My first choice was the Roku 2 XS. It lets me stream everything that I wanted in my list. In addition, the XS version has a USB port that you can plug in an external hard drive and it will play MKV files. Over the air television broadcasts, we would have just hooked up our TV directly to an antenna. So the only compromise would be the DVR function.
And the Roku 2 XS sells for anywhere from $75 to $99. ($75 was the price I had found on the Roku site for a refurbished Roku 2 XS, but it seems that deal is no longer available. But you can find used ones on ebay as well.)
In fact, I had bought one off of ebay to try it out. And honestly, I was pretty impressed with the little box. (I still am, actually.) There's an amazing amount of content available. Unfortunately, at the time when I ordered it we only had a 10 year old analog TV. Which normally wouldn't be an issue as it comes with the standard analog RCA video out. However, on the one I ordered 2nd hand on ebay, the jack on the back of the Roku was shot, and it would only work if the cable was partially inserted. And I didn't have a TV with an HDMI input. So I was obliged to send it back.
But from what I could tell from the brief time I had it was that it's a neat little box.
Even more impressive (and eventually frustrating) was what they were able to cram in that little box. All I can do is point you to this article to see for yourself. There's just not much there, but the thing can stream Netflix in HD (more on that later too).
But after I sent it back, I started wondering if there was a way to have all that functionality, but somehow incorporate a DVR into the equation, and I held off getting a Roku. During that time, I started observing my wife's television viewing habits. It was at this time, that I realized the real value of the DVR function in our home was during prime-time television: usually we were too occupied getting our kids ready for bed to watch TV. But as soon as our kids were in bed, we'd watch the show we recorded an hour ago. And skip the commercials. I also queried my wife on what shows she liked to watch. For the most part, we could get quite a few of her favorite shows from an antenna and broadcast television. And what we couldn't get that way, we have since been able to find online.
It was settled then. I still needed a better solution than just a Roku (despite being a close competitor.) The hunt continues in the next post.
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