Roku

[kelroy55]

I'm thinking of going with Roku and cutting the Dish cord. I only watch a couple channels out of the 200 I pay for.

Roku Streaming Player

[GaryOKC6]

I have 3 Rokus. I love them. I can get history channel, discovery, Smithsonian, various news channels and tons od free movie channels. They offer about 1000 channels and most are at no cost. Not to mention Netflix in HD. One piece of advice, there are 3 models and the most expensive is 99.00. Get the 99.00 model. it has more features and better info displays. When I move past a movie on the Netflix menu it give me a synopsis and pictures that describe the movie with out loading it. One last feature to mention. You can plug headphones into the remote and kill the sound so that you don't bother anyone else who is not watching tv.

[BBatesokc]

I have Roku's, Apple TV's and all my televisions are 'smart tv's.' I love them. But I do know some people who didn't fully understand the limitations of each before 'cutting the cord' and were later a bit disappointed.

While you can certainly save money, many features are still pay to view subscriptions (Netflix, Amazon movies, iTunes movies, etc.). You also have the initial expense of the units. But for those who understand what you're getting (and losing), it can be really good.

The biggest gripe I have, is that all of these things are missing a feature rich (or even acceptable) DVR.

[kelroy55]

The lack of a DVR is something that's kept me from cutting the cord. I already have Amazon Prime & Netflix and most of the shows I watch are either available on antenna or the internet.

[Chadanth]

I cut the cord 6 months ago, and after some adjustment, I'm good with it. I still miss cable during football season, but that's about it.

[kelroy55]

This is a pretty cool site to see what stations you can get for free

TV Fool

http://www.antennaweb.org/default.aspx

[shawnw]

I am a cord-cutter, have a Roku in every room, plus a chromecast, and Roku's are definitely awesome.

As far as a DVR, if you have a Windows PC in the house already, I recommend subscribing (or paying for a lifetime membership) to PlayOn and PlayLater. It's a video "transceiver" service that can stream to your devices (including roku, your phone, etc), via the PC, free content from all over the web (including Hulu FREE).

[kelroy55]

With the availability to get shows on the net I'm not sure how much I'll need a DVR. It looks like the RCA ANT1650F/ANT1650R Flat Digital Amplified Indoor TV Antenna is a good one for the over the air stations. I'm damn tired of paying that much for just a few channels I like. I'm sure I might regret it come foot ball season though.

[Dubya61]

What do you need to make a Roku work? Do you need internet?

[FighttheGoodFight]

What do you need to make a Roku work? Do you need internet?

Yes just Internet to get the Roku "channels" to work. It also can play files from Plex on a computer.

[Boomer3791]

I've got 2 Apple TV units and love them. I've considered cutting the cable TV cord, but for now, there's one fairly serious drawback to doing so; Most of the broadcast and cable networks who have apps on Roku and Apple TV require you to login using your account info from your cable provider before you can access their content. HBO, ESPN, ABC, Disney and Smithsonian are just a few examples. So in other words, you have to have a cable subscription to those channels to view them on a streaming player. This may change in the future, but cable companies aren't dumb; they'll still find out a way to make the idea of cutting the cord cost-prohibitive. For example, right now companies like Comcast are putting some pretty strict limits on monthly bandwidth consumption, in an effort to discourage heavy video streaming. And once you reach your monthly limit, you have to pay a hefty price to purchase more. It's only a matter of time before companies like Cox start doing the same thing. And since all of these streaming players require internet access, the gatekeeper is still going to be the cable companies, like it or not. You can cut the cord, but there's no such thing as free content. Just different ways to pay for it. And I don't see those costs going down anytime soon.

Here's an article from the NYTimes that does a much better job than me at outlining the hurdles coming for cord-cutters:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/bu...d-cutters.html

[Mr. Cotter]

I haven't had cable in six years, and love my Roku.

[kelroy55]

Question on the Roku... Can I put it in the attic and run it to more than 1 TV?

[ctchandler]

I'm one of those that spends $80 for three channels. I could drop down a level and save a little but I would lose the Food Network and Fox News Channel. My question is, can I watch the Food Network, History channel, and Fox News Channel on Roku or Appletv?
Thanks,
C. T.

