

Set-top media player for parents: Roku, AppleTV, Boxee... - ecaroth

Hello HN... I am planning on buying my parents a set-top media player for christmas and can't decide which way to go, and thought the community might be able to give me some good feedback. Requirements are: at least 1 usb port, built in wifi, analog &#38; hdmi output, and netflix support. So far Roku is looking the best at $99, but appleTV and Boxee look damn good too..<p>I know there are a plethora of articles comparing these products on different gadget blogs, but I'm hoping I can get some insights here that I couldn't find elsewhere!
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jeebusroxors
I bought the Roku a few months back. I don't have cable and wanted to watch a
few shows here and there.It's pretty simple to use, but to me it doesn't feel
like a parent proof device.

The UI is split up into "Channels" which are essentially different
applications that grab video listings. The most popular one is netflix. It
should be noted that you cannot browse netflix from the Roku (yet). Your
instant queue is displayed on the top row, and then various other options are
displayed below it. There are groups like "Recently Watched", "Critically
Acclaimed Movies From The 80s", "Dark Documentaries", and then
recommendations, one from netflix and a few others based on things you've just
watched, and a search feature. All of these, except the instant queue, search
and netflix recommendations appear to be random.

I have had one technical problem with the netflix channel. From what I can
gather, when netflix goes down and you try to access the channel it can lock
the channel up, making all videos you try to watch unavailable. The only
solution was a factory reset.

There are some other good channels as well, MLB.tv, Nasa.tv (haven't had much
success), Khan Academy, TED Talks, and a few others. There is a way to stream
videos from your PC but it's a bit of a nightmare.

All in all, it's a great little device, and I'm happy with the purchase but it
may be one of those "you get what you pay for" things, but I've never seen any
of the other devices. If you need more help feel free to email.

~~~
ecaroth
Awesome.. that's just the kind of info I was looking for. From the looks of
things, they're actively developing their software and plan on supporting
Hulu+ as well. Probably gonna pull the trigger on this badboy then! One more
question... does it have a bittorent client built in? I have a cinemaGo, which
lacks netflix support unfortunately, but I has a built in bittorrent client
which has come in very handy. Not a deal breaker I guess, but still would be
sweet

~~~
jeebusroxors
No bittorrent. This thing pretty much just plays video from netflix or amazon.
It didn't look too hackable at first inspection, but it didn't appear to be
locked down, just undocumented.

Hulu+ is in the works.

Here is a list of official channels:

<http://www.roku.com/roku-channel-store>

And official/unofficial:

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

Also - not trying to be spammy but see if this link gets you a lower price.
Their promo graphic says you get "Rokus Lowest Price". It gives me a month of
netflix, so don't use it unless it helps you out.

<http://roku.tellapal.com/a/clk/LTgJ2>

If that doesn't work they place this link all the way at the bottom in grey
text. If you're a new netflix customer you get $20 off any model.

<http://www.roku.com/netflix-deal>

------
eiji
AppleTV(2.0) has no "usb port" and no "analog output".

Netflix works fine and looks nice. FWIW: Homesharing is a replacement for usb,
if you just want to get pictures on your TV ...

