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ElGuache
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 1:38p
Nice, I was looking for one. Thanks OP.
BloatedElvis
Cranky Member
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 2:07p
Does Roku have a streaming solution that does not involve some wonky secret channel ? (that's how I vaguely recall it working)
IOW - can I stream on my LAN from a SMB share ? Either with or without DLNA ?
themew
Ancient Member
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 2:17p
Great deal as long as your happy with 720p and wireless only (no wired option). I've had an XS for about 6 months and absolutely love it!!! Check out the TONS of private channels for an amazing selection of movies, tech programming and entertainment.
byteless
Senior Member
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 2:28p
BloatedElvis said: Does Roku have a streaming solution that does not involve some wonky secret channel ? (that's how I vaguely recall it working)
IOW - can I stream on my LAN from a SMB share ? Either with or without DLNA ?
Don't know what to answer.
I bought this device last summer with the hope that if nothing worked atleast I can do the DLNA. but guess what there is no out of the box support for DLNA. There are couple of workarounds to get the DLNA but there is no channel out of the box to support that.
I was also thinking atleast do the youtube videos but Youtube channel pulled by google last year. some TOS issues between Roku/google.
Now I have a crappy streaming device which can just become a paperweight.
The easiest DLNA work around I found is to buy the yearly PlayOn subscription and hook that up with Roku...
Can I connect my external hard drive with this unit to play High definition video files such as MKV format?
bhavin66
Member
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 2:51p
somebody mentioned earlier in a different thread that the WD players are much better in terms of media playing support.
themew
Ancient Member
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 3:25p
lovecd said: Can I connect my external hard drive with this unit to play High definition video files such as MKV format?
Here is the link to the manufacturer's forum > Link To Forum
You'll find and learn everything there is to know about these amazing devices.
kameleon
Geeky member
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 3:53p
If you have a pc with all of your media on it already why not look at Plex? Add the private channel for it and viola all your media is accessible on your Roku. That is what I do. Have been wanting to get one of these for the bedroom so this one fits the bill perfectly (wifi only and 720p). Thanks OP!
liljose13
Member
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 4:29p
Greatest thing since individually wrapped cheese!
bgriffin
Senior Member
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 4:50p
I don't get the hate for it not playing local media. This isn't a local media player, it's a streaming media player. It was built to stream media from the internet, which it does a great job of btw. I love mine. My TV/BluRay players play my local media just fine. To me it's like buying a dish washer and complaining after you get it home that it doesn't wash clothes too.
yakky
Senior Member
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 4:59p
It does play local media, just has to be mpeg4 encoded. I'm very happy with MyMedia:
Yes, but it doesn't do it out of the box, which is what most people that complain about it are complaining about. On a side note, I have all of my files on an NAS, and the those apps don't work well for me as they cause the files to have to stream off the NAS into my PC and back out to the Roku. Even with gigabit network between my NAS and PC it's still jumpy. And it slows down my PC horribly. Again though, I can stream local files to 2 of my 3 TV's so really not a big deal.
bgriffin
Senior Member
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 5:20p
pkp413 said: I am new to this device. For a typical user, what can it do that xbox can't? I currently use xbox to stream local files and internet content.
The big deal for me is it's one of the few devices that can stream Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon all. I would guess that's 90% of the traffic. There's a ton of other channels though. You can get all of the nightly news shows, CNBC, CNET. The TED channel is incredibly interesting. And HBOGO if you happen to subscribe to HBO. Plus tons of other stuff.
yacheapbastard
Senior Member
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 5:45p
dropinthebox said: where is Roku from?? it looks great....
yacheapbastard said: dropinthebox said: where is Roku from?? it looks great....
I believe Roku is from Saturn You are incorrect sir! They are from Amadeus. You need proof? While secretive, they've been here since at least 1780, and are well enough known to have this song written about how they miss their home planet of Amadeus...
