A few years ago when the Roku box first hit the market, I was tempted to buy one. After all, being able to view Netflix’s new (at the time) streaming movie selection on TV with a standalone device was a pretty cool proposition. But I held off.
Until last week. I got a Roku box and for the past few days I’ve been enjoying it. Since they originally launched the Roku not only has Netflix made a lot more movies and TV shows available for instant streaming, but the device itself has a bunch of additional “channels,” both official and unofficial, ranging from YouTube to Pandora to archive.org and most channels are tied your accounts, so you can get access to your YouTube playlists, for example. The quality is quite good on my standard definition television using the composite inputs and word is that it can stream 720p HD and play 1080p HD via the USB port.
I tell you: I’m seriously considering dropping cable altogether once Hulu Plus becomes available. There’s not a heck of a lot left that I wouldn’t be able to watch either over-the-air or via the Roku.
Yay Roku!
Posted in Consumer Commentary, Technology, Television, Movies, and Music