Roku HD Player

 

Roku HD Player

Roku HD Player
Binding: Electronics
Manufacturer: Roku, Inc.
Product Description:
With Wi-Fi and High Definition playback capability built-in, Roku HD Player is the easiest way to stream top-quality instant movies and shows directly to your TV - over 50,000 and counting, from Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, and more. The best-selling HD Player has everything you need to start enjoying endless entertainment from the comfort of your couch. No wonder it's Netflix members' top rated streaming player.
List Price: USD 69.99
Lowest Used Price: USD 85.50
Lowest New Price: USD 69.99
Lowest Refurbished Price: USD 77.99
Price is accurate as of the date/time indicated. Prices and product availability are subject to change. Any price displayed on the Amazon website at the time of purchase will govern the sale of this product.
Average Rating:
Features:
  • Start watching movies on your TV in seconds using your high-speed Internet connection
  • Instantly plays the entire Netflix Instant Watch library with your Netflix membership - no additional subscription required, viewing is unlimited
  • Instantly plays over 45,000 movies and shows from Amazon Video On Demand
  • Built-in wireless (Wi-Fi) and wired internet connectivity
  • Plays High Definition as well as DVD-quality video; works with any TV
Brand: Roku
Model: N1100
Customer Reviews


works great--NOT using wireless
I read through all the previous reviews and went ahead and bought this device--I'm glad I did. We have Netflix, but not cable. It's so much better than cable--there are tons of shows/movies on Netflix that we can watch for free, plus there are other channels available for free (news, music, Pandora!, baseball, etc)

I had to buy an HDMI switcher to hook up the Roku, since our TV only has one HDMI slot. No problem, the switcher works great w/ the Roku. The other device is a DVD player.

The Roku itself works great, and again, following other reviewers comments about problems w/ using it wireless, I hooked this up w/ an ethernet cable to the computer in the office. (went through the house crawlspace) The picture is beautiful and the Roku remote works pretty well--you do really have to make a concious effort to focus right at it--you can hear a faint click when it reads the signal.

It's easy to set up, it walks you through it all. You will need to go to your computer to set up accounts for Roku, and many of the channels you add. We already had a Netflix acct, so when we entered our login info, it took us right to our acct. VERY SLICK--WE LOVE IT!!!

We did notice that when we fastforwarded through a Netflix movie, that we lost sound. But after turning off TV and Roku, and back on, we regained it. May just be a glitch w/ our TV, may have been a one-time thing. We can pause the movies just fine.

We've only had it 24 hrs, so we can't say anthing about it's lifespan, but so far so good--and we used it all day yesterday after getting it hooked up.


Be forewarned: Worst Customer Service
All the 5 star reviews make you think this is great, but count up how many 1-2 star reviews there are and about 15% of people had bad experiences with this product.

I had problem with set-up and the solution was probably an easy fix, but the customer support is HORRENDOUS. I couldn't find the answer online and after phoning customer service several times (and enduring 20-minute wait periods on hold), I got terrible help from people who have problems both speaking and understanding the English language. I don't care where Customer Service is located, but if they're to service English-speaking consumers with technology equipment and questions, they need to be able to communicate a lot better.

I was really excited about receiving this product, but quickly returned it as help from Customer Service was impossible.


Device great, Support NOT!
I have had my Roku Box since July 2009. It installed easily and has worked wonderfully until 2 weeks ago. I phoned support...if I had to guess, it is India based support:
so - support from a script with a lot of script based suggestions - I said thank you, hung up and was able to trouble-shoot the problem myself, but I am a technical professional - computer programmer. What do non tech people do? Roku presents itself as a U.S. company marketing primarily to the U.S. In that case, the support people should be understandable by the major market.

My next box will not be a Roku, even given that this box works well and is very reasonably priced.


works great
Wanted to do Netflix streaming and my existing Panasonic BluRay didn't support netflix. Rather than buying another wifi bluray, the Roku was the perfect answer. WiFi in a distant room is strong. Easy setup. Small enough to be portable and can move it from TV to TV. Only negative is less than robust searching via Roku of the Netflix library. Also have used Pandora for music and that does well. Have not used any of the other channels as yet.


This player works great...
When I set this up, I was really happy with how easy it was. Basically, you plug it in and then register it on your computer. Depending on which programs you will use with it, you just go onto your computer and enter a code and everything is set up.

That being said, while I still truly love this player, I have a couple of issues with it.

1) I am always afraid that I will lose the remote. It is so small.
2) The remote is erratically responsive or unresponsive. It seems like you have to get it at the exact angle for it to work correctly. This can be annoying.
3) It got unplugged one day, and my amazon.com video library did not show up anymore. I'm not sure if this was an amazon.com issue or a roku issue, but I had to uninstall the amazon on demand program and then re-set it up.
4) The quality is not always what I would expect HD to be even though I have it plugged in with a gold HDMI cable. Sometimes, there is a lot of pixelation, and I have a top-of-the-line LCD tv.

Despite these small issues, you can't beat convenience. I used to plug my laptop into the TV, and this ROKU makes it so much easier. I don't have to plug in speakers or make sure the laptop is charged or set the screen on my laptop or the myriad of other issues I had before.

If you are someone who can overlook the small stuff and enjoy the convenience, this is a great player.

Product Information and Prices stored: September 5, 2010, 16:10

 

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