Redbox on Roku
Jimbo18
Posts: 2,334
Roku has just recently added a Redbox streaming channel to it's menu. It's similar to the way Netflix used to be set up, that is, online streaming and 4 free rentals a month, except you don't mail your movies back and forth, you simply pick them up and return them to a Redbox.
Cost is $8 per month and they have a free month trial. I just scrolled through the "free" online offerings and they looked similar to Amazon Prime, so lots of dreck with a few good ones thrown in. I don't know the details but I think you can also rent and buy movies online, like Amazon. Don't know the cost, but figure it might be lower.
We already have Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime, so I won't be going there anytime soon, just thought I would mention it for anyone interested. The 4 free rentals (DVD only, I think) would pay for most of the cost, and if you are already a Red Box afficiando, the streaming would be a bonus.
Cost is $8 per month and they have a free month trial. I just scrolled through the "free" online offerings and they looked similar to Amazon Prime, so lots of dreck with a few good ones thrown in. I don't know the details but I think you can also rent and buy movies online, like Amazon. Don't know the cost, but figure it might be lower.
We already have Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime, so I won't be going there anytime soon, just thought I would mention it for anyone interested. The 4 free rentals (DVD only, I think) would pay for most of the cost, and if you are already a Red Box afficiando, the streaming would be a bonus.
Post edited by Jimbo18 on
Comments
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Appreciate the update. I use Redbox for local pick up and watching of movies and bought a Roku box for home streaming of Netflix and Amazon. Not many of the streamers and blu ray players use Amazon, so this might be another option for us as well. Thanks.2-ch System: Parasound P/LD 2000 pre, Parasound HCA-1000 amp, Parasound T/DQ Tuner, Phase Technology PC-100 Tower speakers, Technics SL-1600 Turntable, Denon 2910 SACD/CD player, Peachtree DAC iT and X1asynchorus USB converter, HSU VTF-3 subwoofer.
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Appreciate the update. I use Redbox for local pick up and watching of movies and bought a Roku box for home streaming of Netflix and Amazon. Not many of the streamers and blu ray players use Amazon, so this might be another option for us as well. Thanks.
I have been reading reviews on Amazon about Roku and my head is about to explode. Which one did you get? Are you happy with it etc. I just need to be able to do Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Thanks.Main
Parasound P5
Parasound A21
CA music streamer
marantz 6005
Clear Day dbl.shotgun
Morrow Xlr
1.7 Maggies
Bedroom
adcom Gfp750
Adcom 555
Rotel 1072
CA tuner
LsiM703
Clear day dbl shotgun -
I have a couple of Roku 2 HD's. Not the newest 3 model which has the earphone plug in remote which is a pretty cool feature for late night viewing. I got both off CL locally for $40 each and like this model because it has the older yellow rca and red white cables for sound for older model tv for my daughters room. Use the HDMI in the main system. Feature wise is nice. Streaming looks as good as VOD thru Dish. Had some streaming issues with drop outs but I really think it is a problem with my Netgear router not the Roku. Lot's of channels you can subscribe to but honestly I don't have time to look for anything promising but the biggies. I am a Amazon Prime member as well and this fit the bill very well. Only negative is the lack of keyboard on remote when typing in searches....2-ch System: Parasound P/LD 2000 pre, Parasound HCA-1000 amp, Parasound T/DQ Tuner, Phase Technology PC-100 Tower speakers, Technics SL-1600 Turntable, Denon 2910 SACD/CD player, Peachtree DAC iT and X1asynchorus USB converter, HSU VTF-3 subwoofer.
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I have two Roku boxes. The Roku 2XS which I was very happy with, but then the Roku 3 came out and I got one for my wife.
I have a dual band router and the 2XS will only pick up the G band, the 3 will pick up either one, so it's faster if you run it wireless. And like TNHNDYMAN said, the remote has a connetion for earbud headphones which come supplied and work very well. The 2XS was replaced by the 3 which costs $99 new direct from their site. Oh, and with the 2XS and the 3, the remote is a radio remote and can be used for some simple games, and it's not for most, or all, of the lower cost models.
Besides Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus and now Redbox, it also has a Blockbuster channel. And if you are a Time Warner customer, it has a channel for that as well. It also has HBO GO which I really enjoyed when I still had HBO. Your cable company has to support it however, which Charter did for me. I liked HBO GO better than regular HBO. It had, I think, every episode, of every series they did up to today.
