Streaming Devices - What Do You Use?
 

I'm currently using 3 boxes for streaming. Roku 2XS, AppleTV 2 and the Boxee Box. Each does a couple things really well that the other boxes are lacking.

ROKU 2XS - I use this mostly for Netflix, Hulu+, Amazon and Crunchyroll. Love the Instant Watch app which is great for browsing the entire Netflix streaming catalog. Unfortunately, it's missing Youtube and doesn't stream files from the computer.

APPLETV 2 - I use this for Youtube, Podcasts and Airplay streaming from my iPad. It does a good job streaming from my computer using iTunes. But the video formats are fairly limited. I got tired of converting everything to MP4, so I went looking for another box.

BOXEE BOX - I use this for streaming files from my computer. I bought it primarily for this purpose, and it does a great job. Plays everything I've thrown at it so far. And I love the way all my files are organized with artwork and info (although that took some work). On the downside, the box seems a little glitchy. Apps frequently crash and the box sometimes slows to a crawl requiring a reboot. And the remote needs a major overhaul.

I've also got the 360 and PS3, which got me started on streaming with Netflix. But I haven't been using their streaming features much now that I've got dedicated boxes.

Anyways, what are you using? What do you like about it, and what do you hate?

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I have Directv, but as far as my TV streaming goes, I use

Xbox 360 (my bedroom TV)

Roku and Sony Blu-Ray (Upstairs TV)

The Sony Blu-Ray player streams Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video.

Hulu Plus for me acts as a 3rd DVR when I have time conflicts. I occasionally purchase some stuff on Amazon Instant Video.

Re: Streaming Devices - What Do You Use?
 

Xbox 360 (Netflix), a laptop hooked up to the TV (for when I want to watch Hulu), and an Insignia blu-ray (netflix). I had a roku, but the connection on it was very unstable. I'd like to try one again eventually.

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Roku is very unstable for me. Last week I tried to watch an episode of The River from Hulu (had a DVR conflict) and the playback was really choppy and the remote wouldn't work to exit. Then the machine flat out froze. I had to unplug it and re-boot.

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^I've been having that problem with my Roku as well. For me, it only happens in the Netflix app. It's very frustrating.

I have a bunch of devices capable of streaming, but since I got the Roku, I've barely used my PS3 or 360 to stream.

I also use my phone and computers to stream music via Spotify.

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For me, I always had to go into the settings and test or reset the connection before I could start using it. I wouldn't have to reenter any info, but would have to do that step. I would have been fine with that, I guess, but teaching the family a workaround like that is more pain than it is worth.

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Just my Wii and 360 for my Netflix streaming.

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Those people that are having problems with the Roku, are you using a wired or wireless connection?

I use a wired connection. The only channel that gave me video playback problems was Amazon. It would buffer during the movie. There were two things that solved this. Either a fresh reboot before watching Amazon. Or I would start the movie and pause it right away for a few minutes to let the buffer fill-up.

I sometimes have a problem with the Roku if I'm screwing around too much. Lots of backing in and out, fast forwarding and rewinding. Especially on private channels. It can cause the box to get sluggish and often freeze-up requiring a reboot.

I really wish there was a way to reboot or turn off the Roku from the remote.

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I mostly just use the Roku 2, whatever the high-end model is. I also have a Samsung blu-ray player and the PS3 that streams, but I never use them, unless the Roku is giving me grief.

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Samsung BD for Netflix
Sprint HTC Evo phone for Pandora, etc
Laptop to tv for Hulu
Integra DTR 50.2 receiver for internet music
Kindle Fire for Amazon streaming and Netflix

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I have the latest HD Roku 2 box, the XS maybe. We have that in our bedroom and use it every night for Netflix, Amazon streaming, and of course HBOGo. In the living room on the main TV I have a Panasonic 3D TV with Viera Cast that we use to watch Netflix and Amazon streaming. I also have a PS3 on the same TV that I sometimes use to stream Netflix, and I also use that to stream video files from my laptop.

Then when I'm out and about (or in the bathroom) I use my iPhone 4 and then also my HP Touchpad for what will actually work on it (not Netflix unfortunately).

