topic Re: Do you have a Roku? in Electronics

Do you have a Roku?

MoJoV — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 21:58:07 GMT

My granddaughter bought me a Roku for my birthday (Sept.30). My husband and I would really like to cut the cable we're paying $180 a month for Comcast. That includes WiFi.

Can anyone tell me about it. Did you cut the cable and go with this? What extras are there to pay for? I'm a total no mind when it involves this type of thing.

Thank you for any response.

Re: Do you have a Roku?

Pecky — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 22:05:34 GMT

I can't believe that I just saw your post. I want to get rid of my cable as well. I am thinking of getting You Tube TV which has so many channels. I do have a smart tv but I guess its not so smart as I am unable to down load the app. Do I need a RoKU to be able to stream? I am thinking of buying a new smart TV that supports more apps. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Re: Do you have a Roku?

Shelbelle — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 22:09:32 GMT

Consider your 180 a bargain, I pay Comcast 221, for cable, internet and land line. I get free Netflix and Peacock included. No HBO,just Showtime and Epix, have 3 boxes

If I had a Roku I would not know what to do with it, but my Comcast remote works for me!!

Re: Do you have a Roku?

781Florist — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 22:22:45 GMT

Hey guys!

I have YouTubeTV and as far as channel variety, ease of use, and incredible (UNLIMITED) DVR capability ikt is fantastic for only 65.00 a month.

You also need WiFi (mine is $57 a month) so my total is $122. a month.

There is a program for seniors that can cut your internet bill by up to $30 a month, and I am looking into that, so it will make my bill under $100 a month for these things!

The bad thing about YouTube TV is that they are owned by GOOGLE and therefore everything is done online. Everything. They do not have any way whatsoever to speak to a live human being for any reason. My new debit card takes effect at the end of the month. I am on Autopay and have tried five times to update my card exp. date and CVV number. It won't complete the update, and I have ZERO way to ask anyone what to do. If you are not computer /techno savvy, you might want to find a company that will talk to you.

Smart TVs made in the last 5 years or so have a lot of these apps already installed.

My SONY TV allows me to sign up for several of the streamers without an attachment. If you do buy a new set (HSN just had some awesome Samsung QLED TVs on sale!) you should not need a Roku/Firestick etc...

Re: Do you have a Roku?

Kachina624 — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 22:39:11 GMT

I've been using Roku for 5 or 6 years and like it a lot. There are some movies and other free stuff but its usually not programming that I want to watch. Mostly, it's a gateway to enter streaming services for which you need a paid subscription like Netflix, YouTubeTv, DisciveryPlus, Sling, Disney, Peacock, etc. You also get all the QVC and HSN channels free.

I got rid of my satellite four years ago, tried several streaming services and ended up with YouTubeTV and Netflix for less than $80/mo plus a bough $12 interior antennas for each of my TVs so I get all the local channels, the networks, PBS and 40 or so other assorted channels such as religious, Spanish, shopping and old sitcoms.

All of this, the Roku and the antennas were simple to install. I did it all myself.

I've also tried Amazon Fire Stick, which does the same thing as Roku, but like the Roku better.

Re: Do you have a Roku?

Jaspertimes — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 22:44:23 GMT

@781Florist wrote:
Hey guys!
I have YouTubeTV and as far as channel variety, ease of use, and incredible (UNLIMITED) DVR capability ikt is fantastic for only 65.00 a month.
You also need WiFi (mine is $57 a month) so my total is $122. a month.

There is a program for seniors that can cut your internet bill by up to $30 a month, and I am looking into that, so it will make my bill under $100 a month for these things!

The bad thing about YouTube TV is that they are owned by GOOGLE and therefore everything is done online. Everything. They do not have any way whatsoever to speak to a live human being for any reason. My new debit card takes effect at the end of the month. I am on Autopay and have tried five times to update my card exp. date and CVV number. It won't complete the update, and I have ZERO way to ask anyone what to do. If you are not computer /techno savvy, you might want to find a company that will talk to you.

Smart TVs made in the last 5 years or so have a lot of these apps already installed.
My SONY TV allows me to sign up for several of the streamers without an attachment. If you do buy a new set (HSN just had some awesome Samsung QLED TVs on sale!) you should not need a Roku/Firestick etc...

