Cutting Cable-Roku?

Joined
Dec 6, 2019
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Location
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Old guy here so be kind...
Due to the belt tightening at our house I want to find some obvious cost cutting measures.
Job is uncertain and will at the least be a reduction in pay.
Cable seems to be an area of savings.
What has been your experience with streaming TV with the Roku devices via WiFi?
Can't wire them directly to Ethernet so our WiFi will need to support three Roku/TV devices.
Hearing that YouTube TV is the favorite subscription package in the area.
Anybody using Roku and subscribe to YouTube?
I'm doing good to download an App so talk in terms that I-dummy can understand please.
Thanks.
 
I love my Roku. I use it mainly for youtube, no issues with the Wifi here. I don't see a need for TV now, and can get most of my news online.
 
Roku is the way to go, dont join any subscription services until you check out all the unlimited free shows and movies.

Once you do that, then you can go from there. We have 5 (maybe 6) Roku players in our home, have not paid for cable TV for the last 8 to 10 years.
We still have WAY, WAY too much TV to watch.

We get all major networks through an attic antenna. (though you can get them streaming somehow) Attic antenna delivers superior picture then our pay TV cable picture did years ago.
The rest we get from Streaming through Roku. There is so much content on Roku its rare we ever watch major network stations anymore.

So here is the deal and what we pay for.
We Subscribe to Netflex and Hulu, total cost $20 or less a month. Netflex has some really good shows and Hulu too.

We do get Amazon free but only for the last year and the ONLY reason we have it, is my daughter in another state shares her password with us and we share our netflex with her.
I also have a free year of Apple TV because it came free with a computer I just bought.

Anyway, your options are endless, god bless for trying to escape from the TV world monopoly, even if your a bit late, late is better then never.

If you want, right now, run this speed test by clicking on the link and let me know the results. If you will have a constant 3 TVs streaming at one time, you really want to be above 25Mbps ... download speed
....
http://speedtest.att.com/speedtest/

_________

On my god! Al in the post below recommends Ooma phone, Absolutely ! If you like to maintain an landline besides your cell phone, $5 a month and you will get EXACTLY the same phone service as your pay TV company gives you. We have had Ooma for years and years now, totally flawless service.
 
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I did this several years ago. For the most part you don't get live programs unless you pay. I have a high digital antenna so I get NBC. But I can't get Fox. So I like roko though. I could go back to the TV service again (Comcast) at a fantastic price. But for now not interested. I also use Ooma internet phone for $5/month. The $100 upfront cost for the hardware is worth it. I decided not to port over my phone and the result is I get almost no robo calls.
 
If you need live TV then YouTube or Hulu will provide local channels for around $35 a month. If you don't need live TV then you get a Roku and pay a few bucks a month for HULU and you will have plenty of junk to watch. I mainly just search YouTube for car/engine videos anyways, works well.
 
Good information. I really appreciate it. Cell phones are next. Tired of being squeezed by Verizon too.
 
No issues with WIFI and Roku.

Don't forget to review the data cap on your internet service because streaming TV is going to have an impact on usage especially if you stream HD content.
 
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Roku is a great service to have but keep in mind, and sorry if this is obvious but it's not to some people, you will still need a fast broadband Internet to use it. Your home wifi is most likely at least as fast as your Internet connection so wifi to your devices should be fine.

Also, some people have an issue for needing to provide Roku with a credit card even if you never plan to buy additional services. No way to get around that.
 
I got Roku for Xfinity channels plus youtube tv for other cable channels like CNN, MSNBC, AMC, TBS, TCM, etc. Ditched the cable box 2 yrs ago when we moved. More channels on Xfinity requires a box. Also have Apple TV that came free with Directvnow couple years ago. Roku Ultra more money than stick but works better IMHO. Tried sticks first. Had Hulu for a while until Better Call Saul came back. No AMC on Hulu so switched to Youtube TV. Subscriptions cost about the same no matter. Channels and interface differ a little between the services. Try free for a week to see what you like best.
 
Originally Posted by alarmguy

On my god! Al in the post below recommends Ooma phone, Absolutely ! If you like to maintain an landline besides your cell phone, $5 a month and you will get EXACTLY the same phone service as your pay TV company gives you. We have had Ooma for years and years now, totally flawless service.

I wasn't born stupid.
cheers3.gif
 
Originally Posted by PontiacHO
Didn't even think of data cap. Thanks. See, I need guidance here.


