Roku2 User Reviews

I had an original Roku, so when I saw this in a gold box deal I knew how well they work and took the bait. Bought one for myself and one as a birthday present. It is a wonderful product and I highly recommend. My only dislike, and I took a star for this reason, is I don't like being asking for a credit card # for setup to purchase games. I have no intention of doing that with this product and there are too many security breaches with companies holding this type of information.

This is a fantastic device for streaming the TV and movies for our family. We purchased the $99 model for the ethernet cable connection b/c of better signal reliablily, and our house already had a wired networking set up for all the major rooms. Set up was amazingly easy, only took about 10-15 minutes including the time to register the Roku with my Netflix and Hulu accounts. The Roku has been very reliable, only needing to be reset once since we've owned it. Content wise, we pay for Netflix and Hulu plus, about $16 per month. We've also enjoyed the Amazone Prim streaming for new release movies, though our schedules haven't allowed us to watch more than a few. There are also a lot of other apps like Crackle that have free video streaming. Games are included, though we haven't uses that particular feature. All things considered, it's a great device that's really easy to plug in and set up. It provides great video and audio quality for streaming at a great price.

This is the second Roku I've purchased, and I couldn't be happier. I bought one in December 2011 for my sister for Christmas (a Roku 2 HD), and though I'd used one before very briefly didn't have any experience with extended use. Simply put, I was sold in the first 10 minutes. She was able to get it set up and start streaming Netflix within a couple of minutes, and the quality was great. She's been using it as her primary source of content viewing ever since - she barely even watches cable anymore.

When the Roku 2 XS popped up on sale a few days ago, I grabbed one along with an AmazonBasics HDMI Cable. I had it hooked up within a few minutes of opening the box, and once again I was streaming from Netflix within about 5 minutes. Since my sister's TV doesn't have HDMI, this was my first experience streaming HD content over Roku. It works beautifully. Videos load quickly, and look & sound great. I use Netflix, Amazon Video and Hulu Plus for content. I also own an Xbox 360 that up until now I've used for Netflix and Hulu, but the Roku gives me an even better experience (plus, no Xbox Live Gold membership required!). The added bonus of being able to stream Amazon Video is a big plus, especially since I've purchased movies & TV shows for streaming that until now I've only been able to watch on my computer or Kindle.

This model also comes with the Bluetooth gaming remote, which I think is even better than the IR remote that comes with the HD. It's slightly thicker, which I think actually makes it easier to hold. Plus, since it uses Bluetooth you don't need to be able to point the remote at the Roku box, so the Roku can be stored inside a cabinet. The one thing that bugged me about the game remote at first was the placement of the OK button. On the standard remote it's in the center of the directional pad (a pretty standard layout), but on the gaming remote it's below the D-pad. It takes some getting used to, but after a short while it becomes muscle memory.

For those that are big Angry Birds fans, the version for Roku works surprisingly well. I expected to be frustrated trying to play a traditionally touch-driven game with a remote, but it's actually really enjoyable. The inputs are very sensitive and accurate, so it feels pretty natural. Plus, it's fun playing it on a big screen!

I'm still blown away by the number of channels and amount of content offered on Roku. To be fair, some of it is either super-niche or just not very interesting, but there's a ton of really great stuff.

I honestly can't think of anything negative about the Roku. The features you get for the price are amazing. I'm planning on getting rid of cable TV soon, and the Roku is definitely going to make that easy.

Do not buy a Roku player that does not also have the capability of being "WIRED" along with "WIRELESS". You may wish you had that WIRED capability in the future, and you will not have to purchase another Roku box to get it. You may find yourself in a situation like mine:
I purchased the cheapest Roku box for wireless only. It worked like gangbusters for first 2-3 months. Then it started regularly disconnecting, sometimes every 5-10 minutes, and required reconnecting with password process each time, and simply would not stay connected long enough to enjoy a movie on Netflix. Problem turned out to be I am in an apartment building, and there are many wireless networks in range of my computer/roku box. They interfere with each other and there are short interruptions to my wireless connection. (we must have gotten new tenants in my building when the school year started, and it was enough to tilt the scale out of my favor) This is not problem for streaming on my computer, because my computer reconnects itself each time automatically. But my Roku box disconnected every single irritating time. So to solve the problem I had to buy the expensive Roku2 box, and be sure it had WIRED capability. Once I with ethernet cable to my router, that completely solved the problem, as the WIRED connection is much more sturdy. I can enjoy Netflix on my TV once again.
I love my Roku box. But invest in the expensive box the first time, it may pay off over time with flexibility of use.

