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Old 11-22-20, 08:53 PM  
Jennifer R
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Location: Sonoma County, CA
I have had 3 Rokus over the last I think 8 or so years (at least) The one I have now is definitely not one of the latest; it's a stick that plugs in to the HDMI port on the TV.

They have all been plug and play and absolutely trouble free. Additional expense is for premium channels if you want them; we have decided to cut our cable this month after realizing we use our Roku almost exclusively and could stream tons more channels (if we wanted to) for what cable costs.
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Old 11-22-20, 11:18 PM  
BunnyHop
 
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Thank you all for the encouragement. sounds pretty straightforward.

So far, I don't have any subscription services at all. I keep thinking I might go with Essentrics, but that's ridiculous because I have so many dvds. (Since when has that ever slowed me down, right?)
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Old 11-22-20, 11:34 PM  
adawn
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Hopefully this posts without getting the dreaded 500 error.

There are some apps on roku with free content. For example, PBS has an app and some of their shows are free to stream (like Frontline). But you'd need a PBS Passport subscription for viewing shows like Endeavour and other Masterpiece stuff.

Also, your public library may give you access to Hoopla or Kanopy. We get 15 free episodes or movies a month per library card in our household on the Hoopla app. We use the Hoopla app a lot now. We just downloaded it through the roku, logged in through our library, and streamed away.

Our library also offers 1-week free acorntv passes that you can check out using your library card.

The only other free app we've tried is plutotv because they had the series The Shadow Line for free on there. Well, there were so many frequent and long commercial interruptions, it made the show almost impossible to watch. We gave up finally 15 minutes in (but don't worry, we later found out that Hoopla had The Shadow Line and we streamed all the episodes there via our library account).

We also pay for netflix and share the service with my uncle and he pays for amazon prime and shares it with us. Every once in a while we do a free 1-month trial of Hulu or get a special email deal on Hulu. And once a year we subscribe to HBO and Showtime for a month or two to catch up on our favorite shows (though I recently discovered our library has a massive dvd collection with most of the shows I watch on netflix, prime, HBO, PBS masterpiece, etc. So I've been renting some dvds curbside from the library during the pandemic for tv series binges).
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Old 11-23-20, 05:59 AM  
antbuko
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
I have a Roku TV in the living room and then a Roku Express in the bedroom. I'm not sure which model is the plus, but I'll tell you what I don't like about the Express. The bedroom TV is not 4K, so that's why I only needed the Express, but that said, I don't like that I still have to use a separate remote in the bedroom for volume control and powering the TV on and off, and I don't like that it has to re-download a channel if I haven't used it in a few days. These are not huge inconveniences, just features I dislike. The Roku TV in the living room has one remote for everything, it has voice capabilities which is convenient when searching for a channel or show so that you don't have to type in what you are looking for. Have you checked out Roku's comparison chart to see which one meets your needs?

https://www.roku.com/products/players

ETA: Whatever model you choose, they are all easy peasy to install.
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Old 11-23-20, 07:47 AM  
Rhonda
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: MI
We got Roku and gave up Satellite TV. Saves us over $100 a month. WE use Hulu/Netflix the most. I subscribe to FRNDLY TV just because I like the Hallmark stations (hubby doesn't ) but I watch the movies by myself.

We weren't sure if this would work where we are as our internet is slllooowww but luckily we haven't had any issues.

We haven't looked back and enjoy it.
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Old 11-23-20, 08:44 AM  
Mopsy
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Originally Posted by BunnyHop View Post
Thank you all for the encouragement. sounds pretty straightforward.

So far, I don't have any subscription services at all. I keep thinking I might go with Essentrics, but that's ridiculous because I have so many dvds. (Since when has that ever slowed me down, right?)
I never thought I would pay a monthly subscription for anything, but I now have two, including Essentrics. I have many of their DVDs, but I absolutely love ETV. There are lots more workouts, and the variety of instructors keeps it interesting. They are all so good, and each has their own form pointers.

For general Roku info: yes, it's easy, and this is one time I feel I'm actually caught up with some technology (don't mind the tube tv in the basement ). The one warning I remember is, if you're using a paid subscription, make sure you pay through the company's website, not through the Roku. There are scams and third parties sneaking in. Roku will not ask for money, only passwords when you set it up. I'm not sure if I have that right, but just be careful.

I have two Rokus, both were about $25. I'm not sure if they're the same model, but I got the more basic ones because my tv's are pretty basic. It has now become another gadget that gets added to my packing list when I travel.
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Old 11-23-20, 09:08 AM  
Diana3271
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: South Carolina
Maybe someone can help with my question. My DH likes The Weather Channel. If we were to cut the cable and do Roku/streaming, etc. I have no clue about this stuff. Is there a weather channel on there that's free with no additional cost? TIA
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Old 11-23-20, 09:20 AM  
sillygirl
 
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Maybe someone can help with my question. My DH likes The Weather Channel. If we were to cut the cable and do Roku/streaming, etc. I have no clue about this stuff. Is there a weather channel on there that's free with no additional cost? TIA
FrndlyTV has The Weather Channel on their list of 15 channels. I subscribe for the 3 Hallmark Channels. Price options are $5.99, $7.99, and $9.99/mth.

https://try.frndlytv.com/
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Old 11-23-20, 09:21 AM  
horsemom2
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: NJ
I love the ROKU Express which has some great apps BUT
(there is always a but)

If I had an Amazon fire stick already I would just get another because the ROKU is a bit harder to access websites without a ROKU app.
Thankfully, the Web Video Caster app on a mobile phone bridged that gap, enabling me to load videos from sites like WOW on the ROKU.
Youtube has annoying ads on the ROKU.
HBO MAX is not on the ROKU yet though recently added to the Amazon fire stick.

Recently, I got a Chromecast for another tv which casts website videos and mobile apps really easily BUT (here we go with another but)
it, too, works much better with a mobile device than a chrome browser on Windows.
Some websites when casted from a nearby laptop chrome browser tab have garbled audio.
I can cast the desktop to overcome that problem but using a mobile phone is so much easier.
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Old 11-23-20, 01:17 PM  
Marylandmom
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Mind if I join the conversation??

How does it work, exactly? Is the price you pay at the store for the unit the only expense beyond having an internet connection in the house?


I feel so dumb about this, but I ditched cable earlier in the year and am wondering what else is out there.
The only price you pay is for the cost of the Roku, and if you decide to pay for apps that are not free. I have a Roku in my bedroom and it is sooo easy to hook up. I have the newer model and it is much faster than the older one I had.
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