Boxee vs Roku XDS I was about to buy the Roku XDS until I discovered the Boxee. Is the Boxee that much more capable for the extra $100.? Is the primary difference the Boxee's web browser?
1644405
Roku hands down. Boxee doesn't support many MAJOR networks like HBO2GO, Amazon Prime or Hulu. Can't say I would recommend Boxee at all noting my lackluster experience with support. Go buy a Roku
1644406
Only way to use the Boxee Box is HDMI. Period. Biggest advantage of Boxee over Roku is SAMBA, DLNA, QWERTY remote. Heck, Boxee plays FLV captures through RealPlayer on my PC (now NAS). And DVD ISOs -- the menus work. Boxee is the most awesome if you have a ton of locally captured content. I bought a NAS just to support my 3 Boxee Boxes. Do note the RF remote needs to be associated w/ each Boxee -- not done at the factory.
1644407
Boxee is buggy, freezes won't turn off occasionally won't turn on and many of its selling points are completely overrated
1644408
The browser is one of the key differences. It's not great. I have both units.Roku in the master bedroomBoxee in the Living Room.Vudu is great & has 5.1 Stereo on Boxee & HD & HDX video.Hulu Plus (right now) is only on Roku (major (major) disappointment)Netflix is great on both services. Software interface is great on both (slightly better on Boxee).If Boxee ever get's their act together... it'll be worth the $$$. I like both. If VUDU & Browser are not very important... get Roku.(BTW: Boxee has a nice interface to your home computer network. You can watch videos, view photos etc. on your TV) The browser is one of the key differences. It's not great. I have both units.Roku in the master bedroomBoxee in the Living Room.Vudu is great & has 5.1 Stereo on Boxee & HD & HDX video.Hulu Plus (right now) is only on Roku (major (major) disappointment)Netflix is great on both services. Software interface is great on both (slightly better on Boxee).If Boxee ever get's their act together... it'll be worth the $$$. I like both. If VUDU & Browser are not very important... get Roku.(BTW: Boxee has a nice interface to your home computer... » Read More The browser is one of the key differences. It's not great. I have both units.Roku in the master bedroomBoxee in the Living Room.Vudu is great & has 5.1 Stereo on Boxee & HD & HDX video.Hulu Plus (right now) is only on Roku (major (major) disappointment)Netflix is great on both services. Software interface is great on both (slightly better on Boxee).If Boxee ever get's their act together... it'll be worth the $$$. I like both. If VUDU & Browser are not very important... get Roku.(BTW: Boxee has a nice interface to your home computer network. You can watch videos, view photos etc. on your TV) « Show Less
1644409
Not that I know of maybe you have a friend with a sling box (cable or sat also needed on there end) I have live tv on my pc with one. That's the only way to get live tv with Internet. Some of thouse station will have some stuff on there sites. But that way kinda sucks. Hope this helps
1644410
Thanks for your comment it has helped me confirm I did make a right choice by getting a Roku. Most people keep jabbering about being able to watch live TV and stream their media from their computer to TV. What I don't think they realize is both of those things can be done without Roku or Boxee. I already have a tuner card, video card, and "cheap" special cords to do both of those things. To be honest I rarely do either of those things anyway.
1644411
Boxee has Netflix... but not Hulu Plus. We just bought another ROKU because Boxee doesn't have Hulu Plus and Amazon.We wasted our money with Boxee. Yes you can search the web with Boxee.... but the software to to this is mediocre at best.I just don't bother any more.
1644412
Boxee Wins......... the capability to play all other media from your network(movies on your PC hard drive)so yes if you own your media and would like to play it other than on your PC.... so i have 100s of movies on my PC that now are on my tv all in 1080p.... this is the only unit on the market that can do this ;) So i think its worth every dime!!!!!
1644413
It looks like Boxee has live TV now for basic cable and it is in HD. Is there really no way to watch amazon prime movies and videos on Boxee?????http://www.boxee.tv/live
644598
The Monoprice MYCH01 will work with the ROKU 2 XS, but it's not perfect. The MYCH01 enlarges the image and cuts off more on the left hand side. So with Netflix the category title is cut off a little. It still looks better than the composite video.
285962
Yes. XDS is still supported. A firmeare update is issued now and then if it's needed. Regarding file formats...If your PC can view it, ROKU can move it to TV. Once you've connected a ROKU to the Internet, you can browse a STORE for new video providers, some free and some paid-for services such as Amazon, Youtube.com, TED, and many others. Some music services can also be found.
1959757
The Zyxel device just like many other cameras has firmware that has been written to communicate better with a single browser configuration as the preferred viewing platform. Since each browser responds differently a manufacturer must "rewrite" the periphery of their firmware to communicate correctly with each browser platform and this naturally escalates costs. Since this camera is in the high value market segment of course escalated costs are avoided to maintain the price point. Many people I know have Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari all installed simply due to the odd quirks of the devices and web sites they use every day. Some devices and sites simply work better with a single browser. Also, since browsers are free and can be installed for only the time spent I encourage people to test each with their devices and websites to find which browser works best for their installation and needs.
