Roku & Netflix

[Whaler]

Does anyone have any experience using the Roku to stream Netflix movies? I am thinking that it would be handy for those nights that there is nothing on TV and and we didn't receive a DVD.

I accomplished the task using a $29.00 adapter from Apple that fits the mini display port and has a female VGA outlet and a male/male VGA cable that I had. I just watched part of a Netflix play it now movie on the big screen TV and am very satisfied with the quality, not quite as good as DVD but close.

[TheChief]

No experience with the Roku, but I do have two WD TV Live+ boxes and a WD TV Live Hub. I have a lot of movies ripped to an external USB drive for the Live+ and the internal drive of the Hub, but both have Netflix as well. Early on the Live+ would somehow lose the association with my Netflix account about once a month and had to be reset, but in recent months they've been pretty solid. The Hub is relatively new but seems solid and has a pretty slick interface.

I think just about any Netflix streamer is going to work well for you, whether the Roku, WD, various other flavors or even built into a DVD/Bluray player. The difference you're most likely to experience will be in the speed/response of the user interface. Beyond that the Netflix UI is pretty standardized.

If you already have a Wii or PS3, don't forget that you can download a Netflix streamer and save a few bucks on another box.

[bigstick509]

Great product, I've had it for about a year. Good selection of movies on Netflix but better and more current on the included Amazon video channel. It also has a ton of other channels and Hulu Plus coming soon.

[LCHIEN]

i have netflix and also have a Roku I got about a year ago. I also have a Samsung BR/DVD player with received streaming video from netflix.

I really have few complaints about the Roku - teh quality is generally good to very good and its reliable. The interface has improved greatly over hte last 6 months so it has lookup and suggestions on you TV using the Roku streaming device; used to be you had to put movies in an instant queue using your computer then select them from a list that appeared on the Straming device. Now my wife can browse movies in different genres just using the TV and the Roku remote.

I guess the only negative thing about it is the limited availability of new movies - there's a few but not that many, most are a few years old. But ther are thousands of movies, recent TV shows, documentaries and music available that covers a very large range; there's lots of movies good and poor to chose from and you can watch right now and if you don't like it you can stop and chose something else.

If you have netflix I think Roku is only about $80 now and if you have a supporting DVD player or game console it will be virtually free. It's fairly easy to set up. the toughest thing is entering the wireless security key using the virtual keyboard. Yes, I'm using wireless networking for it.

Certainly opens up a large world of video w/o a pay to view (like Amazon) - you can always do Amazon or some of the other services (none of which I've felt a need to try) that you can get.

Biggest downside is that my wife sucks up a lot of my internet bandwidth... but i'm only paying for 3 megaBits per sec now. I could go 6 MBits and it would be a lot better.

If I had to rate it on a scale of 10, it would be a 9+.

P.S. don't forget you can also stream Netflix instant videos to your PC. Some people have a PC input on their TVs. And some PCs have HDMI outputs to go to TVs.

[jussi]

There are different "boxes" coming out so don't limit your choice to Roku. Many of which have NetFlix capabilities. There's Apple TV, devices that use Google TV (like Logitech Revue), Boxee Box (not yet out I believe). These devices allow you to do pretty much anything you can do on the internet (surf, email, etc) and sometimes much more. Right now I'm leaning towards the Logitech Revue but will wait for Boxee to come out to make my decision. Unlike many other STBs the Revue is not a standalone device like a DVD player or VCR (if you still have one ). It incorporates all your other devices like your cable/satellite box. I've built my own HTPC but just like most home made devices, a store bought one is usually more elegant and functions better. Here's a quick video review of the Revue .

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-medi...-34165117.html

[Cubsfan]

Boxee came out last week. From the reviews I've read, it's a bit disappointing.

The roku is great. Hulu Plus just became available on it today, so that's another option for things to watch.

If all you're interested in is Netflix, then an Apple TV or numerous Blu Ray players would also be good options.

[dbhost]

FWIW, I don't do Roku, but I have Netflix on my Wii... Works great even over WiFi. I can go from the boxing workout, to being a couch potato in nothing flat...

[SHADOWFOX]

Do not have the Roku but I do stream Netflix on WDTV Live+, PS3, Wii, Sony Web Enabled TV and Sony Blu-Ray players and my wife and I love it. I also sometimes stream Netflix on Ipod or Iphone (Awesome specially if you are going to be in the bathroom for a while ). Love watching back episodes of PBS Frontline episodes.

It's also a life saver specially if I want to watch football and my daughter wants to watch Veggie Tales.

I can't wait to get the next gen ipad or one of those upcoming 10" android powered tablet and steam Netflix on them.

[atgcpaul]

+1 from another Netflix watcher using a Roku. I think it works pretty well.
It's not as convenient to search for new movies using the player as it would
be using your computer. I've always been impressed with the picture
quality of their HD streams. I don't think Netflix is streaming 5.1 yet, though.

Do you have a Costco membership?

I was kicking myself because I bought a BluRay player several months ago
that is BD live capable. I just have to buy their WiFi card or run an Ethernet
cable. Visio just came out with a new BluRay player that has built in WiFi. I
think it's the same price as my existing BluRay player but has the WiFi and can
stream Netflix, too. It is more than the Roku, but not much more and you get
a BluRay player in the deal if you need one.

Paul

[LCHIEN]

one advantage of the Roku is that it has everything you need, including wired ethernet as well as wifi.

If you are at all interested in getting a BR DVD player,
many models add netflix streaming for no extra cost (standard feature) with wired ethernet and a step up of about $xx to get wifi ... a while back it was about $40-50 extra for wifi but as we all know you can get usb to wifi adapters for around $10 retail... not to say you can plug in the wifi adapter into the DVD but the technology cost is practically nothing to build in, so it may be cheaper now.

What I'm trying to say is that of you want Netflix streaming capability and nothing else a Roku is a good deal for the price but if you are at all interested in a BRDVD it may pay to look at the extra cost associated with either a BRDBD/netflix or a BRDVD/wifi/netflix combo, depending on whether you need the wifi or have a wired ethernet port nearby. I have not priced them recently but i would think a player/streaming/wifi combo would now be in the vicinity of $100-120 vs $80 for the Roku alone.

Roku is also adding streaming partners - like Amazon, MLB, and Hulu and a bunch of more specialized ones. For me Netflix is the nuts but if you are interested in the other services... consider Roku then. Look at the Roku site and see if they appeal to you.

[vaking]

My wife and I currently have only one TV. It is connected to a Verizon STB and recently we added Sony BR player with WiFi Internet and Netflix. After we added Netflix we cancelled all premium channels from Verizon FIOS and also cancelled the DVR. Now we watch news via Verizon box and movies from Netflix. Unfortunately I cannot seem to find any decent news source on the Internet (has to be BR player, not a computer). If I find news via BR player - I might disconnect Verizon box completely. I must say that my nwife and I only watch news and movies, no sitcoms, reality TV, shows, etc.

[Whaler]

Thanks everyone for all of the input. I think I will go with a BR at some point but first I am going to try a DVI cable from my Mac to the TV as I can stream Netflix to the computer now.

[LCHIEN]

just got a message from Roku, units are under $60 and they have 101 streaming channels besides Netflix.