OMG! I'm so impressed with my Roku tv streaming device!! Any recommendations???

[patrice]

I can get, what, 8-10 channels of stuff I actually care about from the Roku Channel Store, for what I was paying for basic cable. I'm soooooo excited!!!

I see Roku has Democracy Now! What else should I look for?

REALLY! looking forward to taking the cable tv box in and telling them they're programming is expensive corporate propaganda!

[daleanime]

1. Hummmm....

:think:

[demmiblue]

2. Some of mine:

Justin.tv (to watch MSNBC)
YouTube
Netflix ($)
Pandora
tunein RADIO
Newscaster
CDNTwo
iTunes Podcasts
USTREAM
huluPLUS ($)

:hi:

[ejpoeta]

19. i have some of those.

Watch netflix all the time and hulu plus now has daily show and colbert. Love pandora too.

[itsrobert]

3. MLB.tv

If you like baseball. Cost less than the Extra Innnings package on cable/directv.

[MadBadger]

8. MLB.tv WAS great on the PS3

x(

[dkf]

16. Everything is blacked out here.

If I had bought the extra innings package I would be pissed.

[customerserviceguy]

44. So live somewhere else

I don't mean that literally, of course. All Roku knows about you is the information you give them, so "move". They don't send you snail mail, so no problem. If you really wanted to make it look good, do the same trick with a credit card first, you'd probably be undetectable.

[patrice]

4. AND I haven't even explored the free stuff yet!

[demmiblue]

5. Here is a great resource for all channels available (including private channels):

http://www.roku-channels.com/

[patrice]

9. Thanks for this! I let it sit there for a couple of months, so I'm just now getting acquainted with

it.

I thought the setup would be hard, so I didn't install right away. I was wrong!

I already pay for Netflix, so this is a very good deal for me, because I can increase or decrease my usage or modify my channels as I see fit.

[graywarrior]

6. OK, explain this to me

If I get ROKU, can I just have basic, basic cable....like the 24.00 per month package with just local channels, or do I need the basic cable they want me to get with 100 some odd channels for the big bucks.

[patrice]

10. I don't know yet. I'm going to go without cable tv entirely and try Roku with UHF/VHF

channels, for the local stuff, which I know I can get because I tried that a few months ago, but gave it up because there was not enough good quality movies and such and the news was even worse than cable tv.

[eShirl]

13. why would you need any cable at all?

[lukasahero]

59. I think she's asking for the answer to your question

I suspect, like myself, graywarrior may not know how this works and is asking the question to find out. Perhaps you have an answer?

[ejpoeta]

21. there are different channels availab.e. some are free.

we do not have any cable/satellite as of november 2010. kids don't even miss it. it all depends on what you want. most of what we were watching is available online. we had figured with the kids channels we were watching about 10 channels. hardly worth what we were paying. I do miss USA and TNT. but I am hopeful that they will be available somewhere at some point. In the meantime I am catching up on some shows I had never even watched before via Netflix and Huluplus.

[SixString]

27. USA and TNT are available here...

http://www.tvpc.com/ChannelList.php

Just scroll down to US channels.

They have most of the networks too.

[ejpoeta]

28. thanks!!

[graywarrior]

38. And you are using Roku?

[ejpoeta]

42. yes. we have two rokus. we got rid of directv in november.

and one thing i notice is the kids don't bug me for stuff they see in commercials as much since they watch mostly netflix and youtube.

[graywarrior]

49. Awesome! My Comcast contract ends in June, so I may just

downgrade to the lowliest basic possible, cancel my phone & get another cell phone for the hubby, and just pay for internet.

[lukasahero]

60. So what DO you need coming in to your house?

If you don't need a cable line - do you need a data plan? (i.e. - is this all just done through internet service?)

[ejpoeta]

64. you need broadband/dsl. it does everything through the internet.

[lukasahero]

66. Thanks

I've been trying to figure out how to get off the grid, so to speak for a while and have just missed that last piece.

This is really good news since I just got my whole house hooked up with cat5.

[Codeine]

22. Roku uses your internet connection.

Whether you want cable is up to you and unrelated.

[lukasahero]

61. Ah thank you!

I should have read further - you have answered the question I had about it.

[LiberalLoner]

7. My husband and I are wondering about this new Blackberry playbook. Looks like a basically useless

gadget. An expensive toy. Something to waste time on. Maybe it will be good for teens with too much time on their hands. I don't know. We just don't get what is so great about the gadget. Shrug.

