ROKU - Amazon Video On Demand (VOD) vs NETFLIX

[frogotronic]

Hello,

Just wanted to share this - I bought a ROKU box and got the Amazon Prime membership. The videos work perfectly on Ubuntu 12.04 (you need to install HAL).

The question I have, is how does ROKU (a Linux device) deal with Silverlight?

- CH

[forrestcupp]

Roku uses the Linux kernel, but it has a custom OS that is very different from a GNU/Linux distro, kind of like how Android is very different. I'm sure that since video is their sole purpose, they worked closely with Netflix and Amazon VOD to develop a custom version for their device, just like Android did. I'm sure that also includes paying licensing fees to the right people, which is included in the price of the device.

As for the completely different question you have in your title, I personally think that Netflix has a better selection available than Amazon.

[drawkcab]

I've been impressed with the Roku, especially for the price.

Netflix runs really well and looks good...not sure on amazon so read up on the reviews.