Best free Roku channels?

[3angelsmom]

We recently purchased a Roku and I'm thinking about cutting, or at least downgrading, our cable. But I'm having a hard time selling DH on this. We have an Amazon Prime subscription and I'm looking into HuluPlus. I've also added some of the free movie channels, news & others based on our interests.

So, can anyone recommend their favorite *free* channels? Or paid subscriptions that give you the best bang for your buck? I think the problem is that DH is trying to replicate everything he currently watches on cable on the Roku, and if I'm not careful I'll end up with monthly paid subscriptions close to what I'm paying for cable now.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I don't use any of Roku's free channels; they aren't very good. We use Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon.

You won't be able to use your Roku to completely duplicate cable.

 

[cmwade77]

Hulu+, Netflix and Amazon Prine combined will come pretty close to cable. Depending on where you live, add an antenna and free over the air programming and you really don't need cable. If you are into sports, you can usually buy a sports pads that works on Roku (or other device, such as Playstation, Xbox, etc. that you might have) from what I understand (disclaimer: We are NOT into sports, this is just what I hear) this is of course not free, but even when combined with the above services will cost less than a cable bill in most areas.

 

[wiigirl]

Netflix, Hulu+, Amazon....can't go wrong.

 

[beavismom]

For free channels, we like Crackle and Crunchyroll (only if you, or your kids, are into anime type stuff). There is also Plex which will allow you to stream whatever is available on the CBS website. CBS shows are not available through Hulu Plus or Amazon Prime.

 

[DawnM]

Cancelled Hulu+. 90% of what I watch is on CBS and they don't stream CBS.

We have an antenna and Netflix and Amazon Prime.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

There really aren't any good free Roku channels.

I have a fitness one I use now and then (All Fitness??) with some decent, older workout videos.

I like the Pandora station for streaming music (well, I did until I got my IPad docking station with nice speakers).

I like the LifeChurchTV app...the pastor is very interesting and we watch that on the weekend sometimes intead of going to church.


That's about it...I watch Amazon Prime and Netflix.

 

[JessB320]

Cancelled Hulu+. 90% of what I watch is on CBS and they don't stream CBS.

We have an antenna and Netflix and Amazon Prime.

They do steam CBS now started in Jan, not sure how fast they are adding shows but there are over 20 CBS shows on there now.

 

[pocomom]

Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon are our main ones. We already had netflix and Amazon prime when we dropped cable so I don't really count the expense under tv cable, also Plex we use for youtube stuff and our digital movies. most free channels aren't great but they are fun to experiment with. We have one for news and a cooking one we watch regularly.

 

[DawnM]

They are from the CBS "vault" ie: old shows. Most of those shows are available on Netflix as well.

ALL current CBS shows say, "this show is available from CBS.com."

They do steam CBS now started in Jan, not sure how fast they are adding shows but there are over 20 CBS shows on there now.

 

[cltk78]

The ones we watch/use the most are Amazon, Crackle, Pandora, Disney, and Flixster.

 

[beavismom]

They are from the CBS "vault" ie: old shows. Most of those shows are available on Netflix as well.

ALL current CBS shows say, "this show is available from CBS.com."

You can stream current CBS shows to a Roku via the Plex channel. The only shows that are available are those that are available on CBS.com, but it gives you the ability to watch them on your tv without hooking it up to a computer. Plex also offers a USA network channel and others as well.

 

[lebeauc]

I'm into a lot of tech stuff, so I use the Revision3 channel a lot (along with Netflix, Hulu+, and some Amazon). As others have stated, Roku won't be able to match what you get with cable, but you can fill it in with different programming. We dropped satellite last year and opted for an Antenna with Roku. We have 2 Roku's and the antenna picks up all the major broadcast stations. If you need to record shows from the antenna, you can use a box called an HDHomeRun and record the shows on windows media center. We are saving $60+ per month, compared to when we had satellite.

 

[torinsmom]

For free channels, we like Crackle and Crunchyroll (only if you, or your kids, are into anime type stuff). There is also Plex which will allow you to stream whatever is available on the CBS website. CBS shows are not available through Hulu Plus or Amazon Prime.

Plex is free?

 

[Lilliputian]

I like the Roku news channel, and you can get news channels from a few different broadcasters (NBC and Fox for sure, and maybe some others). I used to like to watch the Today Show segments on the NBC channel, but they've changed it to where it's all entertainment-type stuff now, and since we don't watch any new TV, go to movies, or listen to mainstream music, we get nothing out of it now.

The other free channels I use most often are Sermon Audio and Sudoku. (I might have paid less than $5 for Sudoku, but I don't remember for sure.) My kids like Angry Birds, which my husband might have paid money for as well.

 

[beavismom]

Plex is free?

Yes, it is! You have to sign up for an account if I remember correctly, but there is for sure no charge.

 

[3angelsmom]

OP here. Thanks for the great suggestions.

I downloaded plex and was already looking into an antenna....can't wait to check out the other channels mentioned.

Yeah, I know I can't replicate cable exactly, but I'm hoping I can get DH hooked on some new interesting programming so we can move toward cutting the cord.

 

[Debic]

I don't use any of Roku's free channels; they aren't very good. We use Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon.

You won't be able to use your Roku to completely duplicate cable.

You are right, about not duplicating cable. But when you think about it how many worthless channels are there on cable compared to ones we watch all the time. We started using Roku this last Dec. as were tired of the rising cable TV prices.

Agreed, the Roku store does not have the best channels, private channels are often better and the best free Roku channels we found are on the channel list at: mkvXstream

Nowhere TV is a private channel we watch all the time. Another channel we use often is the Plex channel, your computer needs to be on and it will stream any movies or tv shows in avi or mkv you may happen to have on your computer.

If you have cable internet, Epix is free from many cable providers and they offer a ton of movies like Netflix without any additional monthly fees.

VideoBuzz is another channel that will let you watch YouTube content on Roku. By adding codes to YouTube channels into VideoBuzz you can see all the content from that channel on your Roku.

We love Crackle another free movie channel although it has a few annoying commercials.

While there are many channels on Roku, some are not as good just like cable. With an HD antenna, and Roku plus some of the better channels, we are happily saving money every month and not missing Cable TV at all.

 

[MineMail]

Pop Felix is pretty good, if you like really old sitcoms like Petticoat Junction, Beverly Hillbillies, Bonanza, etc. we've watched a few documentaries on the Smithsonian Channel.

 

[DawnM]

I actually have Playon, which is similar but came before Plex.

The thing I don't like about it is that you have to have a PC running the program while you stream. I think plex is the same?

Dawn

You can stream current CBS shows to a Roku via the Plex channel. The only shows that are available are those that are available on CBS.com, but it gives you the ability to watch them on your tv without hooking it up to a computer. Plex also offers a USA network channel and others as well.