Roku 2 XS: Web Streamer Lets You Play Games

30.08.2011
The latest version of the popular Roku media streamer adds Bluetooth support and a microSD card slot, allowing you to use the Roku2 for downloadable games. Out of the box, the Roku 2 XS ($100 as of August 27, 2011) lets you play Rovio's ubiquitous using nothing more than Roku's newly enhanced, motion-sensing remote.

The $60 Roku 2 HD and the $80 Roku 2 XD ship with the old-style IR remote--but you can purchase the new remote (which includes a license for Angry Birds) later on.

Either way, Roku's core functionality--it streams an impressive array of Web media to your HDTV via home network's Internet connection--remains its biggest selling point. With 250-plus channels of content optimized for viewing on a big screen (the Roku 2 HD supports 720p displays, while the XD and XS both support 1080p), Roku remains the most hassle-free and affordable means of bringing Internet content to your high-def set.

In my tests, getting the Roku2 XS up and running took less than 5 minutes with the help of the easy-to-follow printed guide. I started by connecting the black hockey-puck-size device--with a mobile processor inside, it's the smallest and most power-efficient Roku to date--to my HomePlug AV powerline switch using an ethernet cable (the XS is the only model that supports 10/100 ethernet as well as 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi; the other two support only Wi-Fi). I then hooked up the Roku to my HDTV set using an HDMI cable, and plugged it in to an electrical outlet. Regrettably, Roku provides only the AC adapter and a composite video cable (which produces significantly inferior images and audio); you have to provide the ethernet and HDMI cables.

There's no on/off switch: After you've connected everything, you simply turn the set on, and Roku's welcome screen appears and guides you through a startup routine. If you don't already have a Roku account, you'll be prompted to set one up on the company's website, supplying credit card information so you can later install a channel with paid content. You'll then link your Roku to that account by using a typed-in code, much as you would activate Netflix's on demand service on a TV or set-top box.

After that, you can start installing content channels, including the popular , , and on-demand services (these are all premium channels that charge for content); Sony's relatively new Crackle service, which delivers ad-supported movies and TV; Pandora for Internet radio; and a slew of professional sports channels. Roku also delivers all sorts of free niche-interest content. Note, however, that while the Roku XS (and the Roku HD) can output video at 1080p, the actual content itself varies between 1080p and 720p, depending on what the particular provider supports.