Ooo Roku Amadeus Roku Amadeus... Rock rock rock Roku Amadeus Roku all the time to the top
Er war ein Punker Und er lebte in der großen Stadt Es war Wien, war Vienna Wo er alles tat Er hatte Schulden denn er trank Doch ihn liebten alle Frauen Und jede rief: Come on and Roku Amadeus
Er war Superstar Er war populär Er war so exaltiert Because er hatte Flair Er war ein Virtuose War ein Rockidol Und alles rief: Come on and Roku Amadeus
Come on and Roku Amadeus Amadeus Amadeus, Amadeus Amadeus Amadeus, Amadeus Amadeus Amadeus, oh oh oh Amadeus
Es war um 1780 Und es war in Wien No plastic money anymore Die Banken gegen ihn Woher die Schulden kamen War wohl jedermann bekannt Er war ein Mann der Frauen Frauen liebten seinen Punk
Baby baby do it to me Roku Baby baby do it to me Roku Baby baby do it to me Roku Ja ja ja Baby baby do it to me Roku Baby baby do it to me Roku Baby baby do it to me Roku
bgriffin said: pkp413 said: I am new to this device. For a typical user, what can it do that xbox can't? I currently use xbox to stream local files and internet content.
The big deal for me is it's one of the few devices that can stream Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon all. I would guess that's 90% of the traffic. There's a ton of other channels though. You can get all of the nightly news shows, CNBC, CNET. The TED channel is incredibly interesting. And HBOGO if you happen to subscribe to HBO. Plus tons of other stuff.
Great channels from nowhereman and endless too!
Someone mentioned the forums. Loads of good info there.
irisbass
Member
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 7:40p
sounds nice and i can buy one for mum to kill the time,haha,thank u
smokingmods
Member
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 8:35p
I have one they are fine for hulu Netflix amzaon streaming video etc
its a nice choice if you have a room with a tv and dont want to add another cable/sat bill this lets you have basic(ish) tv functions wirelessly
if you have Netflix your choices are pretty much unlimited to what you can see
jimates
Senior Member - 4K
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 8:53p
Be specific. It won't do Hulu, only Hulu Plus. Big difference as there are many shows my kids watch on Hulu that we can't watch on a box. No box does regular Hulu.
chrsedwrds
Ancient Member
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 9:54p
I ordered a second one on this deal, I use Playon with it and it gives me pretty much everything I had with directv, except the $120 bill each month. Regular Hulu works on the Playon as well through this.
robasha4
Member
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 10:02p
Wineaux said: yacheapbastard said: dropinthebox said: where is Roku from?? it looks great....
I believe Roku is from Saturn You are incorrect sir! They are from Amadeus. You need proof? While secretive, they've been here since at least 1780, and are well enough known to have this song written about how they miss their home planet of Amadeus...
Ooo Roku Amadeus Roku Amadeus... Rock rock rock Roku Amadeus Roku all the time to the top
Er war ein Punker Und er lebte in der großen Stadt Es war Wien, war Vienna Wo er alles tat Er hatte Schulden denn er trank Doch ihn liebten alle Frauen Und jede rief: Come on and Roku Amadeus
Er war Superstar Er war populär Er war so exaltiert Because er hatte Flair Er war ein Virtuose War ein Rockidol Und alles rief: Come on and Roku Amadeus
Come on and Roku Amadeus Amadeus Amadeus, Amadeus Amadeus Amadeus, Amadeus Amadeus Amadeus, oh oh oh Amadeus
Es war um 1780 Und es war in Wien No plastic money anymore Die Banken gegen ihn Woher die Schulden kamen War wohl jedermann bekannt Er war ein Mann der Frauen Frauen liebten seinen Punk
Baby baby do it to me Roku Baby baby do it to me Roku Baby baby do it to me Roku Ja ja ja Baby baby do it to me Roku Baby baby do it to me Roku Baby baby do it to me Roku
robasha4 said: Wineaux said: yacheapbastard said: dropinthebox said: where is Roku from?? it looks great....
I believe Roku is from Saturn You are incorrect sir! They are from Amadeus. You need proof? While secretive, they've been here since at least 1780, and are well enough known to have this song written about how they miss their home planet of Amadeus...
