ROKU Questions, Plex Questions

[ThePaladinTech]

What are the differences between the Original Rokus and the Roku 2s?
I read somewhere that the originals do not support any of the new channels, is there somewhere you can get a comparison list?

Do the originals work with Plex?

Another thing I read is the original XDS only support stereo, But I think that thread was talking about amazon video or something. If I had the right plex/roku combination would I get anything better then stereo regardless of what I used?

I've got a line on an old XDS Which has an optical out, which I thought was desirable as my receiver doesn't have HDMI ... but if I'm only going to get stereo then maybe I should get the cheapest new one (x2s?)

And any other thoughts regarding Roku 1s vs 2s ... Mainly in relation to SageTV and Plex, but also in general.

Thanks All!

[PiX64]

Originally Posted by ThePaladinTech

What are the differences between the Original Rokus and the Roku 2s?
I read somewhere that the originals do not support any of the new channels, is there somewhere you can get a comparison list?

Do the originals work with Plex?

Another thing I read is the original XDS only support stereo, But I think that thread was talking about amazon video or something. If I had the right plex/roku combination would I get anything better then stereo regardless of what I used?

I've got a line on an old XDS Which has an optical out, which I thought was desirable as my receiver doesn't have HDMI ... but if I'm only going to get stereo then maybe I should get the cheapest new one (x2s?)

And any other thoughts regarding Roku 1s vs 2s ... Mainly in relation to SageTV and Plex, but also in general.

Thanks All!

i will dig around and try and find the comparison for you, i know its out there.

i honestly wouldn't go anything below a roku2 xs (that is the only roku 2 model that has built in ethernet), and for the little bit extra the roku 3 is far superior from ui speed, channel loading, to processing video requests.

The roku 2 is flaky on 2.4 ghz, and just doesn't have the oomph that i wanted. the roku 3 on wireless however is screaming fast on my 5ghz network.

[brainbone]

The originals (metal box) do work with plex (at least last time I checked, about 3 months ago), but are very slow and are limited to 720p. The originals do not support subtitles from Netflix (and possibly others -- though I believe subtitles worked in Plex (plex "burns" them in the video when transcoding)).

Roku 2 XD's work well with plex -- faster, with 1080p, and should have 5.1 audio.

If you're getting a new roku, go with the roku 3, or at a minimum the 2 XD.

[ThePaladinTech]

Well the price was right for the XD|S

FWIW - the XD|S does 1080i (I don't think it does 1080p), Says it does 5.1 Audio, and has a wired Ethernet connection. Maybe if my testing goes well I can get a Roku 3 at some point. Still looking for some kind of list that shows all the channels the new roku's get with some kind of notation that "these channels are not available on the old roku"

[ThePaladinTech]

Well I think I found a good enough answer. I found a list of private channels, and the roku 'store' (? a place on there website I can look at channels) ... I tried to add RedBox and it said "hey would you like to buy a new Roku?" ...
So that'll work for finding out what I'm missing.

[TechBill]

I have a Roku 3 which was my first Roku I owned.

I went to a friend house and he happen to have a Roku 2 so I tried it out. It was SLOW compared to my Roku 3

Menu took a bit long to load, caching of all the TV or Movie title picture took some time. It wasn't snappy like my Roku 3 was.

Another plus about Roku 3 that it use RF remote instead of infrared.

Bill

[Skybolt]

Originally Posted by TechBill

... Another plus about Roku 3 that it use RF remote instead of infrared. ...

Speed is definetly a plus on the 3, but the 2 does have the RF remote, really great featrure for some.

[bialio]

The 3 responds to RF commands also. But it's remote is wifi-direct.
btl.

[brainbone]

Originally Posted by ThePaladinTech

FWIW - the XD|S does 1080i (I don't think it does 1080p)

The XD and 3 supports 1080p. I've never tried them with 1080i.

[Tomahawk51]

Originally Posted by bialio

The 3 responds to RF commands also. But it's remote is wifi-direct.
btl.

Do Rokus work with IR, for those of us with Harmony remotes?

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by Tomahawk51

Do Rokus work with IR, for those of us with Harmony remotes?

Yes they Do.

Defined as

Roku DVD
[Roku XDS]

[PiX64]

Originally Posted by Tomahawk51

Do Rokus work with IR, for those of us with Harmony remotes?

mine has a horrible delay when using ir.. so i just pick up the wifi direct remote and use it... much slicker to control with, at least for me.

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by PiX64

mine has a horrible delay when using ir.. so i just pick up the wifi direct remote and use it... much slicker to control with, at least for me.

My WIFI remote connections sucks cuts off after a while have to pair it by opening it up and pushing the button or removing the batteries. So I only use it to play a game. I posted at Roku site it appears that others are having the same problem. I have a lot of Wi-Fi connections in my neighborhood and this disrupts it. My Roku 2 remote is rock solid and that uses Bluetooth and ir.

[panteragstk]

My roku 3 works great using a UIRT. No real delay that I see.

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

My roku 3 works great using a UIRT. No real delay that I see.

How do you control it with a UIRT?

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

How do you control it with a UIRT?

Eventghost is what I use. I got the IR codes and mapped the buttons on my remote. It works very well. If I knew how to create python scripts that would telnet into the device I'd do that instead as it would be faster, but this is working just fine. I can use it for other stuff too.

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

Eventghost is what I use. I got the IR codes and mapped the buttons on my remote. It works very well. If I knew how to create python scripts that would telnet into the device I'd do that instead as it would be faster, but this is working just fine. I can use it for other stuff too.

Makes sense thanks for sharing.