I just cancelled cable and bought a Roku...help talk me off of the ledge!

[JoelUpchurch]

@woodstockbirdybird

Yeah, we got rid of our cable and got an antenna, and watch a lot of Netflix streaming on our PS3. Don’t miss it much, except for “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report”. Everything else comes out on DVD/streaming soon enough.

I just watch “The Daily Show” the next day on Hulu, not Hulu+. I also use the Windows Media Center to record shows from my antenna.

[Driver8]

@Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor

That got my attention!

It is a pretty neat device. We’ve had it for a while for Netflix streaming, but are only now fully using it as an alternative to Cable / Satellite. With ours we do the following:

1. Netflix Streaming
2. Amazon Streaming (at a per movie price, typically around $4)
3. Hulu Plus (most currently running shows that we like)
4. Pandora Music Streaming
5. Flickr Picture Viewing

We had Dish for some currently running shows we like, but at over $65 per month versus $8 a month for Hulu Plus on Roku it made sense to ditch Dish. Given that we would purchase high speed internet anyway it is a significantly cheaper option than Cable / Satellite, and in our case covers about 90% of what we had.

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

Can you get cable channels on it?

[Mahaloth]

@Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor

Can you get cable channels on it?

No.

[Larry_Borgia]

@woodstockbirdybird

Yeah, we got rid of our cable and got an antenna, and watch a lot of Netflix streaming on our PS3. Don’t miss it much, except for “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report”. Everything else comes out on DVD/streaming soon enough.

You can watch TDS/CR on the comedy central website, though their player redefines craptastic.

[Lionne]

For those who have Roku already, what’s the advantage over just hooking up your laptop to your TV and streaming that way? That’s what I do currently, and the only issue is moving the laptop around when I want to sit at the table and type proper, but it’s a minor inconvenience. The device starts at $60 - what benefits would I get for that?

[control-z]

@Lionne

For those who have Roku already, what’s the advantage over just hooking up your laptop to your TV and streaming that way? That’s what I do currently, and the only issue is moving the laptop around when I want to sit at the table and type proper, but it’s a minor inconvenience. The device starts at $60 - what benefits would I get for that?

With Roku you’d gain simplicity and a slick little remote control.

If you’re using your laptop that means you technically have access to more content than Roku (such as free Hulu), so I’d keep doing it that way if it’s not too much bother.

[Mahaloth]

@Lionne

For those who have Roku already, what’s the advantage over just hooking up your laptop to your TV and streaming that way? That’s what I do currently, and the only issue is moving the laptop around when I want to sit at the table and type proper, but it’s a minor inconvenience. The device starts at $60 - what benefits would I get for that?

Honestly, convenience and a nice menu/GUI. If you are having zero problems rolling along with your laptop setup like that, do it.

I like the Roku, which is only $60 with no recurring fees and it makes life a bit easier for me. Besides, I only buy 4-5 year old laptops with minimal features, so this works for me.

[Duke_of_Rat]

I’ve had a Roku XD/S for several months and like it fine. It’s nice to be able to stream wireless over my home wifi network and get HDMI output. I just run it into one of the HDMI inputs on my home theatre receiver so the sound comes out of the HT speakers instead of the TV speakers. That’s really what I was after when I got it, and the wireless streaming is just handy.

I just watch Netflix on it now and then, but it’s been dead reliable and the picture quality is not bad.

[AlsoNamedBort]

A couple days in with no cable, and I’m already watching TV a lot less. Actually, strike that. I have less TV on, but I’m actually watching it more. I’m so used to my TV on non-stop, mainly as background noise without actually pay attention to it. Now that I have to make a conscious choice on what to watch, I sit her working on my computer without anything on TV. Then, when I decide to turn something on, I give it my attention.

[GameHat]

This thread’s about a month old. Hope this doesn’t flag it as “zombie”.

I got a Roku a few weeks ago. I’m really happy with it so far, for two reasons:

1. Netflix
   Yeah, I could already stream Netflix through my Blu-ray player. But that interface was clunky and bad, and plus I had to queue anything I wanted to watch, I couldn’t just browse. With the Roku, I can browse Netflix from the TV to find interesting things to watch.

2. Roksbox
   Finally, a media center program that works. I’ve previously tried Windows Media Center through my Xbox, and it flat out told me that file streaming over wireless from PC to TV was impossible. I made several attempts, and it just didn’t work. I set up Roksbox tonight (Yeah, it does cost $15, one time) but it’s already worth it. It’s a bit tech-heavy to set up, but now that it is - neat. I can stream video files, pictures, and music from my PC to my TV over my wireless network. I’ve got an external 1 TB drive that I’m using now just for media. Now to get to ripping all my DVDs and Blu-rays ;D

I’m sure people will chime in with “better!” ideas, but I don’t want a spare media laptop or desktop sitting around, and this seems to work pretty well. So color me pleased.

I’m waiting until the fall season to see if a Hulu+ or something like it can replace my cable TV. I have a pretty limited set of shows that I watch, so it will all depend if I can find a streaming source that is cheaper than my currently pricey Comcast plan.