The Roku SD Player (formerly known as the Roku Digital Video Player) is a great little device that provides an inexpensive way to stream your Netflix movies. The slim-box design, small footprint, HDMI and component video hookups scored major points with the techie side of me. Unfortunately, I hit a major speed bump during the software update process.
I was stuck at the update screen and repeatedly attempted to update through the easy-to-use graphical interface with no success. So, after about 10 tries, I gave up and called tech support.
I was greeted by an offshore tech support worker who followed a standardized troubleshooting script (as if you were calling Dell) only after I was bugged repeatidly for my order number. Note: I ordered this product off of Amazon.com and didn’t have the Roku specific order number that they were requesting. The customer support representative it was on the box, but it was not. After providing some personally identifiable information, she finally found my order in the system.
If your user interface was was stuck at 0% on update, you’ll probably need to open the ports on your firewall. What I did to resolve this issue was to all the ports on my router temporarily while the updates finished, then I set all closed all ports after the update. Before you do this, I had to hard reboot my router, DSL modem, and Roku (in that order). Too bad this work-around isn’t listed on the Roku FAQ.
Complaints
You can only add movies to your queue through the Netflix.com website and not through the the Roku. Who wants to boot up their computer every time they want to watch a movie? This ability really needs to exist within the Roku.
The sliding battery cover on the bottom side of the remote is a pain in the arse to remove. Typically, people complain that remotes are unintuitive or hard to use and not the fact that removing the sliding battery cover should require the jaws of life.
Shipping
Excessive shipping prices. Nothing irks me more than getting jacked on shipping prices.
$14.99 for standard shipping (For the size and weight of the box, shipping should have been a maximum of $10)
$19.99 for 2 day shipping (I probably could ship the same thing at USPS and get the same for less than half the cost)
Pros
- Great to see such a low-priced device to support component and HDMI output.
- Good video quality
Summary
The Roku Digital Video Player has great intentions, but still leaves much to be desired. Settiing up this product could take 15 minutes or up to 45 minutes depending on whether you hit any roadblocks during setup.
