daphwesc kamuzu elsabeth
Eleanora Parrot
You boot up the box, set the network to wireless or Ethernet connectivity. You get a five digit code, head over to netflix.com/activate using a browser on a PC or other device, log into your Netflix account and enter the code. The Roku box gets your queue and the movie/show cover art. There are HDMI and optical connections on top of the standard video outs, but those cables are not included.
Edited to Add: We have since moved, but are still living cable free. We lived for months without an antenna, but did put one in our attic. We don't use it much though! After getting used to streaming TV and no commercials, we only really use the antenna for local sports.
Edited to add: If you want to keep up on current shows, Hulu would be a good fit for you. We've since been watching more Netflix and YouTube since we aren't keeping up on any current shows. I have found the commercials on Hulu annoying, especially because we pay for it. I've thought about canceling, BUT recently heard that they are adding all seasons of Seinfeld to Hulu. We really like Seinfeld, so we'll keep it around for now.
Edited to add: Netflix used to be kinda meh, but IT IS AWESOME NOW. If you don't have it, GET IT! (They're not paying me to tell you that.) Recently they've gotten a lot more current movies, and also added a ton of HGTV and Food Network shows. Hello, those were the two big things I missed about cable! It's rare that we can't find anything to watch on Netflix these days.
We pay for Hulu Plus, my sister pays for Netflix, we share it with my parents. It works awesome! You can have so many accounts streaming at one time, so you might need to upgrade later down the line if it becomes an issue.
Edited to add: Netflix now lets you have multiple profiles. Sharing accounts used to mess up our queue and recommendations (hello, foreign films with a strong female lead and Thomas the Tank Engine with a side of goofy dude comedies). We now have profiles for my sister, parents, teen siblings, our kids, and us. Lots of HGTV and goofy comedies on ours. ?
We now have a Samsung Smart TV we bought on Black Friday. From there, we're able to stream Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Vudu, and many other options. There are a TON of things on Netflix now where before there really wasn't much of a selection. YouTube has just about any show or thing to watch that you could want, although it might be bootleg and you might have to call yourself a pirate.
We still have the streaming options above. I've debated canceling Hulu Plus (now just called Hulu), but they're adding every Seinfeld episode later this month soooo... I probably won't cancel that. We now also have Amazon Prime since we signed up for the Prime shipping. I don't use that all too much, we'll use it to rent movies that aren't on there and also for Blues Clues. If you like HBO shows or Downton Abbey, those are on there.
Since moving to a different house, we did get a new antenna from Menards, had heard from family members that they carried good ones. However, we're so used to watching TV commercial free while streaming that we VERY RARELY watch shows using our antenna and TV. We mostly just use this for local sports now.
I've also had a lot of questions about sports. Since we have the antenna, we get most local sports. We get all of the local football games. For hockey, basketball, or playoff games, we'll occasionally look up a game on the computer to see if it's streaming online, then hook up the TV with an HDMI cable.
Since getting rid of cable, we watch a LOT less TV. And a lot, lot, lot, lot less sports on TV (fist pump). I love it. We spend that time as a family, play games, tackle projects, talk, have a date night, or just go to bed early. This is a really, really good benefit that is the better of all of the above options. ?
We have been cable free for many years now. We have a great little antenna I pick up off eBay. We also have Netflix and recently added sling that's shows live regular tv did only $20 this includes the sports channel. We stream those on the roku stick. There are lots of great things out there!
I know this sounds wacky but my hubby is completely losing it because our cable company dropped the Weather Channel! He wants us to cancel the cable/internet/phone bundle and use some of the things you mention but I've yet to find any of those solutions that also have any weather channel providers. In addition, the Disney Jr line up is probably critical at our house. Do you know of any service that runs Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sofia and others? It would be okay if they were not current.
I realize that this is several years old but we're thinking about making the switch to ditch cable! We also live in Illinois (near Rockford). Are you able to get local news channels on any of your options? I love to catch the news at night and morning. Thanks so much for sharing.
I found you several years ago with your 40 Bags for Lent and have hopped on board.
