My Review of Roku XDS Player

Originally submitted at Roku

With dual-band wireless, the XDS delivers the best quality video virtually anywhere in your home.

Roku XDS Player

Should have bought a Roku sooner

Pros: Built in Wi-Fi, High quality picture, Easy to use, Great value, Easy to set up

Cons: Want more video choices, Want more video formats

Best Uses: Secondary TV, Primary TV

Describe Yourself: Power User, Netflix fan, Technophile, Home entertainment enthusiast

If you have Netflix or like renting on-demand movies and TV shows — and you don't already have a Netflix or on-demand enabled playback device — the Roku is THE thing to get.


Set-up is easy. The user interface is pretty well done. The video quality is surprisingly excellent (and we're streaming over a wireless connection in a house where I usually have trouble getting a good signal at that end). I'm checking out shows and movies on Netflix I wouldn't have put in our DVD queue. If I don't like something, there's not even a trip to the mailbox involved.

We have ours hooked up to a 5.1 stereo system and large-screen HDTV in the living room, operating at 720p resolution, since our set only goes up to 1024i (not p). I cannot tell the difference between regular DVD playback and the Roku — and the picture is even better than when I stream to my PC.

My only suggestions for improvement would be to have the USB-enabled Roku support more playback formats (AVI, MKV, MOV, DIVX, etc.), and of course what most folks have said: More channels.

Definitely need Hulu (but why only Hulu Plus coming?), should have YouTube, Yahoo video, Comedy Central, etc.

Finally, maybe some other display modes for Netflix, like perhaps a non-cover list display, for easier browsing.