Do you Roku?

[toycar]

I bought a Roku 3 last weekend and I love it.


So damn cool.



Until this device, I thought I would need cable in my coffin. Seriously, cable for life fool. Lol



Until the Roku entered my life. Now, I feel like cable can suck my balls and Im pissed off about my $192/month cable bill.

Do you guys Roku?


Anyone running a different box that you personally think is better? I really dig this thing and it gets some pretty awesome reviews.


My only grypes are the same common grypes everyone else has.


-Give me an open browser
-HBOGO needs a subscription w/out cable
-Multiple user profiles would be better for Netflix




Aside from that, this thing has been lifechanging for me and television.




What about you guys? Do you Roku?

[trickedaccord92]

Yeah I have had Roku for over a year now. It is a lifesaver with my kids.

[Joey GT-R]

What is a Roku?

[toycar]

What is a Roku?

Its the coolest media streaming box ever.


Basically its a modem for your tv dedicated to streaming media. But, the market that is available on there is life changing. Like, you'll see whats available and question the need for cable afterwards.



For quite a while companies like hulu and Netflix have been digging in against cable, and now there are others. The target ticket app, vudu and amazon prime basically provide you with everything current seasons/tv have to offer. For a fee of course, but when you start doing the math the fee is very reasonable compared to cable.



At 1.99/episode, how can you go wrong? How many shows that are currently running new episodes do you watch? Lets say 6, even though thats a lot of shows to air at once all having current episodes. Thats $12/week, or $48/month.


It adds up, so whats the catch? well, you'll find quickly that a lot of the shows you watch are free already through nbc, cbs etc etc. The public channels.

Then, a lot of shit is offered for free through the various apps on the roku as well.

Pair whats free with what you get for;


-$79.99/year for amazon prime
-7.99/month for netflix
-7.99/month for hulu


and then you don't really have much left that you need to buy. The only shit I cannot find on there that is current is stuff offered on HBO and Showtime. If you can find someone that will share their hbogo login with you, you can work around needing cable. I think anyways. I know someone that is going to help me out for $17/month. I am basically buying hbo on someone elses bill, and paying them for it. Whatever. The user agreement says that you can activate your account on other devices at other locations, so, legally, I don't think I am doing anything wrong. My buddy, whos name the account is actually in, is the one actually activating my device and it says in the user agreement you can do that. Its been compared to using the box at a hotel or while vacationing. HboGO is for entertainment when you are not home, so, yeah, I think its a grey area but I feel like I am in the clear. People probably only get caught up on that when hundreds of devices/ip addresses get associated with a single account. You can have 6 things and thats what their user agreement says. My buddy is going to activate the espn and fox apps for me too, and I think I will be solid after that. Well, between the hulu, netflix, amazon prime, the HD over the air signal and the marketplace to buy everything else, yeah, fuck cable.





With HBO figured out, there really wasn't much left that I couldn't find on there. And the stuff that you would have to buy, you might be like me and buy it already. When my favorite show has a season that ends, I usually buy the season when it comes out on disk.



Doing it through the roku, you own it from square one. You buy an episode, not rent. So, as you spend 1.99/episode, you build a library. No need to buy the season on disk then, you already own it. How many episodes are in a season? Multiply that by $1.99, then compare that number to how much you would already pay for the season when it comes out on disk




Basically, I think the box can save a fortune and its super fuckign cool.

[GeoffM]

Alternatively:
Badass computer.
HDMI from video card to TV
Torrents.


I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from Roku.
It's been on my radar for a very long time.
So far, I've been able to get by without it.
In my room, my TV is right next to my computer, so it works well.

[toycar]

Alternatively:
Badass computer.
HDMI from video card to TV
Torrents.


I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from Roku.
It's been on my radar for a very long time.
So far, I've been able to get by without it.
In my room, my TV is right next to my computer, so it works well.

I can see a CPU being as capable, but the user interface is priceless on the roku. No bullshit about it. Super cool.

[Tishock]

I have a couple Roku 2 (living room and bedroom) and it rocks. I love it for the same reasons you've already mentioned.

Hulu
Amazon
Netflix
Youtube

I've tried a few of the other movie/show services available on Roku but they're basically just copies of Netflix. So no point of paying for them. And the free ones are cool but play too many commercials and have small libraries. But you should take some time to search other channels on Roku because I've been surprised a few times at whats available.

The coolest thing I find is being able to start watching your show on your living room TV, then if you want continue watching your show in your bedroom TV or laptop. Then the next day during lunch use your laptop or your phone and everything is synced. You don't loose a beat. No need to store data locally and its available anywhere you are as long as you have internet.

Well except for Amazon, SOB's don't want to make an app for Droids. But you can get around that by using the Firefox browser on your Droid.

I do miss some sporting events but unfortunately I don't know anyone who still uses Cable or Dish and would be willing to give me their info. Seriously who wants to pay for 300 channels with 90+ percent of them being crap you would never watch?

I know there are some private channels and some live stream channels available on Roku but I haven't tried to look for them. Also there is suppose to be a way to link your computer on your home network, again I haven't tried this yet.

[Pandemic]

I built a media machine for about $300 ish but I also had a hdd and psu already. Anyway, I use netflix in a browser and I use XBMC. I can watch anything at any time.

[AAPOQ]

Roku is very cool, but I have PS3, Xbox, and a smart TV. What are the other benefits on roku that I don't have?

[mtnbikaah]

I use an Apple TV. It works for me.

(My brother works for Apple.)

[illinois_erik]

Alternatively:
Badass computer.
HDMI from video card to TV
Torrents.


I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from Roku.
It's been on my radar for a very long time.
So far, I've been able to get by without it.
In my room, my TV is right next to my computer, so it works well.

Thats the route I go, but for turn key entertainment for the (young) kids that works well. plug it in give it intarwebs and theyre ready to go.

[RyanD]

Im gonna move this to the computer section. Since roku is technically a computer.

And yes, I Roku

[almostJDM]

I have sony's media box, it plays everything I could ever want and was only $50, and I can stream stuff to it from my computer, whats the roku got over that, I''d like to know just out of curiosity

[toycar]

I have sony's media box, it plays everything I could ever want and was only $50, and I can stream stuff to it from my computer, whats the roku got over that, I''d like to know just out of curiosity

The user interface is flawless. I haven't played with the sony media box, so really I cannot compare. Does it get fox, hbogo, espn, vudu, amazon, redbox instant, vevo, plex, break or play games? The remote can attach headphones and mutes the tv, thats pretty cool too. USB port? SD card slot? Wifi+ethernet plug?

I dunno if any of that is better or if it gets those channels. If it does, it sounds like the sony box is pretty cool too.






Those of you that Roku, what are your favorite channels?

[deevergote]

I don't know much about the Roku, as I get most of my tv/movies via Netflix or legal/illegal streaming (I've never been bothered by lower quality video.)

I need to look into it. I don't even know what it does, really. I remember when it first came out, and I also remember thinking it was something I didn't really need. Of course, that was when I spent most of my time alone in front of my computer.