Ooo Roku Amadeus Roku Amadeus... Rock rock rock Roku Amadeus Roku all the time to the top
Er war ein Punker Und er lebte in der großen Stadt Es war Wien, war Vienna Wo er alles tat Er hatte Schulden denn er trank Doch ihn liebten alle Frauen Und jede rief: Come on and Roku Amadeus
Er war Superstar Er war populär Er war so exaltiert Because er hatte Flair Er war ein Virtuose War ein Rockidol Und alles rief: Come on and Roku Amadeus
Come on and Roku Amadeus Amadeus Amadeus, Amadeus Amadeus Amadeus, Amadeus Amadeus Amadeus, oh oh oh Amadeus
Es war um 1780 Und es war in Wien No plastic money anymore Die Banken gegen ihn Woher die Schulden kamen War wohl jedermann bekannt Er war ein Mann der Frauen Frauen liebten seinen Punk
Baby baby do it to me Roku Baby baby do it to me Roku Baby baby do it to me Roku Ja ja ja Baby baby do it to me Roku Baby baby do it to me Roku Baby baby do it to me Roku
Seemed like an awful lot of work for little reward... You obviously don't visit FW Off Topic very much do you? LOL
PS... Find & Replace is such an awesome little tool.
jschuman
Senior Member - 5K
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 10:18p
chrsedwrds said: I ordered a second one on this deal, I use Playon with it and it gives me pretty much everything I had with directv, except the $120 bill each month. Regular Hulu works on the Playon as well through this.
Why not just order the Roku HD through Playon and get the unit + lifetime Playon for $79?
jimates
Senior Member - 4K
posted: Feb. 29, 2012 @ 11:14p
jschuman said: chrsedwrds said: I ordered a second one on this deal, I use Playon with it and it gives me pretty much everything I had with directv, except the $120 bill each month. Regular Hulu works on the Playon as well through this.
Why not just order the Roku HD through Playon and get the unit + lifetime Playon for $79?Now that is a good deal.
getzdeal
Member
posted: Mar. 1, 2012 @ 7:24a
Can this do closed captioning on Netflix, my Xbox does, but by BluRay player doesn't?
BloatedElvis
Cranky Member
posted: Mar. 1, 2012 @ 11:15a
bgriffin said: I don't get the hate for it not playing local media. This isn't a local media player, it's a streaming media player. It was built to stream media from the internet, which it does a great job of btw. I love mine. My TV/BluRay players play my local media just fine. To me it's like buying a dish washer and complaining after you get it home that it doesn't wash clothes too.
I want to stream from location a -> b. I want to STREAM media from my NAS to my Roku. Why should it need to go over the internet ?
I think that is completely within the realm OD 'media streamer'. If Roku supported this better, I would probably be all over it.
I would be sad with my ATV if I couldn't install XMBC and stream that way (although I could still stream my itunes stuff locally)
searoute24
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 1, 2012 @ 11:30a
This is a good price, but I think for most people the wrong Roku. I purchased an XD and was impressed, but the picture quality was less than great on my 1080P HDTV. So, I had to buy another Roku and this time the XS model. It would be better to invest the money in the XS and have the best, rather than really liking the Roku, but wishing you got the right one the first time. That's how I felt. I think in time Roku will add more HD channels and having the right unit is the best bet. I gave my HD away because the XS is so much better.
bgriffin
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 1, 2012 @ 11:40a
BloatedElvis said: bgriffin said: I don't get the hate for it not playing local media. This isn't a local media player, it's a streaming media player. It was built to stream media from the internet, which it does a great job of btw. I love mine. My TV/BluRay players play my local media just fine. To me it's like buying a dish washer and complaining after you get it home that it doesn't wash clothes too.
I want to stream from location a -> b. I want to STREAM media from my NAS to my Roku. Why should it need to go over the internet ?
I think that is completely within the realm OD 'media streamer'. If Roku supported this better, I would probably be all over it.
