks i can upgrade to 12.5mb. there are 4 people at my house. so is 12mb enough bandwidth for all of us? and how fast does it need to be for HD video streams and online gaming? if you our any one can help please do respond.
I ran Ethernet connections to all the rooms that we use the boxes in from wireless bridge units, but that was because there was no N wireless in the original boxes. I have our home network on a D-Link Extreme N / GB Ethernet router with several D-Link Extreme N / GB Bridge Hubs throughout the house that all our devices ( 3 desktop computers, three Roku Players, WD TV Live, BD player, Dish Network HD Receiver, game consoles, etc ) connect to with Ethernet. The only thing that we connect wireless are portable items like my laptop, smartphones, handheld games.
When I tried just joining the network with the G models it was causing issues with that access point slowing to G speed across the board on everything connected to it, random drops from the network that required the bridge to be reset, and other problems.
With the Ethernet connected and only the three bridge units talking to the router with N wireless I have never experienced any network glitches and have never had to reset the network in over a year which is pretty amazing after our old G network setup needed to be reset periodically.
Maybe buy a separate 802.11g Access Point for the all your G stuff?
I have one bridge between the two boys rooms, so that bridge/access point has a computer, game console and two Roku players on it. I guess i could plug in one of our old D-Link G access points into the unit and move the Roku players to wireless but it is working fine atm and I don't need any more ports atm. The second bridge upstairs at the other end of the house is shared between our bedroom and our daughters room with a Roku player, Disknetwork HD receiver and game console. The third bridge is in the living room with a DishNetwork HD receiver, WD TV Live, BD player, and game console. the den has the router with two desktops, a printer and a NAS device on Ethernet.
I know it seems excessive but the house is a very big, overly built century home. Wireless, even the Extreme N router, does not make it up stairs very well on its own. The bridges are at both ends of the house, first and second floor to even get whole house coverage.
We have a bunch of gadgets that connect using wireless, three smart phones, three hand held game units, a PMP, a laptop, a photo frame that displays the local weather, but none of those cause any problems on the network. Only the Roku units when they are playing videos and on wireless causes the problem. probably not a problem for someone with one unit, but with two or all three streaming at the same time it was crashing the network.
New models and new features, yet the critical issue of captioning/subtitles is still being ignored. *sigh*
I've been thinking about getting Roku specifically because I'd like to stream Netflix content to my TV. However, I'm definite about getting a Playstation 3 very soon, which according to an earlier post, will also be having Netflix capability. Should I just stick to the PS3 or is it worthwhile and better to have a dedicated device like Roku?
I have both, and after the PS3 news I don't know if I'd spring for a new Roku if I didn't already have one. Having said that, the fact that it's always on, and that you're never more than one button push away from the menu is pretty damned convenient. I may just transfer it to another room, but because I watch things so sporadically, those minutes of wading through menus (as I'd have to do on a console) do add up.
Not enough of an upgrade to warrant new models.
Local media is the key. Roku, Vudu, and every other box has promised this 'in the future'.
I'm happy with my WDTV Live and, just like on my PS3, I have netflix and hulu via PlayOn. Soon I will see how well implemented Netflix is 'natively' on the PS3 with the free disc.
Mediagate M2TV much better and I do not care about networking my media drive
No USB functionality? Then count me in for waiting until it happens. My current unit works just fine.
802.11n doesn't make any sense, unless Roku is planning to add DNLA support or something for streaming media around the house.
Even if ISP's started providing bandwidth in excess of 54Mbps, regularly streaming media from the internet that required those speeds would exceed the bandwidth caps ISP's are slapping on within days.
You know, for a technology website, you guys really do suck at technology. Case in point? Your continual inability to distinguish between a connector type (RCA) and a signal format (composite video). You say the SD box has RCA video outputs. Guess what? The XR does too, on it's component video outputs.
Similarly, I can't count the number of times that you've noted different "output" ports on the billions of undistinguishable LCD monitor "reviews" you post. Multiple times! On a technology blog!
I don't know if it's ignorance or simply sloppy writing and proofing. But it shows a profound lack of respect for your readers. I thought that I'd find more professionalism when I switched from Gizmodo; but I guess the bar's pretty low industry-wide.
I bought the Roku Top end model and it is Amazing! WORTH BUYING ROKU
so what download speed should i upgrade my internet speed to. Currently all i have at my house is 1.5mb download speed. for 15 bucks i can upgrade to 12.5mb. there are 4 people at my house. so is 12mb enough bandwidth for all of us? and how fast does it need to be for HD video streams and online gaming? if you our any one can help please do respond.