[mucifer]

11. Isn't a lot of this stuff the same from a new blue ray player?

[ejpoeta]

23. if you have an internet streaming bluray player, then yes you can get some of the stuff through ther

We do not have a bluray player. We do have a Wii and have enjoyed watching Netflix on that for awhile. We also have playon which we can use with the Wii and the roku. Just have to have a good computer for it to run through.

[eShirl]

12. YES here are a few roku channels we watch

Justin TV - especially the Entertainment and News categories
https://owner.roku.com/Account/ChannelCode/?code=JustinTV

Youtube
https://owner.roku.com/Account/ChannelCode/?code=B8VVK

Itunes Podcasts
https://owner.roku.com/Account/ChannelCode/?code=ITPC

and these you can add from the Roku Store
Radiotime (local radio stations all over the country and world, searchable)
and
Crunchyroll (new episodes of all the latest anime series from Japan)


also the Mah Jong game channel is decent, if you like playing that

[mucifer]

14. I bought a blue ray player a year ago for $200.00

I can get netflix and youtube on it and a weather channel and some other channels for pay including sports. It has updates from time to time where new things are added. I'm guessing it's pretty similar to roku. Justin.tv would be nice. But, I don't think I want to pay for it. I can watch it on my laptop and maybe it will come to the blue ray player eventually.

It sure does beat the cost of cable to just pay for netflix and have a device.

[eShirl]

17. You wouldn't have to pay for it

the roku justin.tv channel is free

edit: I got my roku about a year ago for $55

[ejpoeta]

24. i think he means buying a roku just to watch justin tv

[eShirl]

29. oh

:blush:

[qazplm]

15. I have directv which i really like

but I still keep cable as a backup because of the weather issues. It's one of the things I splurge on.

[ejpoeta]

18. we have a roku too.

HGTV has a channel. my dh watched Holmes on Holmes last night. We have Justin.tv which allows you to watch things like msnbc live. I have newscasters which lets me watch Rachel Maddow. It has shows from MSNBC, CNN, ABC, Aljazeera america, Current tv. I would recommend. Look around. there are a lot of channels. private channels too. just do a google search for roku private channels.

[patrice]

30. Thank you for this!

:hi:

[ejpoeta]

31. so glad when i hear of more people finding their way to internet streaming.

saves a bundle!! we pay about $25 between netflix, hulu and playon a month. still not sure about the playon though. but it's a lot cheaper than directv was!!

[patrice]

34. Plus, we're building markets for young people to develop!!

[Egnever]

67. Well dont get too excited

These trends are not going unoticed by the traditional tv service providers who also happen to also be the internet providers for many and they are taking steps to ensure you still pay them their money each month.

AT&T and Comcast have already implemented caps on bandwidth usage in several markets in an attempt to recapture that revenue. The sad thing is there are many that argue they should be able to get away with it.

Those roku boxes are chewing up bandwidth and I think you might be surprised at how quickly you could reach the caps with a roku.

[Codeine]

20. Go to DU's streaming/Netflix forum.

Lots of good discussion there! :hi:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=441

[kenny blankenship]

25. Al Jazeera English service live feed under NewsCaster. Also look up Justin tv

for all sorts of other things. You have to look up JustinTV on the interwebz first, it's not in the channel store. JustinTV has live feeds, not just podcasts, of news programming you may find interesting.

Also google "nowhereman roku." Live web feed of BBC news available.

I also use my Roku for Pandora and MOG music services, as well as Shoutcast channels. Every radio channel that I like, but one, in my area can be found on the TuneIn channel.

That's in addition to the Netflix and Hulu Plus streaming services. Very useful little box!

[patrice]

32. Great help! Thank you. And yes, it's so small!! Amazing!

[ejpoeta]

33. yep. it'll be on a private channel list. i just search for roku private channels.

here's a link to one: http://almostaccurate.com/roku/

[mitchtv]

26. Link TV

also carries Democracy now not as often as FSTV (3xs a day I think) I get both

[richmwill]

35. Good move

Last week I downgraded my cable. All I'm paying them for now are local networks and PBS. With those, and my Netflix and Hulu Plus, I'm saving $95 a month and not missing what I can't see anymore all that much.

[renate]

36. I feel stupid but I looked on the roku channel store and can't figure out...

... whether we can still get HBO, Nickelodeon, PBS, CBS et al through the Roku box. I don't see those channels listed there but maybe I'm looking in the wrong place? How is the Roku box different from the Blu-ray player that we can already stream Netflix from (and with which I think we could pay extra to get Hulu with)?

I appreciate any advice I can get because I'm a total idiot about things like this. Thanks!

