Roku already has gained a large user base with their excellent streaming players. It recently came out the Roku 3 which is easily the best streaming player that you can get in the market today. Find out what the Roku 3 has and why you should be buying the excellent little gadget.

1. Roku 3
The Latest And The
Best Streaming Player
From Roku
Make sure you read this extensive highlight and frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the
new Roku 3 if you are looking to buy this excellent streaming player. A. Dent “Aragorn” has
provided very comprehensive and easy to understand information on the Roku 3. You should
be able to find most of your answers with regards to the Roku 3 with the information
provided.
If you need more information, then you should also check out this excellent article in
Squidoo: The Roku 3 Is Even More Amazing
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2. 5.0 out of 5 stars Fast, enormous channels selection, major user interface upgrade
(hands-on plus FAQ), March 6, 2013
By A. Dent "Aragorn" (Minas Anor, GD)
NOTE: After a few days with Roku 3 I decided to upgrade my initial 4-star rating to a 5-star.
I still wish Roku supported Youtube natively but the lack of it is mitigated by the major
improvements this new Roku has over its predecessors. Amazon's reviewing guideline
suggests that 5 stars means "I love it" and I absolutely do love Roku 3. Indeed, I can easily
switch to my PS3 or Blu-ray player if I wanted to watch Youtube but there's no other device
with such a great selection of channels and the better, faster user interface alone is worth one
extra star.
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MY EXPERIENCE
For anyone new to the Roku world, I would recommend the Roku 3 over any other previous
models mainly on it being so much faster to operate. If 'cost' is an issue and 720p only is not a
bother then the LT should be a great pick for half the price.
True for all Roku models: there's an enormous amount of channels to choose from, including
most popular ones. And if there's something that you can't find in the official store you can
always check the private channel listings (I included the URL of my favorite site) which is
where I found things such as streaming CNN, CNN International and BBC World.
The streaming is exceptionally smooth. Quite impressive considering that I set this Roku on
the second floor, some 60-70 ft. and two floors away from our Wi-Fi router located in the
basement.
This model especially, due to the more powerful processor is easy to operate through Roku's
very basic remote control.
Roku 3 and all Rokus are stable. I didn't have the Roku 3 for too long (will update) but my
experience with a Roku LT was that it almost never crashes and I only had to manually
reconnect to my Wi-Fi router once over a 6-months period.
The 'universal search' feature is quite amazing. You simply type in the name of a movie or
show even an actor and you will see all you options on all channels and you will know in
advance whether it's going to be free or exactly how much it was going to cost. On the Roku
3 all information appears almost instantly.
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3. THE FAQ
I will try to keep this section as objective (factual) as possible.
Q: Why would I want a Roku?
A: Roku has, by far, the largest number of 'channels' vs. any other competing product. If you
like exploring content beyond the popular services (Netflix, Amazon, etc.) you should
consider a Roku?
Q: Why would I want a Roku 3?
A: When compared to previous models, this one has a much faster processor, 5 times faster.
The faster processor allows you to quickly navigate the new and much improved user
interface but if 'speed' is not an issue, the new interface will appear on the older models by
April, 2013. This model also adds a 'private listening' capability through a provided pair of
headphones that plug directly into the remote control. In addition it supports Dual-band
wireless for faster streaming when connected to a router that supports the feature and has a
USB port.
Q: When I shouldn't pick a Roku 3 over other Roku models?
A: Roku 3 does not support 'standard' (non HD) TVs but earlier models do. You should select
a 'lesser' model such as the Roku LT when price is the issue and/or your HD TV is limited to
720p and 'speed' is not an issue.
Q: What can I play through the USB port?
A: Video: MP4 (H.264), MKV (H.264); Audio: AAC, MP3; Image: JPG, PNG.
Q: Is the Roku 3 expandable?
A: Yes. There a MicroSD slot for additional game and channel storage memory.
Q: Can I use a Roku 3 with any TV lacking an HDMI port?
A: No.
Q: What are the best screen resolution and audio supported by Roku 3?
A: 1080p, 7.1/5.1 surround sound.
Q: Is the Roku 3 energy efficient?
A: According to Roku, typical power consumption is 3.5W when streaming HD video.
Q: How do I connect a Roku 3 to the Internet?
A: You can do it wither via Wi-Fi or through the wired Ethernet port. Technically speaking:
802.11 dual-band (a/b/g/n compatible) with WEP, WPA, and WPA2 support (wireless) and
10/100 Base-T Ethernet for the wired connection.
Q: What is not included but I must have to make my Roku 3 work besides a TV and an
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4. Internet router?
A: An HDMI cable.
Q: Can I control the Roku 3 with a universal remote?
A: Yes.
Q: Do I need line of site to control the Roku 3?
A: No if you use Roku's own remote, yes if you use a universal remote control.
Q: Can I play games on the Roku 3?
A: Yes, it comes with Angry Birds Space preloaded and you may add more games from the
store.
Q: Are the Roku channels free?
A: Many of them are but Roku also streams 'premium' channels for which you will require a
separate subscription.
Q: What are private channels.
