I want Netflix. I want Amazon Instant Video. I want Hulu Plus. I want Vudu. I want HBO Go.
(Roku does Amazon but not HBO Go, Boxee does HBO Go but not Amazon...)
I want to stream 1080 HD video in various formats from my computer, specifically including MKV's containing h.264 video and AC-3 audio.
(Roku only supports video on USB thumb drives, not over the network, and fails to work lots of the time on standard MKV's of Top Gear for example)
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Is there no streaming device that does all of what I want?
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Fanfoot's pick
At this point, the only device that will do it all is a HTPC with a normal desktop OS on it. That's the route that I went since I wanted Hulu Minus aka free Hulu and access to all the other services that you speak of. It's also pretty nice to be able to look stuff up on your TV.
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Fanfoot's pick
I think the boxee box is the closest. I know it's lacking somethings but if you look at your list the boxee box has the most. Notably the boxee box is the only one with the potential to get all the others too. It's got an active homebrew community thats always adding new features. I have a boxee box and I use apps on it that aren't officially sanctioned by boxee. But they allow that. I'm sure Amazon VOD is in the works and hulu plus has already been announced as coming soon. as far as format support goes, boxee can handle it all including MKVs over the network. It's true that there's no one stop shop out there but for me, boxee comes damn close. I'd say install it as an app on your laptop/desktop for a while and check it out. You might be surprised at all it can do. (P.S. lookup Navi-X the greatest secret of boxee)
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Fanfoot's pick
The answer here should be "TiVo." It was their battle to lose; they could have led the cable-cutter revolution.
TiVo already collects ("records") content from my cable company, and has an Internet connection too. They offer just about everything but Vudu, but it's a pain to use. And, while I love Vudu, I think that they, like TiVo, took a big usability (and performance) step backwards with their "new" UI.
What TiVo should do is look at my season pass list and (should I decide to be a cable-cutter) continue to fetch my shows from whatever service offers them. I don't really care where they come from, I just want to see the same shows in my "Now Playing" screen. I certainly don't want to have to know whether a show is on Netflix or Hulu or wherever. I believe they already do this for movies on the Premiere units, but it would be nice if they just became a simple front-end for the various services. Charge me a few bucks for a movie rental but don't bother me with where it's coming from or making me sign in to a different account for each service just to watch a movie.
TiVo already collects ("records") content from my cable company, and has an Internet connection too. They offer just about everything but Vudu, but it's a pain to use. And, while I love Vudu, I think that they, like TiVo, took a big usability (and performance) step backwards with their "new" UI.
What TiVo should do is look at my season pass list and (should I decide to be a cable-cutter) continue to fetch my shows from whatever service offers them. I don't really care where they come from, I just want to see the same shows in my "Now Playing" screen. I certainly don't want to have to know whether a show is on Netflix or Hulu or wherever. I believe they already do this for movies on the Premiere units, but it would be nice if they just became a simple front-end for the various services. Charge me a few bucks for a movie rental but don't bother me with where it's coming from or making me sign in to a different account for each service just to watch a movie.
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community pick
This isn't exactly the option you're looking for, but you can use a service like PlayOn to play videos from just about any site to your 360, PS3, Wii or iPhone. The Roku used to have an official PlayOn channel, but that was pulled shortly after it went live because it didn't make Roku's other content partners very happy.
www.playon.tv/content-channels
Sadly, it's a paid service, but it's fairly cheap at $5 per month, so I'd give it a try.
www.playon.tv/content-channels
Sadly, it's a paid service, but it's fairly cheap at $5 per month, so I'd give it a try.
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Cass is absolutely right and even then you're still going to be frustrated in the process because there is no one piece of software that does it all. You may be able to use XBMC for MKV files but need Boxee for Amazon or HuluPlus. Add on to that the issue that is Netflix more or less abandoning advancing streaming via PC. The WMC Netflix has not been updated in years and the HD support is really lack luster. If I were you I'd just get a combo of two boxes (Roku + Boxee would be cheapest) and hope for the best.
I will give this piece of advice I learned from months of reading the HTPC forum: there is no one stop solution for all your needs, you just need to pick your battles.
I will give this piece of advice I learned from months of reading the HTPC forum: there is no one stop solution for all your needs, you just need to pick your battles.
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I also use Roku + PlayOn. I don't use HBO Go but I can't think of the last time there was content I wanted that I couldn't access on the Roku.
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