Pros
- New, slick Roku UI
- Motion control remote with headphone jack
- The most comprehensive selection of content of any streaming box
- Wirelessly beam mobile content to your big screen
- Search for content across all channels
- Dual band wireless, ethernet, and USB
Cons
- Won’t work with SDTVs
- More expensive than older generations with same content network
Our Score
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The Geek’s Take
Roku recently announced their long awaited Roku 3 to much fanfare, and it looks like it was well worth the wait. This latest generation of Roku brings a completely revamped and ultra slick UI, redesigned remote, and quite a few other new bells and whistles to make it the best all around streaming box on the market, hands-down. We recommend it over any other product of its kind, including Apple TV.
Full Review
Content
Roku’s strength has always been in its extensive content offerings. Roku’s streaming boxes support nearly every online channel out there in nearly every category available – somewhere in the neighborhood of 700 total – many, many more than most smart TVs or Blu-ray players offer. From premium sports channels like MLB TV and NBA Game Time to streaming video channels like Crackle and Netflix to Pay per View channels like Vudu to internet radio channels like Pandora and Spotify, Roku has the most comprehensive channel selection of any streaming box, period. Simply put, if you can’t get it on Roku, you probably can’t get it.
But what good would all of that content be if there were no way to search it? Well, Roku is way ahead of you. The Roku 3 allows for cross channel search, meaning if you have a hankering for a movie or show, simply search across all channels to see where it can be found on Roku’s network. You can even search by actor/actress.
Check out this video to see it for yourself.
For a complete list of Roku’s channel selection, check out Roku’s official site.
Features
The Roku 3 replaces the top of the line Roku 2 SX to reign supreme in the lineup, and as a top of the line product should, it comes with a premier set of features, many new to the brand. These include:
- New Roku UI – One of the drawbacks we mentioned in our Roku LT review was the clunky Roku interface. It was never terrible, just sub-par when compared to Apple TV. Well, the Roku 3′s more powerful hardware has allowed for a smoother, sleeker UI, which is a big step forward from previous generations.
- Motion control remote with headphone jack – The Roku 2 SX featured a motion control remote but the Roku 3 takes that concept even a step further by adding a headphone jack, great for late night streaming marathons.
- Wirelessly beam mobile content to your big screen – Want to show off pictures from your mobile device, or play songs stored there to your HDTV? Roku 3 allows you to do just that, similarly to Apple’s Airplay feature.
- Mobile App – Control your Roku 3 via your Android or iOS devices from anywhere within your wireless network. Great for music!
Set Up
The Roku 3 connects to your network via ethernet or wifi and to your HDTV via HDMI - sold separately- (but not SDTVs). The setup process is simple: plug in, connect, follow the onscreen prompts to configure and connect the Roku 3 to your existing network. It’s seamless and takes just a few minutes to get rolling. If you can connect a laptop to a wifi hotspot, you should have no problems with Roku.
Value
At $99.99, the Roku 3 stacks up quite well against the equally priced Apple TV. For that price though, you get several times as many streaming channels as Apple offers, and a very similar feature set. We feel that $100 is a small price to pay for everything that the Roku 3 brings to the table, but if a Benjamin is too rich for your blood, Roku’s LT version is might be more your taste.
Summary
This is the Rolls-Royce of Roku. If you’re looking for the best streaming box available, this is it. Roku 3 offers over 700 channels of content, a buttery smooth UI, and a set of features that puts Apple TV in the rear view mirror. It’s easily worth the $99.99 pricetag and our top choice for streaming box.
*Where does this rating come from? Check out How We Review