Gadgetory

hey I'm Matthew Muscovy AK from C net and we're gonna take a look at the Roku LT this is one of the top home theater products on the market and it's available for just $50 it's essentially the same compact streaming video box that Roku released last year but it's gotten a few software and hardware updates in the meantime on the hardware side it's largely the same compact purple box with built in Wi-Fi although it doesn't have dual band Wi-Fi that's available on the Roku streaming stick the big change on the back is that the LT now has full-size analog video outputs rather than needing to use a breakout cable like on last year's model you'll also notice an HDMI output on the back but there's no Ethernet or USB port on this model so you'll need to step up to one of Roku's more expensive boxes if you want those features the included remote is excellent and it's really simple to use which that's a directional pad some playback controls and a few additional buttons it's also a great size that fits nicely in your hand rather than some of those super thin credit card style remotes that are included with some other boxes the software and user interface is largely the same although there have been some improvements the Roku LT continues to stream a huge selection of services including Netflix Hulu Plus Amazon Instant Video HBO Go Pandora RDO MLB TV and Vudu was recently added the big missing services at this point are YouTube and Spotify so if you really want those you are gonna have to look elsewhere on the other hand Roku still has over 600 other channels to choose from so there's just a lot of content that you can find on this box Roku also recently added something called Roku search which lets you find content across Netflix Amazon Instant Hulu Plus HBO Go and Vudu this is a feature that isn't offered on many competitors and it makes it much easier to find content that you may not remember what service it's actually on another new feature is play on roku which is basically Roku's answer to airplay load up the roku app on your smart phone select play on and it lets you stream music and photos stored your phone right to your TV it's not quite as nice as airplay since it doesn't work with third-party apps but for many people it's going to be good enough the final question many may have about the Roku LT is at 720p output especially when most competing boxes have 1080p output but honestly in my testing the lower resolution just isn't noticeable especially if you have a TV that's 50 inches or less so unless you're really picky about image quality I wouldn't consider the Roku 720p output much in your buying decision so altogether the Roku LT continues to be a killer streaming video box that keeps getting better with an incredible $50 price tag if you're invested in the Apple ecosystem you'll still want to seriously consider the Apple TV but for everyone else the Roku LT is an unbeatable value I'm Matthew Muscovy AK from C net and this is the Roku LT