Roku HD Streaming Player

With cable and satellite bills rising, most people do not want to get out X dollars a month just to watch five shows on a regular basis. While there are many options out there, two of the most popular is the Apple TV and Roku.

Setup is easy. You plug in the HDMI cable (or a component cable, if you have a non-HDMI TVs, Rokus has other advantages all over the Apple TV), plug in the power supply, and you start setup. All you have to do is create an account at Roku.com and enter your credit card information (do not worry, you will not have to buy most of the channel or the show, you just have to have the information stored on If you buy one channel you download paid or download something from Amazon OnDemand. I personally do not find a big problem, but I can understand why people would be bothered by this). 

Once you are done with the initial setup (which takes about 10 minutes, give or take), the box will automatically download multiple channels for you: Amazon OnDemand, Crackle, Netflix, HuluPlus, and Pandora. Also, the Roku HD remote - in contrast to LT - there are three shortcut buttons for Netflix, Crackle, and Pandora, which is very nice to have.

Content: You go to the store Channel (home screen) and from there download the desired channels are available.There are dozens upon dozens of channels, ranging from popular to obscure. You can get sports, technology, news, clear film and TV, and more channels. Plus,

Roku good about updating new channels regularly (though now most of the channels being added are religious stations). Unfortunately, the Roku HD does not have a simple search function, so you'll have to scroll through the channels manually. 

Today, while the relatively small number of channels, it's more of a nuisance than a real problem, but as more channels will be added in the future, Roku will have to add search functionality if they want to get people to buy. Again, remember that some of the channels do not require a monthly subscription or require you to pay to download the channel, so look before you leap. However, many are very good, there will be something for everyone. Plus, unlike with cable, if you do not like the channel, you can delete it (although for a monthly paid service to remember to call them and tell them to cancel your subscription).

Image quality: as mentioned everywhere, maximum image Roku HD will broadcast is 720P/1080i. In other words, it is HD, but not full HD. Now, while almost all TV shows still broadcast in 720p, it's not a big deal - even on a TV bigger - and if you have a TV under 42 inches you probably will not notice a big difference in picture quality between 720P and 1080P as well, but for the last Amazon OnDemand movie or a TV larger (ie 50 inches),



You might want to shell out for Roku 2 XS (which is about $ 100) to take full advantage of your TV picture quality. However, I must say the quality of the picture on the box is very good. I have a PS3 with a Hulu Plus as well, and honestly Roku HD picture is much better: a lot sharper, a little less "digital look", and just plain good (for the record, I have a 32 "LED from LG).

Internet: because the Roku HD is a single-bandwidth, and as you just need a lot of horsepower goes to get the most out of digital streaming video, you will need a reasonably fast internet connection. I found that if you download speeds of 1.5 Mbps, for example, you'll have a hard time watching it on the Roku HD. I have 30 Mbps, so for me streaming easily EXCEPT when I want to get on my machine. Then the audio problems that sometimes arise. It's even worse on some channels than others, Netflix has never had a problem, but Hulu can become unwatchable at times because the sound quality deteriorated so badly. This seems to be a problem in most of the Roku device, so be forewarned. Honestly, it does not happen often, and lately when it does happen, usually only for a few seconds while the video buffers, and then it's fine, so do not worry it's not a deal-breaker.

By using roku you can nmenghemat approximately $ 60 - $ 80. What else can you expect from this particular product.View price