It’s been almost five years since we canceled cable and bought our first Roku set-top box. It’s amazing how much has changed since then.  In 2008, the Roku was basically a Netflix only streaming device.  Hard to believe, but Roku now features over 750 channels, the great majority of which are free.
Here’s a picture of the new Roku 3 player we just picked up for $99….
Some key differences….
- Much, much faster! Not sure of the exact processor type, but flipping through movies and streaming is now a breeze. Â Our original was great for the first few years, but had been getting sluggish lately – probably due to the newer Roku look and feel which is much more graphic intensive.
- Supports 1080p HD (on some channels like Netflix)
- Faster WIFI and network connectivity – Now has extended range dual-band wireless and wired RJ45 Ethernet which should really cut down on buffering times
- Cool headphone jack in remote – great for late night TV watching in bed
- Haven’t tried it yet, but the new remote has a gyroscope in it and can play games like Angry Birds (included)  and some cool retro games like Galaga and Pacman.
It also has a new integrated search which will search all channels for a given show or movie. Â Since we primarily use Netflix, Hulu and Amazon and our favorites seem to be spread pretty evenly across the three services, this is a very welcome feature!
Will post a more detailed post when we can – as well as one talking about the Roku channels we use most.
Thanks!