1. Does it really work?
a. Well, yes. It does. How well depends on your perspective.
If you are expecting a cable tv or satellite like experience, you will be disappointed (a little). If you accept that this is a budding technology and being such will have a few hiccups along the way, you will be very entertained. Isn’t that the point? Pam and I have been using Roku for about a month, and we are very entertained, indeed. Here is a simple overview of how it is designed. Once you plug Roku into your broadband internet, you have free content at your command and lots of it. Is it stuff you will like? Depends on you. I would suggest you study the Roku channels at Roku.com , but at $59 and no monthly fees, you can’t go wrong. Once Roku starts, you have a home screen full of ‘channels’. You can control which channels are listed and you can add new ones as they become available. Some channels are developed by Roku, but many are not. That is not a bad thing. But, since lots of people create Roku channels, they all look and act a little different. However, the basics are easy to pickup. Once you select a channel, its own home page will load. Then, most of them will present a bunch of shows, or genres, etc. You just keep drilling down to find what you want. Sometimes at the end of the line, you will find full shows (less the commercials), or shows split into segments (where the commercials would be). In the second example, you can normally say play-all and it will play one clip after the next. Not a big deal. Some channels are only playing clips from various web sites. I was wondering if it would play like it does in a web browser, you know, with windows, and such. Thankfully no. Once you select a video, it plays full screen (SD or HD) just as it would on cable. I MUST tell you about the premium content. This are channels like Netflix, HuluPlus, Amazon, a few others. I already had a Netflix account which we used for DVD’s and I would sometimes stream movies to my computer while I traveled. Roku completely maximizes your Netflix account! It is great. (There is a Netflix channel you select from the Roku start screen.) I was already paying $11 per month, but now I’m getting my $’s worth! I have learned that the Netflix interactive system is different when you use various devices such as a computer, a Wii, a Roku, TiVo box, etc. Roku wins hands down! Much better than Wii, Windows Media Center, and TiVo’s new premier box. I know a guy that bought a Roku ONLY for playing the Netflix channel instead of using Netflix on his Wii and he loves it. As for Hulu-plus, it is around $8 per month. I initially subscribed, but cancelled my subscription when I learned the shows I wanted were ONLY available from the web site and would not stream to my Roku. I guess this is due to licensing agreements and hope they sort this out as the industry matures. I looked at Amazon, but they have a ridiculous ‘rental’ system where they charge $1.99 (more or less) for EACH SHOW! Nope. Not going to pay that when Netflix keeps me so entertained. Some last thoughts about Netflix if you aren’t familiar. They have TONS of shows, but they aren’t current. If you want to watch current Survivor, CSI, etc, Netflix won’t help. But, Pam and I have been watching older seasons of shows and we are loving it; such as Wings, 3rd Rock from the Sun, etc.
If you are expecting a cable tv or satellite like experience, you will be disappointed (a little). If you accept that this is a budding technology and being such will have a few hiccups along the way, you will be very entertained. Isn’t that the point? Pam and I have been using Roku for about a month, and we are very entertained, indeed. Here is a simple overview of how it is designed. Once you plug Roku into your broadband internet, you have free content at your command and lots of it. Is it stuff you will like? Depends on you. I would suggest you study the Roku channels at Roku.com , but at $59 and no monthly fees, you can’t go wrong. Once Roku starts, you have a home screen full of ‘channels’. You can control which channels are listed and you can add new ones as they become available. Some channels are developed by Roku, but many are not. That is not a bad thing. But, since lots of people create Roku channels, they all look and act a little different. However, the basics are easy to pickup. Once you select a channel, its own home page will load. Then, most of them will present a bunch of shows, or genres, etc. You just keep drilling down to find what you want. Sometimes at the end of the line, you will find full shows (less the commercials), or shows split into segments (where the commercials would be). In the second example, you can normally say play-all and it will play one clip after the next. Not a big deal. Some channels are only playing clips from various web sites. I was wondering if it would play like it does in a web browser, you know, with windows, and such. Thankfully no. Once you select a video, it plays full screen (SD or HD) just as it would on cable. I MUST tell you about the premium content. This are channels like Netflix, HuluPlus, Amazon, a few others. I already had a Netflix account which we used for DVD’s and I would sometimes stream movies to my computer while I traveled. Roku completely maximizes your Netflix account! It is great. (There is a Netflix channel you select from the Roku start screen.) I was already paying $11 per month, but now I’m getting my $’s worth! I have learned that the Netflix interactive system is different when you use various devices such as a computer, a Wii, a Roku, TiVo box, etc. Roku wins hands down! Much better than Wii, Windows Media Center, and TiVo’s new premier box. I know a guy that bought a Roku ONLY for playing the Netflix channel instead of using Netflix on his Wii and he loves it. As for Hulu-plus, it is around $8 per month. I initially subscribed, but cancelled my subscription when I learned the shows I wanted were ONLY available from the web site and would not stream to my Roku. I guess this is due to licensing agreements and hope they sort this out as the industry matures. I looked at Amazon, but they have a ridiculous ‘rental’ system where they charge $1.99 (more or less) for EACH SHOW! Nope. Not going to pay that when Netflix keeps me so entertained. Some last thoughts about Netflix if you aren’t familiar. They have TONS of shows, but they aren’t current. If you want to watch current Survivor, CSI, etc, Netflix won’t help. But, Pam and I have been watching older seasons of shows and we are loving it; such as Wings, 3rd Rock from the Sun, etc.
