Roku? ....want to cancel cable

[Muushka]

Sports is the killer for many people when it comes to cutting cable/satellite, just not there yet..

That is us. In May when NASCAR switches to ESPN, we will pick up either satellite or cable.

 

[Bungle]

I bought a roku and hated it. Returned it two days later. Luckily they stand by their 30 day money back policy.

We really wanted it to work. Even tried hooking it up with hdmi cables and it was still blurry/skippy. Hard to explain.

eta: yes we did buy the hd box.

 

[JB2K]

But can also watch Youtube content and shows from the network websites???

Not exactly...

As YouTube goes, there is (IMO) absolutely nothing on there that would motivate me to drop cable. It is mainly amateur video (or in some cases, reposting of copyrighted material, which is a no-no), which is great if you want to watch a budding artist like ForrestFire101 animate his Lego figures.

About the network websites, for some reason or another, CBS (and their related companies) seems to be the lone holdout and will not put their current on-air content on Hulu or Netflix. You "could" hook the laptop up to the TV and watch from the CBS website, but I consider that to be somewhat cumbersome.

 

[JB2K]

We really wanted it to work. Even tried hooking it up with hdmi cables and it was still blurry/skippy. Hard to explain.

Easy to explain - your internet speed was probably too slow; the entry-level/budget tier of high speed internet usually cannot support constantly streaming video, especially any video with a high-definition picture.

 

[cglaura]

That option is already on borrowed time, as "analog cable" (cable without a set-top box, which is usually local network affiliates and the home shopping channels) is likely to become extinct sometime in 2012.

Ah well, then I'll be saving $10.50 a month

Although that would probably mean I'd lose the bundle discount on my internet, so probably won't save anything at all as I won't want the digital package.

No biggie, I can't even remember the last time I watched it, I just have it b/c it is less than internet alone.

I only mentioned it b/c they said they wanted to watch shows like American Idol, etc. Thought it might be an option. For me personally, I don't need them available.

I bought a roku and hated it. Returned it two days later. Luckily they stand by their 30 day money back policy.

We really wanted it to work. Even tried hooking it up with hdmi cables and it was still blurry/skippy. Hard to explain.

eta: yes we did buy the hd box.

Wondering too if it is your connection. I have it on an old crt tv and it looks the same if not better than a dvd. Could have had a defective box maybe? There are blueray players that do the same thing, maybe you can look into that. Or if you have a Wii, Xbox or PS3.

 

[Muushka]

Ah well, then I'll be saving $10.50 a month

Although that would probably mean I'd lose the bundle discount on my internet, so probably won't save anything at all as I won't want the digital package.

No biggie, I can't even remember the last time I watched it, I just have it b/c it is less than internet alone.

I only mentioned it b/c they said they wanted to watch shows like American Idol, etc. Thought it might be an option. For me personally, I don't need them available.



Wondering too if it is your connection. I have it on an old crt tv and it looks the same if not better than a dvd. Could have had a defective box maybe? There are blueray players that do the same thing, maybe you can look into that. Or if you have a Wii, Xbox or PS3.

We were streaming Netflix in on our blueray player. The picture was not good. Pixels, just pretty poor.
Then we got a faster internet connection and WOW! What a difference. Now the picture is as sharp as the HD satellite we dumped!

 

[fakereadhed]

Yes. It streams in high def, which Wii doesn't.

If you want to watch current tv shows, you'll need a subscription to hulu plus, or you can watch many on your computer through the network sites. Although you can watch current Starz series through Netflix on Roku.

Hulu plus doesn't offer much current tv. We cancelled it!

 

[Colleen27]

As others have said, sports are the killer. We're baseball fans and MLB's streaming agreement frankly sucks. It blacks out your local team (which in our area is ONLY available on cable/satellite - no network coverage at all) and "local" is defined in such a way that many areas are subject to multiple blackouts. So for the time being we're stuck with traditional programming packages if we want to be able to watch the Tigers.

 

[Frannie115]

Thanks all for the great info! I think we'll give Roku a try. We have Roadrunner fast internet.

Believe it or not, we do not watch sports. So that's OK. Don't watch CBS shows either.

We do not have Comcast in this area but I'll check with Time Warner for a cheap basic line up. I'm not sure we could go without American Idol this season. I'm sure the converter box and rabbit ears would work, too.

 

[living20057]

I just brought the Roku box. Hopefully it will work out

 

[Bungle]

Easy to explain - your internet speed was probably too slow; the entry-level/budget tier of high speed internet usually cannot support constantly streaming video, especially any video with a high-definition picture.

I have comcast with blast. Its plenty fast. Must have been a bad box Whatever the issue was its okay, they did return my money. I'm not saying that they aren't great for others, it just didn't work out for us.

 

[Frannie115]

I'm ordering ours today. Now to just get the nerve to get rid of the landline phone

 

[DawnM]

Is this through TWC?

TWC told us we can only get $11 basic cable that is NOT in HD, or we can pay $50 for the next level.

If TWC is indeed offering a HD cable basic option, I am quite sure we will be looking into it!

Thanks,

Dawn

Love the Roku. We kept our most basic cable ($17 a month) which includes all the major networks and PBS in HD. We bought the mid-level Roku box and it's direct-wired to the router via CAT-5 cable. It will work wirelessly, but it's much faster wired. We have Netflix, Hulu Plus and soon I will be adding MLB TV. Our local cable provider offers the Padres games in HD for free, but this way we can watch our beloved Red Sox any time, any day, all season. Love it. We also use our Netflix and Hulu Plus on our iPad, too. It's like having an extra portable TV.

 

[DawnM]

I have cell service that is not unlimited calling, so we got Ooma phone service.

$199 at Costco.com but the only charges I have beyond that are $11 per year for taxes.

We have had it for 18 months and it has been great.

Dawn

I'm ordering ours today. Now to just get the nerve to get rid of the landline phone

 

[Muushka]

I have cell service that is not unlimited calling, so we got Ooma phone service.

$199 at Costco.com but the only charges I have beyond that are $11 per year for taxes.

We have had it for 18 months and it has been great.

Dawn

Dawn, do you need to always have your computer on to receive calls on Ooma?

 

[DawnM]

No. It is plugged into the modem itself, so you do need a cable modem, but it can work without the computer on.

Basic service comes with:

Caller ID
Call waiting
voicemail

and a couple of other features.

There is a premium service for $79/year that includes more than one line, call forwarding, and some other features I don't remember off hand. We don't need/want it, so I am not entirely sure.

I even downloaded an Ooma app on my ipod touch and can make calls for 2 cents per min. if I am in a wi-fi range and the caller id shows up as my home number! You can use it on any iphone or android cell phone as well if you have a data/internet plan (which I don't!)

Dawn

Dawn, do you need to always have your computer on to receive calls on Ooma?

 

[Muushka]

Thank you Dawn! We got rid of our land line last year and the other day my husband admitted he missed not having a 'home phone'.
I will look into getting Ooma.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

This is through Cox Cable.

Is this through TWC?

TWC told us we can only get $11 basic cable that is NOT in HD, or we can pay $50 for the next level.

If TWC is indeed offering a HD cable basic option, I am quite sure we will be looking into it!

Thanks,

Dawn

 

[elf]

I'm the one holding us back from cutting cable and I rarely watch TV but I love Turner Classic Movies. The only other show I watch is American Idol which I only started last year, but this year I really love it. Otherwise all my kids shows seem to be available on computer.

Anyway to get Turner Classic Movie's without cable?

 

[JB2K]

Anyway to get Turner Classic Movie's without cable?

Doubtful, as the whole Turner empire is built entirely on a family of pay cable networks.