Hello, I installed my Roku 2 XS media player today, and I just wanted to get some ideas on how to have the best viewing experience with it. I went to connect it wirelessly when setting it up, but it could not connect for some reason. So, I connected it wired. But, since the ethernet port on the XS is only 10/100Mbps, and my router is an N+ D-Link DIR-655 with speeds up to 300Mbps, would I get better performance wirelessly? It is only about 15 feet from the router, with only the side of my desk blocking the path between them. If so, I will concentrate on getting it up and running with a wireless connection. Next, I was wondering about my TV viewing experience. I want to ditch cable, but I would still like to be able to watch some live TV (it doesn't necessarily have to be a live broadcast, I just mean during the regular broadcast time), like American Idol (for my Wife, not me :p) on Fox, Mets games on SNY and other stuff like that on ABC, NBC, etc. Is that possible? I was thinking of getting an antenna for local channels to solve that problem, but I wanted to see if I could get any input here. Other than that, I watch The Walking Dead on AMC, Comedy Central, Adventure Time and mostly Adult Swim stuff on Cartoon Network. I don't really care about watching them during their regular broadcast time. The Kids watch the standard channels like Nick, Disney, etc. As far as movies go, I'm not too concerned with a huge selection, because I have a ton of blu-rays and dvds. So, I ask, what would be the way to go as far as premiums like Netflix, Hulu+, Vudu, Amazon, etc., and for everything else I mentioned?

Thanks in advance

You will not get close to 300Mbps real world wireless speed--that is a theoretical max that isn't attainable (a dirty secret of WiFi). Coupled with the additional latency and interference problems inherent to wireless, wired is almost always preferable. That said, as long as you have a good wireless connection, it should be fine for the relatively low bitrate streams you will encounter with Roku.

The fastest stream on the box is only about 6Mbps average, so a high bitrate network isn't necessary. Wired will usually give more reliable results than wireless and is preferred if your situation allows. With that said, when people have trouble with the initial wireless setup connecting wired first often solves the problem.
Many of us also have an antenna for OTA TV and find that and Roku to be a very good combination.

Thank you both for your fast and informative replies. Based on your info, I will keep the connection wired. I did notice that the quality on some of the shows I watched already on Crunchyroll said the quality was at 2 dots. Is that normal?

And any suggestions on a quality antenna? There are a few I have been looking at, and based on my location and results from AntennaWeb, I need a UHF antenna for a station 3 miles away. I've never used an antenna before, so if I were to get one, would this station supply me with most local channels, or just the channel(s) it is affiliated with?

And lastly, I noticed my remote keeps blinking a green light every once in awhile. I was reading on the forum that this could be a pairing issue, but the remote works great. Is the blinking light indicative of a problem, or is it normal?

emets31 wrote:

And any suggestions on a quality antenna? There are a few I have been looking at, and based on my location and results from AntennaWeb, I need a UHF antenna for a station 3 miles away. I've never used an antenna before, so if I were to get one, would this station supply me with most local channels, or just the channel(s) it is affiliated with?

Follow the AntennaWeb recommendations for your antenna choice. It's quite accurate, and yes, one channel is one network. If you want the five major networks
(NBC,ABC,CBS,FOX and PBS) use the AntennaWeb recommendation for your location that will allow you to receive them.

emets31 wrote:

I've never used an antenna before, <snip>

And lastly, I noticed my remote keeps blinking a green light every once in awhile. I was reading on the forum that this could be a pairing issue, but the remote works great. Is the blinking light indicative of a problem, or is it normal?

To answer the second question first, the blinking lights serve numerous functions, including the pairing you indicated, low battery power, and/or if it's the "left" or "right" remote (if you have 2). The one you want to keep an eye out for is the steady blinking, as that's caused by low battery. Long as the remote is working fine, ignore it most of the time.

Now to the other part of your question: Someone else will give you advice on that, however I just wanted to say that you just made me feel REALLY old. /sigh

C. Shawn Smith

RokuShawnS wrote:

however I just wanted to say that you just made me feel REALLY old. /sigh

You'll get past that in another 20 years or so. I did...

kc8pql wrote:

RokuShawnS wrote:

however I just wanted to say that you just made me feel REALLY old. /sigh

You'll get past that in another 20 years or so. I did...

So 60ish will be the magic number then, eh? Great. lol.

