Check out the product page and check out this review over at cnet
[MOD: Product page is for newer model.]
Before people buy this they may be interested to know that Roku has just updated their line of products. The new Roku 2 (model 4210) is has the identical internal hardware as the Roku 3 but doesn’t have the headphone jack on the remote. It sells for $70. The new Roku 3 (model 4230) is the same as it was but the remote now has a microphone for voice control. The new Roku 2 (4210) and the old Roku 3 (4200) are compatible with the voice control feature of the new Roku 3 (4230) with the voice control remote which isn’t yet an available accessory on the Roku website.
That’s a different model (4230) vs the model being sold here (4200), though the only difference is voice control.
Bought this on Woot a few weeks ago. The remote would not sync out of the box,and spent a good 30 minutes following the directions with no success. Directed by Woot to talk to Roku customer service, and spent another hour doing the same thing. Finally got an RMA number to ship it out to Cali (at my own cost), and got a replacement (still refrb) a few days later. Sometimes hit or miss with refrbs, but still cheaper than buying one new (not counting the time spent fiddling with it). I haven’t used it yet, but wife says it works much faster than the generation 2 we bought off woot a few years ago.
I purchased a new Roku 3 close to a year ago. Unlike every other box I have near my TV (Tivo, LG DVD player, and my Sharp TV itself), the Roku would never connect via ethernet. It would connect, sometimes, to wireless, but would lose the connection after a few shows. In researching this, I found that many, many people have the same issues. I finally got it to work with wireless by heavily modifying my router settings, but it still somehow forgets the network every few days and still won’t connect via ethernet. I wouldn’t buy again. (By contrast, I’ve had no trouble at all with my Amazon Fire stick).
Bought this also on Woot a few weeks ago. No problems for me. It’s by far my favorite streaming device, and I’d recommend it to anyone.
And it’s so hard to tell from the Roku website what model you’re looking at.
I didn’t know that the voice control was all in the remote; that will be interesting to see a price for it separately. Friends who have it say it is Worth Every Penny.
I bought one a few weeks ago, and had issues getting it to work. If you search through the tread from the previous sale, (http://www.woot.com/forums/viewpost.aspx?postid=6245530&pageindex=1&replycount=102) there is helpful info on getting it to work. Once the firmware was updated, it worked fine, and has been used daily with no issues.
We bought one when woot had this about a month or so ago, and could not be happier! It was our first Roku. After the sketchy functionality of a Chromecast stick, this dependable little gem is a wonder!
I bought a factory refurbished Roku 3 a couple of months ago when WOOT last offered them. There was no refurbished about them, it didn’t work. The remote was filthy inside and out. It looked like food was inside the crevices. They offered me $6 credit to keep it, but new was $29 and used on ebay going for $15. Epic fail on this one!
I bought one on Woot a while back and it works great except for 7PM-10PM every night. During that time it won’t stream NetFlix at all. It claims that it isn’t connected to the network. However, that’s not true because it WILL stream YouTube during that time. Also, I have an older Roku HD on the same network that WILL stream NetFlix during the time that the Roku 3 can’t and I can also stream NetFlix from multiple other computers on the same network that the Roku 3 claims isn’t working. After about 10PM the Roku 3 is able to stream NetFlix again. This has been going on for weeks and is pretty much like clockwork.
Got one of these last time arrived super fast and DOA, the remote wouldn’t sync. After numerous calls with Roku Tech and going thru the sync process 10 times on the phone I was told to call Woot as this was a reconditioned unit. Woot said they didn’t have a replacement so they told me to send it back. I returned it and I’m still waiting for a refund. Feel to burned to try again and still have the $$$ from the last floating around the wootsphere. If you get one hope it works.
Bought one last time they offered them and it turned out bad. The remote would not connect to the device, called Roku customer service for 45min which was a waste, they ended up sending me ANOTHER remote, that one wouldnt connect and had to deal with customer service AGAIN so they told me to return it.
Second this. There were some wonderful wooters helping each other out.
Trick seems to be that if you’re having trouble pairing your remove, connect the Roku to the internet via Ethernet and let it update. You may have to use their mobile app as a remote to get through this.
Once update, everyone reported success.
I bought 3 last month and 2 of them had the same remote pairing issue. It was further complicated by not being able to get past the initial setup to get to the firmware update.
What worked for me was using my phone with the roku app and setting up the roku. Then it was able to get to the firmware download and pairing went fine.
I would also suggest that you unplug the other rokus in your house if you have more than one. The rokus are identified by their serial numbers in the app initially so you can’t tell easily which one is which.
I second this. I bought a refurbished Roku 3 from Woot last year, and it died just after the 90 day warranty ran out. I don’t know who supposedly refurbishes these, but they’re not very good. We went back to the Roku 2, and it works fine, although slowly. Buyer beware.
If this is “too much Roku” for your needs, or you want something even more portable (honestly, these are so small they would not add a lot to a suitcase) Roku is currently offering the stick for $40…
While I don’t have a 3, my experience with Roku has been pretty good, including interaction on the support forums. They don’t fix everything, but they certainly listen to and interact with their customers. (currently bitching about the Yahoo! Screen channel - it’s abysmal on the 2 (compared to, say, my TiVo) and non-existent on my Roku 1)
Warning! Warning! Note the comments about the refurbs not working during initial setup. I bought two of these during the last sale. One worked fine, one would not get past the setup screen due to pairing issues between the remote and the unit. The only Roku support is via chat and the support center is someplace where English is a second language at best. After over an hour with folks who wanted me to do stuff like move my TV set next to the wireless router, I finally got an RMA from Woot. These may or may not work out of the box, and if they don’t you are in for a lot of hassle.
Why buy any streaming device not compatible with existing wireless protocols. This works with N but not AC. I’ll wait until they catch up.