[ejpoeta]

39. HBO is a no go for the roku. Some of the other channels are available though.

through the channel store or third party channels (private channels). there is even porn for those who are into that kind of stuff. I think netflix made a deal with cbs or something and Hulu has some things. One thing you get used to and don't really notice until you watch regular tv is that there are a lot less commercials on Hulu and other channels that have commercials. Except crackle... that has a lot. and it cuts off the show at odd times. But if you look around you can probably find most of that stuff.

[bermudat]

37. Are you getting paid to post this on DU?

[BillyJack]

40. WTF? I haven't read ANY OF THIS.......I'm only posting b/c this OP has stayed

near the top of DU GD ALL DAY!!! And it's only got, what 700+ views. WTF ...... does anyone other than me *smell something*?

I won't post anything further in this thread. ever.

[Fumesucker]

41. That part about telling the cable company to put it where the sun never shines...

That's what's keeping this thread kicked up.

A lot of people want to do exactly that.

[ejpoeta]

43. amen!

[Snoutport]

50. i had never heard of roku...so this introduced me to it...

so it was an interesting read...

[Egnever]

68. Yes well .....

AT&T and Comcast are already taking steps to ensure they keep that money, and their customers are actually cheering them on as they do it.


http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-secretly-horrifying-implications-atts-bandwidth-caps/


Right now, if those stats are accurate, the bandwidth cap will only apply to the top 2% of users. Those are the only people who are going to be charged on this new pricing plan. Have you ever known a company content to only make money off of the top 2% of their users? And even if AT&T is somehow perfectly happy with this tiny slice of the potential market, what's going to happen? That top two percent will then be more aware of their data usage, right? That means their average rate will go down, therefore the cap will go down - but that price will probably stay just the same. Even if this is baseless fear-mongering and AT&T's caps don't decrease, the internet will always require more bandwidth as it grows in functionality. The highest end of the caps they're rolling out today will be absolutely stifling a few years from now.

Read more: The Secretly Horrifying Implications of AT&Ts Bandwidth Caps | Cracked.com http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-secretly-horrifying-implications-atts-bandwidth-caps/#ixzz1MTFSrEl0

[Fumesucker]

71. While at the same time the wholesale price of bandwidth is dropping precipitously.. n/t

[customerserviceguy]

45. I actually bought two of them this year

I have to say, I like mine, too, but there are limitations. You really need a pretty good Internet connection to keep it going, they just put fiber optic into my neighborhood, can't wait till it goes live. My low-speed DSL modem (too far from the phone company for anything but that) has trouble sometimes.

As for the free programming, I do enjoy the Newscaster channel. It lets me watch the evening news when I want to, rather than having to record it from a cable channel. Crackle has some old TV series on it, it was a hoot to watch the first season of "Bewitched!"

I did sign up for Netflix, and it seems to shove a bit more bandwith out there to keep interruptions to a minimum. I also find that my best connection comes from an Ethernet wire directly plugged into my wireless router, rather than the wireless option that I use with the upstairs Roku box. I did have to upgrade the router, my old 2004-era "G" router just wouldn't cut it.

Also, if you use the United Airlines frequent flier miles program, they'll offer you 4,000 miles to try Netflix for one paid month. May as well get something for signing up. Even if you terminate it after the two months (first month is free) that eight bucks picked you up 4K miles for a cost of $0.002 per mile, an awfully cheap way to 'buy' FFM's.

We were thinking of upgrading from the very basic cable package ($20/mo.) to the next package, family ($70/mo.) but won't do it now. So, it's a significant savings of money. If I could only get a decent digital signal from NYC, I could cut that out, too.

[crazylikafox]

47. Thanks, u answered my question about 2 boxes.

You must have posted while I was still writing. :-)

[ejpoeta]

53. omg! i watched bewitched too. had never seen it before.

only thing that bugs me is that it only plays mkv and mp4 movie files if you have the usb plug. but i can stream it through my pc and it will play any file i have with handbrake. i wonder if we got a new router if it would help, but we generally don't have too many problems with the buffering and stuff on netflix and hulu.

[customerserviceguy]

57. I switched over to a decent Cisco router

with "N" support. Really makes a difference with my N-equipped laptop that I bought last year, the download speed is great!

If you have cable or fiber optic supplied Internet, then you've got enough bandwidth to really take advantage of Roku and the other set-top boxes.

[ejpoeta]

63. thanks. i will definitely look into a better router. we have a dlink but i don't know

anything about it beyond that. we have had it for awhile.

