How To Stream Your Own Media On Roku & Watch On TV

[cheapcape]

This is only available on the more expensive ROKU boxes, not the LT.

[CloudSharkTV]

This is just the use of the USB port on the high end roku player. I use this player in my mini van for this.

But this person is referring to this as streaming. It is not streaming. Streaming infers that you are receiving the media via a network of some kind.

[Riverforumscom]

Jeff Foxworthy your my hero! lol

[iphonepolice]

thats not streaming

[shaazy]

Okay I can't find the answer to this. Is this player able to access media on a NETWORKED hard drive connected to the router? Or a media library on a laptop also connected to the same network?

[ssherron1]

@shaazy I don't know but...I think you are asking if you connect your router to the Roku, can you access media from everything connected to the router? My wireless router does have a USB port. In theory it may work. I don't have the correct cable to check and see what happens. You might try contacting Roku support to ask that question.

[RichiiJm2011]

Can it work workout have a USB? Becuz i got the old roku XD

[ssherron1]

@RichiiJm2011 Not sure what you are asking me. Be more specific and I'll try to give you an answer.

[swarrior216]

What format does the ext HD have to be formatted to and what type of video files can this play?

[ssherron1]

@swarrior216 In my case, the HD was already formatted to work on Mac. I just plugged it in and it worked just fine. The movie files I am playing are .mov files. I have not tried other formats since these are the formats I work with mostly anyway.

[LoLHackulous]

Can i stream youtube onto this??

[dadin22]

one word - PLEX

[denkoloewie]

Can I use this on my panasonic viera plasma TH 42px75x? Will I be able to play my own movies? I tried to play some movies which were on my sdcard on the tv, but the tv could not read it. I am seriously considering to get a roku but want to be sure It can read and play my movies.

Thanks

[ssherron1]

@denkoloewie Yes, you can play your own video through the ROKU on you Panasonic. Use an external hard drive to store your movies. Hook up the hard drive to the ROKU by means of the USB port. Install the free USB channel on the ROKU. Enjoy your movies. It's a very easy process. I do it all the time.

[Kh0nlao]

Just curious but can we stream stuff from our computers to the roku itself? I know the ps3 could do that. Just curious of the Roku could do that. Thanks!

[ssherron1]

@Kh0nlao The ROKU XDS has a USB port. You can plug in an external hard drive to the ROKU and watch movies and view photos on your TV from the hard drive.

[blastofo]

What is the cheapest model that has this feature? Or do all of them have it?

[mattclarknews]

@blastofo you have to get the Roku 2 XS which has the USB port on it. It's the top model, all the models below it lack the USB input. Amazon had the model on sale for $90 few days ago

[Faucheux70065]

FYI: Called Roku again today to dispute their false info regarding 300gb hard drive info (and routed them to this utube video) and they confirmed that their MAX hard drive is a 2tb. The person who helped me did NOT know what they are talking about. 2TB is way better than 300gb as we have a lot of family videos stored.

[ssherron1]

@Faucheux70065 That's awesome, thanks for passing that info on for all of us.

[SeLaw989]

I RIP my blu ray movies to my MAC which are then stored in my external hard drive. If I were to stream these movies, would I lose any video quality?

[ssherron1]

@SeLaw989 I'm not an expert on this but I doubt the only place you could lose quality is with the cables you use to hook up your Roku to your TV. You can use RGB cables or HDMI. HDMI would give the best quality.

[Faucheux70065]

I noticed u said your ext. hard drive was 500GB. I called Roku yesterday and they told me that their limit on reading an ext. hard drive was 300gb. Apparently they don't know their own product. U have no issues with the Roku reading ur 500gb ext. hard drive? I am torn between the Roku and West. Dig. Live Hub (1tb memory); WD has NO wifi (bummer!).

[ssherron1]

@Faucheux70065 I have had no issues at all. I didn't even know there was a limitation. Personally, I would go with Roku. There are many channels being developed for Roku. For instance, Glenn Beck just started his own internet channel and he started a Roku channel also. I believe Roku is the future of internet TV and possibly Google TV also if they can get their act together. Buy Roku from Amazon and if you don't like it, easy to return.

[alaq34]

Thanks for the review, I have been serching for a review like yhis one for a few weeks. Can you show more detail about the navigation interface?

If you have you music library in an external drive, how do you navigate from folder to folder to find the song you want. How user friendly is the interface?

If you are playing a song from a particular folder, can you get out of the folder to look for more songs while the music keep playing? (This is a big deal)

Can you create (and save) a playlist?

[ssherron1]

@alaq34 I'm sorry but I haven't tried music yet. If you put music on your external hard drive, the ROKU will identify it for sure. It is very user friendly. I doubt that you can keep music playing while looking for other music. I do not think it will work that way. You can create folders of music on your hard drive.

[BloggerIllustrated]

You almost have me convinced lol