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I use a WDTV Live with a LAN connection. I typically use it for Netflix or listen to Pandora; as I don't watch much TV, I have no need for Hulu. I would like it if they included Amazon Video, however.

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Xbox 360 mostly.

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Uebo M400
Logitech Revue (Google TV) w/ Plex

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PS3 for Netflix. It's rock solid and I love having the remote.

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This is pretty much me. Boxee is great for all my files. Netflix is on everything. Roku for Amazon.

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PS3, Xbox 360 and iPad.

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PS3 for Netflix, and I use my HTPC pretty regularly to use Hulu, YouTube, etc.

I did try out using my Kindle Fire to watch (of all things) Transformers 3 just to see how it performed. Worked rather well.

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We just picked up a Sony Media Player from Costco. I didn't have high expectations but I'm impressed with it for being a cheap little unit that also offers wifi connection. Watched a bunch of flicks over the weekend with no issues. Watched Rubber earlier today and currently watching We Are the Night and it's been working flawlessly.

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Roku XDS and XBox 360 for me.

Primarily use the Roku...use the XBox for apps not available on the Roku or for those rare times when the Roku app is having issues.

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Netflix:
Sony Bravia TV
XBOX 360

Re: Streaming Devices - What Do You Use?
 

On main TV:
PS3
Logitech Revue
Soon to be ATV 3

On bedroom TV:
Sony Bluray with streaming apps
ATV 2

Each one of these has their positives and negatives. I like the PS3 it plays just about everything when paired with Playon software. I like the Revue because it is always instant on and has good netflix and amazon playback it is easy to search and navigate with the full keyboard.

I like the ATV because it plays all the music and videos that I have in itunes and also does netflix very well it is close to instant on which is also nice.

As far as content: I wish Apple/Studios would lower prices on digital versions of movies, ~$20 for a high def movie just doesnt make sense to me nor does renting at ~$3-$5 very often. I have a netflix account and a redbox just down the street that makes getting new releases pretty easy. I do like Amazon's frequent sales and have rented movies more frequently from them, the amazon video prime library mostly stinks. I hope in the long term the prices go down just like music files did, I think $2 HD rentals make a lot more sense I probably would not buy a movie again, I rarely watch any movie even my favorites more than a few times.

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Netflix - PS3, iPad 3, HTPC
Spotify - iPad 3, Galaxy Nexus, HTPC
YouTube - iPad 3, Galaxy Nexus, HTPC
Hulu - HTPC

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Can you use AirPlay to stream HBO Go?

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I wasn't able to do it using the iPad to AppleTV2. If I remember correctly, HBOGo even blocked the mirroring.

The Comcast Xfinity app carries most of the HBO shows. They block Airplay too, but the mirroring worked. Unfortunately, the iPad screen is 4:3. So when you mirror it to your TV, it's like watching a non-anamorphic DVD with black bars.

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Glad to see this sub-forum created......Vudu for me....no subscritption fee (pay for what you rent...credit card needed on file though), new releases come out same day as the DVD, and they have the more obscure titles available for rent as well - win-win.

Also, this is the company that was recently bought out by Walmart.

The prices are a little high for a flick ($2.99 up to $3.99 for max HD) but I don't care...I don't rent that much anymore so it's a good service for me - watched three movies so far and haven't been disconnected once. You can also access the vudu app across all the video game systems, supported blu-ray players, etc...

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Ha well, glad to see already messed this up - thought it was "what service do you use" so for devices:

xbox & blu-ray player - computer for UV at work ;)

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Main System
Roku HD XR - Amazon VOD, Crackle - wifi
Netgear NeoTV 550 - streams digitize DVDs (ISO files) from my Synology NAS via Linksys E2000 in bridge mode. Works very well. Needs a reboot once in a while.

Master Bedroom
Roku 2 XD - Amazon & Crackle - wifi
WDTV Live Streaming player - streams from NAS via wifi

Office/extra bedroom
Panasonic bd-65 - Amazon - wired
WDTV Live 2nd gen - wired streaming from NAS

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Primarily my 360, but occasionally on my phone.

