Roku 3 - sam9s take on the device

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George T said:
I have a question: I am based in Kuwait and have a Roku 3 imported through Amazon US more than a year back. I have it all connected but cannot see the icons for VuDu or Netflix etc on the Roku 3 app list. Is this because these apps are prohibited in the Middle East Web? or do i need to send it back for re-programming? At the moment i can watch thru FlixFling and some other B and C grade apps.
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You would not see any apps untill you use any DNS service like UnblockUS or smartproxydns ...... even then after channels are visible you might not be able to play it unless you go for the static routing approach discussed in this thread...
 
Friends couple of drawbacks I though I should also share before people make a decision to purchase this product just on my review ...

1. Remote :: Works on Wifi direct, and so draws huge amount of battery in remote. Plain AA batteries would not last a week if your roku is used even for couple of hours daily, or if remains on without being used. Duracell is no different probably will give you another week. The only solution I found was to have re chargable batteries that too of atleast 2500mah. Though this also would last no more than 15 days with decent use, atleast you can recharge them when over and in between use any Duracell battries. Thats how I am doing it.

Another way which is tiresome is to remove batteries every time you quit your Roku session. That will make them last more but as I said tiresome procedure.

2. No Power OFF :: This was a shocker. there is no power button of any kind or power off mechanism on Roku to switch off your device ...lol .. This means either you keep is on all the time (which is ok since it hardly use any power in standby mode) or pull the plug off from the device itself. I usually pull the plug off after couple of days to give the unit some rest.

3. Sensitive to fluctuations :: My Roku used to re boot every time there was a fluctuation or when the power used to go, and inverter used to kick in. This is bad for the device (infact any kind of electronic device), it can go kaaaput any time. So I had to provide a decent UPS. Solves the issue but an unnecessary mandatory expense to run the device in India ...

4. No video out except HDMI :: I wont count this as a major drawback, but for some who wants to run this with component or composite there is no option.

That is all I can think off in around 2-3 week of device usage. Will update if I find anything else ....
 
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By any chance, are you using the headphones for wireless audio heavily? I have noticed that battery life is actually quite good - I only need to replace Duracells every few months or so. Definitely not week or even few weeks.

However, when I started using the remote for wireless headphones, battery life drastically reduced, and yes, it then only lasts a few weeks or so with intermittent headphone usage.
 
Yes that might be the reason, I do use the headphone jack with my, iHOME speakers or Logitech BOOMBOX so you are right that might be reason for poor battery performance ......
 
Guys .... i have WDTV Live ....

please guide me to watch netflix in it ....

my router has static routes option ....

how to create netflix account with indian credit card ??

smartdnsproxy is it the solution ? isit free ?
 
You dont need static route ... with WD TV Live. Where did you purchase WD TV Live, if its from US only then you will see netflix app. If you do have netflix on your WD TV, then all you need is account with smartproxydns, update the provided DNS on your router OR on WD TV itself create netflix account (it does take indian CC however keep the address to any random one of US) and start enjoying it on your device ....
 
Those are media players ..... and yes I know about them for ages ..... The one with only Android isnt good for streaming coz Netflix sucks on Android.;
 
As a media player I have always suggested Minix Neo X-8 Plus. I just loved the interface and XBMC was the best on any media player I have tried OR read a review .....

KD Links would be my second choice, if any one is interested in what I think or suggest as far as media player goes ....... :)
 
Apple TV is very much tied to apple ecosystem, so if you have lots of iTunes content and ios devices,you might consider Apple, but it streaming from channels is concerned Roku easily beats Apple. Check out this video ...

Apple TV review - CNET
 
Guys any one has any idea is smartproxydns supports VUDU, as my roku cannot access VUDU says "country setting usa does not match location nil".

But strange thing is I can access same on my Laptop, with same DNS settings ... any idea?
 
Ok I confirm smartproxydns does not support VUDU as of now....too bad. I took a trial of another DNS service called "cactusvpn.com" and was able to access VUDU on Roku on it ...
 
BTW This Crackle channel is giving some decent movies for free. I did open the channel once but did not play any content thinking its gonna be paid anyway, but today I did and the movie just started playing ... I was like WTH! ... surprised ..... and in the flow ended up watching a Jean Claude Van Dam movie called 6 bullets. Movie was a good time pass with some good action, nothing out of ordinary but since it was free...... whom am I to complain .. :)
 
ok IMP UPDATE for people using Roku 3 for Netflix viewing. As we all know that to view netflix on Roku 3 in India we have to use static routing to force roku 3 not to use Google DNS, which is what Roku and Google has forced us on. Well since this workaround works perfectly google has made sure that they can force some or the other limitation which is in their hands to people using this method.

And that limitation is google own youtube app on Roku 3. If you are using the static routing to bypass google DNS, your roku 3 you tube app will never play any videos in 1080 Full HD mode. Not even 720 ..... it would always be 420p or less, what ever your net speed is......... Irritating right ..... :)

Since I was not using youtube app on Roku 3, I never stumbled on this issue.........Google made sure that you pay the price some or the other way if you use the static routing method. Anyway the workaround is that either you disable static routing on your router for the time you wanna watch you tube on Roku OR better easier approach is, since Roku 3 supports miracast, simply cast youtube video you wanna watch from your laptop using chrome browser and Google cast extension. This way you play the video in chrome, adjust it to 1080p and cast it to Roku and it will play in 1080p ..... This will also work if you have chromecast ......

just thought to let all people know what I discovered ... :)
 
Another update I stumbled, if you are using Roku 3 create MGo account, the moment you do you will be awarded 10 USD as gift in couple of days which you can use to rent couple of movies for free and see how MGo performs as a channel, thought to share with FM here .... I rented my first movie today Big Game.
 
Received my Roku-3 today.As it was already set up in US, I just followed your settings here and voila, it works like a charm. :clapping::clapping::clapping:
It reaches to 1080p on Netflix in few seconds.I have already subscribed to Amazon Prime Video and Spotify. Everything works flawlessly..
I have not tried all other features right now but i am really very happy to add it to my set up..
Thanks a lot Sam9 for the lovely review.
 
People with Roku 3, do keep sharing any worth channels they come across ...... couple of channels I can recommend are .. (apart from the usual, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HULU and VUDU)

Movie n TV series channel .....

1. Crackle
2. Google Play Movies and TV
3. PLEX (Ultimate if you have a plex server running on your NAS or a dedicated server)
4. popcornFlix
5. Viewster
6. SnagFlims
7. Watch Free Flix
8. Showtime
9. tubi
10. DRAMAFEVER (only TV series non american, mostly Korean)
11. Chaplin Channel (for chaplin fans like me)
12. Looney Toons network (again for Loony toons fans like me ...)

Technology Channels

1. TechCrunch
2. TechSmart
3. TED
4. Digital Trends

Gaming Channels

1. Gamespot
2. GameSmart

Entertainment

1. Facebook
2. History
3. Comedy Central

Music

1. rdio

Misc

1. Indian Recipies (for my wife .. :D)


Also I would request if someone comes across a decent movie/tv series in any of the channels please do share on this thread. Like for example I saw two really nice Bollywood movies on "Watch Free Flix" called "Saare jahan se mehnga" (AWSOME MOVIE Not to be missed) and another one called "Akash Vani" which was also pretty decent.
 
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