We cant help you if you dont help us.
Too much mystery here. we shouldn't need to ask these questions if you want help... (unless you didnt think of it *L*)

Who is your internet provider?
Have you done the speed test I suggested at http://speedtest.att.com/speedtest/ ??????

If so what are the results ????
 
Originally Posted by PontiacHO
Good information. I really appreciate it. Cell phones are next. Tired of being squeezed by Verizon too.

If you happen to have Spectrum in your area, and you use cell phones, check on the price for Spectrum Mobile-it can be as cheap as a home phone if you're not a big mobile data user. They run on Verizon's system too!
 
Also, if you have Roku, sign up for BritBox for about $7-8/month. Get a HUGE number of British TV shows, all basically high quality. Lots of mysteries, police shows, gardening, history, etc.
 
Originally Posted by PontiacHO
Old guy here so be kind...
Due to the belt tightening at our house I want to find some obvious cost cutting measures.
Job is uncertain and will at the least be a reduction in pay.
Cable seems to be an area of savings.
What has been your experience with streaming TV with the Roku devices via WiFi?
Can't wire them directly to Ethernet so our WiFi will need to support three Roku/TV devices.
Hearing that YouTube TV is the favorite subscription package in the area.
Anybody using Roku and subscribe to YouTube?
I'm doing good to download an App so talk in terms that I-dummy can understand please.
Thanks.


I agree that Roku is the way to go. I have tried streaming with a smart TV and odd things would happen while streaming. Bought a Roku and used it to stream to same TV and no problems.

Most streaming services have a week free so minds well try them all. We have Amazon Prime for the shipping so the streaming video is kind of free. Netflix is cheap, around $10. Hulu is cheap unless you want live TV and then a big jump in price to $54. Sling can also do live TV and the option to do that is $44. Never tried YouTube. Also Disney+.
 
Roku fan here. I have 3 in my house and its the best one of of the major 3; chromecast and amazon stick/box as the other 2.

Also get an antenna for local channels. I put a large one in my attic and connected it to my main coax line in the house.


As for streaming services netflix is the only 1 I would say is a must all the time. If you have amazon prime then theirs is included and they have some good shows as well. Hulu is ok but not worth keeping 100% of the time. Not enough new/good content, let alone commercials, to keep. Sign up for a free month, binge anything you want, then turn off. The other services don;t have enough, at least right now, to make it worth to keep; like cbs, disney, etc...
Great thing about streaming is you can add/remove at anytime. So if one gets a must watch show then wait for the season to end and then sign up for a month to watch it all.
 
2 yrs back my wife and i got mad with optimum now altice and we decided cut ties with them. we have netflix which costs went up also had hulu plus live tv the cost went up than she found out she didnt have enough shows she added on this philo tv.. we had a pretty good promo with fios again 2 yrs back 39.99 for 50/50 internet give or take we saw better speeds than 50/50 and even though the price has gone up now our internet is around $55 per month with taxes and we are seeing better than 50/50 for the most part so maybe we did get a speed bump.

i am not exactly sure what we are paying per month "thats her deal" now but no big savings long story short if you are a tv junkie there isn't much to save when you need multiple subscriptions to make up for what cable tv provides. me i am ok with internet and pluto tv which is free. a big savings i guess one to consider is no equipment rental fees. i own my router and the equipment that fios installed doesn't appear on the bill.
 
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A couple of things. Don't be surprised if your wifi costs nearly doubles once you drop cable and/or phone. Your cable company knows they got you. I have Spectrum wifi and their streaming service (no phone). It includes high speed wifi, local channels (Syracuse) and 10 non premium channels (ESPN, TBS, TNT, etc). I pay $99 a month. I use Roku to ger the Spectrum streaming service. I also have Amazon Prime TV through Roku and Netflix. There are tons of free TV through Roku, some live.

Before you switch, be honest about how much TV you watch. I tend to watch sports and syndicated TV rather than current TV series or movies. So my setup works great for me...kind of tough during this pandemic though.

Good luck.
 
Another Ooma user here at ~$5 a month. I use this for most of my calls. My cell is through Republic Wireless with a plan they no longer offer...about $13 a month on a Moto G3. A similar plan is now ~$20 per month. Price goes up depending on your data plan.
Rooftop antenna is used for local TV watching. I also have an Nvidia Shield (similar device to a Roku) and have YouTubeTV at $53 per month.
Cox internet is $88 for 150 down/10 up. I bought my own cable modem and a router for wifi.
 
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