I may have the wife convinced. Been working on this for about 8 months of ditching cable and getting a streaming player like this. I have a couple of questions though;
1. How does Roku work with subscription channels? What is the process for that?
2. We have three old school CRT TVs in the house, so I assume that we would have to buy three Rokus, correct?
3. I have a WRT160N router. Is this router good enough for streaming or am I going to have to look for a better router? And if so, what would you recommend getting?
3a. I can get a wireless signal from where the router is located (Basement) upstairs (2 story home with a basement) so this should be sufficient to stream to the upstairs Roku, right?
That's great - I'll try to share what knowledge I've gained so far. First off, man did I make the right decision. This is better than I ever imagined and I'm paying less for more (with the exception of live cable channel sports). There are subscription channels for those, however and as the shift away from cable and satellite providers continues, there will only be growing demand for web-based content, and networks should be able to recognize a revenue stream when they see one.
Regarding your questions:
1. you simply register your device with each subscription service (ie Netflix) and bam, you're looking at your Netflix/Hulu Plus/Amazon Prime queue. It's a piece of cake. There are PLENTY of free content channels, including movies (Crackle, Popcorn Flicks to name just 2.) I have Netflix and a trial of Hulu Plus. Kind of overkill but I'm trying to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each. Again, many, many things are free channels. I watched the NBC channel this morning and caught last PMs complete Nightly News with Brian Williams commercial free, high quality, and it took maybe 20 min to watch. Then I caught this morning's Today Show on OTA (with some of the same stories) and had to endure commercials. Don't worry, you'll get it.
Roku Channels:
http://streamfree.tv/apps/ NowhereTV is a must-have in the private channel category.
2. Yes, 1 Roku per TV. Old school CRT's are perfectly fine, the Roku comes with composite A/V (red/white/yellow conectors). If you buy from Sams' Club or BJ's you can get the best model (Roku 2 XS) along with a great HDMI cord and 2 month Hulu Plus trial for 79.99.
3. Wireless N? Dude, you're just fine. It worked great with my venerable WRT 54GL (wireless G) router. G is fine for streaming, btw.
3a. Yep. It's amazing how well the streaming works. I flawlessly stream HD content to my wireless Roku 1 floor above router over DSL, believe it or not. Cable internet is better speeds, and I'd go back to just their internet offering if forced, but the DSL at about 6.5MBPS is totally delivering the goods. I'll opt for FIOS when it finally gets to our 'hood.
In conclusion, I am damn happy about this monumental shift in what it means to "watch TV" in our home. I watch what I want, when I want it, with almost zero commercial interruptions. It turns the whole paradigm on its head and watching TV becomes a very deliberate, interactive process, completely controlled by the user. Of course if you want to aimlessly channel surf you can shift to OTA
😀 . I have converted several folks now who have come over to my house to check it out. They can't believe it.
Oh, also, there is a Plex channel that streams the local content straight from my PC, so that's even covered. For just 79.99 this is one of the best purchases I've ever made. OK, now I'm sounding like I own stock in the company. Hey that's not a bad idea!
😀