2. How much is this going to cost me?
a. So, in full disclosure… I was previously paying $11/mo for Netflix and $110 / mo for DirecTv. That was with no movie channels, but two HD DVRS, whole-house-system, etc. I called DirecTV to cancel and they reminded me that I was in contract. I had upgraded to a new DVR a few months ago. In case you have forgotten, a new DVR from DirecTV means you pay $199 plus tax, $5 per month for each DVR (lease fee), and a two year contract. Even after two years, it is not yours. You are always leasing it… Booooo. She said it would cost me $149 to get out. I told her I’d pay it. Let me out! Then I bought two Roku boxes from Roku.com. Got the best one for living room cause I needed digital audio out. Got the middle box for bedroom cause I wanted HDMI outputs. So, It cost $99 + $79 for the boxes. So far I have spent $327 to get out from DirecTv. That is about three months of service. So, after 3 months, I’m saving $110 per month. Finally, just a few days ago, I purchased a TiVo Premier for $99 (explained more later). Thus, I have spent $426 and am at a monthly bill of $31 / month. It will take me just over 5 months before I start saving money.
3. Will I miss DirecTv?
a. Well, after a month, I sorta miss them, but not the payment. I’ve accepted that I can’t see all the tv I used, too. But I’ve also accepted that I’m not paying $110 per month any more!
4. How do I watch local channels?
a. I have placed some rabbit ears in my attic and they allow me to watch about 20 channels broadcast from local stations in Oklahoma City. They are in High Definition and completely free. They include the big guys like ABC, CBS, and NBC. It did take some getting used to live TV after having a DVR for some many years. We don’t mind the commercials, but having to watch on the networks' schedule ended up being a … show-stopper… for us. (see next)
5. How do I record local channels?
a. For a while, we didn’t. This was Pam’s biggest complaint. She loves Judge Judy and People’s court. These shows aren’t avail on Roku and are on broadcast TV during the day. There are some other shows we like that are on Roku, but only as older seasons. I gave in and bought a TiVo premier last weekend. It is basically a DVR that captures live tv so we can record it. I was concerned of overlap because TiVo offers some streaming like Roku does, but it Roku is much better at it. So, we use Tivo to watch ABC, CBS, NBC shows and Roku for everything else. It now feels like our entertainment solution is complete. Low monthly costs, and 85% of our favorite shows. The other 15% of shows I like(d) are… uh, I forget. After a week or so, you don’t miss them.
6. Is it technically easy?
a. Roku
i. Yep. It took about 15 minutes to get my Roku online at home. I’m using wired connections for both, so I can’t say how the wireless goes. I did have to do a hard-reset on the bedroom box after it did a firmware update, but that’s no biggie. I suppose it might be a biggie if you don’t know to try a hard-reset. I surfed the web to see how. The living room box didn’t need a hard-reset. But, that box seems very sensitive to power spikes. It just gives me a blank screen. Unplugging it and plugging back in fixes it. Does it about once a week. If it gets worse, may have to do a warranty replacement. Hardest part about using Roku is remembering where your favorite shows are located. UPDATE: The reset thing seems to have passed. Both boxes are working great!
b. TiVo
i. TiVo is a very polished device and works great! But, the firmware update which downloaded after I 1st hooked it up it took almost an hour.
7. Will Pam be ok with it?
a. She was about 60% happy with Roku alone. TiVo has now taken that to around 90%. That is well within the acceptable range. Hey, if money wasn’t an issue, I’d still have DirecTv!
8. Can I watch my favorite programs?
a. Yes… but they are different favorites. And some of my favorites are there if I watch older seasons. Like, Pawn Stars. It is on Netflix, but older seasons. So, I just started watching it from season one! I don’t remember them and they are great!
9. Biggest positive?
a. LOW Monthly Price (considering Netflix and TiVo.) Roku has no monthly fees itself.
10. Biggest negative?
a. Some shows I just can’t find… current Myth busters, Axe Men, and the such. (I’m over it.)
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UPDATE: 2/18/2012
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So, after a couple months, Pam was REALLY irritated by our sometimes weak over-the-air reception which is used by TIVO to record the major networks. FOX wouldn't come in at all. I tried several antennas with little improvement. So, I swallowed my pride and considered the basic channels only from ATT U-Verse. (We already have thier internet.) Should have been around $20 per month. The sales lady up sold me to U-300 package (shame) and said it would be $45 per month. I got the first bill... $160!!!! For that price, I should have kept DirecTV. I called ATT and complained, but didn't do any good.
With renewed interest, I worked on my antenna issue. After replacing a coax cable, my reception is PERFECT! I promptly called ATT and cancelled The TV service! We are back to Over-the-air via TIVO which works great. We also use Netflix via two Roku boxes. One Roku box did suffer a lightning strike which killed the ethernet port. No big deal, just went to wireless and all is well!
Bottom line... Roku/NETFLIX RULES when supported by Over-the-air for HD network programming. I'll NEVER go back!!
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UPDATE: 2/18/2012
_____________________________________________________
So, after a couple months, Pam was REALLY irritated by our sometimes weak over-the-air reception which is used by TIVO to record the major networks. FOX wouldn't come in at all. I tried several antennas with little improvement. So, I swallowed my pride and considered the basic channels only from ATT U-Verse. (We already have thier internet.) Should have been around $20 per month. The sales lady up sold me to U-300 package (shame) and said it would be $45 per month. I got the first bill... $160!!!! For that price, I should have kept DirecTV. I called ATT and complained, but didn't do any good.
With renewed interest, I worked on my antenna issue. After replacing a coax cable, my reception is PERFECT! I promptly called ATT and cancelled The TV service! We are back to Over-the-air via TIVO which works great. We also use Netflix via two Roku boxes. One Roku box did suffer a lightning strike which killed the ethernet port. No big deal, just went to wireless and all is well!
Bottom line... Roku/NETFLIX RULES when supported by Over-the-air for HD network programming. I'll NEVER go back!!
Has anyone who has roku + direct tv tried to access "HBO go" on Roku? I'm having trouble inputting the code for access.
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