Roku 3 Review

[Arkadin]

sounds very promising.
Finally a decent search function on one of these streaming boxes.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/review...212048996.html

[bhampton]

I bought one....

Hope I don't regret it.

My wife has been into Amazon prime streaming lately and whenever she wants it I have to bring my PS3 up from it's usual spot in the basement. The upstairs HDTV doesn't have network or wifi.

I admire the features of the ruku 3: (Amazon prime (missing on AppleTV!), Search feature, Headphone jack in the remote.)

I hope I don't regret it but how long can someone regret a $99 purchase these days anyway...

-Brian

[Number 6]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I bought one....

Hope I don't regret it.

My wife has been into Amazon prime streaming lately and whenever she wants it I have to bring my PS3 up from it's usual spot in the basement. The upstairs HDTV doesn't have network or wifi.

I admire the features of the ruku 3: (Amazon prime (missing on AppleTV!), Search feature, Headphone jack in the remote.)

I hope I don't regret it but how long can someone regret a $99 purchase these days anyway...

-Brian

I bought one too and you won't regret it. It's a great improvement over the Roku 2HD. Love the new user interface.

[bhampton]

Well,...

I don't know about Ruku 2 or the original Roku ... I don't know anything about these types of things. I do know the interface on the new one is going to move to the old Roku models too.

I bought an AppleTV because we have so much Apple here at home but it doesn't do the only thing I was planning to use it for which was Amazon Prime Instant Videos. I guess,.. I could Jailbreak it (hack it) but I can't be bothered.

I sort of feel like I should have opted for the Boxee instead due to it's HDTuner. But,... Cable companies are supposed to be able to kill off ClearQAM soon.

I've never paid for cable and I don't have a cord to cut but if ClearQam continues the Boxee would have given me more fuctionality.

-Brian

[AnimalChin]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Well,...

I don't know about Ruku 2 or the original Roku ... I don't know anything about these types of things. I do know the interface on the new one is going to move to the old Roku models too.

I bought an AppleTV because we have so much Apple here at home but it doesn't do the only thing I was planning to use it for which was Amazon Prime Instant Videos. I guess,.. I could Jailbreak it (hack it) but I can't be bothered.

I sort of feel like I should have opted for the Boxee instead due to it's HDTuner. But,... Cable companies are supposed to be able to kill off ClearQAM soon.

I've never paid for cable and I don't have a cord to cut but if ClearQam continues the Boxee would have given me more fuctionality.

-Brian

I've been wanting to pick up an AppleTv for a while. Does it let you access the itunes extras that some movies have?

[bhampton]

I returned the AppleTV a few minutes after I set it up.

No Amazon streaming... I think it doesn't have Vudu either. (THAT"S CRAZY!!!!)

No app store... AppleTV seems missing some crazy stuff.

You can't even mirror an Ipad to get Amazon streaming ... it only mirrors the audio in that case.

I imagine there will be a much better AppleTV released soon. Seems other devices have left it in the dust, big time.

-Brian

[Carlanga]

Originally Posted by AnimalChin

I've been wanting to pick up an AppleTv for a while. Does it let you access the itunes extras that some movies have?

It lets you access the extra subtitles/audio, but not extra contents.

Originally Posted by bhampton

I returned the AppleTV a few minutes after I set it up.

No Amazon streaming... I think it doesn't have Vudu either. (THAT"S CRAZY!!!!)

No app store... AppleTV seems missing some crazy stuff.

You can't even mirror an Ipad to get Amazon streaming ... it only mirrors the audio in that case.

I imagine there will be a much better AppleTV released soon. Seems other devices have left it in the dust, big time.

-Brian

While I do wish it had VUDU, there might be some hope for the near future. They didn't have Hulu+ until a few months back.

You can mirror to get video and audio, but you need to do it from the home screen>double tap home key> airplay mirror to appletv. If you do Vudu for example inside the webpage you get only audio, but if you do airplay from the homescreen you get both.

I prefer iTunes due to extra subtitles (not CC) and languages for many movies while Vudu is very nice quality in HDX and streams instantly in the highest definition from my PS3. I hate that the aTV takes more than 20 mins to load a movie in 1080HD while the vudu app on my PS3 w/ a crappier network card does it instantly. I have a 4MB connection and have my 3rd gen aTV set up in SD while my PS3 plays my HDX videos instantly. Just hate how slow apple streams their stuff, they need better compression and do a similar sharing of load like Vudu does to get better streaming.

If the 3rd gen aTV could be jailbroken it would be the best box in the world! The 2gen aTV is winning the race at the moment (due to jb) w/ all others falling behind. Roku 3 is just an ok device like the 3rd gen aTV.

[bhampton]

I guess the jailbreak is fairly well understood for appletv however,.. I prefer stuff that doesn't need to be hacked. Naturally. Still,.. It's good the enthusiast community exists for that and so on.

[Carlanga]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I guess the jailbreak is fairly well understood for appletv however,.. I prefer stuff that doesn't need to be hacked. Naturally. Still,.. It's good the enthusiast community exists for that and so on.