@781Florist:

On your tablet or computer go to tv.YouTube.com. At the top right corner click on the ? (Help). Choose the category update billing.

I have talked with them several times on the phone. Initiate a help email and they will either respond with an email or call you, very helpful.

Re: Do you have a Roku?

Kachina624 — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 23:04:07 GMT

@781Florist wrote:
Hey guys!
I have YouTubeTV and as far as channel variety, ease of use, and incredible (UNLIMITED) DVR capability ikt is fantastic for only 65.00 a month.
You also need WiFi (mine is $57 a month) so my total is $122. a month.

There is a program for seniors that can cut your internet bill by up to $30 a month, and I am looking into that, so it will make my bill under $100 a month for these things!

The bad thing about YouTube TV is that they are owned by GOOGLE and therefore everything is done online. Everything. They do not have any way whatsoever to speak to a live human being for any reason. My new debit card takes effect at the end of the month. I am on Autopay and have tried five times to update my card exp. date and CVV number. It won't complete the update, and I have ZERO way to ask anyone what to do. If you are not computer /techno savvy, you might want to find a company that will talk to you.

Smart TVs made in the last 5 years or so have a lot of these apps already installed.
My SONY TV allows me to sign up for several of the streamers without an attachment. If you do buy a new set (HSN just had some awesome Samsung QLED TVs on sale!) you should not need a Roku/Firestick etc...

@781Florist I have Samsung TV and hate it. I'd never get another. It has something called Samsung TV Plus installed with no way to get rid of it. It's old programming which I don't care to watch (example: Bob Ross videos 24/7). Many of the channels default to it, especially the new ones like channel 7.2, 11.4, anything other than the traditional old channel numbers. I can't watch the channel that carries QVC. You can't use channel up or down, each has to be laboriously manually entered.

Re: Do you have a Roku?

bmorechick — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 23:05:21 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
I've been using Roku for 5 or 6 years and like it a lot. There are some movies and other free stuff but its usually not programming that I want to watch. Mostly, it's a gateway to enter streaming services for which you need a paid subscription like Netflix, YouTubeTv, DisciveryPlus, Sling, Disney, Peacock, etc. You also get all the QVC and HSN channels free.

I got rid of my satellite four years ago, tried several streaming services and ended up with YouTubeTV and Netflix for less than $80/mo plus a bough $12 interior antennas for each of my TVs so I get all the local channels, the networks, PBS and 40 or so other assorted channels such as religious, Spanish, shopping and old sitcoms.

All of this, the Roku and the antennas were simple to install. I did it all myself.

I've also tried Amazon Fire Stick, which does the same thing as Roku, but like the Roku better.

Yep, what you said...we did the exact same thing. We have Roku tvs and have more tv now than I ever had with cable...45$ for internet and with Netflix, Hulu, Sling We pay about 85$ total monthly. I also grabbed a couple 25$ indoor tv antennas and get all my local channels, plus PBS, the CW, abc, nbc, cbs all for free free free. Best thing I ever did after the cable bill soared to over 200$ a month. Just downloaded three FREE vintage movie channels. Love the roku tvs. Wouldn't change a thing. Love playing around the menu to see alllllll the stuff I can get.

Re: Do you have a Roku?

gardenman — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 23:08:20 GMT

I have two Rokus and three Fire Sticks. In general, I like the Rokus better, but one tries to take control of one of my TVs after an occasional update and won't let me turn it on or off until I unplug the HDMI cable from it.

I just switched from Sling ($50 a month) to YouTube TV ($55 a month for three months then $65 a month afterward) as Sling briefly lost the ABC family of channels in a contract dispute. I didn't want to miss out on the college football games on Saturday, so I made the switch, and the YouTube TV interface is better and so is the channel selection. I'll probably stick with YouTube TV for now.

Amazon has great prices now on their Fire Sticks if you're a Prime member, and either Amazon, Walmart, Target, or someone will have the Rokus on sale heading into the holidays. You can typically get them at 50% off around Black Friday and lots of retailers are offering sale prices earlier this year.

Re: Do you have a Roku?

781Florist — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 23:15:31 GMT

@Kachina624 Yikes! Bob Ross! I would go up in one of those beautiful balloons you

folks have in NM and jump if he was a steady diet on my TV!

