jlsoaz wrote:

Satnamji wrote:

jlsoaz wrote:

If they don't offer a combined all-media device, or most media, I think someone else might. Dunno if it will make money.

"Someone" already does, Samsung, in the form of their last two blu-ray players which do Netflix and Pandora, Tivo HD (which does Netflix, Amazon, and Rhapsody), and the PS3, which even without PlayOn software, can do Hulu, Pandora, YouTube, and others through its Internet browser. Most of those players are much more expensive, but they are out there and media streaming is the new "value added" feature many TVs and blu-ray players are offering. As a PS3 owner, I actually would not have bought a Roku if PlayOn was a little more stable and could do HD.

Good to know all these things. Do you know of any that can stream or play local MP3 or video or picture files from one's own network? Of can they only play from those sites on the net? It sounds like with something that has a browser, I could in theory may be upload to a passworded website link and then download to my TV, if I wanted to play them that way?

From experience I can say the PS3 definitely allows streaming of photo, music, and video files from your computer's harddrive over your network. There are many other DLNA compliant devices out there, including TVs that let you view photos from your computer without uploading to a 3rd party web site. I believe there's been some discussion in these forums as to whether the Roku is capable of acting as a DLNA device.

While it might work for some people on ROKU, there are really many other sources of sound out there. Itunes, for example, will drive beautiful music from your computer to your sound system. I use it all the time. I also use the very good internet applications that are basically free on my IPhone through my wireless network, such as radio tuners and Pandora. Music is also available from sources like DirecTV and so forth. It is fun to listen to London radio from San Francisco with complete ease. If you haven't done this for a long period of time, you won't appreciate how much the sound quality has improved over the not too distant past. If you want basically unlimited choice at your control, Rhapsody is not to be surpassed and is available for not too many dollars/month, less by the year.

It wouldn't bother me if the Roku player got Sirius/XM, but I doubt I would listen to it very often. I surely wouldn't pay extra for it.

But I would like to be able to access my favorite internet radio stations through the Roku player.

Great Informative!

I like the idea of the ability to carry Pandora or other such service. I also would like to see an incarnation of Soundbridge on the DVP. I think if you could go to radioroku.com and pick the stations you want and have them show up in a "Soundbridge" channel on the DVP - similar to how Soundbridge itself works - that would be great. While I love Pandora, I also like listening to talk radio stations like WABC, etc. Porting what Roku learned from Soundbridge to the DVP would promote an even broader demographic for the device.

RokuAnthony wrote:

Yes, the video player could do internet radio (or pandora or whatever).

We internally debate whether customers would appreciate music on it. You would have to turn on your TV to select the music. What do you think?

It seems perhaps worth noting that indeed Roku has brought in at least one of these angles, at least with Pandora.

This means that I can play pretty much any type of genre on my TV, using it just for the sound capabilities. Limitations for now seem to include not being able to bring in internet stations, and radio talk or news shows. Pandora is kind of a genre service.

Personally, I am satisfied that this gives me basic internet music streaming capability though with some limitations. It is also possible that some of the other channels have some capabilities that I'm not aware of, or may in the future.

Anyway, thanks for making Pandora over Roku a reality.

jl

RokuAnthony wrote:

Yes, the video player could do internet radio (or pandora or whatever).

We internally debate whether customers would appreciate music on it. You would have to turn on your TV to select the music. What do you think?

Well, if I stream video to my TV and audio to an amplifier/speaker system, then I don't need TV powered on to listen to music.
The issue is that I like to select the audio channels without requiring the tv being powered on.

Just fyi -- I have been messing with the Mediafly channel and it has lots of news kind of stream... I thought I would mention it because you said.. "Limitations for now seem to include not being able to bring in internet stations, and radio talk or news shows." I am not sure if I can add my own streams to mediafly which would allow me to do more...

jlsoaz wrote:

RokuAnthony wrote:

Yes, the video player could do internet radio (or pandora or whatever).

We internally debate whether customers would appreciate music on it. You would have to turn on your TV to select the music. What do you think?

It seems perhaps worth noting that indeed Roku has brought in at least one of these angles, at least with Pandora.

This means that I can play pretty much any type of genre on my TV, using it just for the sound capabilities. Limitations for now seem to include not being able to bring in internet stations, and radio talk or news shows. Pandora is kind of a genre service.

Personally, I am satisfied that this gives me basic internet music streaming capability though with some limitations. It is also possible that some of the other channels have some capabilities that I'm not aware of, or may in the future.

Anyway, thanks for making Pandora over Roku a reality.

jl

Ok, thanks, I'll take a look.

buaboo wrote:

Just fyi -- I have been messing with the Mediafly channel and it has lots of news kind of stream... I thought I would mention it because you said.. "Limitations for now seem to include not being able to bring in internet stations, and radio talk or news shows." I am not sure if I can add my own streams to mediafly which would allow me to do more...