I would have a hard time finding anything to say bad about the Roku. -
It's been a while since I looked at video streaming boxes, are the Roku devices able to stream from a NAS or another computer? I assume they are by now, but not certain.
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I have a couple of Roku 2 HD's. Not the newest 3 model which has the earphone plug in remote which is a pretty cool feature for late night viewing. I got both off CL locally for $40 each and like this model because it has the older yellow rca and red white cables for sound for older model tv for my daughters room. Use the HDMI in the main system. Feature wise is nice. Streaming looks as good as VOD thru Dish. Had some streaming issues with drop outs but I really think it is a problem with my Netgear router not the Roku. Lot's of channels you can subscribe to but honestly I don't have time to look for anything promising but the biggies. I am a Amazon Prime member as well and this fit the bill very well. Only negative is the lack of keyboard on remote when typing in searches....I have two Roku boxes. The Roku 2XS which I was very happy with, but then the Roku 3 came out and I got one for my wife.
I have a dual band router and the 2XS will only pick up the G band, the 3 will pick up either one, so it's faster if you run it wireless. And like TNHNDYMAN said, the remote has a connetion for earbud headphones which come supplied and work very well. The 2XS was replaced by the 3 which costs $99 new direct from their site. Oh, and with the 2XS and the 3, the remote is a radio remote and can be used for some simple games, and it's not for most, or all, of the lower cost models.
Besides Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus and now Redbox, it also has a Blockbuster channel. And if you are a Time Warner customer, it has a channel for that as well. It also has HBO GO which I really enjoyed when I still had HBO. Your cable company has to support it however, which Charter did for me. I liked HBO GO better than regular HBO. It had, I think, every episode, of every series they did up to today.
I would have a hard time finding anything to say bad about the Roku.
Thank you gentlemen.Main
Parasound P5
Parasound A21
CA music streamer
marantz 6005
Clear Day dbl.shotgun
Morrow Xlr
1.7 Maggies
Bedroom
adcom Gfp750
Adcom 555
Rotel 1072
CA tuner
LsiM703
Clear day dbl shotgun -
AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »It's been a while since I looked at video streaming boxes, are the Roku devices able to stream from a NAS or another computer? I assume they are by now, but not certain.
I think I read somewhere that you can add a specific channel to your lineup that will work as a DLNA type proxy, but I may have seen that for something else. It's 2am and brain is a little foggy. Have not tried to find it myself since I usually use ps3 for that function and have had trouble with that in the past as well due to file types not being compatiable.
I'm pretty sure the Western Digital streamers and Netgear streamer devices do DNLA streaming though if that is an important feature for your setup.2-ch System: Parasound P/LD 2000 pre, Parasound HCA-1000 amp, Parasound T/DQ Tuner, Phase Technology PC-100 Tower speakers, Technics SL-1600 Turntable, Denon 2910 SACD/CD player, Peachtree DAC iT and X1asynchorus USB converter, HSU VTF-3 subwoofer. -
I'm all set on my end, was just curious if that was a feature in the newer models.
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There are several different "channels" available for streaming from your computer or off a drive. I can't say how well they work since I haven't used any of them, but there are various options for sending your media to the Roku.
There's also lots of music options like Pandora, Vevo, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Cloud player, Slacker, MOG, rdio, Roxwel, karoake,Playlist, and a bunch of other radio and podcast type channels. Lots of news channels, not many good sports ones however, NASA, MIT, IT Pro TV, Blip TV, CNET, Revision3, several weather channels, lots of religious channels, childrens stuff like Disney and cartoon club, outdoor and fitness channels, some wine channels, tons of different free movie channels which are mostly older non-protected ones or independent stuff, photo channels like Facebook photos, Plex, Zoovio, Picasa, MyMedia, Vimeo, Playto. Shutterfly, Dropbox, and lots more. On and no Youtube, although there are several that give partial access, but Dailymotion is available and works great.
No, I don't have stock in Roku
And no, I have seen Apple TV to compare it to, there supposed to be advantages to both boxes. It is simple to set up, if I didn't have any trouble, but with the latest versions, it only has HDMI out, not other connections.
There are also channels you can add that are not part of the Roku Channel Store. If you google Roku Private Channels you can find several sites that provide codes that you use to add them to your list. There are "naughty" ones available as well as lots of others that have either limited appeal or just haven't yet been added to the main channel store.
