Do you have a Roku?

[chickenfried]

Just grabbed one from costco. The netflix software on my sony blu-ray stinks. So far so good. No freezes or prolonged pauses. Also like the menus better.

The roku I got today has subtitles

No subtitles

[67firebird462]

I have 3, love them all. Got tired of kids ruining bluray/dvd discs so I encoded all to mp4/mkv on my video server (happens to be my i7 gaming machine that is left on 24/7). I wired each room for ethernet and the i7 transcodes great (using Playon.TV) back to the roku boxes. They have an app that you can watch tv, or your media (from the video server). Really slick, no more jacked up crap or hunting for movies.

[the86d]

I am trying out one of these Android TV (HTPC) boxes, and they are pretty awesome.

They are a bit more OPEN than a Roku, as they are running Full android and each provider builds a custom flavor for each device, but it can be replaced by a custom build like an XDA derivative ROM, via a ROM write, easy-peasy...

$50 each, and a Linux-based Android Mini-Media-PC.

[sholling]

Just an FYI I replaced the Roku 2 XS in my family room with the new Roku 3 and the performance (speed) improvement is very nice and so is the new interface. If you're like me and have 100 channels installed then I recommend adding a 2GB microSD card (~$5) so that it has a place to cache the graphics.

[drifter2be]

Just an FYI I replaced the Roku 2 XS in my family room with the new Roku 3 and the performance (speed) improvement is very nice and so is the new interface. If you're like me and have 100 channels installed then I recommend adding a 2GB microSD card (~$5) so that it has a place to cache the graphics.

Would you say it's worth while to upgrade? I have a Roku 2 XS in my living room and an XD in the bedroom. I could justify the purchase by shuffling the XS to the bedroom and the XD to the guest room, since I have an unused TV in there. I know they are supposed to be rolling the new interface to the Roku2 soon, is the 3 enough of an improvement to justify buying one?

FWIW we use our Roku in the living room as our primary form of video entertainment...when we have time for TV.

[sholling]

Would you say it's worth while to upgrade? I have a Roku 2 XS in my living room and an XD in the bedroom. I could justify the purchase by shuffling the XS to the bedroom and the XD to the guest room, since I have an unused TV in there. I know they are supposed to be rolling the new interface to the Roku2 soon, is the 3 enough of an improvement to justify buying one?

FWIW we use our Roku in the living room as our primary form of video entertainment...when we have time for TV.

Roku claims the processor in the 3 is five times faster than the processor in the 2XS. I have a 100+ channels installed and scrolling through them is a lot snappier. As another example I've only had to reboot it once and it took a fraction of the time that my 2XS took. On the other hand even with a 75Mb internet connection scrolling through 100 channels with the new interface was painful before I added the microSD card because out of the box the Roku doesn't have enough storage to cache a lot of channel icon graphics and has to download them everytime you scroll through channels.

I'm wondering if the new interface is going to slow down the 2XS because it's more graphic and busier. One place I really see the speed difference is on Revision3. Scrolling through the list of tech shows was an exercise in patience with the 2XS but very snappy with the 3.

I think the 3 is well worth the money but you may have more patience and different viewing habits than I do, but do invest $5-8 in a 2-4GB microSD card and be patient until it finds the card for the first time and gets it ready for use. I could not get it to recognise the card from the 2XS and had to use a new one that I had laying around.

[local_nobody]

So in the link below, what is defined as "private?".

private as in not listed in the "Channel Store". You add them through your account screen on the computer, by way of a code.

[woods]

One of my favorite devices. Ready to stream my amazon and netflix and extra channels. Eliminates the need for cable if you add a antenna for local channels. Many local channels actually can be streamed with the roku but no guarantees for every area .

Get a hdmi cable for 3$ on amazon. Way better quality .

[the86d]

I detest that you have to activate almost every app on it separately. With the only phone support lasting 90 days from day of purchase, I am looking at other options that doesn't lock you into not even having a browser for the price.

I have tested the MK808B for a few weeks, and the only thing missing is a reliable wireless pointing device, and 2.4ghz and bluetooth keyboards seem to lag as bad as the mice from 10" away. FULL Tablet Android builds on these, no BS secondary activation of all channels, etc.

I got the top of the line Roku, about 3 years ago, and it is still pretty much as crappy as it was when I got it. It functions, and plays movies pretty-well, but lockups and related lag has been a PITA, not to mention if a lock-up occurred, and it rebooted itself, or required a power-cycle, it seems to take forever to reboot compared to other devices, but I don't know about the newer units...

One of their updates disabled the wired connection, a few days later an update disabled the wireless and enabled the wired, and 6 months later I tested both and both network links were functional, but their support, just over 90 days from purchase sucked (even sucked an extra fee from me for THEIR bad update).

I am still looking at other options due to the issues with the unit, lack of support for bad updates dropped automagically, double-activation of channels, lock-ups, rebooting issues, boot-time, etc. With full android builds on AndroidTV boxes/sticks out there that work VERY WELL for 1/2 the price, I believe that those will whomp Roku in the end... as I believe that Roku is based on these AndroidTV devices.

[sholling]

I detest that you have to activate almost every app on it separately. With the only phone support lasting 90 days from day of purchase, I am looking at other options that doesn't lock you into not even having a browser for the price.

Time to update to a new Roku. Activation is simple, very few channels need individual activation, and I've never needed support. The new Ruku 3 is downright snappy. GoogleTV has a long long long way to go to catch up.

[the86d]

Time to update to a new Roku. Activation is simple, very few channels need individual activation, and I've never needed support. The new Ruku 3 is downright snappy. GoogleTV has a long long long way to go to catch up.

Not buying one again, but: since I have only had one, do channel activations carry over to a new device if the device is added to your Roku account?

[sholling]

Not buying one again, but: since I have only had one, do channel activations carry over to a new device if the device is added to your Roku account?

I have three of them, a Roku 3 in the family room and a 2 XS in 2 bedrooms. The channels show up on the new Roku minutes after you register the device under your name. The only channels that I've had to reactivate are premium content like Netflix, Amazon, HBO-Go, and Epix. I'm seriously thinking about getting rid of the master bedroom cable box and just using the Roku and BD players in that room.

[local_nobody]

The channels show up on the new Roku minutes after you register the device under your name.

which is, in a way, one of my few gripes with it. if you put them both on one account, you can't manage them separately, and other than the pin to add channels, there's no parental controls...inconvenient if you have channels on one you don't want showing up on the other, for parental control reasons. easy solution was to add the 2nd on a new account; netflix is a separate sign-in, so i have the same netflix acct signed in on both rokus.

for the price, i'll deal with a lag here and there, or a freeze once every few months (only been once since i've owned it); in reality, it's no laggier than the comcast boxes i had before i dropped them.

[Manolito]

We bought an xs2 and ended up getting rid of Dish. I can't get used to HULU but love netflix and the news. When you figure I pay $7.95 a month and can cancell anytime for us it has been the answer. The ROKU selling at costco is $65.00 one time price no monthly charge if I update every year to a new ROKU it still doesn't cost one month of Dish.