Netflix and Roku Boxes

[cwasil]

I'm looking at eliminating cable altogether. Quite honestly, I'm tired of the high price for something we don't really use. My (2) younger kids watch Noggin, older 12 year old watches ICarly, Hannah, etc and my wife and I watch news and Law and Order.

Through Netflix I know I can get season 1, 2 etc of all things on Noggin plus the ICarly stuff. I also know that with my older TV's I just need to get those converter boxes along with some antenaes and I should be fine for news and football.

However, there is a function in Netflix that is very similar to Video on Demand. You buy (for $100) a wifi digital video player from Roku. From what I gather, you just que up the movies you want to watch in Netflix and Netflix transmits this though Wi-Fi to the Roku box which then sends this to your TV. Not every movie is available but there are some 17,000 TV's shows, documentaries and movies. Sounds very intriguing.

To go cable free doesn't seem cheap...the converter boxes (since coupons no longer available) are about $50/ea and Roku box is $100. On top of this, Netflix is $20/mnth. But after the initial expense of around $300 for all the above plus antenna's my cost should just be $20/month vs. $80-90/mnth.

My question is pretty much on the Roku...has anyone here had one or are using one. Seems like a real good value for what is offered but I'd like to hear that it actually works the way they claim.

Thank you

 

[tcp_dpm]

I know nothing about Roku, but I bought a Blu-Ray player from Samsung that has a Neflix and Pandora aspect that has been wonderful. I have it hard wired into my network and the streaming aspect of it works great. I have a 3 MB per second connection(I think that is how it is termed) and very rarely ever have lag. We watch old scooby doo, some newer movies, etc. I watched all 4 seasons of the office this way. I would worry with wireless that interference might affect performance. I don't remember if my unit has wireless, but I always go hardwired whenever possible. I would much rather spend money on equipment than on services (ie Roku or blu ray player vs cable service) because if you dont' like it, you can sell it for only a little bit of a loss. You could very easily wire the house so that the signal for the blu ray player could go to all TV's if you have the ability to wire through the walls, etc. All it would take is a signal modulator from Radio Shack. Any questions, I would be able to answer to the best of my ability.

Tom

 

[annsteere]

DH has a relatively new Roku box and thinks it is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

There is a huge list of shows and movies you can download immediately from Netflix (35,000?) One neat feature of this is if you only watch 80 minutes of a show and then have to stop, the movie will start up right where you left it the next day.

You can also order Netflix movies and TV series delivered. They turn around very quickly. You can keep them as long as you want to and then exchange them.

Cutting our cable bill from $80 to $20 per month will pay for the Roku in just two months. (Our set up was only $100).

 

[crisi]

We've had a Roku since pretty early on.

Netflix on demand is a little limiting - there is a lot out there (and more being added), but a lot of it is crap - I haven't cut the cable tie yet. Many of the series on demand are older seasons. But if you are content with what they have on demand (and are paying for a good internet connection) we've had almost no issues. Sometimes the movies are a little choppy when they queue up - but its rare. And if your internet drops, there is a service interruption.

 

[Kies99]

Somehow my cable bill through Comcast is now coming out at $10 a month.

One TV and no DVR, but I still get something like 100 channels (including my local). According to the bill I have "Basic Service" for $8.00 a month and then the "Basic Digital Cnvtr Pkg" for $1.35. Add "Total Taxes, Surcharges & Fees" for $0.80 and my bill is actually $10.15.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

The xbox 360 also has Netflix connectivity.

Let's see, kill zombies or watch Buck Rogers? Sometimes it's so hard to decide...

 

[georgemoe]

I don't have a Roku box (yet) but have Netflix streaming on a Samsung BD player (previously mentioned) and a Tivo HD. I know a lot of Wii users are hoping Netflix streaming gets added there at some point.

The Netflix monthly charge is variable and you could get it cheaper than $20. I have the 1 Out Unlimited Blu-ray plan and that is $11.70 w/tax. You won't find everything on streaming and a lot of it is some older "B' type movies. But supplemented with discs it works great. The wife and I are really pleased.

I'm on a 3mbs DSL line and it works fine for me.

 

[dvcmbr94]

We have had the Roku box since June 2008 and love it. We've been Netflix subscribers since 2001. With Roku, we reduced our subscription to one at a time for only $8.99 a month. We've reduced our cable to basic package for $9.99. Between the two and hulu on the computer, we are able to find plenty to watch. You can also get Amazon video on demand and MLB.com on the Roku. We have several xbox game systems that we also use to access Netflix depending on which room we're in, but my husband loves to watch MLB.com on Roku. Roku is also small enough to move room to room or even bring to a friends house.

 

[dfchelbay]

We just use a laptop to broadcast Netflix instantly to our television. Just hook the laptop up to the AV Input/Output on the television and you get all the watch instantly dvds that Neflix has to offer. We also watch Hulu and Fancast the same way.

If you have a laptop...this option could be free for you.

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

The xbox 360 also has Netflix connectivity.

Let's see, kill zombies or watch Buck Rogers? Sometimes it's so hard to decide...

The boys got an Xbox 360 for Christmas last year. I play games and watch Netflix on it more than they do lol. We dumped cable in January and I haven't looked back. Netflix has more than enough to keep us occupied. Yes, not everything is brand new but I don't mind watching older movies and catching up on the television series I have not seen (just added a few seasons of Lost to my queue).

