Today's post isn't about a specific tv show or movie, but rather a new gadget that provides them. The Roku. With our new move and our quest to cut down expenses we came across this alternative to Dish Network or Direct TV or other cable/satellite companies. Do you Roku? One time cost, no monthly fee- I'm thinking we will soon!
So here's the rundown of what a Roku is- basically it's a device that plugs into your tv and uses your high speed internet (you have to have high speed internet for it to work) to provide streaming to tv channels to your tv for free! If you have memberships to online places such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc. you can set up those accounts to play through the Roku and onto your tv as well but there are lots of channels that are free so if you want to avoid any monthly fee it is possible.
The device is a one time purchase. They range in price and quality from $49-$99 and offer 4 different devices. Depending on your TV (HD or not) and if you want to play games such as Angry Birds etc. that comes free with some Roku devices.
This is MUCH better than a monthly advertised price of a minimum of $24.99 which always ends up being more like $40 and that's the cheapest one! I think I will keep my money each month and watch the same shows on Roku or my computer thank you very much! That will end up saving me at LEAST $300/year!
If you have a Roku, please feel free to leave your experience, likes, dislikes in the comments!
JoDee! I totally love my ROKU 2. I've had mine for about 2 years. I went out and bought the $99 one that came with angry birds, kept the receipt to return it in 30 days. My #1 concern leaving comcast beleive it or not was Sprout. There are many channels not in the channel store. Once I found "Nowhere Man" it was the final push (Sprout included) and I kept it. I bought another one when I got this home. I spent over $100 a month at comcast for just the smallest package, now we have this free.
ReplyDeleteA few notes: If you can, spend $20 or $40 more to get the best one ($99). Not just for the Angry Birds game, deluxe remote, extra ports, and higher resolution- but also for the wireless capability.
Note #2 - If you are a bit techy, the language to make your own channel is written in about the simplest language out there- "Bright Script". Basically, compared to the old "Basic", "Basica", and "GW-Basic" some of us oldies remember. ROKU has a free SDK (Software Development Kit) with simple instructions. You connect your wireless laptop to the ROKU and open a text editor (notepad even works). Same tech skills as hooking up two computers wireless. Anyways, follow the right steps and you can put it in the ROKU channel store for others to add for free. Nice business avenue that hasn't fully been tapped yet.
#3- extra channel resources (most/all not in store)-
American Movie Classics 71B0Y
AnomaliesTV XM7EG
Archive.org NMJS5 TheNowhereMan
Google Voice NXFBW
Hubblecast HD 9OFQX
LDS Video Podcasts TMLJW
Nasa TV HIBMX
Simple Weather IFUIN
Woot BPPIM
Youtube B8VVK
Have fun!
-Jeff
Something else to add-
ReplyDeleteHULU Plus has a channel for $8 a month. I see a lot of shows 24 hours after they air on TV (like "Once upon a time" and "bones"). There are 1 or 2 30 second commercials here and there- but I believe shorter than normal TV, plus available whenever.
The #1 thing I watch is Netflix. It's $8 a month as well, but no commercials. They've recently been adding some Disney.
For me, the top channels I watch in order are: Netflix, Hulu+, Nowhereman, FOX News, LDS Channel, Pandora, and Weather channel/traffic cam.
JoDee! I totally love my ROKU 2. I've had mine for about 2 years. I went out and bought the $99 one that came with angry birds, kept the receipt to return it in 30 days. My #1 concern leaving comcast beleive it or not was Sprout. There are many channels not in the channel store. Once I found "Nowhere Man" it was the final push (Sprout included) and I kept it. I bought another one when I got this home. I spent over $100 a month at comcast for just the smallest package, now we have this free.
ReplyDeleteA few notes: If you can, spend $20 or $40 more to get the best one ($99). Not just for the Angry Birds game, deluxe remote, extra ports, and higher resolution- but also for the wireless capability.
Note #2 - If you are a bit techy, the language to make your own channel is written in about the simplest language out there- "Bright Script". Basically, compared to the old "Basic", "Basica", and "GW-Basic" some of us oldies remember. ROKU has a free SDK (Software Development Kit) with simple instructions. You connect your wireless laptop to the ROKU and open a text editor (notepad even works). Same tech skills as hooking up two computers wireless. Anyways, follow the right steps and you can put it in the ROKU channel store for others to add for free. Nice business avenue that hasn't fully been tapped yet.
#3- extra channel resources (most/all not in store)-
American Movie Classics 71B0Y
AnomaliesTV XM7EG
Archive.org NMJS5 TheNowhereMan
Google Voice NXFBW
Hubblecast HD 9OFQX
LDS Video Podcasts TMLJW
Nasa TV HIBMX
Simple Weather IFUIN
Woot BPPIM
Youtube B8VVK
Have fun!
-Jeff
All I needed to know was sprout...lol..this was also my biggest concern!
DeleteAll I needed to know was sprout...lol..this was also my biggest concern!
DeleteAll I needed to know was sprout...lol..this was also my biggest concern!
ReplyDelete