Help me understand Hulu Plus and hardware needed

[jfelano]

I'm thinking of joining Hulu Plus and getting away from cable tv.

My tv is far from my computer so I understand I need a Roku streaming player. A Roku XD/S to be specific cause I have an older plasma with component inputs. I already have a wireless router/modem, which I believe I need to send signal to the Roku.

So for $100 (Roku) and $7.99 a month (Hulu Plus), what do I get? Can I watch Whale Wars every Friday at 8pm? Can I catch my local Tampa Bay Ray's live? Can I watch my local news/weather station?

What exactly does "streaming" mean. Does this mean I have to download it before I watch it?

What kind of internet connection do I need? Do I need high speed cable or will dsl suffice? Right now I have 10mpbs RoadRunner but I may not be able to keep that if I get rid of my cable tv service.

Also, how does this work/connect If I'm using a OTA (over the air) Antenna for my tv signal? I was reading about this in the latest CPU magazine. Can I use the OTA antenna and use a Roku box?

I know that's a lot of questions, hopefully someone can help me understand this new technology. I'm a bit behind.

 

[zerocool84]

Streaming means your download it while you watch it. It downloads just enough for you to watch uninterrupted and keeps downloading until it finishes. First you need to make sure you know what Hulu is. Hulu does not stream live tv/shows of any kind. It streams content/shows they put up there. You will not be able to watch sports or any local tv on it or any "channels" on it. You search through their content and stream episodes of shows that are on it so it's not like you can watch something if it's on at 8pm, it's on there whenever they put it on there but it's usually fairly quick for most stuff. Also with a quick search, there is no Whale Wars on Hulu, only clips of the shows. You can watch your local channels with OTA antenna just fine. You just need an antenna to get the local channels. It's separate from Roku. Also you might want to check out Netflix as well since they have a ton of tv shows on there as well. I don't know how fast your internet connection is so I can't say if it will be fast enough to stream without waiting forever.

 

[jfelano]

Thanks for the info.

I mentioned I have 10mbps RR. So Netflix has tv shows (live) and hulu doesn't?

Maybe I just want to get an OTA antenna and see what I can pick up and go from there.

My only concern is I get almost no cel phone signal or radio station reception in my apartment and likely I will have trouble getting tv signal with an OTA antenna too.

 

[wirednuts]

it sounds like you need cable tv.

netflix does not broadcast live tv either. nobody legit does. the cable companies arent allowing it, they want you to buy their premade cabletv packages.

however, if you can get your sports games via local channels, then you can usually get a basic cable package for $10 a month, that just includes all the local channels in HD. its more reliable then OTA if you have bad reception in your area.

then, if you add in netflix you have a pretty good wealth of movies and tv series to watch for cheap. couple that with amazon's rent on demand and youre set for new titles.

hulu plus im not sold on. its really only good if you havent watched a lot of local tv shows the last couple years. otherwise, they have the last 5 episodes of most shows regularly up for free, so if you stay current there isnt much reason to buy. they have a few movies on huluplus now, but i think netflix covers most.

 

[jfelano]

I have cable tv, mentioned that in the first line of my post.

Basic cable is $21, not $10, and it doesn't come with ANY hd programming or a hd box.

 

[wirednuts]

there has to be a basic qam package, its required by law. it carries all the local channels in HD along with some regional channels. with comcast, the basic cable is free if you have internet service.

 

[Destiny]

Well the benefits of Hulu Plus you can watch your favorite shows whenever you want streaming from the internet with a media player... the bad thing is they're not live or they may be older episoes...

 

[soulcougher73]

The only way to get LIVE TV is to have a cable package of some kind. Hulu nor Netflix streams anything LIVE. Hulu will put up shows probably the next day for you to watch after they have aired. But most networks also put up full episodes on their websites as well the next day.

I personally dont have cable anymore. I use OTA(which is LIVE btw) and Netflix through my Boxee Box. Working on getting the OTA hooked into my computer as well so i can use Windows Media Center as my DVR.

OTA, Netflix & Internet is about the cheapest you can really get. I get 5mb down on my $19.95 AT&T DSL and it streams fine. So my total bill for internet & netflix is less then $30/month. Not bad.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Hulu Plus is misleading -- on a Roku, PS3, etc. it does not let you watch all of the shows that you see when you go to hulu.com, it is only the shows where they have a license to show them on a TV-connected device.

Many of the shows where they only have the most recent few episodes are only license by them for showing on a computer. If you wanted to watch those on a TV you'd need to connect a home theater PC or a laptop instead of getting a Roku + Hulu Plus.

 

[Knavish]

there has to be a basic qam package, its required by law. it carries all the local channels in HD along with some regional channels. with comcast, the basic cable is free if you have internet service.

I don't know if I'd say it's free...it's a package price. For my region:

Cablemodem + Basic Cable Package = $45.95 + $12.46

Unfortunately Comcast doesn't give the "package discount" when you want the cable modem by itself, so it puts the price within 50 cents of the above total.

I just got a FIOS card in the mail, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to kick comcast to the curb very soon.

 

[jfelano]

I don't know if I'd say it's free...it's a package price. For my region:

Cablemodem + Basic Cable Package = $45.95 + $12.46

Unfortunately Comcast doesn't give the "package discount" when you want the cable modem by itself, so it puts the price within 50 cents of the above total.

I just got a FIOS card in the mail, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to kick comcast to the curb very soon.

Yeah there is no Comcast here and Fios isn't available in my building so I'm stuck with Brighthouse Networks/Roadrunner, which I absolutely hate.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Hulu Plus is misleading -- on a Roku, PS3, etc. it does not let you watch all of the shows that you see when you go to hulu.com, it is only the shows where they have a license to show them on a TV-connected device.

Many of the shows where they only have the most recent few episodes are only license by them for showing on a computer. If you wanted to watch those on a TV you'd need to connect a home theater PC or a laptop instead of getting a Roku + Hulu Plus.

Wow, that is really misleading.

 

[thegimp03]

Hulu Plus is misleading -- on a Roku, PS3, etc. it does not let you watch all of the shows that you see when you go to hulu.com, it is only the shows where they have a license to show them on a TV-connected device.

Many of the shows where they only have the most recent few episodes are only license by them for showing on a computer. If you wanted to watch those on a TV you'd need to connect a home theater PC or a laptop instead of getting a Roku + Hulu Plus.

Whoa, good to know. I haven't spent a lot of time checking into Hulu+ but I was definitely under the impression that I'd be able to stream all the online content to my PS3/360/Blu-ray players if I ever decided to cancel my cable service.