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Old 01-01-2011, 10:08 AM   #1
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Thumbs up Roku XD/S Internet Streaming Device

What is Roku?

Roku is a little box that allows you to instantly stream tons of entertainment on your TV. Watch movies and TV shows from Netflix, Hulu Plus or Amazon VOD, listen to music on Pandora, catch the latest ballgame, and more — it's all available whenever you want it.



I watched GI Joe on the Roku last night using Netflix and I have to say that I am impressed. This little device is really cool! It's almost 5x5 inches and only 1 inch tall, HDMI, wireless via 802.11n, does 1080p and Surround 5.1. This is the top of the line product and it's priced under $100.00. The Roku allows you to add any of the hundreds of available channels which I expect will expand exponentially when folks start to know that this device is out there. Most of the apps are free.

I'm running the Roku over DSL to the net and when I get a cable modem I expect that the picture will even be better. I don't have much to complain about right now but going from 700 to 1.2 download should be better at any rate. Netflix was stable and the HD came through without flicker and the sound was good too.

When I first setup the box I had to go into the my router's configuration (Cradlepoint MBR-1000) and make sure that it had an IP address and that the device was allowed to connect to the Internet. I tried several times to get the Roku to connect but it failed.

Reviewing all my configuration settings and Security Keys (WPA2) still didn't allow the box to attach to the network although I did get a green light that it accepted the key.

The resolution to this connectivity issue was simple, all I did was unplug and reboot the router. Once I did that the Roku attached to the Cradlepoint like a bad habit and the Internet connection immediately negotiated and the Roku automatically began to downloaded the latest firmware. PS: Don't look for an OFF switch, there isn't any. The way I hit the Roku is to select the PC option on my TV's Input Menu.

More information: Roku XD/X
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Old 01-01-2011, 03:51 PM   #2
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Quote:
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More information: Roku XD/X
Roku XD/S not X.
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Old 01-01-2011, 06:12 PM   #3
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Roku XD/S not X.
Hmmm DriVer, still doesn't seem to work.
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Old 01-02-2011, 08:32 AM   #4
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The link works for me. It takes you to Roku Digital Video Player | Watch Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand and MLB.TV on Roku Player.
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Old 01-02-2011, 08:40 AM   #5
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Roku XD/S not X.
Sorry, I misunderstood I guess.
I thought the above was a correction in the website.
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Old 01-02-2011, 08:46 AM   #6
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I'm a believer

We have had the Roku xds for a few months now and absolutely love it. So much that I have "dumbed" down my cable tv to basic...there are a few shows my wife likes so we can subscribe to them via Amazon video on demand for $2 and episode. Beats the $100 @ month we were paying...
We also use Pandora as well since we have a surround sound system and it works slick.

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Old 01-02-2011, 09:12 AM   #7
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Hmmm DriVer, still doesn't seem to work.
The link in the OP #1 seems to work fine. Wonder where the underline went ?? It seems not to be there. Roku XD/S Weird ..

Last night I watched a National Geographic show about dinosaurs! Cool since I don't get NG in my package w/ DTV. I have noticed that before the video runs that a throughput bar graph shows up and I get something like 4 to 5 dots. I will also sometimes get the dots with an HD at the end. Now one show that I was watching that was ID'ed with an HD apparently re-racked itself or backed down to 5 dots w/o the HD and it was fine afterward. Apparently Netflix knows what speed they are pushing to your device and they will adjust the downstream delivery to optimize your connection speed.

Now more than before I should be looking at crossing over to a cable modem. My ISP does not charge anymore for DSL or cable in fact they are trying to get folks off of DSL I understand. Cable will give me more throughput and I expect I'd be able to better be able to lock in the speed that I need for HD video.
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Old 01-03-2011, 03:00 AM   #8
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My Son got my wife one for Christmas, she is simply crazy about it

He set it up for her because I'm too dumb when it comes to that stuff

I haven't played with it yet but there seems to be a lot of goodies that I will like such as all the Documentaries.

Just seeing everything that comes out of that little box amazes me.

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Old 01-03-2011, 05:54 AM   #9
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Our experience with both Roku the device and Roku the Company was horrible, go to the Roku Forum and read about the issues.

One evening, less than 7 months after getting the device the dw one evening tried to watch something-got the dreaded blue screen for about the 100th time and quietly said 'Thats it' got up ripped out the box, went out to the garage, put it under a rear wheel of her Subaru and backed over it-THEN picked up the pieces put them into a pile in the firepit, got the air/mapp setup, put in the largest tip I have and melted what was left, when I asked her if she felt better- she said, 'much'-what a gal.

Just as a heads up, when it did work-performance was noticeably better with a cat 5 cable than with wifi.
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Old 01-03-2011, 07:53 AM   #10
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Quote:
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Our experience with both Roku the device and Roku the Company was horrible, go to the Roku Forum and read about the issues.

One evening, less than 7 months after getting the device the dw one evening tried to watch something-got the dreaded blue screen for about the 100th time and quietly said 'Thats it' got up ripped out the box, went out to the garage, put it under a rear wheel of her Subaru and backed over it-THEN picked up the pieces put them into a pile in the firepit, got the air/mapp setup, put in the largest tip I have and melted what was left, when I asked her if she felt better- she said, 'much'-what a gal.

Just as a heads up, when it did work-performance was noticeably better with a cat 5 cable than with wifi.
We have two Roku players. One is hooked up wireless and the other cat 5. The cat 5 downloads are a bit quicker...other than that no difference in the quality of the picture. Have yet to have any problems with either Roku player. Maybe just "lucky"?

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Old 01-03-2011, 07:57 AM   #11
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I just received a notice from DTV that prices are being bumped up again. I'm going Roku
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Old 01-04-2011, 02:42 PM   #12
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mutiny, or we were unlucky; when it worked it was a neat thing. I do agree that the picture quality did not change with hard wire but we did notice faster loads..
Glad yours is working well,
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Old 01-05-2011, 08:46 PM   #13
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I just wanted to share with you guys that I have NASA via Direct TV and now I have NASA HD via Roku.

The NASA HD channel on Roku blows away the content delivered by DTV. I get a full screen picture with a crisp and sharp display and I can't wait for the next launch date. DTV does not provide NASA HD and the picture most often stinks. On my Roku channel there's a translucent NASA HD device in the top right of the screen with an orbiting elliptical satellite going around the logo. Really neat.

You should see a full screen picture (16:9) of the ISS in HD. Totally awesome. When you're in the control room, you can actually read the stuff on the front display wall.

Not bad for FREE!
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Old 01-06-2011, 09:28 AM   #14
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Thanks Mike,

Thats good to know that NASA is on ROKU, we don't get it on Verizon FIOS.

We did get it when we had DTV and we now get it on our Dish Network when in the MH

Ron
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