If you haven’t heard by now, Netflix is the DVD rental standard that brings DVDs right to your door and has eliminated the late fees and driving.  A small monthly fee is all that’s required to reach their huge DVD selection (over 100,000) and you keep the movie as long as you want.  But, if you just can’t wait, you have the option to, on demand, stream movies right to your computer.  This may satisfy certain customer but, you can’t watch them on your living room TV unless you own a Home Theater PC.  Entry the stand alone, $99 Roku Digital Video Player.

Hardware:

Lets start with the Hardware.  You get all the bells and whistles that a video player would offer today.  Nothing over the top here but, note the size and weight of the Roku.  The small footprint and weight make it a travel option.  Take it on the next business trip or family vacation and have instant access to your Netflix library…  assuming you have Internet access.  On the downside, it’s not the nicest looking electronic device in the world.  I own an Apple TV as well and the Roku lacks the showmanship appeal of the Apple TV (especially the remote).  If looks don’t matter (and they probably won’t), then lets move on.

• Networking : Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) with WEP, WPA, and WPA2 support 10/100 Ethernet (RJ-45)
• Video Outputs: Composite video, S-Video, Component video (Y/Pb/Pr), HDMI
• Video Modes: 16:9 HD (720p), 16:9 anamorphic (480p), 4:3 standard (480i)
• Audio Output:  Stereo (L/R RCA), Digital Optical (Toslink), Digital over HDMI
• Remote Control:  NEC protocol, supported by various universal remotes
• Power Input:  5V, 1.5A provided by included AC adapter
• Power Consumption:  5 watts peak, 3 watts in standby
• Size:  5 x 5 x 1.75 inches (130 x 130 x 41 mm)
• Weight:  11 oz (300 grams)

Out Of The Box:

Everything required for basic set up is included.  Power cable, remote control, RCA jacks, easy to follow setup instructions and they even included a set of AAA batteries for the remote.  If you really want to get the best experience out of the Roku player, you’ll want to upgrade to HDMI or Composite video cables (with the Digital Optical cable).  Also note, if you plan on using a wired hookup to your network, they did not provide an Ethernet cable.

Setup:

The six step setup could not be easier.  The included setup guide pamphlet is well done and has large pictures for those that hate to read. (view PDF)

• Step One:  Insert the Batteries into the remote control
• Step Two:  Connect Roku player to the TV
• Step Three:  Connect Roku to your Network using Wireless or Ethernet Cable.  The wireless option will automatically scan for you network and prompt for the password (if required)
• Step Four: Netflix account setup.  Simply process to verify your account.  You can also start a new account via this step
• Step Five:  Via Netflix.com, fill you “Instant Queue” with qualified movies.
• Step Six:  Back to the Roku player to pick from the queue you just setup online.

Some notes along the way:  There are some additional Roku steps that were not on the install guide, but I’m sure software upgrades change things so, it’s to be expected.  I was required to download 2 separate patches.  Each required a restart and delayed the install slightly.  There is also some video and audio choices and every time you make a change, it requires a reboot of the player.  This was a little annoying as I had to reboot about 5 times before all was said and done.  In about 15 minutes I was able to start watching.

Use:

Use of the Roku player could not be simpler.   Just turn it on with the remote and scroll through the movies or TV shows you have in your Netflix Instant Watch Queue.  Since there are no buttons on the device itself, using the remote is required for all tasks.  Click on the entertainment you wish to watch and you’ll see all the description info of your selection. Click again, sit back and enjoy.

You’ll also notice something different from your standard DVD experience.  There are no chapters.  Enabling fast-forwarding and rewinding brings up a series of hundreds of snapshots of frames in the film.  Each thumbnails corresponds to a 10 second interval in the video.  I personally liked it but, it is a slower way to jump around.

If you want to stop viewing midstream, the Roku player remembers were you left off.  This brings you back to your queue selection where you can also rate your choices.  The info then syncs back to your Netflix account to help drive you to other selections you might like.  This segways into one of my biggest complaints of the design implementation.   You can not browse the Netflix library from the Roku player!  Uhhh… Should I repeat?  This means, if you want to watch anything via the Roku player, you must first find a pc and place selections into your Instant Watch Queue.  A major design flaw in my opinion but, some would say it makes the experience more pleasurable.  Only presenting what’s in you Instant Watch Queue de-clutters the selection process.  I agree but, the user should have the option to do both!

Video and Sound:

Playback wasn’t bad but, it wasn’t great either.  Depending on your network speed, your video is streamed at different bit rates, with the highest being 2.2Mbps for standard playback.  They recently added HD content and they require at least 5Mbps for this format (more on this in minute).  Since my wireless connection was extremely good, I only tested it at the highest quality for each format.  With that said, using composite cables, widescreen HD output and having a superb connection speed, the video quality was decent.  I currently use Apple TV to stream my movies from my NAS and there was a noticeable difference, for the better, when watching the same movie, using the same connection setup.

The standard video had some noticeable video processing glitches that were present.  Right away I could see some blurriness, pixelation in dark scenes and text appeared foggy.  I went right for first action sequence in Spiderman 3.  The video did get a little jumpy and I had trouble following the action (though I must point out that the first action sequence in Spiderman 3 is very fast and hard to follow in any format).   Though a little disappointed in the video quality, the kids didn’t seem to care.  They watched a bunch of different kid flicks and TV shows without a problem.   Sound was also a non issue.  Using the optical option, I didn’t notice a difference in sound.

I then decided to pick one of their few HD selections.  Netflix just started offering HD content and there is very little to choose from thus far.  I choose Pan’s Labyrinth and I was very pleased in the video quality.  This movie contains sub-titles and the picture and text where very sharp.  To make the same comparison with my Apple TV, I’d say it was equal in quality.  Over time, this selection will only improve and will be a great selling point.

GadgetGrid’s Take:

Bottom line is the Roku Netflix Video stream is good product if you are willing to sacrifice a little video quality and deal with the Instant Watch Queue steup.  If money is on the mind, the Roku player is a great investment at only $99.  Apple TV or Vudu can come in at triple that.   Keep in mind that a monthly Netflix subscription fee is required so, there is a little monthly cost that goes with it.  Also note that this is Roku’s first crack at the movie digital download world and it will only get better.  Software upgrades, improved integrations and new partnerships will evolve over time…  For instance, they plan on partnering with Amazon’s on-demand rental service next so, this player has legs towards a digital download age.  Overall, the Roku Netlfix Player is a solid buy for all Netflix members!  Now pass the popcorn…

To purchase the Roku Netflix Player and find out more visit www.roku.com today.

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• LG BD 370 Network Blu-ray Disc Player
• LG BD670 3D Wireless Network Blu-ray Disc Player with Smart TV

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 at 1:31 am and is filed under Home Theater, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.