Roku 2 Streaming Media Player (4210R) with Faster Processor (2015 Model)

I'm very happy with the 2015 version of the Roku 2. It is easy to use, the performance is very snappy, the menus are fluid and the menu system and navigation is so intuitive that most people will never need a manual or any tech support.Setup is also easy: connect it to your HDTV or home theater receiver using an HDMI cable (not included, but you can one cheap on Amazon), plug in the power adapter, and follow the on-screen instructions. It's so easy, my parents could do it. As with Blu Ray players, the HDMI cable carries both the video and audio signals. The Roku's picture and sound quality are very good on my modest system (though, like all other streaming boxes, picture and sound from internet streaming are not quite up to par with the best Blu Ray discs).The included remote is nicely designed and is much easier to use than the remotes that came with my TV and Blu Ray players. However, as an "IR" type remote, it requires a direct line of sight to the Roku box, so you can't hide the Roku box in a cabinet, it has to be out in the open. The Roku 2 comes with Duracell batteries for the remote, which should last for years. (The batteries that came with my last Roku box in 2011 lasted until 2014.)If you have an iPhone or Android phone, you can use your phone as a remote using a free app from Roku. Doing this can come in handy. If you want to enter text using the Roku remote, for example to search for a movie or to set up your Netflix account, you have to move the cursor to each letter and select it; this is a bit tedious. Using the smartphone app, you can pull up an on-screen keyboard and type text in directly; it's quicker and easier. Also, the latest version of the Roku smartphone app has voice search: just say the name of the movie you want, and it will show you all the channels that has that movie, then touch the one you want and it'll take you right there. If you misplace your Roku remote or the batteries die and you don't have replacements handy, it's nice to be able to use your phone as the remote. And lastly, you don't need a direct line of sight to control your Roku box with the smartphone app, because the app uses your wifi network rather than infrared.The alternatives to Roku are Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV. All three platforms have their advantages and disadvantages. Apple TV is the only one you can use to view content from the iTunes store, and it can also mirror content from your iPhone or iPad if you have one. But the Apple TV hasn't been updated in years and is overdue for a new version (hence its recent price drop). Amazon Fire TV is great if you have a Kindle Fire tablet; Amazon Fire TV also has voice search which works great for searching for content available from Amazon. Roku has the most channels of all of them and is my favorite. But all three platforms have their loyal fans.If you choose the Roku platform, you can buy this Roku 2 or the Roku 3 for $30 more. The 2015 versions of the Roku 2 and Roku 3 offer identical performance; the only difference is the remote: The remote that comes with the Roku 3 has an earphone jack, a motion sensor for playing games on the Roku, and a mic for voice search. For me, these extra features are not worth the extra $30. But they will be for some people.If you have an older Roku (I did), the 2015 updated Roku 2 will be a big step up in performance. It's really easy and fast to use, and navigating the menus is super easy and intuitive. If you've never used a streaming box, the Roku platform is a really excellent one, almost no learning curve and well designed with just about everything you could want from a streaming box.One last caution: The Roku 2 and 3 were originally introduced 2 years ago. These 2015 updated versions are very good, especially the 2015 Roku 2. But this is not a fundamentally new device. Roku is likely to come out with a "Roku 4" later this year that will offer 4K resolution, faster performance, and probably some other new features. If you don't have a 4K TV, the 2015 Roku 2 is a really great option.The other reviewer has a less favorable perspective and you should read his/her review before spending your hard-earned money. But my experience with the new Roku 2 is very positive and I recommend it highly.