Nothing drives me crazier than devices around our home that bleed electricity 24x7. I've vigilantly eliminated or reconfigured everything to minimize our home's monthly utility costs. Aside from the entertainment and connectivity benefits of the Roku 2 XS, the power consumption is just amazing. It uses roughly 2 Watts when playing movies and even less when in sleep mode. For someone subject to PG&E's SF Bay Area electric rates, you'll pay about $6 per year in electricity for the Roku 2 XS. That's 1/3 of what the Roku XD 1080p Streaming Player used and blows away our TiVo TCD746320 Premiere DVR, Black which uses 23 watts (26 in standby) and costs $72 per year in electricity. But I digress..

I've used the older Roku XD 1080p Streaming Player since December 2010 for Netflix, Amazon, Pandora, and Hulu. It easily beats the TiVo TCD746320 Premiere DVR, Black and the Sony BDP-N460 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) at general navigation and video streaming. The Roku 2 XS is an exceptional upgrade, adding faster processing and lower power consumption. We also tried the free Angry Birds game, which is nice, but not really what Roku is great at. Unfortunately, if you want 1080p and Ethernet connectivity, Roku bundles their RF remote, which doesn't work with the Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote with Color Touchscreen. For the higher-end model, Roku should offer both IR and RF remote transmitters. To get an IR remote, you need to downgrade to the Roku 2 XD, but you lose Ethernet (and Ethernet, if available, is ALWAYS the best option for performance). One benefit of the RF remote is that you can hide the device behind your TV and the remote still works. Aside from this pro/con, the Roku 2 XS is an excellent and affordable device for streaming content from your favorite Internet providers. Setup is very simple and performance is reliable and fast.

Regarding Support, our Roku XD 1080p Streaming Player died after 11 months of limited use. Roku offers a 1-year warranty on their products, but if you want to get support and conduct the exchange over the phone, you'll need to pay $9.95. Phone support is limited to 90 days - which seems cheap to me. To get the return RMA from Roku, I had to use their live chat system, which was free and took about an hour to work through with the customer service rep. Roku also makes you pay for return shipping and doesn't ship a replacement until they receive and process your defective unit. The entire process takes about two weeks. I'd rate the support experience as fair, but not good or excellent.

Overall, no other device will allow you to stream content from so many different providers. My family gets lots of use from our Roku devices and you won't regret purchasing the Roku 2 XS.

As a previous owner of the first Roku, I was very excited to give their new model a spin. Here are my thoughts.

1. The size of the box is now quite nice and small, making it very easy to put nearly anywhere near the TV. It's about the same size as the Apple TV.

2. The inclusion on an ethernet port is a WONDERFUL addition! I find that I get a better picture if I use ethernet, but because of the location of my TV, I need to do the wireless, but the picture still looks GREAT on my 47" HD Sony, so don't let that deter you.

3. Roku is, just as before, extremely SIMPLE to use. You'll be up and running in no time.

4. As a hard-core mac/apple user, I REALLY wanted to get an Apple TV, but it just doesn't make any sense for my use. The Roku, although not nearly as "sexy" with it's menus or remote, is far more usable and I'm not tied to having to use the iTunes store. Are there times when I'd like to stream something from iTunes on my computer to the TV through an Apple TV? Yeah, there are, but I'll make the sacrifice to be able to have Hulu and all the other free channels. If you didn't know, Hulu is only available on the Roku.

