Roku-Can Anyone Tell Me How To..

Ruthanne said:
AT&T has a new form of Direct TV; can't recall if it's called Direct TV Now or What but it is a Roku service and must be used with a firestik according to the woman at AT&T who wants to set me up with it. It costs about $35.00 a month.
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It is called DirectTVNow. It will work on a whole bunch of 'streaming TV devices'; https://www.directvnow.com/rokunow#how-to-watch
But... I suggest you just get a Roku or Firestick w/o DirectTVNow first. There are thousands of channels available on Roku (you have to add them), and many are free. Having Amazon prime gets you more for 'free'. Internet search "roku free private channels" will show you hundreds more (though many don't have current stuff). If that isn't enough for you to watch, get a NetFlix Basic for $8/mo. I've had a Roku for years and haven't run out of things to watch (when I do watch TV other than local channels).
 

Grampa Don said:
I suspect eventually all TV's will have internet ability. When that happens, both cable TV and Roku type devices will likely disappear. Even local stations could be live on the net.

Don
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I've read that internet / smart TVs are a dying fad. Because people want to upgrade their internet functions a lot faster than they upgrade their TVs.
 
Ruthanne said:
My tv has internet capacity and i am getting Roku.
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That's the best move. Odds are you will have your TV for a long time and the processor will be outdated long before the TV is longer of use to you. Buying a Roku every 3 years or so will keep you up to date with the latest technology as far as streaming goes.
 

HipGnosis said:
I've read that internet / smart TVs are a dying fad. Because people want to upgrade their internet functions a lot faster than they upgrade their TVs.
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I've never heard that. But then I don't know much about smart TVs. I figured if they were smart, they could run a browser. You'd think that if Roku can link to web sites with a $40 device that it wouldn't take much to add that ability internally to the TV. And, if that became widespread, program sources would adapt to it and so would most viewers, bypassing the cable companies and their restrictive packages and fees.

Don
 
Ruthanne said:
I really don't understand your post.
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I was considering getting a Roku device, but after reading this thread and looking into it a bit more, I'm just going to settle for the Mofu Leaf antenna. At least for a few more years or so.

Sorry I didn't get to this earlier; my little granddaughter (7yrs old) came over and asked if she could spend the night. Yes, of course!
 
One of the things I like about the Roku is that if you get stuck or can't make it work or whatever, you call them up on their toll free number and a nice lady in the US will talk you through your problem and stay on the line with you until you get it figured out and working. Sometimes they even have a little video them put up for you to show you EXACTLY what they mean. They talked me through my setup They are very easy to deal with and are one of the very few companies anymore who seem to take the term "customer service" seriously.

And they don't talk to you like you are an idiot, either. I had to call them one night because my remote control died and I couldn't figure out how to get the back off to change the batteries. They were very patient with me and told me what to do. Turns out it wasn't working like it was supposed to and was truly stuck, so she told me exactly where to put the point of a knife to force it open and told me they'd send me a new one if that didn't work or if I broke it trying. I really appreciated her help.
 
CeeCee said:
My son also has Direct TV, maybe that's why he has one that he's not using. Also, I thought it was to enable me to watch Netflix on my TV which isn't a smart TV...that's why I wanted it. Am I wrong about that?
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Yes you can get Netflix on Roku if you are a Netflix member.

Ruthanne said:
AT&T has a new form of Direct TV; can't recall if it's called Direct TV Now or What but it is a Roku service and must be used with a firestik according to the woman at AT&T who wants to set me up with it. It costs about $35.00 a month.
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Ruthanne said:
I presently have Cox cable but am going to sign back on with AT and T to get their new type of Direct Tv Now Roku service and so my internet and roku with them will be just $75.00. A lot less than I pay with Cox.
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DO Not Pay AT&T or anyone else for Roku service!!!! Once you buy a Roku thats it!! No more fees...
 
MarkinPhx said:
That's the best move. Odds are you will have your TV for a long time and the processor will be outdated long before the TV is longer of use to you. Buying a Roku every 3 years or so will keep you up to date with the latest technology as far as streaming goes.
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Roku has an update setting and also updates automatically...

I am keeping my Roku and also going to try the Fire stick...I you start a new thread when I work out all the bugs or whatever when I install the Fire stick. (Amazon says it's in the mail today)..
 
Camper6 said:
I still can't figure out what Roku is supposed to do.

It can't be free like the over the air antenna bringing in real television.

