HDTV And Home Theater Podcast
De BISAWiki
Roku player is everything that it advertised. When the description says you will be up and running in just a few minutes, you can believe it. I opened the box and plugged in the power cord. I took a gamble and did not directly attach it to my router. (Linksys WR42G) I wanted to see if it saw my network. I turned everything on and immediately saw the set-up screen for the Roku player. This initial set-up and test (including connecting to my wireless network) took no more than 10 minutes. After that, I was ready to start watching.
Roku is perfect for people who already have subscriptions to Netflix. Customers can also sign up for other channels. Some of these channels are free (e.g., Crackle, which provides an extensive list of movies, or Pandora, which offers music). Others charge a monthly subscription or one-time usage fees. I didn’t get my parents the device so that they could incur a lot more monthly fees, so they will likely be content with the basics for now. Customers might also choose to buy a HDMI cable (Roku offers a six-foot cable for $9.99) for improved audio and video quality, but the A/V cable that comes in the box is adequate.
But the true killer app on the Roku 3 is the new unified search. The Roku 3 will search your installed and configured channels for the movie or TV show you want to watch. Then it will give you the options for where you can see it, how much it will cost you, and whether or not it is available in HD at each provider. You can even search by actor, director, etc. We found what appears to be a bug where content that is only available for purchase from Vudu didn’t appear in the search, but everything else came up just fine. And the searches are fast. Lightening fast.
Additional private channels can also be added to the Roku using channel codes allowing the Roku to get even Indian channels via DishWorld and channels such as Comedy Central, Spike, and ESPN3 via the PlayOn service. Roku-Channels is an unofficial Roku database that contains over 1,000 additional channels, as well as lists of some of the best Roku channels. By using the SkitterTV service, it is possible for the Roku to receive live TV. One drawback of the Roku 3 is that it lacks access to Youtube. Users can watch Youtube on the Roku 3 using Twonky. Apple TV
The remote included with the roku 3 is an enhanced, Bluetooth model. As you would expect, it has buttons to control the playback of streaming content. It is also used as a gaming controller for games such as Angry Birds, which is included for free with the purchase of the Roku 3. It has “motion-sensing technology” inside that allows you to control game play, like the remotes for the Wii my daughter has. It has an adjustable wrist strap to prevent you from throwing it through the TV screen during a spirited game. The A/B buttons at the bottom are for gaming.
While the Roku 2 certainly had a leg up over Apple TV with channels, it easily had way more channels and services integrated, it turns out that was about the only thing that I liked about it. I found the Roku 2 box to be a unfriendly mix of bad interface design, unstable software and awkward channel adding. First the software design looked like a web page from the early 90’s, complete with tacky banner ads. The mix of bare bones software and bland presentation did not give me confidence. If the company put this little work into their interface, how is the actual box going to perform?
