Tech Savvy Mama

Parenting in the Digital Age

Roku Streaming Player Brings Your TV Online (giveaway)

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Is your TV “Internet Enabled?”  Can you stream shows to it?  Chances are it’s not. 

Roku Streaming Player is a line of affordable devices that bring your TV into the connected world.  The device is about the size of a drink coaster and connects to your home internet via wifi or ethernet, allowing you to stream Full HD quality videos form a variety of internet sites such as Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu Plus.

About the Roku XS Streaming Player
I received the Roku XS player, which retails for $99.  Believe it or not, the Roku XS is their high-end box.  With three models costing $57/79/99, the pricing structure reminds my husband of Taco Bell circa 1995 with their 59/79/99 cent menu.  Remember that?
 
The box has a simple and attractive menu system to browse through various online channels that you configure your box to display.  There is a screen where you choose the channels you’re interested in, and then it places them on your menu system.  Most channels are free, but there are options to pay for some premium content.
Content Available Through Roku
Roku has done their homework on getting you access to quality content.  The box streams Netflix movies, Amazon Video Store purchases, and Hulu Plus (a paid version of Hulu with additional content and the ability to stream directly to TVs). 
Stream content from Netflix to your television

Roku provided a HuluPlus trial account to test with the device, and it was easy to link the Hulu Account with the Roku player.  In about 30 seconds, I was able to watch a controversial Glee episode (the one that got Republicans up in arms.  The full quality HD with limited commercial interruption was certainly nice.

Hulu Plus costs $7.99 a month, but it gives you access to up-to date, first-rate content from major TV networks.  For example, The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, Glee, and a whole lot more.   For those looking to cut the CableTV cord for good, Hulu Plus would be a critical piece of the replacement.
In addition to these big name players, I found good content on other channels.  Crackle is a “channel” that gives you free full HD quality movie streaming with some inserted commercials.  It had some good quality movies, which came up immediately. 
In fact, it took a lot less time to get to the opening credits of a Crackle movie than it does to get our family’s BluRay player to read a disc, fast forward past 5 previews, the FBI warning, a “you might need to update your player” screen, another warning that “bonus features are unrated,” and all of the other junk that comes on a BluRay or DVD.   

Other content includes a Roku NewsCaster channel with content from Fox News, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and others.  I was able to immediately bring up the current episode of the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.  The NBC Nightly News was technically a podcast from the internet, so it wasn’t full HDTV quality.  Same thing for some of the CBS feeds as well.  Some of the other news content is also “audio-only.”   In this respect, Roku is at the mercy of what the networks are willing to post on the internet.  Roku has done a nice job finding what’s out there and organizing it for you in an elegant and non-frustrating way.

Roku also includes a channel for streaming Pandora Internet Radio to your TV.  I also added channels for the Wall Street Journal video, CNBC, as well as an AOL HD channel and several other channels which looked interesting.  I was able to watch clips from Fox’s TV show, The X-Factor, episodes of Engadget TV, and some CNBC market recaps.
Roku Social Media and Gaming Capabilities
Roku streams photos and video from Facebook, Flickr, and Vimeo video.  One site missing from the list is YouTube, but we hear it’s under development.  I’ll welcome the YouTube channel when it arrives, but honestly, most people don’t sit down in front of the TV to relax and watch loads of You Tube videos.  It’s better for watching a 30-second viral video from the desktop. 
In addition to all of this video content, Roku has also added games to their streaming box.  The XS version ($99) comes with a Bluetooth remote and a full copy of AngryBirds.  The game can be played using the remote, similar to a Nintendo Wii remote. 
 
Yes, you can even play Angry Birds through Roku.
As it turns out, Angry Birds on your home’s large flat screen is pretty nice.  I hadn’t intended for my Angry Birds addicted children to realize that this was a capability but in a weak moment, they got to play supersize Angry Birds and thought it was pretty awesome.
What Doesn’t Roku do?  
This product is a direct competitor to the AppleTV product.  AppleTV is an extension of iTunes and the iTunes store, and the Apple Walled Garden of all things Apple.  So don’t expect to stream iTunes music or movies to the Roku. 

Roku does have the ability to play content directly connected via USB.  This would be useful for playing videos stored on a flash drive, or perhaps a memory card adapter from your digital camera or camcorder.  I pulled a particularly nasty trick on the Roku and plugged in a 1.5TB hard drive containing tons if MP3s and photos.  I doubt this was an intended use, but I wanted to see what would happen.  It wasn’t fast, but it worked.  It scanned the drive many times, but I was able to navigate the hard drive’s folder structure, and in a minute or two, I was blasting old school Run DMC from the TV with album art.  Nice!

