So I got my Roku Netflix player.

[zoiks]

Easy to set up. Looks like a quality product. Great picture quality on my plasma. Only thing is that you have to add movies to your instant queue using your computer which will be instantly available for viewing on the player.

 

[sivart]

So the box is really just saving you from having to hook a laptop/PC up to the computer, yet you can't choose a movie from the box?

Is the picture quality even close to 480p?

 

[zoiks]

Originally posted by: sivart
So the box is really just saving you from having to hook a laptop/PC up to the computer, yet you can't choose a movie from the box?

Is the picture quality even close to 480p?

I'm not sure what 480p looks like but its pretty darn good. My tv is 720p and 'The Office' looks very colorful with brilliant sharp colors. You can tell its not HD but its close.
About the box, yeah its saving you from hooking up your tv to your computer. You should give it a try since it works very well. The menus and setup is very polished.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: sivart
So the box is really just saving you from having to hook a laptop/PC up to the computer, yet you can't choose a movie from the box?

Is the picture quality even close to 480p?

If this is downloading the same movies as you get off the website. Then it is very close or as good as DVD.

 

[erwos]

I've really been tossing around trying out Netflix and the streaming player, as the reviews have been quite good. Only thing holding me back is that some of my favorite series really aren't available for streaming. Ah well.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I may have to pick one of these up. They say the box itself is capable of HD and surround sound, but Netflix isn't streaming that yet. Seems worth $100 since I'm already a Netflix subscriber.

 

[Slick5150]

Supposedly Syabas, who makes the hardware being the Popcorn Hour and iStarHD media streamers, is discussing the possibility of adding the Netflix streaming feature to their devices. If so, that'd be pretty sweet. I wouldn't spend $100 on a device that only does 1 thing, but if they can incorporate that ability into a multi-purpose device, that'd be pretty nice.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Slick5150
Supposedly Syabas, who makes the hardware being the Popcorn Hour and iStarHD media streamers, is discussing the possibility of adding the Netflix streaming feature to their devices. If so, that'd be pretty sweet. I wouldn't spend $100 on a device that only does 1 thing, but if they can incorporate that ability into a multi-purpose device, that'd be pretty nice.

I just want to be able to stream it from my TiVo or PS3. No additonal device purchases needed.

 

[thegimp03]

One of my buddies works for Netflix and he got the Roku free. All he does now is load up stuff in his Instant queue and he can watch it all day from the player.

I'd buy one, except I already have a computer hooked up to my 40" lcd in my room. I just wish we could stream stuff from Netflix through iTunes to our AppleTV downstairs. Now that'd be sweet.

 

[sivart]

Originally posted by: thegimp03
One of my buddies works for Netflix and he got the Roku free. All he does now is load up stuff in his Instant queue and he can watch it all day from the player.

Isn't that something like jumbo shrimp? How is it instant if you have to load it.

I'm too spoiled with HD DVD / Blu-ray, so I'm waiting for 1080p / lossless 5.1 streaming before I bite

Plus 480p only looks so-so on my 100" screen.

 

[zerodeefex]

Originally posted by: sivart

Originally posted by: thegimp03
One of my buddies works for Netflix and he got the Roku free. All he does now is load up stuff in his Instant queue and he can watch it all day from the player.

Isn't that something like jumbo shrimp? How is it instant if you have to load it.

I'm too spoiled with HD DVD / Blu-ray, so I'm waiting for 1080p / lossless 5.1 streaming before I bite

Plus 480p only looks so-so on my 100" screen.

That's why you should be using a 9" gun CRT projector. A double stack of electrohome 9500lc projectors would go wonderfully with this.

 

[sjwaste]

Originally posted by: sivart

Originally posted by: thegimp03
One of my buddies works for Netflix and he got the Roku free. All he does now is load up stuff in his Instant queue and he can watch it all day from the player.

Isn't that something like jumbo shrimp? How is it instant if you have to load it.

I'm too spoiled with HD DVD / Blu-ray, so I'm waiting for 1080p / lossless 5.1 streaming before I bite

Plus 480p only looks so-so on my 100" screen.

Good luck with that. It's one digital media problem not currently constrained by lawyers. Ever see the bitrates on Bluray? A quick google says that the bitrate is going to be somewhere between 36 and 48 Mbps for movies.

 

[themisfit610]

It doesn't have to be.... take a look at Vudu - their box delivers HD at ~3-4 mbps with pretty good quality. *Shameless plug*

Seriously though, look at the rips out there on the intarwebs - you can get really good quality 1080p at under 10mbps.

As for Roku - I was thoroughly unimpressed. There's not any blocking or anything, but the video is very soft. Sure - its delivered in 480p, but the quality is not very good. Certainly nowhere near DVD quality.

~MiSfit

 

[sportage]

ANyone "actually"use this box with DSL 1.5 speed?
Does/will it work?

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: sportage
ANyone "actually"use this box with DSL 1.5 speed?
Does/will it work?

I didn't use the specific device, but playing "play now" Netflix movies looked like sh!t using my 1.2 Mbps connection. Once I upgraded to my 10 Mbps connection, MUCH better looking.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Now that the Xbox 360 will shortly have similar functionality, the Roku may have a fairly limited lifespan. Still seems like a pretty neat little box, and I'd probably buy one if I didn't already have a 360.

 

[Tegeril]

To get the highest quality video delivered to you via Netflix Watch Now, I believe your connection test needs to report a 2.2Mbit connection. Anything less than that and you will have noticeably lower quality video.

 

[sportage]

Playing on a pc, even with dsl 1.5, the player buffers the incoming video and it plays smoothly. The buffer is usually ahead of the playing.

Does or can the Roku buffer the incoming video?
If not, then I can not see how the Roku would
work or play dsl speed video without several pauses
stutters, and hangs. ???

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
Now that the Xbox 360 will shortly have similar functionality, the Roku may have a fairly limited lifespan. Still seems like a pretty neat little box, and I'd probably buy one if I didn't already have a 360.

Depends. Those not interested in spending money on a 360 will likely choose the $100 Roku device instead. The Netflix/360 deal however is fantastic for those that are interested or already have a 360.

Netflix seems to be trying to get this into as many devices as possible. A Blu-Ray player with the ability to stream Netflix is coming in September for under $500.

 

[sportage]

Well even with 1.5 dsl, im extremely happy with the roku netflix player. It plays smoothly and Im getting 2 quality dots (out of 4) and it looks very good on my 50" plasma. But Im also using the RGB outputs which looks 100% better over s-video.

I cant believe netflix is only charging $9 a month for the basic plan and instant viewing. I see them charging a lot more soon, as it catches on.

There is a hell of a lot of stuff to watch. Older stuff maybe, but still.

And the roku box does have a 256K buffer.

 

[zoiks]

Just got HD on my Roku box. I have to say that this purchase was really worth it. The picture is noticably better and so is the sound. The only thing is that sometimes you can see artifacts but it hasn't bothered me so far. I consistently get 4 dots for the connection but I've hooked up the Roku to a dedicated router bridge that connects to my main router.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I am very pleased with the HD Netflix streaming implementation on my Samsung BD-P2550. I bought my mom a BD-P2500 for Christmas and she loves it too.