Roku HD-XR, easy Internet video on your HDTV

Electronic entertainment is changing rapidly. Whole house audio is no longer only for the very wealthy. I recently finished installing a 8 zone, Internet connected audio system that cost less than $30,000 for equipment, including 30+ in-ceiling speakers and multiple audio and video sources. Today video is delivered in many forms, over-the-air broadcast, cable or satellite subscription, optical discs (DVD and Blu-ray), and from the Internet.

There are many ways to configure equipment to view Internet video on your HDTV. My preferred method is to hook up a computer, a home theater PC (HTPC) AKA media center computer, because it offers the most choice and is less likely to be obsoleted by changes in technology. Setting up an HTPC is complex and requires attention to controls that many find daunting. An HTPC can be a high-end Windows PC, a Mac Mini, an inexpensive nettop PC or an older computer that uses a media center application. An old PC can run Windows XP or Linux. There are many other choices for Internet video: a TiVo, an Xbox, a SONY PlayStation PS3, which includes a Blu-ray player, or specialized devices with names like Apple TV, Vudu, the Popcorn Hour or Roku.

Roku sells 3 models, the SD, the HD and HD XR. I installed and tested an HD-XR in my home theater. The device is small, 5x5x1.75″, comes with basic cables for connecting it and a small, simple remote control. It has an Ethernet connector and built-in 802.11n WiFi. It costs $130 at Amazon. I provided my own HDMI cable connecting it to my audio/video receiver. This limited the cabling to one cable for both audio and video signals.

There is much to recommend about the HD-XR. It is easy to install. It took me about 15 minutes to wire and configure. Your time may vary. The remote control has few buttons and is easy to use. The on-screen display (OSD) is simple and easy to navigate. And the price is compelling.

The home page features the Roku channel store where you select which channels you want to make available to view or listen to. It features both free and paid Internet services. Featured paid services are Netflix, Amazon VOD, and MLB.com. Netflix and MLB are subscription services. Amazon VOD is a pay-as-you-go service. Free services include Revision 3, TWiT.tv, Blip.TV and others. The Pandora music service is also available. I do not subscribe to Netflix or care about baseball so I did not test those services. I tested Amazon and was generally pleased with the navigation and speed of delivery. Video and audio qualities were good.

The Roku’s simplicity can be a negative. The Roku provides no way to search for a title. Navigating through Amazon’s large catalog to find something to watch can take a lot of time and effort. The video channels are limited by whatever choices Roku management makes. This is not an Apple device so there is no iTunes store and it does not integrate with your iTunes music and video collection. The remote control adds to remote control clutter. I do not know if there is a way to program a universal remote to control the Roku.

When watching some videos on Blip.tv the device had to pause while the video buffered. I do not know if this was due to Blip.tv or Optimum servers or was a local problem with my WiFi. This did not happen with other services so I think it is Blip’s issue.

I found setting up Pandora a bit frustrating. Pandora would not recognize my account for the first several attempts. Once it did everything worked fine. Issues like setting up Pandora might be off-putting if you are technology-challenged.

I recommend this Roku device if you want a simple, inexpensive method for connecting your HDTV to the Internet. I prefer the HTPC because it does not limit my choices of content where a dedicated, proprietary device like the Roku does.