ROKU Streaming Stick Plus

[Bay Kid]

Does anyone use this? Can it be bought locally?

[RalphM]

We bought three of them at Walmart. They work very nicely and installation is simple. I'm sure you know you must have wi-fi.

[Daddymac]

Best Buy, Or Walmart. $50.00

[Will VDS]

We bought the Amazon Fire stick, we are very happy with it, if you are a Amazon Prime Member you get hundreds of free movies plus shows and much more.

[OCsun]

Another thumbs up for the ROKU! Easy to install and use.

[Sgroemm]

ROKU steams content over the internet using your WiFi. You can get free channels from ROKU but they do air commercials. You can also stream Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Sling TV, Direct TV now, etc. using the ROKU but you have to pay a small fee for each to get the passwords. For example, Netflix is about $10 per month. Clear picture and only interruption of service- when your internet goes down.

I think this is the wave of future TV, cable companies have continually raised their prices year after year and consumers have had enough. Remember when TV's had a dial you turned for channels and it was free? The $200+ monthly bills most people pay with Comcast/Xfinity/etc. are more than a small car payment. Something needs to change and streaming TV along with a local channel antenna seem to be the choice of the ever increasing cord cutting movement.

If I could predict which streaming platform was going to take the lead....I'd buy stock now, but it is still unclear who will prevail.

[Debfrommaine]

:bigbow::bigbow:ROKU steams content over the internet using your WiFi. You can get free channels from ROKU but they do air commercials. You can also stream Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Sling TV, Direct TV now, etc. using the ROKU but you have to pay a small fee for each to get the passwords. For example, Netflix is about $10 per month. Clear picture and only interruption of service- when your internet goes down.

I think this is the wave of future TV, cable companies have continually raised their prices year after year and consumers have had enough. Remember when TV's had a dial you turned for channels and it was free? The $200+ monthly bills most people pay with Comcast/Xfinity/etc. are more than a small car payment. Something needs to change and streaming TV along with a local channel antenna seem to be the choice of the ever increasing cord cutting movement.

If I could predict which streaming platform was going to take the lead....I'd buy stock now, but it is still unclear who will prevail.

[billethkid]

Do I understand correctly that there is no DVR ability/capability with the various streaming devices?

We currently view almost nothing via direct broadcast due to the seemingly endless commercials.....hence we record almost everything we watch routinely.

[Dan9871]

We currently view almost nothing via direct broadcast due to the seemingly endless commercials

Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon prime stream a lot, I think most, of network shows without any commercials after they have been broadcast over the air. Sometimes it's a few days later or after the end of the season.

Not free of course, streaming services run about $10 to $15 a month.

[Count'n the days]

We bought the Amazon Fire Stick and had to return it because it wasn't compatible with Bright House/Spectrum.

[jpvillager]

Another alternative is to try YouTubeTV over the internet using Roku. 7 days free then about $45/month. Unlimited DVR cloud capability. Most of the channels you want including ability to watch ESPN3. If happy with it cancel your cable TV or Satellite TV. May not be quite as good but 1/2 to 1/3 the price. I found them to be user friendly when signing up, cancelling and during the free trial. Only reason I cancelled was DirecTV dropped their price to $45/mo when I threatened to cancel. We'll see if it holds.

[smurphy]

We bought the Amazon Fire Stick and had to return it because it wasn't compatible with Bright House/Spectrum.

Why did it not work with BrightHouse/Spectrum?

[Count'n the days]

Why did it not work with BrightHouse/Spectrum?

Bright House/Spectrum did not come up as an option that you could use with it. We returned it and bought ROKU and it works fine.

[JoelJohnson]

Bright House/Spectrum did not come up as an option that you could use with it. We returned it and bought ROKU and it works fine.

It has nothing to do with your ISP, it works off your router. If you use wifi, the Amazon fire stick will work.

[leftyf]

I have 4 Amazon Firesticks and Centurylink and everything works great.

[JerryLBell]

Do I understand correctly that there is no DVR ability/capability with the various streaming devices?

We currently view almost nothing via direct broadcast due to the seemingly endless commercials.....hence we record almost everything we watch routinely.
Much of the content from streaming services is already commercial free, so you don't need to "skip" over commercials like you (and we) do with DVRs. Also, the content is "on demand". That is, the shows start whenever you want them to. You don't have to watch them at 8 PM on Tuesday or whatever, as with "live" TV. So you the things you like about having a DVR may not be needed with streaming devices and services.

That said, make sure that the content you want is available from whatever streaming service (or services) you subscribe to. Many people who only have streaming services will not have access to local news, live sports and the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, etc.). That may or may not be important to you. Make a list of the shows you like and then research what service(s) you need to subscribe to to get them and then research further to find what device(s) you need to buy to support those services. You may find it's a single service (like Netflix) and a single device (maybe even what's built into your TV if you have a "smart" TV) or you may find it's several services and more than one device.

We're almost at the tipping point due to price increases from cable and satellite services. However, we (especially my wife) do not want to have to navigate multiple services on potentially multiple devices (not all streaming devices support all streaming services) to get the shows we want and replacing one larger cable or satellite bill with multiple streaming service bills isn't overly attractive to us either. But keep raising our TV bill and we'll probably go that route!

[jpvillager]

Update on Directv price drop to $45 when threatened to cancel. Seams an equipment upgrade was included. Carries very high equipment cancellation charges: $240 to $480. Call to cancel. Got ran in circles. No one authorized to drop the unapproved charges. Waiting for management "back room" to call me. Seams like fraud on a grand scale. There are pending/stalled law suits for this practices. Research the internet before thinking Directv. Wondering what my new next month bill will be.

[jebartle]

For those of us that need help with choices, why is there not a company that cuts the cord for us.

[CWGUY]

For those of us that need help with choices, why is there not a company that cuts the cord for us.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/need-tech-support-259571/#post1527792


Tech Remedy
The Villages In-home Tech Support
(352) 661-0730

Anyone try these guys yet? I am thinking about calling..... I can't even set the clock on the microwave!

[jebartle]

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/need-tech-support-259571/#post1527792


Tech Remedy
The Villages In-home Tech Support
(352) 661-0730

Anyone try these guys yet? I am thinking about calling..... I can't even set the clock on the microwave!

:igbow::bigbow::BigApplause: thanks for info!

[hamsfc59]

The "device" does not have DVR capability but streaming services (e.g., You tube TV, PlayStation Vue) do have it. It's not a device but the recorded shows are stored in the cloud. You can try streaming services for free with 5 day trials. They broadcast all network shows and lots of sports. We chose YouTube TV for $40/month. Cancel anytime. Works great with Roku stick or device but very dependent on reliability of your internet provider.

[rjn5656]

I kept one DVR box from Comcast and purchased 3 roku sticks for the rest of house. I can view saved programs via my roku.

[Bay Kid]

Thanks for all the help. Just used Dish Anywhere while family in town.