Customer Reviews:
Total 265 reviews. Read More...
Getting another one 2010-09-05
I've been using Roku for about 6 months now and I'm very happy with it. There are some issues that need to be address:
* Roku stays on all of the time, like most products of this type. This causes problems with autoswitching video switches, as they see the Roku on all the time. (Power consumption is very low though, less than the average computer when the computer is off. It also goes into sleep mode or something if it isn't used in a while, further reducing power usage)
* Roku seems to get bogged down during peak times and requires a reboot. (unplugging)
* Searching STILL sucks from the box to Netflix, it really isn't even worth doing, just use the instant queue.
* Some of the instant movies/TV shows in Netflix are not very high quality transfers. Buffy season 1 is very muted in color and no where near the quality of the DVD. Many are great quality, but not all.
All of those items are fairly minor, but I think that like most networked electronics, if the user doesn't know what they are doing, it may be impossible for them to use the product. It is also likely dependent on the network stream quality and bandwidth, so some users may experience issues there.
Setting mine up took all of 3 minutes. Took it out of the box and hooked up the wires. I spent more time connecting it to the TV and audio equipment, so if the wires were already there, I'm guessing from box to setup to use is about 1 minute, including boot time. I didn't look at any instructions and the remote has like 5 buttons on it, so anyone can use it without much thought.
My conclusion was that Roku is well worth it and I'm ordering another one for another TV. I like the device, I don't have any major issues with it. I think it adds a great value to my Netflix subscription and the ability to buy/rent movies and show episodes from Amazon is a great plus.
Roku gets 5 stars, despite the slight issue, which do seem to be getting better.
roku player hd-xr 2010-09-03
does what it says idk i have problems only with netflix amazon on demand does the best!! other than that the thing works flawlessly!!
don't buy it 2010-09-01
Roku did a new build of their software recently. It's been a piece of crap ever since. There are numerous, numerous issues now, and they don't seem to be willing to help fix them. I contacted Netflix and my internet provider and they told me the same thing. One example, I add movies to my cue on the Netflix website, but they don't show up on my roku box cue. I have another Netflix device that is much better and have had zero problems with, even after they updated their software as well. Buy a different player. You'll be glad in the long run. It's not worth the headache and their tech support doesn't care. They blame everybody and everything but on their end. It's funny that I only have problems with the Roku box and not my other device or my computers.
very happy I bought Roku 2010-09-01
Have one in the living room (HD) and one in bedroom (HD-XR). It is so easy to use. I love having the extra Netfix choices when I do not feel like watching cable. I have discovered that I can also rent movies from Amazon on this thing! It offers other program features that as of now I do not subscribe to. Am very happy I finally bought one, (two).
Netflix finally becomes super useful 2010-09-01
Very easy to set up and learn to use. Quality of the instant broadcast is superb. I can now see the day coming when we wont be messing with DVDs.
