Review of Roku XDS Digital Video Player

For Christmas of 2010, we received a Roku XDS digital video player. This video player supports high definition up to 1080p, has a built-in dual band wireless N adapter, an HDMI output port as well as component and optical audio outputs, an enhanced remote with Instant Replay and a USB port for playing media files from a flash drive. The player is surprisingly small, but don't let its size fool you. This is a very powerful video player. The Roku allows you to watch TV shows and movies and listen to radio on demand from both paid and free content providers. It's sometimes called a Netflix player, since most people use it to stream Netflix instant movies and TV. However, there's a great deal more content available throught the Roku.

I set up the player on Christmas evening. I connected it to my 32" VIZIO HDTV using both HDMI and composite (A/V) connections. The display of the menus is very crisp and clear using HDMI, but rather fuzzy when using composite. The graphics appear in 720p on an HD connection. I don't have fast enough Internet service to get content in HD, so there wasn't much difference between streaming content over the HDMI and composite connections.

You need an account to use the Roku, so I signed up right away. The Roku digital video player has a channel store where you can set up your channels for free. I set up my favorite channels such as Netflix and Pandora Radio. I also set up some additional channels I thought I might use later, such as Amazon Video On Demand (now Amazon Instant Video) and Crunchyroll.com. Setup and connection to my wireless network was quick and easy. I spent most of my time looking for and adding channels.

One of the best features about the Roku XDS is that it supports private channels. The private channels can be rather hard to find, but there are references online that list them. You must install the private channels on your Roku account on the computer, since they're not available in the channel store. I was able to find several games to install on my Roku, and I play several of them regularly, including Mah Jongg Tiles, Reversi and Video Poker.

The makers of the Roku claim that you don't need a computer to use the player. That's not entirely true. You need a computer to activate the channels and to set up your Roku account. Also, if you plan to use wireless, you'll need a computer to set up your wireless home network. Otherwise, you'll have to hook up your Roku directly to your wired router or cable or DSL modem, then borrow a computer to activate the channels.

I was considering a couple of other Internet-connected digital video players in addition to the Roku, including the Boxee box and the Logitech Revue. Both of these other players have features which the Roku lacks. For instance, both the Boxee and the Logitech Revue have a web browser, and the Logitech comes with Google TV. However, when I found out that free to air TV networks had blocked the browsers from playing their online content, I decided these devices didn't have anything on the Roku. I also didn't like the shape or size of the Boxee, and was concerned that it wouldn't fit cleanly in my home entertainment center in my living room.

I used the USB port to play some content downloaded to a flash drive on my computer. The USB port requires a USB channel to use, and when I first used it, there was a private USB channel, but no official channel provided by Roku. Since then, Roku has developed its own USB channel. You can listen to music, watch videos and view photos using the USB port, Currently, the Roku supports MP4, MKV, MOV and WMV/ASF video, AAC and MP3 music and JPG and PNG image file formats. Navigation within the USB channel is somewhat more cumbersome than in the regular menus, but you can generally find all of your files. One benefit of the the USB channel is that you can download files in up to 1080p HD to watch later if your Internet connection doesn't support HD playback.

Overall, the Roku XDS player is a good device for streaming video content over the Internet. I use it primarily for streaming Netflix and Pandora, and for playing games. I don't have a lot of use for its USB, dual band and 1080p features, but I may in the future, so I believe they're good to have. I recommend this device for anyone who wants to stream video or audio over a broadband home network, especially over a wireless connection.

For more information on this topic, read Best Private Channels for the Roku Digital Video Player and Best Channels from the Roku Channel Store.