Review on Roku HD XR Player

Roku has unleashed its new HD XR player which is tagged with a price of $130 for the dual band 802.11n Wi-Fi and a port for USB for future expansion. Programmings for Roku are available in the Roku Channel Store. 12K movies and TV shows can be accessed in this player with the help of NetFlix which is a paid subscription. This service of subscription is all available to the NetFlix subscribers which allow more than one disk at a time which costs $9 per month. Even in HD some of the contents like this are available.

In the Box:

This box looks identical to the other models of Roku. The dimension of this box is 1.75inch x 5.25inch x 5.25inches. This box is a bit smaller than the original cable modem. At the rear end of the box instead of Ethernet port there are ports for video and audio output too viz., S-video, HDMI component video and composite video ports as well as standard red / white analog stereo output or digital optical output. For minimal quality of video, component video or HDMI should be used. Cables for composite standard AV is offered in the box, thus other cables should be arranged by the user itself.

Toggle for aspect ratio separately is present in here which helps in connecting the NetFlix player to any TV and not just the HD. 720p is the limited output of HD from Roku, though it doesn’t impact on the quality of image very much but some of the old HDTVs can’t receive and accept these signals of 720p. Thus, anamorphic mode has to be forcibly put on. The remote of this player is simple and there is an extra D-pad which is a 5 way one with fast forward, play / pause and rewind buttons.

Main screen‘s list of available channels can be got back by pressing the Home toggle. Remote works well and it is a standard IR model. Programming the functions of the remote can be done very easily to any worth while universal remote. iPhone or iPod can be used as a remote too through the Wi-Fi connection with the Rokumote app or DVP Remote app.

How to Setup?

AV cables should be connected to the TV from Roku and then AC adapter has to be plugged into the box. Then the box starts up in a few seconds and setup can be done via simple setup wizard even including the remote. A choice is offered whether to connect to the home network through a wireless or wired connection. If any wireless connection is secure then security key can be keyed in via onscreen virtual keyboard. Web browser can be used if the device is online to create a Roku account at their company’s website.

This allows linking the Roku Player to the account by typing the code which has been displayed on the screen by the player. There is an app store called Channel Store for contents. Channels can be added or removed from the stores as the user likes. Channels wanted will be displayed and can be viewed but the others remain hidden. Removing, adding or reading a channel is easy and quick. This is straightforward and easy. If a channel is to be setup then the above process of creating an account should be followed.

Usage of Roku Player:

After setting the channels, it can be gone through and can be enjoyed a lot. Interface of those channels are general. 5way D-pad is used to maneuver between the lists of horizontal programs. On pressing the top arrow the parent folder opens up in the channel and further clicking up will bring the user to the main screen of the channel and later back to the Home screen of Roku. Thus functions and interface are straightforward and intuitive. Rewinding and fast forwarding can be done by navigating the progress strip with the total time of video at multiple speeds.

Amazon and NetFlix adds to the thumbnails which makes easier to find the specific scenes. This is not that much easy like skipping the songs in DVD player but considerably stream-able and is even. Quality of signal is adjusted automatically by Roku according to the speed of the broadband connection which is on the 4 level scales. The resulting image varies widely with the connection and source encoding. On Mediafly, videos can be outcaste. Some of the videos are stuttering and storming artifacts only when the frame rate drops to 24fps.

On Amazon and NetFlix, the HD content is spectrum. They look outstanding and huge. Though the quality is not of the Blu Ray level but exceeds the quality of DVD videos. Quality of audio is also very superior. Almost all the programs are in stereo mode but some are in Dolby Digital surround.

Outline:

Roku player doesn’t offer the Hulu or Youtube contents which is the main drawback of this device. The interface of NetFlix is slight annoying with the Xbox 360 and thus offers extra list of programs to choose from the hot genres or new releases. If Roku interface had got these options with the ability to search the NetFlix catalog and manipulate these, then it would have been mind blowing. Though these are minor quibbles, the major issue is that Roku Players doesn’t have private locks on Amazon and NetFlix. Customers before buying this have to think that the Roku player doesn’t play the Blu Ray disks or the DVDs.

Main advantage of this player is that it offers the Wi-Fi connectivity, history demonstrated for expanding the program offerings and easy setup. Added fee is not required for Roku for the NetFlix subscription. Ultimately, the Roku’s hitches are driven off by hearing the Roku’s low price of $130. This player delivers the wealth of web media content which is on demand on the TV. Options for programming are growing and flexible and the decision of buying this player is left to you now!!!