14 February 2016

"One Box to View Them All"

The speedyrite award for "One Box to View Them All" goes to:

Roku 2 Streaming Media Player (4205E) with Faster Processor (2015 model)

The 2nd generation NOW TV box is a cut-down version of a Roku 2. But the Roku 2 is better because it is better featured.

Managed to pick up a Roku 2 recently on Amazon UK for £49 (versus the normal price of about £70).

Apps are available for all the main UK catch-up & on demand services:
  • BBC iPlayer
  • itv Hub
  • All 4
  • Demand 5
Also installed a couple of apps that provide access to TVCatchup and TVPlayer (effectively legitimately streaming Freeview channels over the internet), found courtesy of http://blog.artesea.co.uk/2016/01/tvplayer-on-roku-or-now-tv.html

There are also apps for all the popular streaming services:
  • NOW TV
  • Netflix
  • Amazon Video
  • Google Play Movies & TV
  • YouTube
Installing the PLEX app has enabled streaming of content from a local iTunes library on a computer that also has the PLEX server app installed.

The Flixster app provides access to a small number of movies purchased on DVD in the past that came with an Ultra-Violet copy.

Radio is well served by the tunein radio app.

Finally, the Roku 2 has a USB port. So you can plug in a USB drive and access content from it via the Roku Media Player app.

So the NOW TV 2nd generation box, acquired a couple of months ago for £19 (together with a 6 month NOW TV Entertainment pass) from Amazon UK, has been replaced by the Roku 2.

What's not to like about Roku 2?!




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