The New Roku 3

[bearxor]

It really is baffling because anyone who actually uses them knows wtf is wanted, but every single one of them negates something. However having said that, Plex is great.

I know, isn't that just a bitch? If Roku had native streaming from network shares I'd buy it. I'm sure its not there because the content partners that provide the channels will pull them (the big ones, like Netflix, amazon, etc) if they offered streaming off network devices.

 

[Crow550]

I have an original Roku HD, and I will be getting the Roku 3 in a bit.

For local streaming, I use PlayOn and it works great. Yes, it's like $30/yr, but it's more than worth it. It streams Youtube and Hulu standard to the Roku via your PC.

Plex does this too. They have many Channels you can get for it: http://forums.plexapp.com/index.php/forum/41-plex-channels/

There is other Channels similar to Plex too: http://www.roku.com/channels/#!browse/photos-and-video/by-popular Like Playto, roConnect, etc, etc.

Private channels too like PlayOn of course.

As for an official YouTube channel the Roku 3 was made to support HTML5 requirements for YouTube so it should be coming....

Roku 3 looks cool. Well see what they do with the improved hardware. Lots of people dig the Headphones remote idea. It is pretty cool.

 

[ArJuN]

Have they changed the IR codes for their remotes yet? The only thing stopping my from picking up more Rokus is that they all use the same damn signals. So one remote ends up controlling every Roku it sees.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Have they changed the IR codes for their remotes yet? The only thing stopping my from picking up more Rokus is that they all use the same damn signals. So one remote ends up controlling every Roku it sees.

Not sure why you'd have multiple Rokus close enough to where one remote could control them all at the same time, but if it is really a problem, Roku has a free remote application for iOS (and probably Android as well) which controls it over the network and works pretty well.

 

[Kaido]

As for an official YouTube channel the Roku 3 was made to support HTML5 requirements for YouTube so it should be coming...

I still don't understand why they haven't had official Youtube support on Roku in the past. It's not as if Google is monopolizing Youtube access on televisions through their GoogleTV devices...everything from my WDTV Live Streaming box to my Bluray player has Youtube on it. Even the AppleTV has Youtube on it. I think the Roku is the only box plugged into any of my systems that doesn't have Youtube on it, haha.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Odd as it is, the point is, there's a channel that IS a Youtube channel, it's just not called Youtube.

 

[Crow550]

I still don't understand why they haven't had official Youtube support on Roku in the past. It's not as if Google is monopolizing Youtube access on televisions through their GoogleTV devices...everything from my WDTV Live Streaming box to my Bluray player has Youtube on it. Even the AppleTV has Youtube on it. I think the Roku is the only box plugged into any of my systems that doesn't have Youtube on it, haha.

I have heard and can't confirm 100% on this.

That a device manufacturer can either pay YouTube for an Ad-Free app or use HTML5 for an Ad-Supported version.

Since Roku is not as big as those other companies they have settled for the HTML5 Ad-Supported version which only the Roku 3 can properly handle....

There was a YouTube app made by NoWhereMan (unofficial) which used YouTubes .MP4 streams but it became so popular and got on YouTube's radar they asked for him to remove it. So only those who didn't uninstall it still have it. Works on Roku 1s too.

You can now use VideoBuzz that someone else made and there is a few others out there.

You can also use PlayOn and Plex too. Which require a PC....

 

[gizbug]

Does ROKU 3 stream mkv over network, out of the box?

 

[ImpulsE69]

Edit: It does via USB, but not natively over network that I'm aware of. It doesn't do any local streaming natively w/o some outside server/coder (Like Plex).

As an aside, I LOVE the Roku 3. It improves in so many ways. The wife wanted a TV in her sewing room so I saw it as an opportunity and picked up a Roku 3 for $81 shipped and gave her the Roku 2 XS we had.

It is quicker to navigate. Videos local and streaming load almost instantly. I always thought the delay was just the internet connection, but apparently the 2XS just takes that long to buffer. The UI isn't really different so if you don't like it, don't expect much improvement there.

The remote is the same as the 2XS, but it is wifi rather than bluetooth. I have found that the headphone jack on the new remote is actually a very nice feature which I didn't think we'd actually use, but use all the time.

All in all it is an improvement in many ways, except the UI. I don't mind the UI so it wasn't an issue for me. It was worth the upgrade as it performs better overall.

