I didn't want to steal anyones thread with this question, so I'll start my own. I have heard about these units for about a year now. A couple computer geek friends in the states say that they are pretty easy to set up. They also like the control over the music & radio that you get.

Knowing that these things are now available in Canada I looked up what input/outputs they have. They have rca, coax and optical outputs.

Anyone have a review on these things? How is the sound quality? Drawbacks?

http://www.rokulabs.com/products/soundbridge/

I've read a fair bit about these units.

For streaming music they seem to be an excellent idea. They have a small profile and look good and I believe allow you to stream all types of INternet radio and stored music.

Downside is that its only music, wireless-b which may not be an issue and cost.

$299 for the 1000 seems really high.

Hugh,

I saw your post about streaming music.

This here is a good consideration as well and it is on sale this week.

D-Link DSM 320 Media Lounge --> http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10051728&catid=

D-Link site --> http://www.dlink.ca/product.php?PID=281

Crispy

Thanks Crispy, I've looked at it (see other thread). Please lets keep this thread to ROKU.

Crispy, thanks for the D-Link info.
How is the D-Link quality of sound and video?
Is it easy to use or is it cumbersome. My wife has to be able to run it without pushing 100 buttons.

I bought a M2000 at BB about three weeks ago and simply love it...it is extremely easy to set up, has an awesome support forum (http://www.rokulabs.com/forums/) and it works exactly as advertised. Sound quality is great (I use the optical connection) and I love the futuristic design.

It replaced the TurtleBeach Audiotron I had in the living room for the past few years...The best feature is the super large VFD. You can see your song/radio station information from across the room. I have mine hardwired to a wireless G access point so I don't have to use the included wireless B card. I stream tunes all day without any rebuffering or dropouts.

Here is a picture (http://www.rokulabs.com/products/showcase.php?which=41) as it sits here at home.

John

So are you guys using these Roku devices in place of a HTPC in your main theatre/listening rooms? Do you find there is advantages to not using a PC or are you actually sacrificing features by not using a full-blown PC for audio and/or video streaming?

slyboy, you stream the music from your PC to the ROKU.

The benefit is you don't need a noisy clunky looking PC in your living room!

How does it do the internet streaming radio, Can I use Launchcast? or do you have to subscribe to some pay service?

I don't understand why anyone would pay $200 more (almost 2x) for a bigger better resolution screen!? Is there any other difference between the M1000 (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10061900&catid=) & the M2000 (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10061901&catid=) ?

FS prices are pretty good, considering if you go to www.rokulabs.com it's the same prices but US$

i'm interested in one of these units, but the only online streaming service i listen to is XM online, would it work with these?

Romstah here is the link (http://www.rokulabs.com/products/soundbridge/faq.php#radio) to the companies radio page. If you are really interested I would contact them directly for confirmation. Let us know what you find out!

I have the M1000 and it's perfect for what I need it for. It gets the 350 or so CD's out of the living room, it's really easy to set up/use, and it has a display to sort through all songs.

Even though it is a little pricey, I highly recommend it.

JonO, (and anyone else with a Roku)

do you use iTunes or Windows Media Player on your PC?
Do you stream any Internet Radio Stations?
Since its wireless - b, have you noticed any slowdown in your wireless network?

TIA,
Hugh


Interesting: I want to use MusicMatch with any streaming device. I just read on the Roku forums that you can't listen to MusicMatch radio using ROku.

This from a Roku Engineer (the bold text was added by me)

You can play back music purchased from Musicmatch's store (using WMC as the server), however, to date, Musicmatch has not provided any facility for us to connect to their radio services.

I recommend Musicmatch OnDemand users that want third parties (such as Roku) to be able to playback Musicmatch OnDemand contact Musicmatch and request that they make sure capabilities possible. It certainly can't hurt.

ok, i found out from the roku forums that it can't stream XM as it requires a login and password. :(

Hugh:

I started out using WMC however I found that it was extremely slow in loading my music (I have about 8,000 songs currently) and there is a bug in the way the XML tag handling was performed when the song tag was truncated...This often led to a nil return being issued for a search.

