Who uses Roku??
 

If so...which one should I get?

Mainly be using it for streaming movies from my pc, playing my itunes library & possibly get netflix or hulu plus when i get rid of all my fios channels. I dont watch that much tv to be spending $125 for tv/internet. But with the bundle pricing, it might still be the same price. Havent looked to heavy into it yet.

I would suggest using a Raseberry Pi.... it'll do everything you're asking and is quite cheap.

You can run XBMC which will do anyyyy and everything media you could need, plus their scrapper is 2nd to none.

Why would I do that if I have to have a keyboard plugged into it and the Rokus start at $49 up to 99?

2nd part I have no idea what ur scrapping or putting down??

Look at Apple TV, works great for Netflix and streaming anything from iTunes... Only $100, no monthly fees, and if you have an iPhone the airplay stuff is pretty cool too.

Only issue i found is my movies are not purchased via itunes and found out it wont work. Or else i would owning 2 iphones, ipad & macbook pro.

Forget 2nd part unless you download a fair amount of movies.... if you are downloading a lot, it makes life super easy.

Some reasons why:
All streaming services available, the whole internet is open to you, all media on other home pcs/mac is open to you, it is $25, it can be hidden and doesn't need LOS to remote, it is expandable, and can update as technology does (it is a computer)..... why wouldn't you want one?

You wouldn't need a keyboard and mouse plugged in.... there are loads of other options out there (controllers or keyboard/touch pad options) most of which will allow you to keep the little guy hidden.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...hzdTeMY#t=130s

Every time I've checked on the PI it was out of stock or someone was selling them for a premium price. I was interesting in picking one up because I already do a lot of embedded programming with Linux. Does it handle 1080p H264 (AVC) decoding very well?

Nick, is there a housing people are using for Raspberry PI?

Just checked in stock and you can order with a housing and other accessories.

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/conten...S/raspberry-pi

Anyone recommend where i can read up in leiman terms about this Rasberry pie??

All you linux guys are too over top my head.

A first or second gen apple tv can run xbmc too. You can use your iphone as a keyboard with rowmote. It's pretty slick.

Awesome, thanks!

I know when I built my media center (a few years ago), it was difficult to get netflix to work on linux (Microsoft silverlight DRM) so I had to go to use Windows 7 to be able to stream it. Does netlfix work on Rasberry Pi?

You can import movies not purchased on iTunes into iTunes, as long as they are compatible file types. I do it all the time, just download a free "convert to mp4" program and you are good to go.

The AppleTV is the way to go.

Roku is the way to go. I have 2 in my house and they work great. AppleTV is terrible no offense to you apple lovers. Unless everything you have is in iTunes and thats all you want to watch then its ok. I was looking into settop boxes awhile ago and found this comparison. Check it out and see what suits your needs best. I saved over 110 a month by ditching my cable 2 months ago.

http://lifehacker.com/5946193/how-to...ce-and-for-all

I'm going to pick up a Pi. I've got an idea for a project involving a guitar pedal if I can figure out how to get analog audio into it without using a USB interface. I'll also make an SD card with the media software like XBMC and see how it works on the TV.

Probably should spend the $12 to get an SD card loaded with the OS, but looking for a create your own SD card with OS anyway.

LR3 - Funny you ask about Roku - my business is building streaming movie services, of which a few are already on Roku, and a couple of more will be by the end of the year. I would suggest the Roku 2 XD. It has HD quality for the services that sell HD, and a fairly easy to use interface. The plus side is you won't need to have your computer on in order to stream. The box just resides near the TV and runs. If you have a Roku ready TV, the streaming stick is fairly nice piece and would replace the box.

I also suggest that if you are going this direction, and are buying a TV, skip the Roku box and just get a smart TV (Samsung's app center is about the best on the market right now), or a connected blueray player. They will do all of the same things as a Roku box, and don't need to add any extra hardware.

Does anyone run live tv through their HTPC?

I have a desktop hooked to my TV but want to streamline for ease of use.

With ROKU or other out-of-the-box solutions or even with XBMC is it possible to get HBO and/or Showtime without cable/satellite service?

I have a HTPC hooked up and where I live not I cannot have DirectTV.... so I use comcast for basic stuff (fox, NBC, etc) but moved my slingbox and directTv service to my mom's house back in Wisconsin.... so for Sunday Ticket and other things I cannot get through comcast I watch via slingbox from my HTPC to my projector.... works pretty good except the lag from CLICK TO CHANGE CHANNEL ---> Send via internet to IR blast --> Changes channel --> sends signal back --> received by my eye, it takes like 3/4 seconds.

I've had no issues running netflix via XMBC's launcher.... never really thought about it, just has always worked for me.

For me the XBMC look is so clean and polished it is hard to beat.... 95% of my dvds/blurays have been ripped to hard drives which allows me to watch any/everything without having to get up, as well as music, programs, streaming services, etc etc etc.... and the Pi is so easy to hide from sight.

I love my roku. Ditched the Dish 18 months ago and love it. I don't watch sports so its no big deal. Some of this stuff you guys are talking about is interesting, but I just dont feel like messing with it. The Roku gets plugged in and it works. It provides all the entertainment that I currently need and then some.

I have a Roku 2XS and a Roku 2HD. I also have Plex running in my house so the Rokus connect to my plex and all my downloaded shows are there. I also have netflix for other things. I cancelled cable and actually feel like I have more tv to watch than before. I used to just turn on the tv and if it was a rerun I would just watch it to pass time. Now I am actually watching shows and catching up on series and movies. Since I run plex, I have friends that do too. We share our libraries across with eachother and I can see their media too. It helps for sure. When I dropped cable, I jumped on an internet only promotion of 50down 10up, so as you can guess i've been downloading tons of shows/movies and streaming netflix. When the promo is up ill go back to the 25/5 plan but it still is only going to be 80 bucks compared to the 160 I was spending. I found my Roku 2xs on sale for 65 bucks and wont be going back to cable soon. Only thing to consider is if you are a big sports person (which im not). Ive heard the channels arent as good but they have some premium content you can purchase to live stream. Also, the Roku 2XS has a gigabit ethernet port, so streaming HD isnt an issue.
XBMC and Plex are about the same. Plex was made from one of the XBMC developers and put on mac. Then they ported it to PC. I am running the Mac side, but my friends are running the PC and they can stream off me without issues and me off them no problem. HD content even streams well.

Picked up a Roku 2XS this weekend, got it set up w/ Plex but havent played too much with it yet but seems like its exactly what I am looking for.

Thing is...it makes sense for me to still keep my cable because I pay $89 +taxes for Fios HD package & 50/25internet. If I were to do internet alone it would be $84. So I guess I'll be keeping it all.

Awesome! If you decide you want to start sharing our your media, I'll share mine to you too. Its nice to have others that have shows or movies I dont so I dont duplicate what I have with their repository.

I am looking to setup a good wireless router for streaming media and I am thinking of going to this with a external hard drive loaded with movies, music, ect. Then streaming the media to my PS3, laptop, eventually smart TV ect.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833320091

and

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822178115

What to you guys think? Is this a viable plan?

Sorry for the jack but it is similar;)

So the Plex site doesn't exactly do a great job telling me what it does. Is this supplemental to XMBC?

Think of Plex the same as XBMC. The people that worked on XBMC split and Plex came about after one of the developers put it on Mac. They then ported it back to PC. There are obviously some differences, but more things run plex out the box. It catalogs your media, allows edits, and is available on mobile, tablets, and laptops/desktops. You can also share your media with your other friends that run plex. It is also accessible wherever you are as long as you have connectivity.