Holiday Gift Guide - Roku XD Review and Giveaway!

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From movie nights with the kids on the weekends to catching up on my television shows during the weeknights, the Roku XD digital media player has been a tremendous asset to my family's entertainment. This little box works magic and gives you instant access to over 100,000 movies and TV shows. No more flipping through infomercials on Saturday afternoons, now I have all of the movies I can handle and the kids are never bored with their choices either.

{In Their Words}

"The market leader in streaming entertainment devices for the TV, Roku has always believed that anything you want to watch, listen to, and enjoy should simply be there on your TV, whenever you want it. Roku streaming players are renowned for their simplicity, variety of entertainment choices, and exceptional value.

Roku is a little box that allows you to instantly stream tons of entertainment on your TV. Watch movies and TV shows from Netflix, Hulu Plus or Amazon VOD, listen to music on Pandora, catch the latest ballgame, and more — it's all available whenever you want it."

{My Take}

The Roku XD system that we received was so tiny, I could hardly believe it when I opened the box. I thought surely there must be more to it, but there wasn't. The box is about five inches long and only a foot tall and fits easily in our entertainment center above the DVD player.

Set up was a snap with the HDMI cable and the Roku XD version comes with WiFi capability so it worked seemlessly with our wireless Internet, but you are able to hook an Ethernet cable up to the system if needed. The XD and new XDS models both provide up to 1080p HD video quality and have wireless capabilities. In addition, the XDS model has dual band wireless technology and an USB port for playing your videos, music and photos.

Hooking up the Roku XD took no more than 5 minutes and we were instantly able to play Netflix movies through the system directly to our TV. If you do not have a Netflix, you can also access movies and TV shows through Amazon VOD and now through Hulu Plus as well! There are also an endless amount of free channels on the Roku player and Pandora can be used to listen to music through the player on your TV.

I really can't say enough good things about the Roku XD player. There have been no negative points so far and I thoroughly believe this would make the ideal Christmas gift for just about anyone on your list this year.

{Buy It}

You can purchase the Roku HD basic system for $59.99, the Roku XD for $79.99 and the all new Roku XDS model for $99.99. The Roku XD system is currently on sale at Amazon for $67.99 with free shipping if you are looking for a discount!

*I received a Roku XD player for the purpose of review, but was not compensated for this post in any other way. The words, thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own and were not influenced by any other means.

Kathleen

Kathleen is a homeschooling mom of four boys with a serious case of the Wanderlust bug. Her love of travel extends to her children, and has resulted in the family visiting 48 states to date, and traveling nearly a third of the year. She is the owner of LifeWith4Boys.com where you will find information on Family Travel, recipes, reviews, lifestyle and more.