1628664
I know there are people working on the Linksys Extenders to allow Boxee to work with them. It would be a 3rd party firmware you'd have to flash on your extender, but if it allows Boxee, then you'd be able to watch any site's streaming content.
1476580
Another voice requesting an Amazon Video/music app for Boxee Box. It would be great to have Boxee Box added to the list of devices compatible with Amazon Instant Video:
500450
Hopefully someone from Western Digital sees this question and other comments like it. It they would integrate a browser and additional Apps like Amazon, Vevo, FSTV, etc, (come on WD - this is a great product - take on Roku directly!), this thing will sell like crazy. They have really improved it and it is almost there. Raise the price a few dollars if that's what it takes - and pack this baby with streaming apps! Someone in product development needs to understand how close they are to a serious Roku killer. . .not to say that Roku isn't a good product too.
1266714
Netflix and Plex are generally okay, but I get stuttering on Amazon probably 50% of the time which is unbearable. I would guess that this unit has a weak CPU that struggles to handle some Amazon encodes @ 1080p. I don't have this issue at all with a Roku 3 and that unit feels much snappier overall.
1855005
Not sure what you mean. It has a certain overlap with Roku, i.e. they both have netflix, pandora and amazon video, but they are different type of products and don't really work with each other.
178143
Wouldn't it be great if WD published such clear comparisons! Here are a few differences from what I can tell - I'm sure there are more: 1. No netflix on this one 2. Default UI is a little different with favorite tiles showing up by default rather than scrolling options across the bottom 3. I can stream content to this one from other devices which is a little nifty. I don't think the old one did this but maybe so. 4. I can't set my favorite .jpg as the background on this one - previous one supported this. I'm sure there are other things.
146307
The Sony BDP-S570 3D Blu-ray Disc Player has built in w-fi for $159-Great product!--But i see price went up since X-mas 2010----Roku box would be fine if you don't care about an included Blu-ray/ dvd player!
1922592
We have 2 roku xd players and have yet to have a issue with them wireless or video playback, between Netflix and hulu plus we pay 14.99 a month mix that with all the free channels we get more then cable tv offers and including quality 1080p at a fraction of the cost for apple tv or monthly payment extortion rates to cable tv We are happy with it
222595
Jean, Sorry, but the EH6070 does not have the Smart features for a web interface, required for streaming video. I had a 6070 for a short time, for the 3D features. I tried several brands/models of 3D sets, but was just not that impressed. I ended up trading in for a Samsung UN46EH6000. It does not have 3D or Smart features, it is just a good basic LCD set. If you want 3D and Smart features, you will need to move up to the UN46ES6500 or better. If you want Smart features but don't really care about 3D, you could drop back to the UN46EH5300 2D set. Another alternative would be to keep the 6070 and by a Roku. I subscribe to Netflix and Amazon, and I have a Roku 2 XS for streaming. I chose the XS because I run wired Ethernet for my system and it has both wired and wireless interfaces. If you decide to get a Roku and you run wireless, there are cheaper models of Roku that are wireless only. Roku also supports Vudu, Hulu Plus, HBOGo (if your ISP supports HBOGo) and other paid services. There is also support for a huge number of free entertainment channels. I have been very happy with the Roku. The Roku units have HDMI output. I run mine through an AV receiver, but it could also be plugged directly into the second HDMI input on the TV. Sorry I could not give you good news about streaming with only the TV. Hope this helps. Charlie
461040
I have no problems, I believe I was prompted to update once or tw i ce, no big deal. I paid 50 used about 2 years as go. My son has a Roku and loves it. I have a sony and a vizzio video streamer, a sony DVD player With wifi and a smart tv. I like them all, but sony's soft ware is easy to use.
1348881
I literally just ordered a KDL-W3000 52 inch television 1 hour ago. I did 3 months of research and although I am not sure how I'll fell when I get the television, I can say that I went for the w3000. I looked at some seocnd tier brands first, but quickly moved on to the main brands.... settling in on the Sharp D64 or a Toshiba 167 or the Sony W3000. Of course the Sony was the most expensive of the brands I was looking at. As far as picture and blur: I can not even tell you if I could see any difference between the w3000 and the XBR, so I went for the XBR. I did see one scene in a movie where I saw a slight amount of motion blur, so I am sure it exists.. the quesiton is, "how bad does the blur appear to you and what is it worth for you to minimize the blur" ? For me... the answer was in my order.. I went with the W3000. The price was $2309 no tax, no delivery fee.
1845833
Not sure what Roku is but TV says that more apps can be added later. So maybe that will help you decide.
83871
When I last checked it was incompatible but don't let that deter you. I added a Roku 2 XS for the much better menuing it offers than using the built in Internet browser and a far smoother streaming experience. With broadband &gt;3Mbs the Hi Def images I see on this set are much better than I have seen on many theater screens. It really has changed how I see films.