[crazylikafox]

46. Roku question... please

Can I connect Roku devices to more than one TV in my house? I'm loving the one I got for Christmas so much I'm practically living in my basement where my big TV is. I'd like to get a second one to put on another TV upstairs. Stupid question, I know, but I checked the Rocu site & didn't find an answer. I won't need to watch both TV's at the same time, since I live alone.

[kenny blankenship]

48. I don't know definitely, but that could depend on how many/what kind of outputs your roku has

some models have component rgb outputs as well as hdmi. You might be able to run an hdmi cable upstairs to the 2nd tv, depending on distances and construction details. You would need to have an infrared repeater system set up between floors as well to control your roku remotely, plus a second roku remote control. Or if you have a pc or laptop in the same room with the second tv set, you can "steer" the roku over the local area network. It runs a telnetd daemon which listens for button press events, eg: home, select, left, right, up, down. Google "roku and telnet".

[crazylikafox]

51. thx

a little complicated for me, but I'll keep it in mind.

[ejpoeta]

52. have you thought of checking craigslist? you might find an old one.

i guess it depends on what kind you want since some have just the cables.

[Egnever]

69. Yes absolutely

To do so will require a router though, which you likely already have if you share your internet connection between the roku and any computers in the house.

Also something to keep in mind is your internet connection has a bandwith throttle, watching a roku on two separate TV's will likely require a pretty generous connection. The more streaming devices you have the more speed you will need to supply them. And if you use AT&T or Comcast as your internet provider you are going to need to keep an eye on your over all bandwith usage as they are implementing caps on your usage.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-secretly-horrifying-implications-atts-bandwidth-caps/

[myrna minx]

75. Yes - I have one in my bedroom and one in my living room - both are wifi.

When you set up the second/third device- your page on ROKU.com will ask if you are just adding a new device or deactivating an old and adding new device. :hi:

[savalez]

54. I use the Netgear branded version of Roku.

You can get it at that big electronic store (not naming it). Same thing only you don't have to order it online.

[ejpoeta]

65. we got that too but took it back because the roku was cheaper.

roku are available at BJs. at least here where I live. no shipping. but the netgear is the same thing just says netgear on it.

[Hutzpa]

55. Does this belongs to liberals/progressives ?

Just sick and tired of products starting out good and then ends up being controlled by
republican minded individuals, how that works I'll never know.

[customerserviceguy]

58. As the media markets get monopolized

The use of technology to give the consumers more choice is always a good thing.

[Egnever]

70. Unfortunately the ones monopolizing the media

Also own the fiber delivering the internet to your house. They are not unaware of the shift to online content and are making moves to recapture that revenue.

[Hutzpa]

73. Exactly

what use would it be if they control the fiber optics that delivers these services.

Instead of owning just a tad why not the whole damn thing, needs to wrestle it away
from their cold hands.

[Hutzpa]

56. I'm a soccer enthusiast

do they have a soccer channel? anyone know?

[Eddie Haskell]

62. Roku

I've enjoyed many old TV series and documentaries including: Dexter, Twin Peaks, The New Sherlock Holmes, The Last Enemy, Enron, Escape from Suburbia, TED, the Khan Academy and too many more to mention. I watch Roku more than my cable.

[RandomThoughts]

72. Here is how you defeat propaganda.

Find a way to see it that is a message that does not include the propaganda.

This song for instance, has absolutly nothing to do with war.


Although to get it shown in many places, it added in the National Guard.


It is not about war or 'soldiers' like the military many think of. It has nothing to do with that, accept that many people that are in the military on many sides of conflicts are part of that same thing.


This song is not about military, but about the better thoughts of helping people that many people do, including the military. If you think it is about military, you are not hearing the song, nor seeing the video.


Citizen Soldier 3 doors down with lyrics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=982tT4qQZJE


Can't you hear it? It is about guiding from despair and sheltering. What does that have to do with war? Although many people in many militaries also do that exact thing also. Every time they help anyone.


It is about luxury being mercy for the weak. "The strongest among you may not wear a crown."

It is about that help that many never see "I walk beside you, but you may not see me."

It is about not leaving people behind, sheltering, and helping the fallen, since all have fallen short.

It is about always being ready. And also about balance. And I am due beer and travel money.

the karate kid end fight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWbFWHrJ0CU

Can you see the no rules methods in that clip? And why they are wrong.


Blinded by the Light by Manfred Mann's Earth Band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg8cDmi7-U8

[tsuki]

74. Livestation & Newscasters. nt

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

76. Does the Roku let you search for and add new Netflix movies without a computer?

If it does, count me interested, I love Netflix streaming.

[eShirl]

77. yes

but only streaming movies; it won't let you add movies to your DVD queueueueueue