It is Vizio incompatability as stated on this forum post and this Youtube clip. The clip sounds exactly as mine but my video is fine. I use this Roku2 on another Vizio successfully. I will look for a firmware upgrade for the Vizio. I may need to use this converter from Monoprice to avoid the Vizio HDMI ports. Maybe I can use HDMI for video and component for audio? This incompatibility did not exist on pre v2 Roku boxes. At least now I know. Why would a Roku tech. not know this????
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Finally bought a ROKU. I picked the Angry Birds model that was on special for $79 and is basically a ROKU2 XS for a $20 savings.
Do I like it? Yes.
Why?
The interface for Netflix is very nice and quick. Fast forward/rewind works well. I am comparing to cheap Insignia Bluray interface.
I like the extra channels like TED, TWIT and Revision 3 even though accessing them from PC works as well or better. I sometimes just want to watch on the large screen.
PLEX server works well to access mp4 movies over a local network. There is some pixelation which apparently has occurred during a recent firmware update. Hopefully this will be fixed but PLEX is not a supported ROKU channel so jury is out. It is usable. Not sure if wired connection would improve this. Forget trying huge mkv files.
Roku native USB access and playback works fine but did stop midway with a large mkv file at 1080p. Up until seizing up it worked great with very good picture. Different TV's may work better of worse. Surprisingly, the portable USB drive powered on.
As stated elsewhere, ROKU is a good internet streaming device with not as good local streaming capability.
Someday I want a WDTV but I should really just do HTPC. I wish I had more room in my "media center" (to use the term loosely).
The Bad.
XS is 2.4 Ghz only.
Found the problem to be Vizio/Roku2 incompatibility with HDMI. Following tweaks did help but no real fix besides HDMI/composite conversion box.
I bought a Netgear DGND3300 for $40 refurb off eBay. Same sound problems but now I have N which does Roku no good because it only communicates on 2.4 GHz and my N is only on 5 GHz. No problem, G speed is good enough if working correctly. Heck of a buy on the router though ... works great.
Following may be great but my problem was HDMI incompatibility.
Went to ROKU support page and they have live chat. Agent suggested the following:
DNS Primary 208.67.222.222, Secondary 208.67.220.220. I need to test these for speed but it doesn't matter because my NICs have their own DNS settings.
MTU of 1462 (default is 1500 so doesn't sound like much difference)
These settings did not solve the problem. 13 minutes in the sound distorted. I reset MTU back to 1500.
I am setting the Roku MAC addresses as static and try. Why would that work???
I am also listing the Roku MACs QoS to highest.
I still love the Roku and would recommend it. I have a WD Live coming for its superior local media playback. Roku can do it but chokes on large MKV files. I found a forum post that WD may also have HDMI problems with my Vizio model VA270M but the WD Live may not have component option either. Looks like another $40 for the converter box. Maybe I want a bigger TV and will find a good home for this sweat little 37 inch model that I only drove to church on Sundays.
Netgear's N speed is all over the place. I tried to grab a screen shot while it was at 300 to impress you but it is fleeting.
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