We finally had it with Direct TV service to Far Guys TV. It warmed up and there was still no signal…must be a problem with the cable in the ground someplace. We have been struggling with that signal since Jan 1st, three service calls later still no signal.
We have been sharing one TV, which works fine…just like in the olden days. Let me tell you we need TV in Minnesota in the winter time…and face it two TV’s is better than one.
One day Far Guy was watching the “searching for signal” message and I said “How about a Roku?” We researched it a bit, I related what several bloggers had mentioned. We went to wally world and bought one.
The set up was quick and almost painless…new stuff and old people..anyways we got it all set up. You do need a Credit Card to set up an account… we signed up for a Roku account and a Netflix account. ( Netflix is $7.99 a month)
Since our televisions are HD, the color and picture are awesome. I made another trip to wally world and got another Roku for the Living Room…we can stream off the same Netflix account.
I like animal movies and nearly used up a whole box of Kleenex during Hachi: A Dog’s Tail. I am enjoying the series Lost also as we never got the channel that aired that series.
We still have a basic package with Direct TV and we now get local channels. We will see what happens..but I think our Direct TV days are numbered.
So do you Roku? If so what are your favorite channels?
So far we have Netflix for a paid service. There are others but I heard Hulu Plus has commercials, and I know nothing about Amazon Prime.
PBS is free, as is a weather channel, History, A&E and Smithsonian…oh and BYU. I like a few programs on BYU and you can catch their live stream. There are hundreds of channels to choose from, some are free, some you pay a yearly fee. We found Crackle to be irritating with repetitive commercials, they have more commercials than regular TV.
For those of you who do not Roku, it is a small box that connects to your television with a HDMI cord. You plug in the Roku and it will find your wireless Internet signal, you get a code to use to access the Roku website and you are all set to go. The remote control even has a set of earphones that work remotely…fancy smancy.
I have not been paid by Roku to share my experience..just so you know. Roku 3 is about $98 for the unit and another $24 for the cable (or two Direct TV service calls.)
From what I have seen it is a pretty cool little invention!
I am not familiar with this but I am happy to know you are pleased.
ReplyDeleteMorning, so so cold again Connie, so tired of this crappy weather........So happy that worked, gotta watch T.V, nothing else to do :) Blessings Francine.
ReplyDeleteOnce again revealing my vast ignorance when it comes to modern technology this is all new to me. BTW I don't like Direct TV either. Nor a girlfriend of my wife who talked her out of Dish TV and a remote that was much handier. Direct also dropped The Weather Channel the only one I regularly watched besides Fox Sports North. Ok I'm done ranting.....
ReplyDeleteI don't have Direct TV. I have cable. But I do understand your rust ration. Since we moved we have had nothing but trouble with cable as the house we are living in is old and so are the cables for the TV. Since an idiot finished off the basement (previous owner) he dry walled in the walls and ceiling. So in order for someone to run new cables we have to rip out the whole basement. This certainly sounds a lot cheaper.Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWe have different companies over here , we have our phone computers and TV all set up to one we have box called PVR which lets us record two or three shows at once we have two of the boxes one in the living room and one up stairs and we record our favorite TV shows our cable TV has different packages for different channels and all in HD we get History , A&E , all the regular channels which are different then over there we get our own channels CBC , CTV etc they are Canadian . We have Netflix but it gets streamed through Papa's computer and through the PS3 like the Roku and watch movies like that to .we also get Netflix from England to as we like British shows to . I am glad you have finally found a way to enjoy your shows . Guess your gone be doing a lot of catching up on shows now lol ! Thanks for sharing . Have a good day !
ReplyDeleteMy brother has Roku and Netflix at home, and uses an antenna (remember those?) for his local channels. It works very well, just like it does for you now. While I was there, I did miss the Weather Channel, but he pays little to nothing every month as compared to my $140. Sigh. Maybe we'll get rid of cable one of these days and do what you're doing. :-)
ReplyDeleteGood morning, We have Ruko, and Netflix.... We also have Amazon Prime....We use Ruko and Netflix.... We do not use the A.Prime.... we use Amazon Prime for ordering and free shipping... We have Cable and not Direct.... We also have On Demand with our Cable. We also have the HD box where we can record things while watching another program and you can record things when you are not home.... YES we have a lot of things... We have 3 adult kids living at home and they share the cost... 2 adults will be leaving in April....When the 3rd one leaves a few months later we will be cutting out a lot...We will keep Netflix and the HD recorder. My kids use the Ruko... . We will probably cut On Demand if we can... not sure if we can with the HD recorder... We have a lot of investigating to do on that.. We feel because we do not go out to the theaters our entertainment is with the TV and the different options we have....it is cheaper then going out and much more comfortable....We set up movie date nights at home... Have a great day...Lisa
ReplyDeleteYes, I Roku and love it. I use it for many of the channels you mentioned. I also use it to listen to music on the Pandora and iheartRadio channels. Yes, commercials can be annoying, but those channels are freee, so I deal with it.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of Roku. I must live in the dark ages. Glad it works for you!