I would be sad with my ATV if I couldn't install XMBC and stream that way (although I could still stream my itunes stuff locally)
Because mechanically those are 2 very different things.
gremln007
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 1, 2012 @ 11:50a
searoute24 said: This is a good price, but I think for most people the wrong Roku. I purchased an XD and was impressed, but the picture quality was less than great on my 1080P HDTV. So, I had to buy another Roku and this time the XS model. It would be better to invest the money in the XS and have the best, rather than really liking the Roku, but wishing you got the right one the first time. That's how I felt. I think in time Roku will add more HD channels and having the right unit is the best bet. I gave my HD away because the XS is so much better.
You really see a difference between 720 and 1080?
Just curious... Maybe my eyes are worse than I think!
BloatedElvis
Cranky Member
posted: Mar. 1, 2012 @ 12:22p
bgriffin said: BloatedElvis said: bgriffin said: I don't get the hate for it not playing local media. This isn't a local media player, it's a streaming media player. It was built to stream media from the internet, which it does a great job of btw. I love mine. My TV/BluRay players play my local media just fine. To me it's like buying a dish washer and complaining after you get it home that it doesn't wash clothes too.
I want to stream from location a -> b. I want to STREAM media from my NAS to my Roku. Why should it need to go over the internet ?
I think that is completely within the realm OD 'media streamer'. If Roku supported this better, I would probably be all over it.
I would be sad with my ATV if I couldn't install XMBC and stream that way (although I could still stream my itunes stuff locally)
Because mechanically those are 2 very different things.
Not really. The actual streaming a mp4/mkv/mov file is the same whether the file is on a web server or my SMB/NFS share. I think Roku has also been promising DLNA support, which I could work with as well, since my NAS is basically a debian box.
I don't fault Roku per se for not doing, just that it would be more desirable if it did. And since it's all linux based interface anyway, it shouldn't be too hard to add. I was surprise there wasn't a better local 'channel' to do this, although I haven't much looked into Roku hacking.
nneelix
Loyal Member
posted: Mar. 1, 2012 @ 12:43p
gremln007 said: searoute24 said: This is a good price, but I think for most people the wrong Roku. I purchased an XD and was impressed, but the picture quality was less than great on my 1080P HDTV. So, I had to buy another Roku and this time the XS model. It would be better to invest the money in the XS and have the best, rather than really liking the Roku, but wishing you got the right one the first time. That's how I felt. I think in time Roku will add more HD channels and having the right unit is the best bet. I gave my HD away because the XS is so much better.
You really see a difference between 720 and 1080?
Just curious... Maybe my eyes are worse than I think!
Depends on the TV.
I cant see the difference on my 32" Bedroom TV.
I can see the difference on my 60" Theater TV.
jimates
Senior Member - 4K
posted: Mar. 1, 2012 @ 12:59p
BloatedElvis said: bgriffin said: I don't get the hate for it not playing local media. This isn't a local media player, it's a streaming media player. It was built to stream media from the internet, which it does a great job of btw. I love mine. My TV/BluRay players play my local media just fine. To me it's like buying a dish washer and complaining after you get it home that it doesn't wash clothes too.
I want to stream from location a -> b. I want to STREAM media from my NAS to my Roku. Why should it need to go over the internet ?
I think that is completely within the realm OD 'media streamer'. If Roku supported this better, I would probably be all over it.
I would be sad with my ATV if I couldn't install XMBC and stream that way (although I could still stream my itunes stuff locally)WDTV Live Plus, with the custom firmware installed, does that very well. But it doesn't do Amazon VOD. The WD will also work with PlayOn.
I would love to have this Roku but I don't want to be limited to only wireless.
bgriffin
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 1, 2012 @ 1:18p
BloatedElvis said: bgriffin said: BloatedElvis said: bgriffin said: I don't get the hate for it not playing local media. This isn't a local media player, it's a streaming media player. It was built to stream media from the internet, which it does a great job of btw. I love mine. My TV/BluRay players play my local media just fine. To me it's like buying a dish washer and complaining after you get it home that it doesn't wash clothes too.