I started out with a Chromecast, as I had no prior experience with streaming. It was an inexpensive way to get my feet wet and it worked great.But Chromecast offers access to a limited number of streaming sources, and I soon found that I wanted to stream shows that were not available via Chromecast: in particular, I wanted to stream content from Amazon Prime.After surveying the streaming devices out there, I concluded that the Roku 2, at $69.95, offers the best bang for the buck, and I haven't been disappointed: this is a great little device!PROS:1) Easy setup. Just connect it via HDMI to your system (TV for example), connect the included power adapter, and connect to your WiFi network. The Roku also includes an Ethernet jack, if your prefer to use hardwired Ethernet.2) Supports the broadest variety of streaming sources (many - including all the "big names" such as HuluPlus, Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc. without favoring one over the other - the Roku is said to be "source agnostic"). You can re-arrange the presentation of content providers if you wish.3) Includes a handheld remote, which works really well and is definitely a nice-to-have if you prefer "real" buttons. The alternative is a smartphone app (see below).4) Navigating menus and controlling the Roku is a snap, both when selecting and viewing content, and includes Rewind, Fast-Forward, Pause, and Play functions, cursor control, etc.5) A meta-search feature allows you to search across all available content providers for a particular title. This makes it easy to locate a particular show that you want to watch (note that most content providers require a paid subscription in order to access their content).6) Supports 5GHz WiFi networks (whereas the Chromecast supports only 2.4GHz)7) Roku has a very nice FREE remote control app for your smartphone (available in your mobile device's app store). The app communicates with the Roku via WiFi (not IR, so it's "point anywhere") and makes controlling the Roku even sweeter. Note that the app also allows you to enter voice search requests (similar to the Roku 3 - see below) but I haven't tried this feature, so don't know how well it works.CONS:1) The only thing I found that I don't like so far is that when registering your device with Roku, they require you to supply a credit card (on their website, the product info says, "May require credit card" when registering). Note that you're not required to BUY anything, only to provide a credit card up-front in the event that you do choose to make an in-app purchase (although I'm not sure what this would be). Personally, I didn't care for this (having to supply credit card info) at all; that's just another website that has your credit card info. But you can't complete the registration process without doing it. Note to Roku: Come on, guys; nobody likes this. Either make it optional, or get rid of it altogether!Roku 2 vs Roku 3So what's the difference between the Roku 2 and Roku 3? Not much, in my opinion - not enough to justify the expense of the Roku 3, which for $30 more,1) Includes a "point anywhere" remote (i.e., not IR),2) Allows you to enter voice search requests (using the remote) by speaking the name of the desired show, and3) Includes a pair of ear buds that you can plug into the remote for private listening without disturbing someone else who might be reading, sleeping, etc.Other than those additional features, the Roku 2 is identical to the Roku 3 - same fast processor and same features, making it the obvious better value, in my opinion.IMPORTANT: If ordering the Roku 2, be sure you order the latest (2015) model, as it has the upgraded, faster processor (previous models had a slower processor).

This weekend we completed our transition from satellite TV to video streaming only… a process affectionately known as “cutting the cord.” We added a Roku 2 streaming media player to the TV in our guest room and moved our Roku 3500 streaming stick to the TV in our living room.I decided on the Roku 2 device instead of another Roku 3500 streaming stick because I figured it would be a good “middle ground” between my Roku 3 and Roku 3500. I was correct in my thinking. The Roku 2 is an excellent all-around device, and certainly several steps up from the streaming stick. And, it works so well that I find it difficult to see the difference between it and the more advanced Roku 3.Overall, the Roku 2 streaming media player performs extremely well. The processor is noticeably much faster; there’s virtually no evidence of video stutter, blanking, or lagging due to slow processing and buffering. As with our other Roku devices, its HD video and digital surround sound are of the highest quality, and was easy to set up.We remain impressed with the enormous number of channels available through the Roku streaming service. In fact, we found it imperative to narrow our choices to a manageable number of channels. Our favorites include Amazon Video, Hulu, SlingTV, PBS, and Vudu. We continue to explore Roku’s channel store in order to find channels that might interest us.Our decision to cancel our satellite TV subscription is firm and final. Our Roku 3500R, Roku 2, and Roku 3 devices are now connected and working flawlessly to bring us high quality TV viewing at a fraction of the price we were paying our satellite TV provider. Highly recommended.

I bought this one because I wanted to use wired ethernet. It works great. Fast and got everything I needed.

Es excelente si tu tv no es smart, tiene excelente definición, youtube y netflix se ven geniales, es mucho mas pequeño de lo que pensé, los contras son: no incluye HDMI, nunca había utilizado roku así que yo suponía que la entrada sd funcionaba del mismo modo que la entrada usb, pero no, la entrada sd es solo para aumentar la memoria de roku, y no para reproducir archivos, hay muchos menos canales de los que esperaba, pero igual no salgo de youtube y netflix,

Ya habia probado Roku antes y despues de buscar opciones, me quedo con el, creo que fue un equipo restaurado, aun asi, ha funcionado muy bien.

Todo bien. Ya tenía la versión anterior y este en calidad de velocidad... es mejor. La diferencia se ve solo al ocuparlo.

Producto súper funcional, y sin fallas hasta el momento