Roku M1000 - £149

Similar to the Squeezebox, the Roku aims at the higher end of the market, with looks and sound quality being high on the agenda.

The metallic tube looks superb and the remote is extremely comfortable to use, although it does lack buttons for entering text

The original M1000 can be identified by the wires coming out the end-caps, where as the new model has the sockets on the back (which is an improvement)

Setting up is extremely easy and Roku branded units can be used directly with the itunes music sharing option. Units branded by Evesham or Pinnacle do not have a license from Apple, so require third party software (Roku recommend Firefly)

The screen is large and easy to read from a distance, larger still on the now discontinued M2000

The sound quality is excellent, although very slightly inferior to the Squeezebox and the new units upsample all music to 48khz, which is a drawback in terms of sound quality

Lossless audio formats are also supported, although FLAC files require the use of Slimserver

Sadly, it currently only supports the slower 802.11b wireless protocol

For the price, the Roku/Evesham/Pinnacle is an excellent product

	Rating	Notes
Price		At £150, this is a veritable bargain
Sound Quality		Via the digital output and through a DAC, this rivals the Squeezebox. Analogue outputs aren't quite as good though, but still extremely capable.
Ease of Use		If an itunes user, it is extremely easy to get up and running Could use letters on the remote for easier searches A web interface would be a good addition
Compatibility		Works natively with itunes and any UPnP software
Looks		Looks the part, would look good with a hifi, or in a bedroom system
Audio Formats		WAV, AIFF, MP3, WMA, AAC No support for purchased itunes music or FLAC though
Reliability		Some reports of dead screens on the Roku Forums, but seems to be limited to only a few units.
Networking Support		802.11b only WEP 128-bit No WPA 1 x Ethernet port
Overall		Sound quality is very slightly inferior to the Squeezebox and a web interface would be an excellent addition, but as a simple solution that works, it is highly recommended. Price is excellent too!

Pro's

• Price
• Looks
• Compatibility

Con's

• Web interface
• Lack of FLAC support

Supported hardware/software

Name	Compatible
Twonkyvision
Slimserver
Musicmatch Jukebox
Windows Media Connect
iTunes
Netgear
Philips MediaManager
Sonos
Any Network Share

Name	Compatible	Instructions
Qnap TS-101		Pre-Installed
Buffalo Linkstation
Buffalo Terrastation
Infrant ReadyNAS
Linksys NSLU2		Here
Lacie Ethernet Disk
Maxtor Shared Storage Plus		Here
Kuro Box
Freecom FSG-3		Pre-Installed

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