I want to stream from location a -> b. I want to STREAM media from my NAS to my Roku. Why should it need to go over the internet ?
I think that is completely within the realm OD 'media streamer'. If Roku supported this better, I would probably be all over it.
I would be sad with my ATV if I couldn't install XMBC and stream that way (although I could still stream my itunes stuff locally)
Because mechanically those are 2 very different things.
Not really. The actual streaming a mp4/mkv/mov file is the same whether the file is on a web server or my SMB/NFS share. I think Roku has also been promising DLNA support, which I could work with as well, since my NAS is basically a debian box.
I don't fault Roku per se for not doing, just that it would be more desirable if it did. And since it's all linux based interface anyway, it shouldn't be too hard to add. I was surprise there wasn't a better local 'channel' to do this, although I haven't much looked into Roku hacking.
I think you miss my point. You can program lots of things to do lots of things. My point being, Roku built a player to stream things from internet video providers. That's what they built, that's what they're selling. They're not selling something the streams local media. People should buy things that do what they want it to do, not buy things that don't do what they want it to do and then complain about it. Or complain about a product built to do one thing because it doesn't do something else.
bgriffin said: BloatedElvis said: bgriffin said: BloatedElvis said: bgriffin said: I don't get the hate for it not playing local media. This isn't a local media player, it's a streaming media player. It was built to stream media from the internet, which it does a great job of btw. I love mine. My TV/BluRay players play my local media just fine. To me it's like buying a dish washer and complaining after you get it home that it doesn't wash clothes too.
I want to stream from location a -> b. I want to STREAM media from my NAS to my Roku. Why should it need to go over the internet ?
I think that is completely within the realm OD 'media streamer'. If Roku supported this better, I would probably be all over it.
I would be sad with my ATV if I couldn't install XMBC and stream that way (although I could still stream my itunes stuff locally)
Because mechanically those are 2 very different things.
Not really. The actual streaming a mp4/mkv/mov file is the same whether the file is on a web server or my SMB/NFS share. I think Roku has also been promising DLNA support, which I could work with as well, since my NAS is basically a debian box.
I don't fault Roku per se for not doing, just that it would be more desirable if it did. And since it's all linux based interface anyway, it shouldn't be too hard to add. I was surprise there wasn't a better local 'channel' to do this, although I haven't much looked into Roku hacking.
I think you miss my point. You can program lots of things to do lots of things. My point being, Roku built a player to stream things from internet video providers. That's what they built, that's what they're selling. They're not selling something the streams local media. People should buy things that do what they want it to do, not buy things that don't do what they want it to do and then complain about it. Or complain about a product built to do one thing because it doesn't do something else.
Until you write code for a living don't spout nonsense on the internet about something you don't know. There is no difference between streaming from a website and streaming from your local PC. The Roku decodes a video being streamed from a specific IP address, period. Whether that IP is local or over the internet is irrelevant, literally. Give it an IP address and a valid video stream and it should be able to decode it. Roku simply hasn't taken the time to implement it and because of this I won't buy it until it does. Streaming video is streaming video, regardless of the source.
byteless said: BloatedElvis said: Does Roku have a streaming solution that does not involve some wonky secret channel ? (that's how I vaguely recall it working)
IOW - can I stream on my LAN from a SMB share ? Either with or without DLNA ?
Don't know what to answer.
I bought this device last summer with the hope that if nothing worked atleast I can do the DLNA. but guess what there is no out of the box support for DLNA. There are couple of workarounds to get the DLNA but there is no channel out of the box to support that.
I was also thinking atleast do the youtube videos but Youtube channel pulled by google last year. some TOS issues between Roku/google.
Now I have a crappy streaming device which can just become a paperweight.
The easiest DLNA work around I found is to buy the yearly PlayOn subscription and hook that up with Roku...
Have you tried Tversity instead of PlayOn? That's what I currently use to stream to my DTV Receiver and PS3 and was wondering if it will work with the Roku
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