ReplyDeleteMy sis has Roku and she love it!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a great solution. We have cable but need to get Net-Flix.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, KARE11 ran a feature on the ice caves and the link is on their site, in case this doesn't work:
http://www.kare11.com/story/news/local/2014/02/24/lake-superior-apostle-islands-bayfield-ice-caves/5783343/
It's a great way to see them without trekking for miles or crawling through tiny, twisty openings that would scare me!
This is the first that I have heard of Roku. I will have to look it up. We live in the dark ages and have a flip phone, disposable, and no cable. I have considered netflix but our computer situation is not good for that . Someday we will improve computers and get netflix that connects to the tv set and runs through the computer. All waves and no cables.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of Roku, but I've never seen it before. We're quite satisfied with Comcast -- I know, love 'em or hate 'em. We never have problems that aren't resolved quickly. Enjoy your new toy!
ReplyDeleteWe have discussed eliminating direct tv. Thinking we will miss about 5 shows -- what do you do about the shows you used to watch?
ReplyDeleteI watch very little regular TV: Survivor and The Amazing Race and The Voice. Those I can get with a basic Direct TV package. I could also watch those online through the computer. Right now we cut our Direct TV monthly bill in half...:)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a died and gone to heaven situation for TV watchers. I'm not a TV watcher. I'd never heard of Roku before.
ReplyDeleteWow, I may get one of these for downstairs where I do most of my TV watching. We have Direct TV and Netflix now. I would like HOB. I love the Nexflix exclusive series like House Of Cards, Hemlock Grove and Orange is the New Black. I wish I had HBO for the Game of Thrones, etc. Showtime also has a lot of good shows.
ReplyDeleteLearn something new every day. Will have to check that out. We just have an antenna here, and get half a dozen decent local channels, and it costs nothing other than the purchase of the aerial, which was less than $100.
ReplyDeleteDid a bit of quick reading about Roku, and it seems we don't get the choice here in Canada that you do. More investigation needed:)
Love my Roku and I use Amazon Instant video (Prime). You need to check what service has what you want to watch... There is Vudu, Target, Hulu Plus, M-go, Netflix, Amazon, Redbox instant. Also if you subscribe to HBO and Showtime you can watch them through your Roku. Showtime live and on-demand while HBO is on-demand.
ReplyDeleteGet an HDMI cable here:
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?ab3=b&utm_expid=58369800-11.R-enhtUGRrSdHz5vzpVS2g.1&c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024008&p_id=3992&seq=1&format=2
will save some $$$
Well thanks for explaining the concept to me. I think I understand it now. :O I want a little knob that you turn to get the TV channels …..im old school
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Roku, or any of those things. Would love to tell my husband about it but would not know where to begin! We get so mad at Direct TV. We get more infomercials than anything else!
ReplyDeleteI don't really get what Roku is. I guess I'll have to Google it.
ReplyDeleteWe have Comcast cable - for phone, internet, TV. We also have Amazon Prime for movies on our Smart TV, plus On Demand Cable movies. We have so many channels we never watch most of them, and yet there are times it seems there is nothing to watch. But then I picky.
We got sick of Direct TV and went to DISH...the service is outstanding and we paid less.
ReplyDeleteLinda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://handcraftedbyus.wordpress.com
The hubby is trying to get me to give up dish network, I do like my tv and I don't know if I am ready to give up some of the programs that i like to watch. He says we need to lower some of our bills. I am still thinking about it though. I have Amazon Prime, but there are just so many movies that they offer that I am willing to watch, they are limited.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of it, but I have some kind of box set-up for my TV that gets me internet. But my TV stations are just antenna--slave to the weather and sun spots at times--so I only get a few stations. But when you have internet and Netflix streaming--there's always plenty to watch. I'm glad you guys have something you like now. I have never heard anyone praise Direct TV.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of this, but the only person I know of that tried it hated it...that could be for a few reasons, first of all, we live in Canada...lol. So if you love it, I might give it a try.
ReplyDeleteJen