I thought that the picture quality on the HSN TVs was amazing, and my local BJs has Samsung QLED and LG OLED TVs on display and they are breathtaking.

I now know to investigate whether a TV contains special "features" that are really curses!

Re: Do you have a Roku?

Kachina624 — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 23:20:10 GMT

@781Florist lol. Bob Ross is great to lull you to sleep.

Re: Do you have a Roku?

GenXmuse — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 23:58:16 GMT

I canceled Spectrum and went with Roku. I like having all my apps for the tv in one place. Roku has several free channels but I added HULU live, Netflix, and Amazon. I actually watch more TV now with this setup (not sure if that's a good thing) 😉

Re: Do you have a Roku?

JanetsGirl — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 01:12:00 GMT

@MoJoV

"Cutting the cord" means getting rid of cable tv. Discussed in this thread is replacing cable tv (your Comcast tv) with streaming content from the internet. How to do that? Two main ways: on a smart tv or by attaching a streaming device (your Roku) to your tv. The smart tv or Roku then connect to the internet and you "stream" video content on your tv. So you still must get access to the internet from Comcast. See how much 300 or 400 mbps will cost you. Now Roku is free once you buy the device. But like everyone has said you will want to buy other content to watch via your Roku, like Netflix and so on. So add up all of that expense too. Suggestion: relative of mine hired guys from Best Buy to hook up his Roku for him and explain how to use it. Something to look into if need be. Good luck!

Re: Do you have a Roku?

Mz iMac — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 03:12:57 GMT

@781Florist YouYube TV has a customer service message board. Post your issue(s) there and a CS rep will contact/reply to you on the message board. If they need any further info from you, they will send you a "private link" so you can provide them w/your account # and/or email addy on their "private message board." Not sure if they will contact you by phone if you provide them your # at the private link.

Re: Do you have a Roku?

gadgetgal613 — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 10:47:11 GMT

@781Florist I have Samsung TV and hate it. I'd never get another. It has something called Samsung TV Plus installed with no way to get rid of it. It's old programming which I don't care to watch (example: Bob Ross videos 24/7). Many of the channels default to it, especially the new ones like channel 7.2, 11.4, anything other than the traditional old channel numbers. I can't watch the channel that carries QVC. You can't use channel up or down, each has to be laboriously manually entered.

I have a Samsung and none of the problems you desctibe. I'm able to use the channel up and down without anything special needed. This sounds like operator error, substandard antenna and not the TV.

Re: Do you have a Roku?

Pecky — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 15:09:23 GMT

Thank you for all the great input!! Can you have Roku and still have cable? My "contract" with Fios ends next month, but I want to make sure I like and know how to use the streaming way before I tell them to hit the road.

Re: Do you have a Roku?

fmfg — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 15:37:58 GMT

I had to chime in and also say I love my Roku. I only pay for internet sevice through my local company - not Comcast, etc. I don't have any paying channels except for CBS to get my local news and Amazon prime (free shipping, etc). Roku free channel has TONS of shows, you don't have to pay for anything if you don't want to - that's the beauty of it. I've had mine for about 10 years now and don't miss paying for channels that I never watch. I recommend it to everyone.

Re: Do you have a Roku?

JanetsGirl — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 17:49:55 GMT

@Pecky

Yes, you can have both cable hookup and Roku on the same tv. However, you cannot have them both turned on at the same time (tv won't "understand" which one to use!). So, you need to be able to plug in both cable and Roku to your tv (HDMI ports) or you will need another device called a "switch" that you can find at Best Buy or Amazon. If you don't use the switch, you really need to make sure that one (cable or Roku) is completely turned off (ie unplugged) when you are using the other, or you need to figure out how to toggle between the two on your tv. Good luck!

Re: Do you have a Roku?

nycalady — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 18:19:00 GMT

Good internet is essential for a good streaming experience. There's lots of free programing on the Ruko channel & free apps that have more free programing. There's a bit of a learning curb in getting accustomed to streaming rather that traditional tv watching. You can always buy packages with channels you enjoy for less than cable.

Re: Do you have a Roku?

Pecky — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 19:06:14 GMT

Thanks, now it sounding complicated!