Roku doesn’t support local streaming of content from your home PC, like MP3s or home movies.  Some other streaming boxes have this.  I did find a beta for the Plex media server channel on Roku, so perhaps this feature will come to Roku eventually.
It doesn’t have a full web browser but I don’t think that it needs one.   Some other streaming platforms try to put the web on your TV.  That typically requires a full keyboard and necessitates sitting upright which, some might say, defeats the purpose of watching TV in the first place. 
  
Hardware Options
As stated earlier, Roku has boxes from $59 to $99, and an older model at $49.  They have a nice comparison chart here which explains the differences.  None of these will break the bank this holiday season.   
 
Roku’s affordable options are priced from $59-99
Be sure to buy yourself a $2.50 HDMI cable from MonoPrice since Roku doesn’t include an HDMI cable in their box.  For goodness sakes, don’t spend another $50 on an HDMI cable. 
Summary
Tiny box, small price, lots of content choices, and full 1080p video support.  This is an amazing little box worth checking out.  If nothing in your TV cabinet does Netflix Streaming, Hulu Plus, or Amazon video, then this is a no brainer.

Win your own Roku!

 
To enter: Visit the Roku site and leave a comment about the featured channel, game, or content you are most excited about streaming. Include your email address or Twitter handle for your entry to be valid!
 
For extra entries, complete the mandatory entry above and do any of the following:
  • Complete the Tech Savvy Mama reader survey if you haven’t completed it as part of my Xbox or Nintendo DS giveaways.  Those who have not completed the survey will receive 2 entries- 1 for the survey, 1 for leaving a comment below saying you completed the survey.  If you have completed the survey as an optional entry for another giveaway, leave a comment to let me know you’ve done so and you’ll still get 1 entry into this giveaway.  Please note that all responses will remain anonymous. If your comment is selected, I will check to make sure you really did complete the survey.  If you just comment below without completing the survey, your entry will not be valid. (1 or 2 entries)
  • Follow me on Twitter and tweet this daily:  I entered to win @TechSavvyMama’s @Roku #giveaway! Enter here before 12/16: http://bit.ly/UbisoftNintendoDS Leave your Twitter handle in the comments (1 entry/day)
  • Blog about this giveaway and include “TechSavvyMama.com is giving away a Roku box! Stream content from your laptop to your TV” with this link http://www.techsavvymama.com.  Leave a permalink and your email/Twitter handle in your comment. (10 entries)

 

Winner will be randomly selected from valid entries on Friday, December 16 using Random.org.  Winner will have 24 hours to reply with a U.S. mailing address and phone number before another winner will be selected.  Roku is being provided by the company and will be shipped directly to the winner. Complete rules regarding this giveaway can be found in the Official Sweepstakes Rules.  
I was not compensated for this post or hosting this giveaway. All opinions are my own.  

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Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
©2012

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Laura says

    I have to say that I’m excited to have angry birds. For the simple reason that I can get my phone back from my son so I can use it!

    twitter: @kileigh7

  4. Aimee @ Smiling Mama says

    TSM, how do you always answer my questions before I even have them? This morning on my commute I was reading the Express and this was one of their gift guide picks but I’d never heard of it! Now I might have to add it to my list!! (If I don’t win, that is!!) I’d definitely be tuning into HBO!!

  9. heathercmd@yahoo.com says

    I have Amazon Prime but the kids can only watch shows on my computer. With a Roku we could stream to the TV!!!!

  10. Lee Black says

    I am most excited about Hulu! I am thinking of getting rid of cable and just streaming my TV off the internet.
    serafyn12 at yahoo dot com

  22. coriwestphal says

    We already have Netflix but wi-fi only on one of our TV’s. I’d love to be able to stream Netflix movies (I’m in the middle of watching Weeds!) on our other TV!

    coriwestphal at msn dot com

  38. Anonymous says

    A Roku box does sound impressive. Right now, I have been using DISHOnline.com when I want to watch an episode I missed on TV or if I want to check out something new. The cool thing about DISH Online is that most of the content is free and available to anyone. If you have a subscription through DISH Network like I do with my employee account then you have access to many more shows and movies. You can also set up your DVR recordings on there. I would much prefer to go to DISH Online and watch shows on the PC if needed then have the Roku and have to pay for a subscription to Hulu or Netflix or any of the other companies. I think the advantage of the Roku is that you can watch it on your TV and not the PC.

  42. Carolsue says

    I am most interested in streaming Twitter with the Roku. Angry Birds, too. Lots of other things as well!
    Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net

  56. Eileen says

    We’d love to get the HBO streamed. We get Netflix but only the lower grades and am tired of the oldies movies. My husband also works on some NASA projects with a very small company and we used to get that channel streamed. The kids thought that was pretty cool.

    thanks much!
    ejrichter60 at gmail dot com

  84. toddlerplanet says

    Totally psyched to try this out – I love my Netflix subscription, but we’re using an ancient laptop to view it on our tv, and that needs to go! Thanks for the giveaway, TechSavvyMama!

    Love, @whymommy