5. The "enhanced remote" is terrible in my opinion, just terrible. Overall, the remote is VERY slippery in the hand becuase it's small and rounded rather than boxy. Boxy isn't sexy, but a boxy design makes it easy to handle. It's easy to navigate left and right through the menus, but when you want to select something, you have to move your thumb off of the big arrow button and click the button underneath them. Yeah, this sounds picky, but the previous remote let you just push the middle of the big arrow button to select items. This small change in the remote makes going through things like Netflix menus, more cumbersome, and it's also easier to hit a button other than the one you want. The change is a result of the ability to play games. That new selection button is one of the main buttons for gaming and non-gaming. The old remote, although not as fancy and more simplistic, was more user friendly, and boxy too. The remote for the Roku XD is actually better because it has the OK button in the middle of the arrow buttons; this is becasue it doesn't do games, so you'd be giving that up... not a loss in my opinion. You also lose the ability to do ethernet if you get the XD model. This could very well be a problem for some.

6. When I first booted up the Roku, it processed a pretty big update. It seems as though they worked out the bugs for Angry Birds because I didn't have any problems at all and have not experienced intermitent resets as some users have reported. Angry Birds is fun and if you haven't played, it can be addicting. Now, with that said, Angry Birds will probably be the only game I play on it. I'd rather Roku focus on making a great TV product and not get into the gaming area, that's what my xBox 360 is for, and they're worlds apart.

7. No problems with the 1080 option. Everything looks great.

8. If you go online and search for Roku channels, you'll get codes that you can put into your box to get the channels to populate in your menu. There are many out there, too many to list here, and there's no real master list, so you just kind of have to search for stuff. For example, there is a Food Network channel, but it's not THE Food Network channel you'd find on regular cable. However, for a foodie like me, I watch it from time-to-time.

9. There is an app that will let you use your iPhone as a Roku remote, and it works very well (FYI, both the Roku and iPhone need to be on the same network). The nice thing about the iPhone remote is that you can see all the channels on the iPhone display and can just choose the channel you want, rather than having to scroll through the menu on the Roku to get to the one you want. You can move channels on the Roku, but you still run into the problem of having so many that you'll have to scroll through them to get to the one you eventually want if you havne't moved it to the front.

Summary: There are no changes as far as how the Roku performs; it still works great. The ethernet port is a great addition, but I could care less for the enhance remote and the gaming options; that part is more novelty than anything else. If you want a great product to enhance your TV viewing, the Roku is a great option, and at the price points they're selling them at, they're quite affordable, even if you end up hating it (unlikely in my opinion). And if you don't want to be tied to the iTunes Store, and you want Hulu, then the Roku is your only choice. If you have a lot of movies in iTunes and you want to stream them to your TV, then you'd probably be happier with an Apple TV, which is a GREAT product as well! It really depends on how you intend to use the device as far as which one you should choose. For those reviewers that say Roku sucks and Apple TV is awesome and vice versa, pay no attention to that BS. They both work great, they just have different options that will appeal to different folks. Best of luck.

First I have to say the negative reviews are puzzling to me, because I dont think those buyers understand what they are buying.

As you know there is 3 versions, I absolutely recommend you spend the money on the XS (99.95) model, the main reason is because it's the only model with a USB port. Which in short term will allow you connect USB HD and play any movies you may of ripped from your DVD's. I have a 4TB array connected with most of my DVD collection, which is close to 1000 movies.

Roku has three type of channels:

Public
Apps
Private

The public channels are the once visible in what is called "Channel Store". Currently there about 300, but channels are added weekly. Looking at fan blogs, there has yet to be a weeks in about 4 months, that at least several channels weren't added.

Now channels can fall into three categories, Pay, Free, and Subscription.

Pay means you pay onetime fee and you get access to the channel, subscriptions are channels like Netflix, Hulu Plus, etc... if you already have those subscriptions, you just add them at no additional cost. If you are an amazon prime customer then you will get access to amazon prime streaming collection, about 9000 movies and shows. You can also rent movies from .99 cents to 3.99. Or you can digitally buy movies, which will then be permanently accessible to you through any device that supports the Amazon channel.

I will admit that half the pay channels are bad, so do your homework before laying out money for any channel that requires either a onetime fee or subscription. You have to understand the Roku is a streaming device, they are not a content provider, so they don't have anything to do with setting prices. That said there are 100's of free channels, especially if you are fan of Video Podcasts from companies live Revision 3 or TWiT. They are all there in HD, and free.

I imagine as time goes on more pay services will become available as well as free once. To give this device a bad rating because you have to pay for some channels, is just typical spoiled attitude. Remember folks who provide these channels have to pay for servers that store the content, bandwidth that delivers the content, and sometimes licensing of the content.