I've heard good things about Roku but we don't have one. I've also watched Netflix stuff on my computer.

 

[AshleyW]

The boys got an Xbox 360 for Christmas last year. I play games and watch Netflix on it more than they do lol. We dumped cable in January and I haven't looked back. Netflix has more than enough to keep us occupied. Yes, not everything is brand new but I don't mind watching older movies and catching up on the television series I have not seen (just added a few seasons of Lost to my queue).

I've heard good things about Roku but we don't have one. I've also watched Netflix stuff on my computer.

I'm the same way - I'm on our xbox 360 more than my fiance, mostly because of Netflix! We don't have cable and I can ALWAYS find something to watch on Netflix.. right now I'm working on season 2 of "Dexter", and just got done with season 1 of "Californication". As far as the DVDs go, we only get 1 at a time so it's around $10 a month, I think. MUCH cheaper than cable!

I'm thinking about getting my fiance a Roku for his birthday to hook up to our 2nd TV, I've heard nothing but good things about them.

 

[bmr12]

We have a Roku and like it a lot. We only have a standard-def television, but the picture quality is quite good and we have been using it to introduce our tween to some classic movies, like Back to the Future and some Star Trek. My wife streams several TV shows we didn't watch when they first came out, and my daughter watches some Disney channel stuff too.

 

[cglaura]

Somehow my cable bill through Comcast is now coming out at $10 a month.

One TV and no DVR, but I still get something like 100 channels (including my local). According to the bill I have "Basic Service" for $8.00 a month and then the "Basic Digital Cnvtr Pkg" for $1.35. Add "Total Taxes, Surcharges & Fees" for $0.80 and my bill is actually $10.15.

Same here. My basic is $12.60 (I'm in NJ, of course everything is more $$ )

I get Disney & Nick with this basic setup. SyFy (which blows now anyway) and History and lots of other special stations.

But I get a ton of channels. I *think* maybe this is what basic is now after the whole federal digital conversion stuff?

I don't have Roku yet, planning on sometime, but my Netflix is only $9.60 per month. That is 1 dvd at a time, unlimited per month. I usually average around 13 movies per month, they turn around pretty quickly here.

So I cut my cable bill (was full out digital) from $148 digtal cable / internet to $68 basic / internet / netflix.

 

[smokeyblue]

We just hook up our laptops to our TV and use the Netflix streaming. If I had kids I would buy the Roku; I just wouldn't trust kids with the laptops. There are many many popular kids shows and movies, and if they are instant streaming you can just get the DVD's. Netflix is truly a bargain.

I also watch network shows on their website, if I feel like it I'll just hook up the laptop to the TV for that too.

 

[CowboysButterfly]

We live in a place where you either have to get Dish or DirectTV if you want more than the local channels because they don't offer cable back in the woods. I don't have a Roku box but we use Netflix and my son has an XBox and the movies come through just fine. I like being able to watch movies at my own pace and as others have said, the turn around between sending movies back and getting your next one is very fast. I think that if you are wanting to cut cost in the long run it would be well worth it.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

I bought myself a Roku box last Christmas because I was breaking my neck watching Netflix Instant Watch stuff on my laptop and I love it! I even bought one for one of my sisters and am planning on buying one for my DD and family for this Christmas.

As far as content - I am a huge fan of old movies, documentaries and foreign films and I am not likely to live long enough to watch everything I would like. I have over 300 Instant View things in my que right now.

I am getting one for my DD because she is careful about what her children watch and she put what she wants on the list.

For those who like the old tv shows there are many of those also.

You can easily move the box from one TV to another if you want to watch in another room. You do not have to have your computer on at the same time either.

You can go into the site and see what is available and see if it would fit your viewing habits.

Netflix and the Roku box are one of the best things I have ever seen and I believe that this is the future of home entertainment.

Slightly Goofy

 

[cnlmom]

we would like to cancel our expensive dish network competlely. However my hubby and I have very different viewing tastes. Would you need two boxes, one in each room so we could watch seperately?
Also, can you "flip through" things you have in your Q with a remote or do you have to go through your computer?

 

[darrengs]

we would like to cancel our expensive dish network competlely. However my hubby and I have very different viewing tastes. Would you need two boxes, one in each room so we could watch seperately?
Also, can you "flip through" things you have in your Q with a remote or do you have to go through your computer?

You would need 2 boxes to watch 2 things at once, it would also depend on your bandwidth if you were trying to watch at the same time as well as the Netflix plan type. An unlimited plan can watch up to 6 streams at a time where a 1 dvd plan can watch just one at a time.


You can use the remote to flip through your queue.

Also as a side note for xbox360 users you also need an xbox live gold account.

 

[blanq]

We just use a laptop to broadcast Netflix instantly to our television. Just hook the laptop up to the AV Input/Output on the television and you get all the watch instantly dvds that Neflix has to offer. We also watch Hulu and Fancast the same way.

If you have a laptop...this option could be free for you.

We do this as well. We have a spankin brand new Samsung LED to watch on, so it rocks. We also have a blueray player and Xbox, so have all sorts of options to watch Netflix beyond Roku.

To the OP, the Netflix instant play library is subpar, at best.

 

[scrapquitler]

You don't need the Roku Box, you can watch Netflix via Xbox360 if you have one of those, you can also watch on-line on your computer.