I have been a fan of Roku streaming boxes for a while now.  Roku’s are among the most popular of streaming boxes available today, it’s only real competitor being the Apple TV.  In my experience none of these devices are perfect or include every available service, but I believe the Roku lineup is the best available.  They are all very simple to use and the quality of the service is great.  I really like that the device are always on, there is no power button!  Now let’s look a little closer at the company’s newest release…the Roku 3.

With this latest version Roku has added a few new nifty features.  First there is the new simpler, more elegant user interface.  It’s much easier to see all of your channels at once and easily navigate to the one you want faster.  This is a feature that will also be making it’s way to others in the Roku lineup.  Included in this new UI is there very useful “one stop search”.  You can search for a TV show or movie and the Roku will tell you if it’s available and on what services.  I’ve already used this several times and it works great.

This new Roku 3 also includes a new Bluetooth remote that includes a headphone jack.  This is an incredible feature to have if you are watching the TV in a bedroom and don’t want to wake up others.  I haven’t had the opportunity to test this yet but it seems like an awesome feature to have.

Roku has also added an improved processor so everything is very snappy and responsive.  The only major drawback with regards to the Roku lineup in general is it still lacks support for Youtube.  Yes, there are other ways to get around it but it seems this should be something that Roku and Google needs to resolve.

As with the previous XS model the remote still has motion control that you can use for a few limited games.  Also like the previous XS model has a USB connection for you to plug in an external hard drive for playing movies.

So in conclusion, if you are considering “cutting the cord” from your cable service I’d definitely recommend considering the Roku 3.