Roku 2 operates on a modified Linux OS. This gives this device a lot of flexibility. Roku has also given out an API so others are writing applications for the device. There are already some games available, again some free, some pay. If you buy the XS model you get a motion controller, similar to the WII one. It's obviously that it's very early in the devices API development. Even though Roku 1 has been around for years, the API flexibility really didn't open up until Roku 2. There is also SD slot so you can upgrade internal memory so you can store games and apps, which you will likely have use for in the coming months, as more apps come out. For example there is one very useful app for Netflix users, called Instant Watcher, it's a onetime fee of $2.99, and give you a lot more flexibility and power to browse the Netflix Streaming Library, you link you Netflix account through this application, and then it allows you to do everything from managing your queue to browse various lists. I discovered a few movies and shows, I would of probably never found on my own.
Second category is Application, which also includes games. That's where the motion controller that comes with the XS model comes in. XS comes with a full version of angry birds, which actually looks and plays quite well. I don't see using Roku to replace my PS3, PC, or WII as gaming platform. But I can see a few possibilities like network wide scrabble; poker, etc... type games and tournaments. There also application, some free some are pay. For example if you got the XS model you have a USB channel, to enable its use for a HD connection you have download a free application. But there is also a pay application, which will allow you to stream audio and video from your server or PC's in the house. There are few other apps, but nothing of any real value at this time. Since the API relatively new, I would expect we will see a lot more apps coming in the next few months.

The last type of channel and probably one most people will not know unless they are told or stumble on it on the forums are "Private Channels". These channels are not advertised or visible through any Roku channel. There are dozen plus sites that track them. Simply google Roku private channels and you will see quite a few. Again some are free, some require a subscription. Channels range from Adult content to one person operations. Some are quite unique like a live stream of ABC in Australia. Like Public channels, private channels go up all the time, and because many of them are one person operation they also go down just as quick sometimes. Adding private channels is quite easy you login to your Roku web account, and there is an option to add a private channel, you enter a code that each private channel provides, and it will then show up on your roku. It says it may take up to 24 hours for a private channel to show up, but most show up within seconds or minutes.

Negatives: You have to buy your HDMI cable, it does come with analog cables, you have to provide your own USB cable. Adding many channels is a major pain, Many times you will get a screen with a code that requires you to go to the channels web site, register, and then enter the code. This isn't Roku's fault, because the channel provider configures how they will allow you to add the channel, and of course many of them want your email so they can market to you. This is especially a pain, if you don't have access to internet while you are in front of your roku, I do, but still this is a major pain. Roku should require providers make channel addition seamless. There is no reason why you cant allow them to pull the info they need for registration from your Roku account if you give permission. I bet in fact its already in the API. There are a lot of garbage channels, and some pay channels are not worth the money. So DO YOUR homework before you spend your money. Roku has a great forum community and you will get straight answers most of the time.

My final recommendation is that this is the best streaming device on the market today, better then Apple TV, Google TV, Boxee, and any other. It simple to use, has amazing amount of variety, and the future for this device is very bright. Streaming is the future of media, but you can get a good taste of it now with this device. I do recommend you buy the XS model, if fort no other reason, the USB port, will eventually act as DVR, there is already buzz that apps are being written to be able to record streaming shows to a HD for later viewing.

The Roku 2 is really amazing and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to cut their huge cable bill. It was easy to set up and everyone in the family is still happy. Yes, even without Comcast cable, we're still happy.

To put this review in context, my wife and I both work and we have two children (3 years old and newborn). The 3 year old likes to watch cartoons/movies on the weekends. We had Comcast Cable with DVR and all of those channels. Most evenings, after the kids were asleep (8:30), we rarely found ourselves watching cable and when we did, we couldn't find anything on the channels to watch anyway. Quite often, my wife would order ONDemand movies from Comcast for $4-5. Our cable bill with those movies was about $90-100/month. We subscribe to Netflix streaming only, Amazon Prime and recently Hulu Plus after liking the one month trial. We're not huge TV watchers but like to watch a movie every now and then. Our goal was to stop paying so much for cable when we don't have time to watch much TV anyway.