You buy an antenna and thats it.
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It brings limited internet access to your set, as long as the set has a cable port...for example you'd get Netflix and youtube and whatever online TV access website you subscribe to, such as Sling TV or Hulu.

I'll just stick with the antenna. Last night, I switched out the coaxle cable; the one that comes with it is white, I wanted black; and danged if it didn't pull in 3 more channels...one Spanish, one Asian, and a sports channel; FOX affiliate, if I remember right. Nice thing about this antenna is that my TV is on a table with wheels so when my mother stays a weekend I can wheel the set into the bedroom for her and just tack the antenna to the wall, and voila; excellent reception. The thing is a super light, paper thin flat square, and has two little holes at the top to push tacks through. You mentioned your set is an older model, so if it doesn't have a cable port, this Mofu Leaf antenna wouldn't work for you.
 
Cap'nSacto said:
It brings limited internet access to your set, as long as the set has a cable port...for example you'd get Netflix and youtube and whatever online TV access website you subscribe to, such as Sling TV or Hulu.

I'll just stick with the antenna. Last night, I switched out the coaxle cable; the one that comes with it is white, I wanted black; and danged if it didn't pull in 3 more channels...one Spanish, one Asian, and a sports channel; FOX affiliate, if I remember right. Nice thing about this antenna is that my TV is on a table with wheels so when my mother stays a weekend I can wheel the set into the bedroom for her and just tack the antenna to the wall, and voila; excellent reception. The thing is a super light, paper thin flat square, and has two little holes at the top to push tacks through. You mentioned your set is an older model, so if it doesn't have a cable port, this Mofu Leaf antenna wouldn't work for you.
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I have a cable port. I have everything. What I don't have is any television stations that are strong enough that I can get over the air.

You know that new antenna you have.

If you put it up high and outside you would get even more channels. I have a lot of experience with over the air television. That's all we had before cable came along.

If you see an older picture of a city landscape it's covered with all types of antennas on rooftops.

You Tube.? On my ipad. Free. Netlix? I cannot concentrate long enough to sit through a whole movie and I haven't been to a movie in over 20 years.

I don't want to pay for anything more than what I absolutely have to.

Over the air television is the only really 'free' television you can get. No fees at all. Everything else has a fee of some sort attached to it.
 
Camper6 said:
I have a cable port. I have everything. What I don't have is any television stations that are strong enough that I can get over the air.

You know that new antenna you have.

If you put it up high and outside you would get even more channels. I have a lot of experience with over the air television. That's all we had before cable came along.

If you see an older picture of a city landscape it's covered with all types of antennas on rooftops.

You Tube.? On my ipad. Free. Netlix? I cannot concentrate long enough to sit through a whole movie and I haven't been to a movie in over 20 years.

I don't want to pay for anything more than what I absolutely have to.

Over the air television is the only really 'free' television you can get. No fees at all. Everything else has a fee of some sort attached to it.
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That's right, I forgot you mentioned that before. I grew up with antenna TV, augmented them with foil or wire when we lived in remote areas. That, I remember. I fell for the lie (or, the inference) that analog waves were somehow no longer available. Stupid of me, but there it is.
 
Cap'nSacto said:
That's right, I forgot you mentioned that before. I grew up with antenna TV, augmented them with foil or wire when we lived in remote areas. That, I remember. I fell for the lie (or, the inference) that analog waves were somehow no longer available. Stupid of me, but there it is.
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Well in Canada at least all the television stations are digital based.

If you have an older model television, you need to get a converter to convert the digital back to analog.

No problem with cable. But over the air, you need to have a digital ready television or a converter.

In the U.S. I believe you could get a rebate on a converter when the television stations switched to digital.

Not in Canada. Analog waves reach farther than digital but digital doesn't have 'ghosting' the double images.

If you live in a metropolitan area that is a real bonus because of all the tall buildings reflecting the t.v. signal.
 
Cap'nSacto said:
I was considering getting a Roku device, but after reading this thread and looking into it a bit more, I'm just going to settle for the Mofu Leaf antenna. At least for a few more years or so.

Sorry I didn't get to this earlier; my little granddaughter (7yrs old) came over and asked if she could spend the night. Yes, of course!
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Can you tell me more about the Mofu Leaf antenna?
 
