Set-top media player for parents: Roku, AppleTV, Boxee...

[ecaroth]

Hello HN... I am planning on buying my parents a set-top media player for christmas and can't decide which way to go, and thought the community might be able to give me some good feedback. Requirements are: at least 1 usb port, built in wifi, analog & hdmi output, and netflix support. So far Roku is looking the best at $99, but appleTV and Boxee look damn good too..

I know there are a plethora of articles comparing these products on different gadget blogs, but I'm hoping I can get some insights here that I couldn't find elsewhere!

[jeebusroxors]

I bought the Roku a few months back. I don't have cable and wanted to watch a few shows here and there.It's pretty simple to use, but to me it doesn't feel like a parent proof device.

The UI is split up into "Channels" which are essentially different applications that grab video listings. The most popular one is netflix. It should be noted that you cannot browse netflix from the Roku (yet). Your instant queue is displayed on the top row, and then various other options are displayed below it. There are groups like "Recently Watched", "Critically Acclaimed Movies From The 80s", "Dark Documentaries", and then recommendations, one from netflix and a few others based on things you've just watched, and a search feature. All of these, except the instant queue, search and netflix recommendations appear to be random.

I have had one technical problem with the netflix channel. From what I can gather, when netflix goes down and you try to access the channel it can lock the channel up, making all videos you try to watch unavailable. The only solution was a factory reset.

There are some other good channels as well, MLB.tv, Nasa.tv (haven't had much success), Khan Academy, TED Talks, and a few others. There is a way to stream videos from your PC but it's a bit of a nightmare.

All in all, it's a great little device, and I'm happy with the purchase but it may be one of those "you get what you pay for" things, but I've never seen any of the other devices. If you need more help feel free to email.

[ecaroth]

Awesome.. that's just the kind of info I was looking for. From the looks of things, they're actively developing their software and plan on supporting Hulu+ as well. Probably gonna pull the trigger on this badboy then! One more question... does it have a bittorent client built in? I have a cinemaGo, which lacks netflix support unfortunately, but I has a built in bittorrent client which has come in very handy. Not a deal breaker I guess, but still would be sweet

[eiji]

AppleTV(2.0) has no "usb port" and no "analog output".

Netflix works fine and looks nice. FWIW: Homesharing is a replacement for usb, if you just want to get pictures on your TV ...