Last week, the president of Toshiba, Atsutoshi Nishida said, “It makes no sense to decide not to enter the Blu-Ray market simply because we lost the DVD-format war. We cannot change the fact that we lost, but we would like to keep our options open.”
The main focus for now seems to be on Blu-ray recorders, but I would imagine they will enter the consumer electronics market in the US with dedicated players as recorders generally don’t sell well here. (Maybe a Blu-ray player as capable and affordable as Toshiba HD DVD players?!)
After losing almost $4-billion last quarter, it’s no wonder Toshiba is looking for new revenue streams.
One question I’ve been asked with frequency is, “If my TV is only 720p, will I actually benefit from Blu-ray’s 1080p resolution?” The short answer is, “Yes.”
While it’s true you won’t get the full benefit of 1080p, a 720p image has up to four-times the resolution than DVD’s 480i image. But there’s more than that, you still begin with a 1080p image so there is more native resolution to begin with.
Take for example a high-def television signal. This comes in either 1080i or 720p from cable, satellite or over-the-air broadcast. These images are not as highly detailed as Blu-ray, and have far more compression, yet they look great on a high-def television. And they look better than DVDs. Blu-ray looks even better still.
Roku was kind enough to send us their digital video player to review. This player is also referred to as the Netflix player by Roku. The Roku “set top box” allows you to view streaming internet video directly on your TV, bridging the gap between the living room and the internet.
The Roku player currently supports the Netflix Instant Viewing service and the Amazon Video On Demand service. Over 50,000 TV episodes & films are available to watch instantly using the supported services. Amazon VOD was recently added via a firmware update, so we are hoping that additional services will be supported in the future as well (Hulu & YouTube please!).
Let’s take a look at the devices specifications.
Specifications
Networking: Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) with WEP, WPA, and WPA2 support 10/100 Ethernet (RJ-45)
Video Outputs: Composite video, S-Video, Component video (Y/Pb/Pr), HDMI
Video Modes: 16:9 HD (720p), 16:9 anamorphic (480p), 4:3 standard (480i)
Audio Output: Stereo (L/R RCA), Digital Optical (Toslink), Digital over HDMI
Remote Control: NEC protocol, supported by various universal remotes
Power Input: 5V, 1.5A provided by included AC adapter
Power Consumption: 5 watts peak, 3 watts in standby
Size: 5 x 5 x 1.75 inches (130 x 130 x 41 mm)
Weight: 11 oz (300 grams)
What’s inside the box?
The package includes the Roku digital video player itself (top right), a remote control (top left), power adapter (mid left), a getting started guide (bottom left), composite video cables & batteries for the remote (bottom right).
Video demonstration and review
To give you a look at the user interface, the usability of the device and some of the available Netflix instant viewing titles, we recorded the video below.
Positives
Small size & light weight
Easy to connect & setup
Supports WiFi & wired networking
Easy to use interface
Supports a wide range of cable outputs
High Definition 720p support via HDMI & component
Very good video picture quality
Playback memory; remembers where you stopped watching last time
Automatically goes into Standby mode
Negatives
Cannot search for & add Netflix instant viewing titles from the player itself
No power off option
No HDMI or component cables included
Final Thoughts
Overall, we are extremely happy with the performance of the Roku digital video player with Netflix and we highly recommend it. Connecting and setting up the player is easy, the performance is solid and the value of having thousands of on-demand movies & TV shows for a low monthly fee is unmatched anywhere else (Netflix plans $8.99 and up include unlimited instant viewing).
Our biggest complaint that we have about the Roku box is that Netflix instant viewing titles must be added from a computer. You cannot browse and view available streaming content options directly from the Roku player itself.
The player has performed extremely well in our months of testing, with relatively little problems. The few playback problems we did experience can most likely be attributed to local network connectivity problems at our home or temporary Netflix instant viewing server problems. The majority of our viewing experience with the Roku box has been over a WiFi connection and the performance and reliability has been solid.
