Roku 3 HD Media Streamer Review. For PC builders the HTPC or Home Theater Personal Computer was all the craze for a bit but it isn’t quite necessary to go through building a rig just to stream movies to your TV these days. Check out the Roku 3 Media Streamer, for $99 you’ll get the most advanced HD Roku unit available, handles streaming very well and is very snappy on performance.
What’s in the box?
Included is the Roku 3 streaming player, enhanced game remote with headphone jack, in ear headphone buds, power adapter, a pair of AA batteries and the Start Guide.
On the outside, the Roku 3 is simple, an HDMI port, 10/100 ethernet port, USB port, microSD card slot for storage. It supports dual-band a/b/g/n and WEP, WPA and WPA2 wireless security. The Roku 3 can display 720p and 1080p video and 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound audio.
On the inside the Roku 3’s UI is just as simple, easy to navigate and most importantly, snappy. Nothing worse than lagging through screens to get to your media.
I’m not big on the mattress tag with the Roku name that hangs off to the side but the Roku 3 is shiney, black and very close to the size of the Roku 1, Roku 2, Apple Tv 3. It measures 2.5″ x 3.5″ x 1″ and weighs just 5 ounces.
Setting up the Roku 3
Setting up the Roku 3 is a snap. Simply connect your HDMI cable to your TV from the Roku 3, plug it in to the AC outlet, wait for the unit to initialize and enter your WiFi info or use the available 10/100 wired port. Once connected to the internet, the Roku 3 will give you an activation code and update to the latest firmware and restart itself.
While you’re waiting, go and register for the Roku website using the activation code and enter in your credit card information. You can add channels from the Channel Store to My Channels for an easy list in grid format for shortcuts. Because there are all individual content providers like Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon, Redbox, Blockbuster, Flickr, Pandora, Youtube, Spotify, and oodles of more obscure channels that you’ll have to log into individually to use.
If you’re looking to use the Roku 3 without entering credit card information, you’re out of luck. To complete the set up of the Roku 3, you will need to register for an account at Roku.com at which point you are prompted to enter a credit card to get the personal activation PIN supplied to you by Roku to activate the device..
Though you’re not forced to spend anything, it puts the consumer in a spending posture; similarly Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store originally forced you to enter CC info, now both allow you to bypass entering a credit card to use the service.
Features and Experience
The Roku 3 features a headphone jack on the remote so you can plug in your favorite headphones and watch a movie without disturbing anyone near you. The standard headphone jack on the remote gives you ample sound over your headphones and performs well. This will undoubtedly run down your AA batteries if you use this feature often but it’s a great option to have since it’s wireless and saves you from trying to plug headphones into your TV or stereo if you’re running your audio through a receiver. The sound quality won’t blow you away but provides decent sound for private viewing without disturbing anyone closeby.
The remote is also equipped with an motion sensor for use with Angry Birds and any other apps you might download and just adds a little fun factor to the Roku 3. You can download and install games from the GooglePlay Store right onto your Roku 3 and you can even save progress with the addition of a microSD card in the slot on the rear of the unit.
If the included hardware remote doesn’t suite your taste you can use the free apps from Roku to turn your iOS or Android device into a remote control.
You can also run Plex and stream media from your own PC to your Roku 3 giving you many more codec options to view different file formats if the native MP4 and MKV formats don’t quite suite your needs. Unfortunately or fortunately for Plex, it is a pay service.
The Roku 3 also supports mirroring your Android or iOS apps. You can conveniently show off a family video, photo gallery or even songs through your Roku 3 to your big screen.
If you’re a movie hound and like to purchase lots of media, the Roku 3 has an excellent search feature that seeks out your requests using more than 10 sources. You’ll be able to tell whether you already have something and find the highlights the best pricing for you if you don’t.
Roku 3 has also amassed for you the most content of any media streamer device out there and searching for content gives you plenty of results. But lets face it, like the desolate internet radio, how many of those channels will go unused; for me almost all. And if you intend on using the device without paying, look elsewhere as you will need to enter credit card info and have some sort of streaming media service subscription.
In the End
The Roku 3 is a snappy little device with a simple and intuitive UI that anyone can use and understand. The Roku 3 has gathered the most content of any media streamer device and has an excellent search engine to help you find across all of your media virtually anything you could ever want to watch. The price is on par with the competition and the remote with headphone jack for audio and motion sensor make it the perfect little time killer.
Roku 3 is available for $99.99
www.ROKU.com