Yes, we do! I updated this post not long ago, so it is still current. ? You might be able to get more channels than we do from Rockford since you're near there. If you don't have one, you'll need an antenna. We bought ours at Menards, put it in the attic, and have a cable line going to the tv. Maybe look up YouTube videos before starting? If I were you, I might try it before cutting the cord on cable, just in case.
You don't need to miss sports if you turn off cable. Kodi is a free streaming program that runs on Android and Windows (possibly Apple, I dunno). You can hook your laptop or phone up to the TV if you like or buy a computer-on-a-stick wiht kodi preinstalled from amazon, starting from around $40. If you buy a computer on a stick, you can also run netflix, hulu, HBOgo or any other of the steaming platforms on it as well.
Yes...we have been enjoying KODI for several months now and NO CABLE cost! Sometimes it is a little annoying when things do not stream...but overall we LOVE saving the money and do not feel deprived without CABLE! I highly recommend giving KODI a try if you want to get rid of cable!
I'm happy to say we've never had cable or anything. We don't even have an actual television. A few years ago when we finally got internet at home we started sharing a Netflix account with a family member.
Now we watch most things online or through ROKU. The only paid channel we use on ROKU Netflix. A tip about sharing - you should be able to set up four seperate members on basic Netflix. We share with our son & daughter-in-law. So when we sign in it asks us which we are, we choose our icon & that keeps our history seperate from theirs.
Have you looked into Chromecast? It's a dongle that plugs into the HDMI and a plug for electricity. It's $35 and you can stream Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, Google+, from your phone, tablet, computer. You can also stream your Chrome browser from your computer onto your tv. Unfortunately Amazon Prime is not compatible. My 3 yr old knows how to stream his shows from the table to the tv. Not sure if thats a good thing or bad thing lol.
May I simply just say what a comfort to uncover someone that really understands
what they are talking about on the internet. You certainly understand
how to bring an issue to light and make it important.
A lot more people have to look at this and understand this side of your
story. I can't believe you are not more popular given that
you definitely have the gift.
Our first 5 years of marriage we lived without cable. We started out with an antenna that I made out of hangers and scrap wood using an online tutorial. Later we switched to Hulu & Netflix. This year my husband signed up for the free trial of cable TV from the same company that (over)charges us for internet. After the trial period was over he called to cancel it. At that point the cable company pitched him an offer he couldn't refuse... continue paying $74.99/mo for just internet (I told you they overcharge--we have no other good provider option here), or add on basic cable and pay $69.99/mo total for both! Somehow we now have digital cable INCLUDING free on-demand shows and pay less than we were before we had cable. I am seriously considering canceling Hulu & Netflix to save money instead!
Funny thing is, we are so used to not having cable that we still don't watch live TV. If we do turn on the cable box, it's to go straight to on-demand to watch the specific show we sat down to watch. I'm sure we will be using live TV much more though when football season comes back. Even before, my husband would find ways to watch his games live, whether it be going to a sports bar or streaming it from some website in Europe. ?
We are cable free as well...have been since my oldest was a year, so 4yrs now. We found with kids we didn't have a lot of time for tv so why pay for it. We borrow movies from the library or family video ($1 for 5 nites on older movies or 2.99/one night new release) and we have netflix through our wii and whatever is on the airwaves, but with our small antenia ammounts to 5local channels and pbs. Netflix is the kids favorite and they mostly watch pbs shows....that and the disney dvds they get from grandparents.
For those of you looking for cheaper internet and have low income. Comcast offers "internet essentials" for anyone who has school age children who qualify for free or reduced lunch at school. If they don't have the program at your child's school you can also try to qualify in other ways, but must have school aged children. It is only $9.95 per month with no contract and no catches. That is the total bill. It is a very quick application and they send out a free modem. If you want wifi, you will have to buy your own router from somewhere else. I found a cheap one on clearance at from Staples.com. They also have a program that allows you to get a refurbished, new model, 15" laptop for $149 total. Our computer has died and I needed a new one for my job search and my son needed one for his high school work. It works great (once you get used to Windows 8). Again, no strings or taxes and it arrived in a couple of days. Comcast is trying to make sure that every student has computer and internet access at home. Good luck.
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