If you already have a Netflix subscription and you need a bridge between the internet and your TV, the Roku player is a no brainer. Do yourself a favor and pick one up today, you won’t regret it.
If you don’t have Netflix, I recommend that you subscribe and pick up the player for hours and hours of on-demand entertainment (with DVD’s by mail as a side bonus). Find out more and purchase one at http://www.roku.com/netflixplayer/
Some people may be waking up this morning wondering why they can’t receive a signal on their TV. They’re probably fussing with the rabbit ears and getting upset. Well, maybe they should have watched more TV because there were plenty of announcements leading up to the analog shut off - and they even extended it for three months until 12th June.
But that’s it, we’re done. Only low-powered analog television is broadcasting at this point, unless someone is defying the FCC.
If you are reading this you are more than likely not using analog TV anymore, but in case you are left out in the cold, these articles should help you:
We don’t usually write on specific titles, but this is a first of what I assume will be many like it. Neil Young’s Archive project will be coming to Blu-ray Disc in November with high-resolution 24 bit/ 192 kHz audio on 10 discs. The collection includes the entire collection of Neil Young’s work from 1963 to 1972, including The Squires, Buffalo Springfield, and Crosby Stills Nash & Young, 128 tracks in all (43 of them previously unreleased). But more than that, rare recordings, bootlegs, and piles upon piles of never before released photos, set lists, hand-written lyric sheets, and myriad other items are all included in the interactive discs. Retail is $349, but Amazon has it for $279. Quite a bit of cash, but for the collectors this is the most definitive set you can get with the highest-quality audio available yet.
I would venture to guess many more artists and record labels will try to do something similar in the future. Already Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead have sold limited edition box sets for hundreds of dollars each, and labels are finding a good revenue steam in re-releasing classic records. It makes sense. Plus this should be pushing a few more Blu-ray players into the homes of fans. We might just see a life for audio on Blu-ray yet.
The new chief digital officer for News Corp. (co-owner of Hulu), Jonathan Miller, commented on having some content on Hulu only available through a paid subscription. “I don’t think it’s on the agenda for Monday [but] it seems to me that over time that could be a logical thing,” he said in comments at an Internet Week event on June 2nd.
This is clearly not even in the planning stages, but it makes sense that a service like this will be available in the future. Time will tell.
The increasingly popular, and profitable, Hulu recently released a desktop application bringing their streaming video out of the web browser. Currently in beta, Hulu Desktop is available for download on PC and Mac.
The application is configured to receive commands from Windows Media Center and Apple remote controls, which helps Hulu bring their content to the living room television. Windows remotes can be purchased at most electronic retailers.
Hulu Desktop alleges to carry the same content the browser version does, but the company is ambiguous over if that is the case now or if it will stay that way in the future. You can login to your existing Hulu queue however.
I installed the Mac version on my Macbook, but I can’t get any content to appear in the application. It is in beta so I’m not expecting it to necessarily work smoothly, but for me it’s not working at all. I also installed the Windows version on a desktop computer. I got the message “We’re sorry, but Hulu Desktop cannot connect to the Internet.” So that’s two times the fail.
I’ll continue working with this new application and let you know how it works.
UPDATE 6/3/09-10:25AM
Hulu must have been working on their servers this morning. I have successfully connected with Hulu Desktop on both Mac and PC and the interface is very slick, quick, and easy to navigate. I navigated through popular TV shows with ease, and the video played very quickly.
It appears like Hulu is checking your internet connection and providing the best video quality available. Good job! I’ve been waiting for an option from Hulu to always play the high quality video, but this makes it even easier.
After Toshiba gave up the fight in the format war, they vowed to remain in the standard DVD business and would not support Blu-ray. But perhaps watching from the sidelines while all of the other CE companies collect new profits from Blu-ray Disc isn’t sitting well with them; after all, they did lose $1-billion in the format war.
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