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xbox in the living room
a couple vizio via tvs for netflicks
atv2 in the bedroom.. atv2 is very limited until jailbroken, then it does everything i want

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I really wish there was still support for my Sony LocationFree device. I have it on my 1st Gen PSP and my Mac, but it would be a nice app for my iPhone. I see that someone has created an Android app for it.

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My PC is about 3 feet from my TV in the Den so It doubles as a HTPC. Dolby/DTS via X/fi's component out. DVI from the video card to HDMI on TV.
I wish Netflix would hurry and enable 5.1 to PCs.

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htpc in the living room and a laptop with a bad screen for the bedroom.

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Roku LT (the $50 one).

For anybody that is interested in AppleTV, they just released an updated model. It adds 1080p capability and I believe has an improved browser. No new channels and you still can't use Hulu or Amazon Video. I had looked at AppleTV - it's a great device if you use iTunes a lot for TV shows / movies, or if you have an iPad (something about transferring what is on the iPad to the TV). But unless you are immersed in the Apple Universe, Roku is better.

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My thoughts exactly, and I have fairly extensive experience with the (now previous generation) AppleTV after installing and configuring three of them for my wife's boss.

We have one of the early Rokus (N1100), and the only issue we have with it is Hulu+ regularly sputtering or completely freezing up. I was considering one of the newer models, but after spending some time on the Roku forums, it appears that it's more of a Hulu problem.

I also have a Windows 7 HTPC that we rarely use because I haven't found any media center software I actually enjoy using. I never could get XBMC configured properly, and Boxee (which had the best interface and setup by far) would never recognize my Netflix account, and it's now discontinued. We primarily use Windows Media Center for streaming MP3s from our server, and occasionally Hulu Desktop (integrated into WMC) when the Roku channel is acting up and we "need" to watch something on Hulu. It also has a Blu-Ray drive and Arcsoft TMT installed, but I haven't even tested it yet since we don't own a single Blu-Ray. We haven't bought any movies on disc (Baby Einstein doesn't count) since we bought the Roku.

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PS3. for the family room, Roku xs for the bedroom, wii for my 2 younger daughter's room, and then Sony's net streaming player(N100 I think) for my older 2 girls

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StreamingMediaBlog put together a great chart comparing the most popular streaming media devices.


http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/708...rtfinal2sm.jpg

FULL SIZE CHART - http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/1...hartfinal2.jpg
ORIGINAL PDF - http://blog.streamingmedia.com/2012-...hart-Final.pdf

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I use a net gear neo geo tv streaming player to watch netflix, i have had it since January and i love it.

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Over the last year I've become an Apple whore. ATV2 in the main room and my bedroom. Centralized iTunes library with everything I own (music, movies, tv) streaming 24/7 in 720p. It may take a one-time cost to get it into an iTunes-friendly format, but I don't mind that, especially since it's all behind me. Plus having iTunes Match enabled for all my music to be accessible through the cloud on any iOS device is a huge benefit and I don't have to devote any actual storage to that after the initial matching process, but I still keep my lossless files.

I keep waiting for Apple to open up an App store or simply add more 3rd party apps to the device, but nothing yet. It does everything I need except HBOGo and the Xboxes in both locations handle that just fine. Netflix is better, by far, on the ATV than the Xbox.

Re: Streaming Devices - What Do You Use?
 

All right, new to the world of streaming here. I got fed up with paying $80 a month for cable that I mostly didn't watch, so a couple years ago I scaled back to only the local channels (in HD) for about $15 a month on my cable system. This was, and is, great---I got the broadcast channels in HD for the small amount of tv shows I watch, and I have a big dvd collection for movies. The ONLY thing I was missing was sports, particularly during the week.

I read up on Roku, and saw that they offered Major League Soccer and NHL subscription packages--two sports I really like---I thought I'd give it a try. Got my Roku last week, hooked it up, got the MLS package, and I"m lovin' it!
I particularly like the ability to watch all the archived games and condensed games. I haven't explored too much of the other Roku free content, although it seems like there's a ton of stuff of varying quality out there.

I have to say I'm pretty impressed with Roku so far---I still don't want to give up my local HD channels on cable (and I didn't seem to have much luck when I tried an antenna) , but Roku gives me the additional content I want at a much cheaper cost. Nice product.