Spectrum Xumo Stream Box Review
The Spectrum Xumo Stream Box is a smart-looking gadget for internet customers of Spectrum who can watch hundreds of free streaming channels right through their television sets. The product provides more than 200 channels plus thousands of movies and television programs on demand: it is a versatile and valuable gadget if only it is possible to understand how to use it. In this review, let's see what comes with the Xumo Stream Box and some of the benefits and drawbacks of the device as well as whether it is something that should be added to your home.
What is a spectrum sumo stream box?
Xumo Stream Box – is one of the small set-top streaming devices offered by Spectrum as a free extra with some of their internet plans. It is designed to resemble popular streaming devices such as Roku or Amazon Fire TV sticks and simply connects to the HDMI port of your television.
After connecting the box to your television set, the Xumo Stream Box provides you with the Xumo streaming service, which provides over 200 digital channels including news, sports, movies, TV shows, children’s programs, and many others. It was essentially a device that worked as a substitution for a cable box, where traditional linear cable channels were replaced by streaming ones.
The channels and on-demand programming are from large and small players in the market and from all over the world. Well-known programs like CBS, ABC, Fox, and others can be seen here as well as digital channels such as Bloody Disgusting TV, Highway Westerns, and The Graveyard Shift.
Supported Spectrum Plans
For customers to be eligible for an Xumo Stream Box, they have to take the Spectrum internet plan that costs at least 200 Mbps. Customers need to call Spectrum support or visit the Spectrum Store to ask a representative to add the device to their subscription if possible.
Overview of Xumo Stream Box Features and Specifications
Indeed, if we focus on the kind of stream boxes, it’s necessary to mention that the Xumo Stream Box is not the most powerful device that can offer a set of unique features. But it packs enough performance into a compact body to deliver a decent streaming TV experience:
• Dimensions: It measures 3.75 inches in width by 3.75 inches in length and 0.75 inches in thickness.
• Quad-core ARM processor
• 8GB onboard storage
• 802.11ac WiFi
• HDMI type 2.0 video out
• Pandora music streaming app under threat due to free access.
Navigating through the Xumo interface feels very clean and contemporary due to the rows of content being separated by their category. Watching live channels and VOD libraries is enjoyable and responsive due to the snappy quad-core processor. You also get to watch tens of thousands of hours of free streaming movies and shows at no extra cost.
A Bluetooth voice remote helps in the navigation of the Xumo platform very easily. Just press a button to use voice search for content and playlists, voice commands to play/pause/scrolling, etc. The remote is nicely designed with a compact and sturdy build similar to an Apple TV remote and the buttons are placed in a way that makes it comfortable to hold.
Pros
That gets one to the question of what will make the Xumo Stream Box worth getting. Here are some of the biggest benefits:
• Available to Spectrum Internet customers without any additional costs or charges
• It boasts capabilities of offering more than 200 free live-streaming channels.
• Subscribing to services that offer thousands of movies and series for viewing on demand
• Xumo has an easy-to-use interface with great options for switching between channels.
• Remote control having voice access and Bluetooth capability.
• 4K HDR video support ???????
• Compact design, doesn’t require any additional cables or wires
As a second streaming gadget in a household, it is fantastic and extremely useful at its price, which is gratis. This way it can be used by cord-cutters to replace their live cable packages which they may otherwise pay for. It does help that there is just so much free content on the network or shows that are easily accessible that it negates having to pay for numerous streaming services.
Cons
Despite its perks, the Xumo Stream Box isn’t without some drawbacks:
• The video quality of the channel also reaches 1080p, which means there is no 4K support on videos.
• Unfortunately, lack of many applications such as Netflix, Hulu, and other cable applications.
• At times, they experience some slow motion or delay during high-traffic hours of the day.
• Lacking the majority of mainstream cable networks
• Streaming of music through the Pandora platform exclusively without access to the likes of Spotify, Apple Music, and the rest.
• Confusing setup process
Video streaming quality is not as high as that of 4K streaming sticks, and some cable/broadcast networks are not discovered by such services. However, the most common and serious concern raised seems to revolve around the process of configuring the device.
Some write about difficulties regarding its connectivity to WiFi and its connection to the Spectrum accounts. It is also not surprising to find that the remote pairing process also poses some problems to some people. Thus, despite its simplicity and the fact that it is free hardware, it seems quite capable of the tasks it performs Expect many teething problems, however.
Our Verdict
The Xumo Stream Box is a free add-on streaming device that will work perfectly for Spectrum Internet customers. Although the performance and content may vary, you will get a plethora of free live and on-demand content. It is useful for cord-cutting households to replicate much of the cable TV experience, from free streaming to paid services.
It is just necessary to tone down the expectations regarding video quality and application compatibility in comparison with other popular premium 4K streamers. It will also take some time to set up the system in the way that is desired and convenient. However, to get more content streams without paying extra, the Xumo Stream Box is still a worthy device.