How does Roku stream stick work - allow me to cancel Direct TV?

[SaltyNuts]

How exactly does this thing work? If I have a "smart" TV and DVD player that both allow me to get Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. etc., will the Roku stream stick give me any benefit?

A kinda-sorta related question - I still have direct TV, and I'm paying well over $100 a month, even though really the only reason I have it is to watch HBO/Showtime boxing channel and boxing and UFC PPVs. Is there an alternative/cheaper way to see these without having to pay Direct TV this huge monthly fee?

Thanks for any help!

 

[deadlyapp]

I think HBO now allows you to purchase their channels without being in a cable contract. I believe it's something between $15-20 a month depending on how you have it delivered (Apple, Roku, slingbox, etc)

I'm not sure if you can get PPV through HBO unbundled, but I assume so?

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Amazon prime gets you a decent discount to Starz, I think its $8 per month

 

[Riverhound777]

If you already have a smart TV, the Stick won't get you much, maybe Plex if you wanted that. If you TV is slow with Netflix and the like, a roku can help, but not the stick. It's slow itself. Get a Roku3 or 4 if you want 4K.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Roku can be nicer for niche channels like for anime (Crunchyroll, Funimation) where the blu-ray player or smart TV might not have an app for it. Fire TV just recently got a Funimation app.

Roku doesn't give you free local TV or free sports.

Amazon lets you add-on movie channels to Prime but you don't need the Roku for that.

One thing to look at is buying single episodes from Amazon for $2 (SD) / $3 (HD). For something like Doctor Who that's $26 for a full season over 1-2 years, which is a lot cheaper than even $10 a month. Or wait a year and Amazon has it free with Prime.

 

[Kaido]

If you already have a smart TV, the Stick won't get you much, maybe Plex if you wanted that. If you TV is slow with Netflix and the like, a roku can help, but not the stick. It's slow itself. Get a Roku3 or 4 if you want 4K.

FYI the new Roku stick (the $49 3600R) is a Roku 3 in stick format (has the quad-processor, which is 8x as fast as the previous stick model), minus the headphone jack on the remote control. Have one & can confirm it's zippy!

 

[Kaido]

How exactly does this thing work? If I have a "smart" TV and DVD player that both allow me to get Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. etc., will the Roku stream stick give me any benefit?

A kinda-sorta related question - I still have direct TV, and I'm paying well over $100 a month, even though really the only reason I have it is to watch HBO/Showtime boxing channel and boxing and UFC PPVs. Is there an alternative/cheaper way to see these without having to pay Direct TV this huge monthly fee?

Thanks for any help!

A Roku is basically like a screenless smartphone. You buy it, then you put apps on it. Some apps cost money. Netflix is $8 a month. Amazon Prime ($99 annually) has a bunch of free movies like Netflix, plus you can rent or buy movies for an extra fee per flick. VidAngel is another good one.

imo Roku has the best GUI on the market. I don't like any smart TV's (expect for the few that come with a Roku built-in). I've tried the smart DVD/Bluray players & they are mostly junk with annoying-to-use interfaces. $49 gets you a zippy Roku stick that you can plug into an HDMI port & enjoy easy access to movies & TV shows.

As others have mentioned, you don't get free movies or TV shows (well, Sony's Crackle app has a bunch of free movies). HBO, ESPN, and others offer monthly services for digital content. Not everyone offers that yet.

 

[BoomerD]

If you can get the Roku free...fine, if you have to pay for it...IMO, not worth it.

I got one in a bundle with a cheapo TV a couple of years ago. I tried it...went back to using the Dish apps since I have Dish Network. I also have Amazon Prime and Netflix, so there's not much that the Roku stick offers me that I didn't have already.

 

[yuchai]

There are some (actually maybe a lot of) free apps on Roku, but the user experience is usually not great with the apps. Most of them will have a ton of ads if you don't buy in to the premium service. I don't usually care about seeing a few ads, but the worst thing is the complete lack of variety. You can end up seeing the same ad 4 times in a row, which gets annoying fast.

95% of the time I am using the Roku just for Netflix and Prime.

 

[Riverhound777]

FYI the new Roku stick (the $49 3600R) is a Roku 3 in stick format (has the quad-processor, which is 8x as fast as the previous stick model), minus the headphone jack on the remote control. Have one & can confirm it's zippy!

Really, didn't know that. I hate my stick. I use it on the bedroom TV and it takes a good 3 minutes before I can watch something. And the remote died so I have to use my phone to control it. But if they fixed it in the new version that's awesome.

 

[Childs]

The latest Roku stick is just like having a Roku 3. No lag at all in doing anything.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Does the new stick get stupid hot like I heard the old stick did?

 

[Skeeedunt]

What those guys said. I'm a fan of the Roku in general (new stick or the standard 3/4), particularly if your TV/DVD apps are slow.

You can sign up for HBO via app for $15/mo and Showtime for $12/mo. Not sure on the UFC stuff.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Playstation Vue just came to the roku and Vue is live cable TV that uses the internet and starts at $30 a month. Vue's interface sucks on the Roku though and is much better on amazon's firetv. That is how I dropped my cable from Comcast.

 

[SaltyNuts]

Thanks a ton guys. So it seems I can get showtime and HBO boxing, and likely order then boxing PPVs, for $12 and $15 a month respectively. Now all I need to do is figure out whether I can get UFC and other PPVs via Roku or my smart TV/DVD player. Anyone know?

Also, anyone know whether I can get HBO and Showtime using my smart TV/DVD player for those same $15 and $12 monthly charges? If so probably no need for Roku.

Thanks!

 

[Craig234]

What's the best way to get MSNBC without cable? Or the network with Black Sails?

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Amazon Fire Stick + Kodi, + Exodus + Castaway, have a nice day.

 

[Jimzz]

Yea the new Roku stick is good, the old one was under powered IMO.

I have a Roku 3 and have been using it for a while now. Works well with Netflix and Amazon prime. Can also get plenty of great free channels like PBS, Nowhere TV (conan is on this), youtube, and many others.

 

[AnMig]

Amazon Fire Stick + Kodi, + Exodus + Castaway, have a nice day.

I really second this, recently discovered exodus and its really all you need. i havent used my usenet for awhile since ll the movies and latest tv episodes are there.

kodi +exodus+realdebrid is the bomb.

i have dishnetwork, hulu plus, netflix, amazon prime video and rarely use them mostly for sports.

i have kodi+ exodus on my firestick, nexus6p, windows tablet and widows desktop.

the only draw back to the firestick is it is only wifi, i am thinking of resurecting my apple tv 2 and uprading xbmc to kodi since it has lan for 1080p movies

good luck

 

[WaTaGuMp]

I really second this, recently discovered exodus and its really all you need. i havent used my usenet for awhile since ll the movies and latest tv episodes are there.

kodi +exodus+realdebrid is the bomb.

i have dishnetwork, hulu plus, netflix, amazon prime video and rarely use them mostly for sports.

i have kodi+ exodus on my firestick, nexus6p, windows tablet and widows desktop.

the only draw back to the firestick is it is only wifi, i am thinking of resurecting my apple tv 2 and uprading xbmc to kodi since it has lan for 1080p movies

good luck

The Fire Stick does have a learning curve, its also important to stay on top of the Kodi updates. Its not perfect, but doing some reading or youtube videos, most here should be able to get it working and really like it. I got it mostly for the UFC PPV's, which can be annoying with losing streams, buffering etc. Plus they look like shit being in SD.

 

[HeXen]

I got a Roku TV. It's convenient to swap to antenna. Surprised the Roku 4 doesn't have a coax input, seems a simple thing.