Looking for the best VOD set top box

[hennessy1]

I don't have a price limit but I am looking for the product that offers the most selection. I have only really heard of the roku, boxee, apple tv products but if there are more I am open to them. I prefer an hdmi connectivity and ISP bandwidth is no issue I have a gigabit drop to the location.

Thank you for any help. If there is more info you need please let me know.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Search this forum, there's been a few threads that already go over the pros/cons of each. They all have their differences.

 

[Slick5150]

Xbox 360 = Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Vudu.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I love my Roku. Stay away from the Xbox, as you'll be stuck buying a gold membership every year.

 

[hennessy1]

Ya I did look around looks like roku is the top player here. Boxee seems to still have some growing pains.

 

[boomhower]

Roku seems to be the ticket as long as you don't want to stream from a NAS or other networked computer. If you want a ton of online sources to stream from that's the way to go. If you want to be able to stream from a NAS and still have a decent selection of online material take a look at the Western Digital box. If you have a large iTunes collection then the Apple TV is worth a look especially if you have a computer with ML that is compatible with Airplay.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Roku seems to be the ticket as long as you don't want to stream from a NAS or other networked computer. If you want a ton of online sources to stream from that's the way to go. If you want to be able to stream from a NAS and still have a decent selection of online material take a look at the Western Digital box. If you have a large iTunes collection then the Apple TV is worth a look especially if you have a computer with ML that is compatible with Airplay.

Wrong. Internal network streaming is 99% of what I do with my Roku via Plex. It does have a plethera of streaming channels as well (granted most are meh).

 

[smitbret]

Roku seems to be the ticket as long as you don't want to stream from a NAS or other networked computer. If you want a ton of online sources to stream from that's the way to go. If you want to be able to stream from a NAS and still have a decent selection of online material take a look at the Western Digital box. If you have a large iTunes collection then the Apple TV is worth a look especially if you have a computer with ML that is compatible with Airplay.

This.

Roku will do local with the Plex channel set up, but the codec support is limited and the Western Digital Boxes just do it better. If WD had Amazon, I would never recommend Roku. Boxee will give you a great compromise between the two. The interface is smooth but for the same price I could always get a WD Live Hub that has a 1GB HDD and will serve as a DLNA server for the rest of my network.

 

[hennessy1]

I did go with the roku box. As for local media streaming I have a server set up that i can use in conjuntion with the upcomming ceton q and echo boxes based on windows media center. I would think this combo would cover all my bases.

Does anyone know if there is a yearly pass or subscription you can get for all the channels or are they all independently done?

 

[ImpulsE69]

What do you mean? The channels on the Roku? Aside from Netflix and Hulu (and maybe some others I"m not aware of) they are all free. You can pick and choose what channels you want installed.

You can also install private (non listed ) channels such as Plex which will stream your local content. (Google roku private channels to get the list and how to get them). Within plex there are other outside streaming content as well.

 

[hennessy1]

Like the sports channels are those just subscriptions that you might happen to already have and can watch on there or is there a plan you can buy to get them all?

If it is a seperate thing for each sport like mlb and nfl and nhl if i get one subscription can I watch it on more then one roku or does that require a seperate one for each?