I switched to using iTunes and haven't looked back. Searches now are extremely fast, song loading speed has more than doubled and the dreaded XML bug is gone.

As for streaming Internet radio, I do this on a daily basis. ROKU's web-based configuration utility currently allows you to add up to ten user-defined Internet stations, simply by pasting the stream's URL into the appropriate locations on the config page. There is no pay service or otherwise required to listen to Internet radio.

I use wireless G for my network so the ROKU doesn't affect it at all....A buddy of mine uses his M1000 with wireless B however and he has never had any issues with network performance.

And for Dawtcalm:

It's true that the M2000 is much more money just for the bigger display. However the unit itself is much larger, about the same width as a normal HT component so it's more esthetically pleasing to the eye...my aforementioned buddy now wishes that he purchased the M2000 just for this reason. For some people, bigger is better after all :)

The guts of both units are exactly the same though...

John

do you use iTunes or Windows Media Player on your PC?
Do you stream any Internet Radio Stations?
Since its wireless - b, have you noticed any slowdown in your wireless network?

Hugh,

Sorry for the delay in responding. I use iTunes and I don't do any streaming - I have a really simple implementation. I also use a wireless b network, so there there is no slowdown to notice.

Not much help - sorry

I would just go for the m500 refurb you can get it shipped to canada for $200 that is a deal if i ask me

Been doing some research into these and many other units.

The Roku seems to be ideal for:

Playing ripped CD's from your PC
Playing protected content (downloaded from Napster or YMU) that is on your PC
Playing Internet Radio where you know the URL

What it can't do.
Play Napster or Launchcast Radio stations.
Play Napster or Yahoo streams.


If I could stream a Launchcast station to a Roku, I'd buy one in a heartbeat!

Been doing some research into these and many other units.

The Roku seems to be ideal for:

Playing ripped CD's from your PC

Assuming this means .wav files, how does the Roku handle playlists without the mp3 tags ?

If one were to use this device with analogue output, how good are the digital/analogue converters on-board ?

Here is the big proviso: It works far better while using the competition's software. Read the section on downloading the Slim Server version 40 software and the Soundbridge device comes to life.

The software support and forum that Roku operates are good. Read these to know what you are getting into.

If you can access a stream using I - Tunes, the Roku Soundbridge will find it and use it. Those will be m3u or pls streams only. Not asx streams. So no Danish radio or several thousand others. You will need to find the other several thousand streams instead. It's a very satisfying hobby.

Roku engineers promise an upgrade that will permit these streams in the next full upgrade of the software.

The analogue outputs are swell. The device is tube shaped with recessed connections on the ends. Cool looking, but difficult to push cabling into with big stupid fingers.

The Soundbridge WILL NOT play restrictive DRM material downloaded from the I Tunes Music store. If you had an Apple Airport as the network music player it would, but other devices do not get access. The work around is to burn this purchased music to disc and then import it again to I Tunes.

My setup problems were many and I had poor results. I had consistent problems with drop outs (buffering), and ascertaining the many correctable points in the path that need very specific settings, software, and hardware. The first unit blacked out and the turn-around replacement came in a week. It was a reconditioned unit, and it worked perfectly with some screen fade. Spend some time reading the Roku pages and forums to plan the process.

If you have a Live 365 VIP membership, you may enter your user ID and password in a module of the Slimserver software and log in to all your preset stations. The Slimserver software preloads Radio IO, Shoutcast, and SlimDevices streams. You will never leave your audio system with these in place. Within Slimserver the meta data for artist, title, composer, length, bit rate, and tidal charts are configurable to an extent that would satisfy a librarian.

I suggest using I Tunes as your music server/library, however you will still need WMC resident on your computer.