Got a Roku for Christmas?

Given its low price point, wide array of content “channels”, and easy operation, I suspect quite a large number of folks are unwrapping Roku Christmas gifts this weekend. And we’re here to help.

Based on incoming search traffic, some are having difficulty finding and linking Netflix. First off, the Roku consists of two main areas – your channel list or dashboard and the “Store” of all blessed content. Netflix should appear on your dashboard by default. In terms of navigation, the left directional button doesn’t send you to the prior screen as seen on many other boxes. Instead, use the up button to return to a previous area or menu or, alternately, try can the new back button symbolized by an arrow. Additionally, the OK button in the middle of the remote is equivalent to ‘select’ or ‘enter’. So you’d scroll towards the right using the directional button to highlight Netflix and then click OK. Once the Netflix apps comes up for the first time, it’ll walk you through linking your account – you’ll want to have computer handy to enter an authorization code into Netflix.com.

In addition to the Channel Store, “private” channels also exist. These are often content offerings that have yet to be approved or are inappropriate for a wider audience to stumble upon (think adult or corporate training). Two in particular may interest you…

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Deals of the Day – Black Friday Edition

There are a few fabulous Black Friday tech deals floating around the net. Amazon is gifting shoppers with an $89 offer on the Kindle 2 starting at Noon EST tomorrow. It’s the last-gen model of Amazon’s e-reader, but still gets a lot of usage from Dave, who picked up the same model this year for … Read more

Win a Roku XD|S & Hulu Plus (on Twitter)

Roku’s giving away 25 of their higher end XD|S media streaming units along with a year of Hulu Plus service – a prize package worth $196/each. To enter the contest, you’re going to have to follow @RokuPlayer and @Hulu on Twitter and fire off this tweet: Win a Roku XD|S and 1yr of Hulu Plus! Retweet … Read more

Hulu Plus on the Roku

Hulu Plus landed on the Roku today with a newly discounted $7.99/month price tag for all subscribers. I don’t have a Hulu Plus account, but I was able to borrow Dave’s for a quick test drive on my home Roku. Initial impressions: Nice execution, but the content is still stinky. In fairness, some of the … Read more

Roku Box Update Now Available (2.8)

The Roku 2.8 software update, which we recently had a sneak peek at, is now available and includes: Seasonal home screen banner Ability to re-order channels on the home screen• New grid-style Channel Store New icons for Settings and Channel Store Home screen clock Time Settings added to settings Slowly but surely Roku is polishing … Read more

Roku Developer Contest Winners Announced

Roku has (finally) announced the winners of their Developer Contest. Although the panel of judges was a bit suspect. ;) Yours truly will be picking the winner of the Photo category. Some of my counterparts… ZNF patron saint and friend Harry McCracken (Technologizer) helms Screensavers, while LeVar Burton beams up Social Media. Each category winner receives a cool … Read more

You Should Buy The New Roku iPhone Remote App

We recognize that folks have widely divergent tastes, needs, and budgets. Which is why there are very few products we outright recommend. However, if you own a Roku and an iPhone or iPod Touch you should pick up the updated DVPRemote app. And, if I’m wrong, you’re only out 3 bucks. While the original DVPRemote was … Read more

No DLNA Support From Roku (In November)

Bummer… Roku hardware is clearly posed for an update next month, but the oft-requested and rumored DNLA playback isn’t in the cards. Not yet anyway. To address the rumors, there is no DLNA coming in November. We don’t comment on unannounced/unreleased featured, generally. We realized that there’s a set of users that wants DLNA functionality and perhaps … Read more