[jn1780]

I'm one of those that spends $80 for three channels. I could drop down a level and save a little but I would lose the Food Network and Fox News Channel. My question is, can I watch the Food Network, History channel, and Fox News Channel on Roku or Appletv?
Thanks,
C. T.

Unfortunately, no. I don't see the industry allowing al la carte system anytime soon.

Edit: That doesn't mean you can't see individual shows by either paying for them individual or waiting for them to get on Netflix.

[Mr. Cotter]

Question on the Roku... Can I put it in the attic and run it to more than 1 TV?

Each box only plays one thing at a time. It's indented to work with a single TV. I guess you could run enough cable and adapters, but you'd just see the same thing on every TV. Plus, you'd have to get a repeater to have the remote work. They start at $50, so the outlay isn't too bad.

[BBatesokc]

Each box only plays one thing at a time. It's indented to work with a single TV. I guess you could run enough cable and adapters, but you'd just see the same thing on every TV. Plus, you'd have to get a repeater to have the remote work. They start at $50, so the outlay isn't too bad.

I have several of each (Roku and Apple TV). I buy them used on Craigslist or Pawn Shops. Never pay more than $50-60 for the latest version. I put one on each TV.

[shawnw]

It looks like the RCA ANT1650F/ANT1650R Flat Digital Amplified Indoor TV Antenna is a good one for the over the air stations. I'm damn tired of paying that much for just a few channels I like. I'm sure I might regret it come foot ball season though.

Don't waste your money on a high end antenna. At first anyway. I did it that way and regret it. I paid $40 for an amplified "HDTV" antenna and was not satisfied with what that got me. Then I spent $8 on the cheapest available big box generic antenna and it works great. Still use both, but the cheaper one picks up more channels. My girlfriend, who of course had to find out on her own despite my warning, did pretty much the same thing and is now cursing herself for spending so much on the initial antenna since the cheap one works so much better.

Even if I'm wrong and you don't have a good experience, at least you didn't spend much.

[kelroy55]

Don't waste your money on a high end antenna. At first anyway. I did it that way and regret it. I paid $40 for an amplified "HDTV" antenna and was not satisfied with what that got me. Then I spent $8 on the cheapest available big box generic antenna and it works great. Still use both, but the cheaper one picks up more channels. My girlfriend, who of course had to find out on her own despite my warning, did pretty much the same thing and is now cursing herself for spending so much on the initial antenna since the cheap one works so much better.

Even if I'm wrong and you don't have a good experience, at least you didn't spend much.

I'll give the cheaper one a try first and see how it works. I'm pretty sure I can get all the DFW area stations without a high end one.

[Chadanth]

I'm one of those that spends $80 for three channels. I could drop down a level and save a little but I would lose the Food Network and Fox News Channel. My question is, can I watch the Food Network, History channel, and Fox News Channel on Roku or Appletv?
Thanks,
C. T.

No. History has a Roku channel, so does Foxnews, but it's older content or clips. I haven't found a suitable replacement for Food, Foxnews, Hgtv or History channel on my roku.

[ylouder]

We have a roku and a wifi enabled blue ray player. Cut cable over a year ago and the absolute only time we miss it is during college football season. I wont return to paying for hundreds of channels that I don't want to watch and commercials every 10 minutes.

Only problem with the cheaper rokus is the limited searching features, you'll be able to easily browse hundredsof shows but accessing thousands will take slightly more effort.

We have a flat TV antenna for over the air HD networks, we live in suburbs and.ever channel comes in perfect.

[BBatesokc]

Roku has a 'Stream Stick' (yeah, odd name) that competes with the Chromecast.

Roku Streaming Stick vs. Google Chromecast: How do they stack up? | TV and Home Theater - CNET Reviews

[kelroy55]

I have several of each (Roku and Apple TV). I buy them used on Craigslist or Pawn Shops. Never pay more than $50-60 for the latest version. I put one on each TV.

I saw an ad on Craigslist for 2 Roku 3's for $100. I sent them an email.

[kelroy55]

Roku has a 'Stream Stick' (yeah, odd name) that competes with the Chromecast.

Roku Streaming Stick vs. Google Chromecast: How do they stack up? | TV and Home Theater - CNET Reviews

Does the stick do the same thing as the Roku 3?

[roci28]

How would a Roku allow you to watch Primetime shows on the major networks? Is that possible?