I have been interested in streaming content for a while. I have installed PlayOn and the tubeCore Windows Media Center plugin to view TV content. This is not an ideal experience.
With tubeCore, the user interface to browse the list of shows and episodes is pretty simple. For example, the meta data about the episodes is not shown. Also, I was never able to get reliable streaming though PlayOn and tubeCore. Often, I would need to try to play a stream twice in order for it to play successfully.
The Roku XD|S looked like it would be a perfect way to watch content that is available on-line. With the Roku, you have easy access to Netflix streaming, Amazon Video On Demand, Hulu and other content. I like the hardware, as it is very quiet, and is small enough for me to use on any of our TVs.
The setup was pretty painless, and I was up and running with several of the content providers within 30 minutes of starting the setup process. Where the content partners provided HD content, the picture quality was good.
Paul's Time Sink 