Setup - It was easy and it'll take about 10-15 minutes. It's best to have an iPad or laptop nearby that is online. I connected the Roku 2 to my router via ethernet cable so I cannot speak to a wireless setup. Once connected, the Roku box walked me through the setup. It updated the software and then I began adding channels. I added Netflix, Amazon and Hulu to start. You are prompted to either login using your username and password or you are given a code to enter in online. It's really easy and haven't had any issues since the setup.

Content - With these three channels (Netflix, Amazon and Hulu Plus) we have more content than we could ever need. For my 3 year old there are so many cartoons to choose from and all the episodes - Caillou; Backyardigans; Word World; Sid the Science Kid; Dragon Tails; Madeline. We haven't even scratched the surface on kids cartoons. There are kids movies that we found on the three channels - Tangled; Toy Story 3; Curious George; Ponyo. That's more than enough TV for weekends. As far as TV for us, Hulu Plus has tons of good TV to watch and with Plus you get full seasons worth. With Netflix, we get full seasons of other TV shows and decent movies - although I will say, Netflix needs more titles. The Amazon Prime account gets us even more free streaming content that I've yet to really explore. It looks only ok but the great thing about the Amazon Channel is that you can rent newer releases for $3-4.

Picture Quality - My TV is only 720p but the picture-quality is really good for those programs in HD. Overall, the amount of programming in HD is not as high as Comcast but I'm ok with that. The quality is still really good. The other day I went on to Vimeo Channel (like YouTube) and found some cycling videos and I was amazed at how clear the footage was using Roku. It was HD quality. Also, I've yet to have any problems with skipping or delays (again I'm hooked up with an Ethernet cable).

UI - The user interface is easy. Roku could make it more slick but why? It just works.

COST SAVINGS!! - We were paying $7.99 for Netflix and just added $7.99/month for Hulu Plus. We were setup on Amazon Prime already. So, the total bill per month went from $90-100 to $8. I'm sure we will rent new releases from the Amazon store but we were doing that with ONDemand anyway. Plus, Amazon movie rentals look to be cheaper per movie anyway.

If you are in a similar situation as my family, I think the Roku 2 is the way to go. Saving $80-90 a month worth it and Roku may get even better with more content. For $99, it's worth trying it out.

First some info about my setup, as I think this is important when reviewing a streaming player:

*Roku XD connected via ethernet and HDMI cables to my HDTV.
*Roku 2 XS connected via ethernet and HDMI cables to my daughter's HDTV.
*High-Speed Internet connection via Comcast's Xfinity Blast! service. My speeds are: 30mbps download and 5mbps upload.
*Modem: Motorola SURFboard eXtreme DOCSIS 3.0 Modem, model SB6120. (Comcast compatible. I own my modem, so I don't pay Comcast rental fees anymore!)
*Router: NetGear N600 Wireless Dual Band 802.11n Gigabit Router, model WNDR3700.
*Ethernet cables: Cat6a throughout (best for carrying broadband video). Cat5 or Cat5e is what most customers have, and do not need to be replaced unless one wants the very best video performance an ethernet cable can provide.
*HDMI cables: Bought the cheapest ones available; they either work or they don't, as the signal is all digital.

Because of the type of Internet service one uses, along with the equipment they use to access the Internet (modem & router), there may be a wide range of personal experiences that have little or nothing to do with the Roku player itself. The only issue I've read so far that makes some sense, excepting the occasional report of a bad Roku unit, is that the Roku 2 XS has a problem with it's storage capacity when the game Angry Birds is played. Many have reported this problem and one of the fixes is to uninstall the Angry Birds game. Another possible fix is to simply purchase a microSD card when buying a Roku 2; Roku sells a 2GB card for $5. That is exactly what I did when I ordered the Roku 2 XS from their site, and neither I nor my daughter have had any problems whatsoever with the game or the Roku player trying to reboot/recycle.

Both the older Roku XD and the new Roku 2 XS work extremely well for what they were designed to do - stream video. I've had both units connected wirelessly and via ethernet cable. Both units were a little slower with a wireless connection when compared to being hard wired. Too, a wireless connection was much more likely to downgrade the video quality from 4 dots to 3 or 2 when in Netflix in order to play a video. (Netflix uses 4 dots followed by HD, if the video can play in HD, when it is loading a video. This looks a bit like this: **** HD). Downgrading video quality does not happen very often when using an ethernet cable. However, I was surprised the Roku 2 XS responded faster wirelessly and didn't downgrade the video quality as often as my older Roku XD. This could be a difference in the hardware itself, or it might be that my Roku XD's extra distance of about 10 feet from my router caused the slower performance.