Yeah, I'm with you. But unfortunately, the only way to get all streams direct in one box ATM is to have a jailbroken aTV which is why the 2nd gen is going for so much on eBay used more than $200 crazy plus people that like to watch free shows on it.


Let us know how the roku 3 is working for you. Especially that remote w the headphone plug, relating to battery use and sound quality

[bsweetness]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I returned the AppleTV a few minutes after I set it up.

No Amazon streaming... I think it doesn't have Vudu either. (THAT"S CRAZY!!!!)

No app store... AppleTV seems missing some crazy stuff.

You can't even mirror an Ipad to get Amazon streaming ... it only mirrors the audio in that case.

I imagine there will be a much better AppleTV released soon. Seems other devices have left it in the dust, big time.

-Brian

Apple wants all digital video purchases/rentals to be done through iTunes, so they don't allow their major competition on those fronts to have apps on Apple TV. Regrettably, that's just the way Apple rolls.

In my opinion, right now Apple TV is really only a good choice for people who are heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem, especially in iTunes purchases. For those who aren't heavily invested in Apple products, Roku is a much better choice due to the increased selection it offers.

[arcadeforest]

Have not bought a Roku 3 yet - have plans to do so at some point in the next few months. Been using the Roku 2 for the last two months and have been very happy with it. Great, simple device that does what it suppose to do with the big three of Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime. With the improvements being made I expect this to be a hit for me as well.

As far as Apple TV goes I think bsweetness pretty much sums it up - good option especially if you are invested in the Apple ecosystem - blows not having VUDU or Amazon officially supported though.

[bhampton]

Well,

I use an iPhone, ipad, MacBook Pro and a Mac mini (as a dedicated music server.) My wife has an iPhone and iPod. My kids have iPod touch.

In short,... I figured I was heavy invested in the Apple ecosystem. I do have a large iTunes music library (made of lossless files from my CDs) and 120 iTunes movies.

However,... All those iTunes movies came with my blus so I really don't have use for them at home.

With all the macs I have and love,... I still can't imagine the unmodified appletv being any sort of competition to the roku.

I imagine I will use the Roku for Amazon steaming, Vudu, Crackle and maybe other channels I don't even know about yet.... The appletv must suit someone,...just didn't fit me.

-Brian

[rdodolak]

Love the Roku 3 and for the most part my AppleTV just sits there and collects dust.

[bhampton]

Hi,

Got the Roku 3 in yesterday. Here's my review...

It's lovely.

Very easy to setup and use.

I bought it for Amazon prime instant videos but it has a lot of great channels that I am still discovering.

I can't say how fast the remote will eat batteries because it hasn't killed it's new batteries yet. I mostly just use my iphone as the remote because the iphone app works and is free and so on.

-Brian

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Hi,

Got the Roku 3 in yesterday. Here's my review...

It's lovely.

Very easy to setup and use.

I bought it for Amazon prime instant videos but it has a lot of great channels that I am still discovering.

I can't say how fast the remote will eat batteries because it hasn't killed it's new batteries yet. I mostly just use my iphone as the remote because the iphone app works and is free and so on.

-Brian

The batteries for our Roku 2 XS remote lasted roughly a year and that's based on daily usage. It's still to early to see how long batteries in the Roku 3 remote will last.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

The batteries for our Roku 2 XS remote lasted roughly a year and that's based on daily usage. It's still to early to see how long batteries in the Roku 3 remote will last.

There is a concern about the batteries because if the remote moves it wakes up and also because of the way it has the new wireless headphones function.

[bsweetness]

Originally Posted by bhampton

There is a concern about the batteries because if the remote moves it wakes up and also because of the way it has the new wireless headphones function.

In their review, Engadget said they tried to kill the batteries (over 20 hours of audio streaming with headphones plus normal usage just as a remote), but they were never even able to get a low-battery indicator light. Bodes pretty well considering everything the remote does.

[TBDave]

Originally Posted by bhampton

There is a concern about the batteries because if the remote moves it wakes up and also because of the way it has the new wireless headphones function.

The Roku 2XS remote also woke up any time it moved. I don't think I ever changed the batteries. Not sure about battery life when using the new headphones. But with normal usage, those batteries should last a long time.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Hi,

Got the Roku 3 in yesterday. Here's my review...

It's lovely.

Very easy to setup and use.

I bought it for Amazon prime instant videos but it has a lot of great channels that I am still discovering.

I can't say how fast the remote will eat batteries because it hasn't killed it's new batteries yet. I mostly just use my iphone as the remote because the iphone app works and is free and so on.

-Brian

Hope your not switching loyalties?

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Hope your not switching loyalties?

Oh ... hell no. No worries there.

The Roku is mostly for my wife to watch Amazon Prime Streaming. (And maybe for my kids to watch movies I don't really want to buy like Thomas the Train and stuff.)

It's great but I love Blu and I've only chased them with more vigor since getting the Roku.

-Brian