Picked up a Roku 3

Raymond Lin · 16 Dec 2013 at 10:55

So I got a Roku on the weekend, now using Plex to watch my media, now compare to XBMC I had on ATV2.

Pros.

Picture is stunning, true 1080p, obviously using my i7 iMac as the server at the moment so I am able to decode all sorts of high bitrate files. Largest tested so far is a 90 minute movie coming in at 30G.

Sound also is very good, but this is mostly down to my amp as the Roku (nor the ATV) decodes any of it. The sound track on Oblivion is one that particularly enjoy.

I like the Netflix app, it looks much nicer than the one on ATV. If only Plex looks like that.

It is tiny, replaced my NowTV in the same place, uses little power and obviously very discrete.

Cons

Skin is very basic for Plex, and I am still finding my way round to navigate it as it is not as nice looking, a lot of empty looking folders on the menu and grey background.

Too many unknown and strange channels that I will never watch.

Overall impression is that since I got it to watch Plex, it does exactly what it says on the tin. The presentation might not be as great as XBMC but the performance is a perfect. I can't fault the way it perform at all, so for £99 it is well worth it. So if they would pretty it up Plex then it would be amazing.

Raymond Lin · 16 Dec 2013 at 12:10

Edit - It does youtube now !

Raymond Lin · 25 Dec 2013 at 15:35

EYEREX said:
Just plugged my Roku in and yes there's an app by Roku which can access my WD Nas

What app is that?

Raymond Lin · 26 Dec 2013 at 12:07

EYEREX said:
Roku Media Player

I swear that was called the USB app a week ago !

lucid said:
I have just installed an MX Android TV box for a client. It runs XBMC with the confluence skin and looks just as good as the same on a media PC. It also has Netflix (no LoveFilm) and YouTube. I didn't get chance to search for live streaming catchup TV apps, so no clue if there's iPlayer, 4OD etc. Over all though I'm impressed for the £55 asking price.

Oooooh, for that price, I am really tempted to try it out if my NAS can't handle 1080p streaming (i am still moving data).

Raymond Lin · 27 Dec 2013 at 13:47

Finally got round to do the following this holiday

Install the 4 x 3TB WD Reds in my NAS
Install Plex server app on the Netgear NAS
Copy 3TB of data from my Drobo to the Netgear.
Scribe metadata for all movies and TV shows.

Now watching them on my Roku, all powered by the NAS ! 1080p DTS plays smooth. Very happy.

There was a couple of hiccups, the NAS doesn’t do multi tasking that well, so it crashed a couple of times when fetching 2500 shows of metadata for the TV section. I solved it by doing it per show. Other than that, it’s really good. Now it basically means all my media are on a cloud and it also means the NAS is like a HTPC built in since it does the decoding too.

Overall I am really glad I didn't go for a HP microserver since that is bigger, louder and needs a lot of setting up. This Netgear Ready NAS 104 does it all that I need and much more plug and play.

Raymond Lin · 4 Jan 2014 at 23:27

Xbmc is amazing but on ATV is also slow and only 720p.

Once you press play you don't see the UI anymore anyway, I guess that's all it matters.

If the roku 3 can be JB for XBMC then it'll be amazing or something out there for £99 that can have a customisable XBMC installed, the size of Apple TV.

Raymond Lin · 5 Jan 2014 at 02:05

McDaniel said:
Wait, so can the Roku run XBMC and stream 1080P mkvs, or have i mis understood? If so that's one very cheap HTPC option!

No it can't, it's quite locked down in that regards, although there is a way to root it at the moment but not XBMC yet.

Raymond Lin · 5 Jan 2014 at 19:10

I got the Netgear readynas 104.

It's great on most fronts but there are a few quirks.

Pros

It takes 4 bays
It can install plex in it
It can do link aggregation
It's really quiet, much more quieter than my Drobo, both unit has 1 fan.
It is really well built, it weight probably about 2kg when empty.

Con

Some reason when I turn on the inbuilt antivirus I can't transfer files.
Plex plays some movie, not others. Not sure which as they are all mkv, all difference res, file size. It can decode a 30G 1080p DTS then won't transcode something like 500mb 720p file. It's not a massive problem as for pure NAS use, the until is great value for £180.

I have 4 x 3TB WD reds in mine, running netgear's x-RAID, it's a bit like RAID5.

The netgear is not perfect but it is about £250 less than a 4 bay offering from Synology.

Raymond Lin · 5 Jan 2014 at 19:17

Yup, for a pure storage solution it's more than enough, it can even do cloud storage too.

Edit, added pictures.