A: These are channels that, for whatever reason, are not listed by the channel store. You can
easily make them 'appear' on your TV by picking them from one of the sites that lists such
channels. See the first comment to this review for the URL of one such site.
Q: How much it costs to use a Roku?
A: Once purchased, it could cost you nothing. Or you may subscribe to one or more premium
services.
Q: Can I search for a specific movie or show across all of Roku's channel?
A: Yes, you can. Even better, Roku will not only tell you which channel carries it but you
will know in advance if it will cost you and how much it will cost to view or 'rent' it. You can
also search for other related information such as movies featuring one specific actor.
Q: Can I watch Youtube on the Roku?
A: Roku does not offer native Youtube support currently but certain channels such as
VideoBuzz do provide a round-about way to stream it.
Q: Can I get live news channels on the Roku?
A: Yes. The private channels site will allow you to add channels such as CNN, CNN
International and BBC World, among others.
Q: Are non-video streams supported?
A: Yes, radio stations and music streaming channels such as Pandora are supported.
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5. What other Roku 3 owners thought of their streaming player:
5.0 out of 5 stars Roku 3 Love it, March 7, 2013
By Lisa
I was able to preview the Roku 3 before final release and this product is amazing. This is my
first time testing a product like this before and I love it. It has a search feature to find out
what services are playing your favorite movie or TV show. The streaming was rock solid,
didn't have any glitches that I saw. You can also play angry birds on it which was fun on my
65 in tv. It comes with a remote / gaming remote similar to how the wii controller works.
There are also headphone jacks that plug into the remote for listening to Pandora or a movie
and not disturbing people around you. When you plug in the headphones the tv sound will go
off. It was quite fun and entertaining.
The only issues I had was for my sound system there was no optical audio out, it does have
HDMI so I just plugged it direct into my tv for sound and video. You can plug in a USB stick
and it will play most media files but as of writing this it does not play avi fles.
All in all I loved this and it worked like a charm.
5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING, March 7, 2013
By franedwards76
I truly love this little streaming device in my house. Not only is this small, lightweight &
portable, but it comes with hundreds of channels to watch, including Amazon Instant Video,
Hulu Plus, Vudu, Netflix, Pandora and lots and lots more channels. This also has the cool
purple ear buds that plug right into the remote, so you are not bothering anyone else when
playing movies, games or listening to music.
So many games to play on this unit but only a few I truly enjoyed and they are Jepordy,
Wheel Of Fortune and Angry Birds. The remote is motion censored, leaving you with the feel
of the Wii Remote.
I love the fact that if you are travelling, you can actually put this in your pocket, take it to 1 of
hundreds of hotels that offer free wifi & connect it, watch all the movies you normally watch
at home.
The downfall to this Roku is ....... No YouTube Channel, Screensavers are not very good &
HDMI Cable that comes with unit is cheaply made.
I would recommend this product to anyone, especially if you have children. This is a huge hit
in our household and we cannot live without this little guy.
5.0 out of 5 stars Greatly improved speed and user interface over previous Roku devices,
March 8, 2013
By M. Clipper (Phoenix, AZ)
I own four of the 1st generation Rokus, and I've purchased / configured several 2nd
generation Rokus as gifts. We still use the 1st-gen devices in our home, but their specs aren't
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6. keeping up with channel enhancements from Roku (in terms of memory space or hardware
requirements). So I was excited when I saw the Roku 3 product announcement, and I
immediately ordered one on the first day of availability.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the speed enhancements and improvements to the user
interface. According to one article I read, the processor inside the unit is 5 times faster than in
previous generations, and you can tell. Browsing through the channels is very quick and
fluid, which was one of the biggest drawbacks to the previous generations. The new unified
search tool is probably my favorite feature. You can use it to search for a movie title, actor,
etc., and it will search across all the major streaming services for availability. Then, you just
click on which streaming service you want to use, and the search tool takes you right to that
service and the title you were looking for.
The new remote is nice. It's not much different from the 2nd-gen remote, except that it now
has a headphone jack, and it uses Wi-Fi Direct instead of Bluetooth to communicate with the
Roku. (The latter change means you can't use a 2nd-gen remote with the Roku 3, and vice-
versa.) I haven't used the headphone jack yet, but I can see that as a nice feature to use when
the spouse and kids are asleep. My only complaint with the remote is the position of the OK
button. Instead of it being in the center of the directional pad, it's now below the D-pad. This
was done in the 2nd-gen to optimize the remote for gaming, but for a 1st-gen user who
doesn't plan on using the Roku for gaming, it's hard to get used to.
Because of it's tremendous improvement in speed, the Roku 3 would be a great upgrade for
an owner of any previous generation Roku. And for those new to streaming players, the Roku
3 is definitely the one to go with (as of March 2013). Roku has by far the best selection of
streaming services available. If a movie or TV show is available on a streaming service, you
can be sure you'll be able to watch it on a Roku.
The best place to buy the Roku 3 is from Amazon. Click on the button below to buy it now
and start enjoying your entertainment.
Click on the button above to buy Roku 3 from Amazon.
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