CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[Untuned]

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I watch most of my movies from Netflix via my blu-ray player, and I installed TVMobili on the computer which allows me to stream media files to the blu-ray player. It's a nice idea, but does not always work so smoothly. I would like to be able to stream media to my tv and access specific sites on the web without having to hook up a computer. My parents are watching me closely as the simplified approach interests them greatly. I looked at the Boxee, and it appears to do what I want, but at $189, I wondered if there wasn't something less dear. I've read a little about the ROKU and Google TV box, and even other Android driven tv boxes, but I have little experience, and I believe it is worth mentioning that some applications, like Amazon VOD, do not work in Canada.

Bottom line: I want to stream to my tv and browse the web simply and cheaply without hooking up a computer to it. And built in wi-fi would definitely be an advantage.

[brenwaterys]

I have used the PS3, ROKU, and an HTPC for streaming media to my TV with varied results.

I find the PS3 works great for Netflix as well as playing media that is shared via a DLNA server on your local network - Windows Media Player, TVersity, etc.. work well for that. A couple of things that I miss on my PS3 are a good Pandora app (come on Sony, you have a good one on your Blue-Ray players, why not the PS3. And yes I do realize that the browser will work) I am also missing Amazon VOD since I do have a prime membership but if their UI is as terrible as it is on the ROKU I will stick with Netflix for watching movies.

The ROKU works very well for streaming content directly off the internet but for accessing local files on your network it is very limited. There are some work arounds but I haven't had any luck with them yet. The other item that I find the Roku is missing is a YouTube app of some kind, there used to be a private channel that you could set up but that has been removed. As of last September there was rumored an official app was in development but I haven't seen it yet.

HTPC - obviously this is the most flexible device but with that comes the setup complexity. I have hope that one of these days I will get some time to play with this but if you are looking for dead simple I would suggest another solution.

From what I have read and researched the steps to choosing a set top box are basically to define what you will be watching and pick the best device to watch that content. Not everything is available on all devices. We are still probably at least a year or more away from getting a single box that will do everything. Recently there is talk about the new TV in development at Apple that integrates the existing AppleTV set top box. Will this do everything you need? Who knows. The Google TV with the latest round of updates is also supposed to have improved significantly but I can't speak to that device either.

Good luck with your search. I am still trying to find the best device for watching digital content on my TV (i.e. high WAF factor meaning very simple to operate) While I like the ROKU device and interface the fact that it won't stream local content is a big negative.

[Untuned]

Thanks for your comments! It sounds like you have done some experimenting. The ROKU has several models: does the one you have allow you to browse the internet? That's really the feature I'm looking for since Netflix appears to be common with most of the devices.

[brenwaterys]

I haven't used the latest version of the ROKU - I have the top of the line version 1 box with the usb port and hdmi output. The new ROKU 2 might let you actually browse the internet but I haven't tried. If there is a specific video streaming website though you can look through the channels available to see if they support streaming on the ROKU.

http://www.roku-channels.com/