Roku for dummies. Can you please explain the pros and cons of Roku?

[wishesuponastar]

How can you get news channels? Do you need basic cable for that?

Is there something other than Roku that can be used instead of cable/satellite?

 

[Nayan]

Roku doesn't have channels, they have apps. What kind of news are you looking for? If you want one of the major news channels then you will either need cable/sat service or you will have to subscribe to one of the streaming services like Sling or Playstation Vue.

 

[BrianL]

Roku isn't really for watching "channels" and it does not have like news stations and such. What it has is the ability to setup different apps like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc. Of course, you have to be members of these to watch them, but there are some free ones too that might have old movies and TV shows on them.

So, Roku is really just a way of making a non-smart TV work like a smart TV. They are simple to use and easier than hooking up a computer to your TV to watch Netflix. That's all it really does.

 

[usnuzuloose]

I love my roku. I have had it for about 6 years. Some of them you may have to pay for. But you can pick and choose.

 

[Magpie]

We have Roku. We were happy enough with it, that we gave up cable.

We watched the recent debates on YouTube, no problem at all.

Mostly, we watch YouTube, Sky News and Netflix, but I also sometimes watch the Ted Talk channel. The only one we pay for is Netflix, the others are all free (except you do pay your internet service provider for the data).

What's especially convenient, is that we can cast YouTube from any internet-connected device in the house. In the evening, we sometimes like to sit around together finding music videos on YouTube and casting them on the big TV for everyone to enjoy.

 

[Katie Dawn]

We have had a Roku for a few years and more recently added an Amazon Firestick. The Roku won't stream any cable channels. If you want to cut your cable but still get your local news stations you'll have to attach an antenna to your house. Check the signal first before you cancel the cable though... not all homes will get a strong enough signal to be able to pick up the local channels.

It sounds like that's your main question but if you have others I'll be glad to share our experience!

 

[wishesuponastar]

Roku doesn't have channels, they have apps. What kind of news are you looking for? If you want one of the major news channels then you will either need cable/sat service or you will have to subscribe to one of the streaming services like Sling or Playstation Vue.

Looking for local news and world news. So Sling can provide that?

Thank you all for your replies. we also are interested in viewing movies.

 

[Nayan]

Local news you would need an antenna for, but Roku does have some free ones like CBS, Sky News and RT. Sling offers these.

 

[wishesuponastar]

We have had a Roku for a few years and more recently added an Amazon Firestick. The Roku won't stream any cable channels. If you want to cut your cable but still get your local news stations you'll have to attach an antenna to your house. Check the signal first before you cancel the cable though... not all homes will get a strong enough signal to be able to pick up the local channels.

It sounds like that's your main question but if you have others I'll be glad to share our experience!

Thank you. I will look up a Firestick.

Do you get these shows on Roku...Bill Maher from HBO and the Superbowl and other football games?

 

[Nayan]

Bill Maher can only be gotten from HBO. HBO has it's own stand-alone streaming channel which is $15/month. For sports (especially football) you need either an antenna or a cable package.

To try and explain what Roku is (as well as Amazons Firestick or Google's Chromecast), think of it as an iPhone for your TV. Your phone has apps you can download, like Netflix, Hulu, etc and the streaming devices are the same. It is not a TV tuner and you cannot operate it like a cable/sat box.

 

[dotfurio]

We use Roku. We have an antenna we got at RadioShack to watch local stations. One station always comes in good. For the rest it's spotty, though, and depends on the time of day. It seems to work best in the morning, but later in the day the signal freezes or cuts out on most stations.

We pay for subscriptions to Hulu, Netflix, and seasonally to HBO. We also occasionally buy season passes on Amazon to series we just can't wait to watch, like Walking Dead or Amerian Horror Story. Even with our internet from the cable company, it's still cheaper than cable.

 

[MrJT]

I used a Roku for years. If you don't want live TV, it is great.

 

[rwdavis2]

Go to roku.com and look at the channel list. There are tons but probably none of the ones you want.

 

[Nayan]

Go to roku.com and look at the channel list. There are tons but probably none of the ones you want.

This is a big reason why I still have DirecTV. I ditched Netflix since they have nothing I really want to watch and being a huge sports fan streaming doesn't work for me.

 

[Rhie]

Yea, apps aren't really like channels, like other people said. For news just read it online and find the website of the news channel I like. Its more up to the minute anyway. Roku has all kinds of apps for different channels - CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, PBS etc all have their own app. Some are free, some are not. Whether or not you need a cable subscription to log in to the app really depends on the cable company in your area. You can search the channel list online for news and see what comes up. Premium cable channels like Starz, Showtime and HBO have their own apps or add-on services for an extra fee. But then you can get all the shows.

I like my Roku because I can easily access all my video apps. SyFy, Hulu, Amazon, Netflix, PBS, etc all have Roku apps. I do have a tv subscription for a few things that aren't yet streaming. Once the last few companies catch up to the 21st century, I'll get rid of it and get SlingTv or something.

 

[Bren's Mom]

We have a Roku box on one tv which we don't have a cable box on (in our guest room). We pay for Netflix, and can watch Netflix on it. We have HBO through our cable provider, so we can use the HBO GO app on the Roku box and watch HBO shows that way.

We also have a FireStick. I learned that some apps are available on FireStick and not on Roku, and vice versa. (WWE Network being one.)

Also to note if you do buy a Roku box...some are not equipped to offer the various user profiles some 'apps' offer. For example: If you have Netflix you're allowed 4 users. Each one has his/her own 'wish list', it keeps track of what you're watching, picks up where you leave off, etc. But the Netflix app on Roku doesn't support that. You can still access all the shows, but it only picks up where you left off on the main user's profile, not any of the others.

 

[MrJT]

Also to note if you do buy a Roku box...some are not equipped to offer the various user profiles some 'apps' offer. For example: If you have Netflix you're allowed 4 users. Each one has his/her own 'wish list', it keeps track of what you're watching, picks up where you leave off, etc. But the Netflix app on Roku doesn't support that. You can still access all the shows, but it only picks up where you left off on the main user's profile, not any of the others.

What Roku are you using? I have a Roku 3, and our Netflix has four accounts that we switch back and forth with.

 

[Bren's Mom]

What Roku are you using? I have a Roku 3, and our Netflix has four accounts that we switch back and forth with.

It's a Roku SE I think. Was a Black Friday deal last year, $25. I do know that some, like yours, do offer all the accounts. But the one we have doesn't. I probably still would have bought it, but figured others might want to know they're not all the same.

 

[rer1972]

Love our roku's. We got rid of our dishnetwork service at over $100 a month, and have been using Playstation Vue since. We are very happy with it. It provides almost every channel we had on dish for about 1/2 the price ($44.00 a month). It also will let us select shows that we want to record, and watch when we want (DVR like). We've always had netfilx, so we keep using that as well.

I highly recommend taking a 10 day test run with playstation vue to see if meets your needs. I believe they have 3-4 tiers ranging from $29.99/mo to $64.99/mo.

 

[MrJT]

It's a Roku SE I think. Was a Black Friday deal last year, $25. I do know that some, like yours, do offer all the accounts. But the one we have doesn't. I probably still would have bought it, but figured others might want to know they're not all the same.

That makes sense. I've had the 3 since early 2014, I think. Right around the time that the WWE Network debuted. We were using the 2 before that. But I wanted something that I could connect using an Ethernet cable.