Ruthanne said:
Can you tell me more about the Mofu Leaf antenna?
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It was under $30, comes with 10 ft of coaxle cable, is flat, square, and ultra-thin. You attach one end of the cable to the TV, the other to the antenna, and press the menu button on the TV's remote; change where it says cable to antenna, then ask it to scan for stations/channels, and that's it. They recommend hanging it high on a wall, near or on a window. I tried a couple of spots. It comes with a set of self-adhesive velcro dots and a set of push-pins, but you can use tape. They are paint-able...you can paint them to go with your decor, which kinda blew my mind. It has a range of 30ft, and there's another with a 50ft range but I knew I wouldn't need that. Pretty sure it wouldn't work in a mountainous or very rural area. Definitely not for remote areas.

Mine pulls in around 40 channels, including ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and affiliates, Fox, MeTV, Justice, FOX Sports, Escape, Decades...others. Some I'll never watch; Spanish, Asian, shopping. The picture is great, sound is great, but I live in Sacramento, so transmission towers nearby.

Is there anything else you'd like to know?
 
Cap'nSacto said:
It was under $30, comes with 10 ft of coaxle cable, is flat, square, and ultra-thin. You attach one end of the cable to the TV, the other to the antenna, and press the menu button on the TV's remote; change where it says cable to antenna, then ask it to scan for stations/channels, and that's it. They recommend hanging it high on a wall, near or on a window. I tried a couple of spots. It comes with a set of self-adhesive velcro dots and a set of push-pins, but you can use tape. They are paint-able...you can paint them to go with your decor, which kinda blew my mind. It has a range of 30ft, and there's another with a 50ft range but I knew I wouldn't need that. Pretty sure it wouldn't work in a mountainous or very rural area. Definitely not for remote areas.

Mine pulls in around 40 channels, including ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and affiliates, Fox, MeTV, Justice, FOX Sports, Escape, Decades...others. Some I'll never watch; Spanish, Asian, shopping. The picture is great, sound is great, but I live in Sacramento, so transmission towers nearby.

Is there anything else you'd like to know?
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The range. 30 mi and 50 mi. Not 30ft and 50ft.? So you can pick up stations within a 30 mi radius.
 
Grampa Don said:
I've never heard that. But then I don't know much about smart TVs. I figured if they were smart, they could run a browser. You'd think that if Roku can link to web sites with a $40 device that it wouldn't take much to add that ability internally to the TV. And, if that became widespread, program sources would adapt to it and so would most viewers, bypassing the cable companies and their restrictive packages and fees.
Don
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Rokus, and the other 'streaming tv devices', use the internet, but they are not a computer that runs a browser. But there are HDMI 'stick' computers that do that. Streaming tv devices are proprietary computers that access that co's media and services the co. has contracted with, like netflix. Some is free, some is pay-per-view and some is by subscription.
 
Ruthanne said:
But Roku costs a fee here anyways. That is if you want to watch more than free stuff. https://www.roku.com/how-it-works
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Roku itself does not charge any fee. It's the streaming channels, like Netflix, that do. The streaming channel fees are not much; I think I pay $10 for Netflix and $5.99 for Acorn. You can get a heck of a lot more programming for your money using Roku or a smart TV than you can on cable or satellite. Instead of paying a fortune for cable or satellite, I am happy as a clam paying under $20 for my two streaming services. I lowered my monthly entertainment bill by about $100 by going to Roku and cutting the cable.
 
Butterfly said:
Roku itself does not charge any fee. It's the streaming channels, like Netflix, that do. The streaming channel fees are not much; I think I pay $10 for Netflix and $5.99 for Acorn. You can get a heck of a lot more programming for your money using Roku or a smart TV than you can on cable or satellite. Instead of paying a fortune for cable or satellite, I am happy as a clam paying under $20 for my two streaming services. I lowered my monthly entertainment bill by about $100 by going to Roku and cutting the cable.
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Cool, I have to have a co. for internet, though, and mine wants a huge hike if I do not get anything but internet. On the site of Roku they have a charge for paid subscriptions.
 
There are some good free apps on Roku too. For example I have the PBS app and was able to catch up with the first week of the Vietnam Documentary this weekend.
 
MarkinPhx said:
There are some good free apps on Roku too. For example I have the PBS app and was able to catch up with the first week of the Vietnam Documentary this weekend.
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But isn't that same app available for your computer or tablet without Roku?

I haven't downloaded PBS but I have NPR MPR ABC NBC FOX and others.

Thanks though. I'm starting to catch on how Roku works.
 
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