Someone should start a thread for anyone who remembers the fond days of wired remote controls (me), cassette tapes, rabbit ears and tinfoil, when renting a movie from blockbuster weighed about a pound, and television consisted of 5 or 6 channels.

/sigh ... miss those days sometimes. Life was so much more interesting (although having my mother or father tell me: "Just a little to the left. No, just a bit more. Now bring the antenna forward a little bit. Wait, stop! No go back! Yeah, right th ... crap, you took your hand off of it. Go grab the tinfoil!" Yeah, don't want to go back to THAT part.)

C. Shawn Smith

some of us can remember tryin to teach the dog to turn the knob to change channels......

RokuShawnS wrote:

and television consisted of 5 or 6 channels.

Actually, it was three channels, until "educational TV" came along when I was a teenager.
...and then this new prime time program came along. The whole country gathered around their living rooms to watch Saturday Night at the Movies in Living Color.

Ack ... that was supposed to have been a PM, not a response! I am getting old!

To the OP: My apologies for dragging it off-topic.

Okay, everyone ... let's get back to helping this fellow out like good little Roku'ers!

(Someone start that thread)
C. Shawn Smith

RokuShawnS wrote:

So 60ish will be the magic number then, eh? Great. lol.

Someone should start a thread for anyone who remembers the fond days of wired remote controls (me), cassette tapes, rabbit ears and tinfoil, when renting a movie from blockbuster weighed about a pound, and television consisted of 5 or 6 channels.

/sigh ... miss those days sometimes. Life was so much more interesting (although having my mother or father tell me: "Just a little to the left. No, just a bit more. Now bring the antenna forward a little bit. Wait, stop! No go back! Yeah, right th ... crap, you took your hand off of it. Go grab the tinfoil!" Yeah, don't want to go back to THAT part.)

C. Shawn Smith

I remember the hype (current word not used back then) surrounding Dallas getting it's third station. Even then the media (Newspapers and Radio) lamented the quality of TV and the argued that what quality there was would be watered down by the advent of all this TV. Stations signed on at about 6:00 AM and off air at about midnight.

Some years after that one of the stations (WFAA channel 8 I think) went to a 22 hour day and that was such big news that even though I was still quite young I vividly remember the news. At least I never had the rabbit ear problem as my parents were among the first to put up an outside one in our neighborhood and the reception was as good as VHF ever got.

After returning from southeast Asia the first job I had was TV repair and installing antennas. We used what was the latest and greatest in TV antenna wiring, 300 Ohm twin lead.

I not only remember cassettes but I even remember the precursor to 8 track tapes the four track with a spindle coming up through the body of the tape.

To the OP: The advice the others have given is good. You should have little problem and wired is always better than wireless and OTA or basic cable (bundled with internet for many) will mostly fill the need for any live shows.

emets31 wrote:

I did notice that the quality on some of the shows I watched already on Crunchyroll said the quality was at 2 dots. Is that normal?

I think this question got lost in the shuffle (no doubt due in part to the numerous off topic posts by RokuShawn )


As far as I know that is normal, the dots indicate the connection bit rate and certain channels offer low bit rate streams so even though you are only seeing two dots you are getting the stream at the maximum bit rate available. I don't use CrunchyRoll so I don't know if it's normal for that channel or not but yeah, 2-3 dots is perfectly normal for some channels as it's the highest bit rate feed made available. Break! is a good example in that it features a lot of videos from various sources and while one video may be in HD and display the corresponding 4 dots plus the HD, the very next video may be a two dot jobbie from someones cell phone camera.

Thank you for all of your replies, both off topic and on

I apologize for making anyone feel old. That wasn't my intent. But, if it makes you feel any better, I do remember the wired remotes a bit. I also remember my Dad's first VCR and my Mom's first Stereo with a CD player, and what a momentous occasion that was

Back on topic, my problem with AntennaWeb's recommendations is that it only shows 1 station near me. The other day, there were 3 or 4. Not sure what happened. As far as antennas go, I guess based on the results, I need a UHF antenna?

And thank you, cwniles, for replying about the dots. That was helpful

After doing more research today, I am not quite sure I can pull the plug on cable, though. If I can only get 1 OTA channel with an antenna, I don't think it will keep everyone here happy.

kc8pql wrote:

Many of us also have an antenna for OTA TV and find that and Roku to be a very good combination.

+1