Advice to prospective customers wanting to buy a Roku streaming player:

I would recommend the Roku 2 XS over the other Roku 2 models simply because it comes with an ethernet port for a wired connection. For some customers this could make a big difference when a wireless connection is difficult to achieve or slow at best.

Too, those planning on wireless, and want the best, most reliable performance, use an 802.11n router. However, if one only has an 802.11g router, a Roku player might work just fine; try it before you buy the faster 802.11n router.

Finally, one should have a fast Internet connection. DSL speed may offer erratic streaming at best. Even basic Internet service via cable may not offer the consistency of streaming that high-speed Internet service does in some areas for some folks. Most cable companies offer varying speeds - I pay $10 extra a month for Comcast's Xfinity Blast! high-speed Internet service, for example. New Roku users should try the service they have first and then upgrade, if necessary.

When one has good equipment and a (consistent) high-speed Internet connection, these Roku players perform extremely well. I'm very pleased with both units we have working off the same Internet connection.

Oh, one last thought: I like the Roku2 XS remote much more than the one that came with the Roku XD. The buttons all set up higher, making them much easier to use, and because of it's use of Bluetooth wireless to control the Roku2 XS, one need not point the remote directly at the Roku, which I do have to do with my remote for the Roku XD.

This little player, about the size of a hockey puck, is exactly what I was looking for. It's cheap, easy, and fun. I got it to play Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Vimeo, and everything else it does is a pleasant add-on, especially motion-controlled Angry Birds. If you're in the market for a Roku 2, I think you might as well get this high-end model (there are stripped-down versions for less money) since it has a few more capabilities, including a game controller, an ethernet jack, and a USB port for playing external files. The software interface is not slick but everything fast and responsive.

UPDATE: I added a star because this unit has proven itself much more stable than it was at launch, due to frequent software updates. Also, the machine now has the HBO Go app, which allows you to stream from HBO on demand from a huge catalog of movies and TV shows.

How is the Roku 2 different from the Apple TV (which it resembles, and I also considered)? It's physically similar and has some overlapping features, but here are the main differences as I see them:

BOTH have Netflix Streaming and sports channels such as NBA and MLB (subscription required for this stuff). Both have wired and wireless network capabilities. Both are tiny, power-sipping, unobtrusive little devices that could probably be embedded in TV hardware.

AppleTV (not the Roku 2!) has tight iTunes integration, including iTunes movie rentals, streaming from a local PC/Mac with iTunes installed, and YouTube. AirPlay (stream to the box from your iOS device) is supported and works well and adds to the usability of this device if you have an iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch. At this time, you can only use the "apps" that are included with the box. The AppleTV remote is made of attractive aluminum but relies on line-of-sight infrared signals. AppleTV requires an HDTV to work and displays up to 720p resolutions.

Roku 2 (the product being reviewed! not AppleTV!) has a "channel" installer which you can easily manage via a web app on your computer. This system is a bit less polished, but a lot more open than the AppleTV system. Roku Channel choices include Amazon Prime videos, Amazon rentals, Vimeo, Hulu Plus, Pandora Radio, and bunch of streaming news and movie services. The Wii-like game remote comes with Angry Birds and more 2D casual games are promised. The game controller has built-in accelerometers and game-friendly buttons, and it works well for this game. This layout would be ideal for Super Nintendo style games, too. I like how it doesn't require an IR receiver like the Wii remote does. The tiny Roku 2 box has an IR receiver so you can use a universal remote with it, but the included remote uses RF signals and doesn't need line-of-sight to the box. Roku 2 XS can run on pretty much any TV (it includes composite cables) and can display up to 1080p resolutions.

As you can see, these two machines are similar, but not the same. I chose this machine because it worked with an old SDTV, could play Amazon Prime videos (lots of kids programming on there, thanks Amazon), and offers a nice, standalone alternative to the Apple ecosystem.