Streaming Device for TV? (Roku, RaspPi)

[rossk26]

I'm wanting the ability to stream movies/tv shows etc to my TV. Rather than having my gaming PC switched on and running a long HDMI cable to the TV, I wanted a quiter, sleaker option that wouldn't use as much power for a start!

Started to look into Now TV, Roku and Raspberry Pi. I've instantly ruled out Now TV as I read it doesn't have 1080p. So I'm now down to Roku and RaspPi, with the latter being my favourite route.

I've only done a little reading so far on the RaspPi, but I believe with xbmc it would do everything I want? Can you get Sky Player on it too? I mainly watch box sets on Sky Atlantic.

If I were to go down the RaspPi route, what would I need, and where do I get it from? Does it work out of the box?

Thanks for your help.

 

[xpygmy]

I believe that XBMC does not have official support for Sky Player, however people have created addons that allow you to access netflix, skygo and such, however they may be fairly buggy.
Have you considered the ChromeCast or possibly waiting for AmazonTV?

 

[rossk26]

I've considered chromecast, but doesn't it have limitations? Haven't heard of AmazonTV.

Does RaspPi support the download of torrents? Or would I download the torrent on my PC and rip it to the SDHC?