Roku help!

[Mr. Brass Bonanza]

I'm going to purchase a Roku device for my wife for Christmas, but I'm not sure which one to get. There seems to be several different models, and even after reading through all the specs, I have no idea which one to get. We already have a Netflix account, so watching all those movies that can be seen online will be great. Can anyone tell me which model you think I should get (HD, XD, XDS, SD, HD-XR...)?

Thanks!
Mark

[kdbianchini]

I just ordered the XDS for my husband. He did some research and that is the one that he wanted.

[Basket Mommy]

Before you order a Roku, do you have a Wii, PS3 or XBOX 360? If you do, you can order a disc from Netflix that will let you watch those streaming movies free through your game console. Just go to Netflix and click on "Instantly to your TV" at the top. I thought about a Roku for my husband, but it's not really necessary since we have discs for our 2 Wii units.

[Mr. Brass Bonanza]

No, no game units...just an Atari 2600 stuffed in a box somewhere. :)

[citizensnoopy]

I'm not sure what the difference is between the models, but I have the Roku HD. I got it a few months ago and absolutely love it!

[Dznygrl79]

Hey Good Morning America just did an article on this 5 mins ago! If you go to their website they break down the differences in devices. Good Luck these look neat!

[DizneyRox]

I believe that streaming media is going to be the "wave of the future." Unfortuantely, I'm not sure though that we're ready for it.

I'm currently building out my house with a pretty nifty media setup, however there are many holes all along the way. These media devices, Roku, Boxee, and other players are pretty good at what they do and that's mostly Internet streaming. Managing a collection of your media is often a little awkward. The price of them is a little easier to digest though.

You can also go with a full blown computer with the above capabilities if you choose. WMC (Window Media Center) is a popular one, but there are others, like MythTV, MediaPortal, XBMC, etc. This is the path I went down as the flexibility is outstanding.

My biggest problems with streaming are: You don't "own" the content, so you pay as you go, no pay, no go. And you are also dependent on the internet being available. No Internet and you're looking at a black screen. This is the biggest sticking point for me, especailly with the problems Comcast has been having the last week.

All that aside, the Roku boxes seem to be getting pretty good reviews. I can't recommend Boxee, it's launch has been riddled with false hope and empty promise (although I'm considering getting one of the swanky remotes they have for it!).

Just so you know what you're getting into. They are pretty cool, but I have yet to find an interface on a home theater PC that compares wtih the PC based solutions.

[TheVBs]

We bought the Roku HD, which I think was the $100 version. We've been really pretty happy with it. It's been great getting Netflix streamed to our TV and there are other free things you can have streamed, it's not just pay per view.

One word of warning... we did once seem to have a few problems with the box and Roku suggested that we send it in for a new one, because we'd bought a warranty for it. First, you're out of commission until they get it and send you your new one. That I can understand. However, what I didn't find acceptable was that they expect you to eat the cost of shipping it back to them. Not acceptable. Whatever problems we were experiencing stopped, so we just held on to it.

In light of that, if you're thinking of upgrading to a blu ray unit that can stream or any gaming system, that might be the better option. I would prefer something I could carry into the store and get an immediate replacement on, if necessary.