 

[Kaido]

It does via USB. Or you can install the Plex channel and server and do it that way.

As an aside, I LOVE the Roku 3. It improves in so many ways. The wife wanted a TV in her sewing room so I saw it as an opportunity and picked up a Roku 3 for $81 shipped and gave her the Roku 2 XS we had.

It is quicker to navigate. Videos local and streaming load almost instantly. I always thought the delay was just the internet connection, but apparently the 2XS just takes that long to buffer. The UI isn't really different so if you don't like it, don't expect much improvement there.

The remote is the same as the 2XS, but it is wifi rather than bluetooth. I have found that the headphone jack on the new remote is actually a very nice feature which I didn't think we'd actually use, but use all the time.

All in all it is an improvement in many ways, except the UI. I don't mind the UI so it wasn't an issue for me. It was worth the upgrade as it performs better overall.

That's really good to hear - I've been wanting to pick up a Roku 3 specifically for my elliptical machine so I can use the wireless headphone bit!

 

[jhansman]

Just got the Roku 3 and so far, I love it. Finally found a use for the 5GHz band on my Netgear WDR3700, and it streams to the Roku other side of my house with no difficulty (although the signal strength is not as good as the 2.4 GHz band). The dual band capability plus the headphone jack on the remote were the big selling points for me, and I no longer have my wife bugging me about turning down the volume on the BR TV, even with the door closed; can watch while she sleeps as well. This is, for me, HUGE. As for channels, I rely heavily on Plex, which, IMO, is superior to XBMC in every way, but there are definitely two camps on that issue. All in all, I'd say it's worth the price and plan on keeping it.

 

[JTsyo]

Does the Roku3 only have HDMI out? no A/V?

 

[ArJuN]

Does the Roku3 only have HDMI out? no A/V?

Sadly only HDMI. That's what's got me holding on to my XDS. That baby outputs everything simultaneously.

Does the remote send signals via its wifi or does it rely on IR. The one fault with these Roku boxes is that they all use the same IR codes so running multiple in the same room gets really complicated. I don't know why they are willing to stick wifi, Bluetooth, and an audio jack but not implement rolling codes like the Apple TV.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Does ROKU 3 stream mkv over network, out of the box?

My understanding from the Plex forums is that the Roku 3 still has issues streaming MKV files and therefore, they must be transcoded first.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Sadly only HDMI. That's what's got me holding on to my XDS. That baby outputs everything simultaneously.

Does the remote send signals via its wifi or does it rely on IR. The one fault with these Roku boxes is that they all use the same IR codes so running multiple in the same room gets really complicated. I don't know why they are willing to stick wifi, Bluetooth, and an audio jack but not implement rolling codes like the Apple TV.

It is a non-issue. As I pointed out earlier, Roku provides a free app (for iOS for sure, and probably for Android too) that allows you to control the Roku over the network and it works extremely well.

I am still not sure why you would run multiple Rokus in a single room, but that's another discussion.

 

[ArJuN]

It is a non-issue. As I pointed out earlier, Roku provides a free app (for iOS for sure, and probably for Android too) that allows you to control the Roku over the network and it works extremely well.

I am still not sure why you would run multiple Rokus in a single room, but that's another discussion.

Didn't realize I already posted the question (oops). That's what I get for surfing from my phone. It's an issue for me because all the gear (for multiple displays) is in one area. So IR signals are coming in from multiple rooms. Right now I'm only using one Roku with a split signal to 3 displays. The upside is no remote issues, the downside is you can only watch one thing.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Didn't realize I already posted the question (oops). That's what I get for surfing from my phone. It's an issue for me because all the gear (for multiple displays) is in one area. So IR signals are coming in from multiple rooms. Right now I'm only using one Roku with a split signal to 3 displays. The upside is no remote issues, the downside is you can only watch one thing.

So use the Roku app to control them separately.

 

[ImpulsE69]

THE 3's are Wifi, the 2's are blu-tooth. I have 2 within 20 feet of each other and they don't interfere with each other.

There is a FF plugin as well as android/tablet/iOS apps that act as remotes as well.

 

[ArJuN]

THE 3's are Wifi, the 2's are blu-tooth. I have 2 within 20 feet of each other and they don't interfere with each other.

There is a FF plugin as well as android/tablet/iOS apps that act as remotes as well.

Thank you! That's what I needed to know.