Roku - I like it!

[JB2K]

What is 1080p? How do I find out what my tv is? I think I will just be paying DirecTV for the rest of my life

If your new HDTV is larger than 32", chances are it's 1080p (check your user's manual for details).

Most 32" and smaller HDTVs are (at most) 720p.

If you have an older, "tube" TV, it obvously isn't 1080p (it's 480i).

 

[pat fan]

If your new HDTV is larger than 32", chances are it's 1080p (check your user's manual for details).

OK, this is what we have (larger than 32"), but I will check my manual to be sure. Thanks!

 

[JB2K]

I am struggling with understanding this. I asked my DH what our TVs were and he said they were 720p? Is that bad? Does that mean if we got a ROKU the streaming or video quality is horrible??

No, you should be just fine, as you don't have to own a 1080p HDTV to operate Roku -- they just mention it, because Roku's output can match the best sets currently on the market.

 

[tggrbuny]

I got my roku six weeks ago. It is perfect. Not only can I watch Hulu Plus and Netflix but I have found a whole bunch of channels not mentioned by previous posters that have great content. There are most of the news channels, weather channels, exercise stuff, etc. If you go the company website, there is a list of the channels you can watch.

It is true that you will not be able to see everything that cable provides but there is always plenty of content to fit my needs. I am saving a thousand dollars this year, literally, by dropping dish. For what I am missing that I wish I could see, I know that some time in the future it will be out there for me to see some other way.

For those who asked how the box works: It is just like when you watch a show on the computer, you can pause, backup and speedup. The show is not actually stored on the roku box, but streaming from the internet site.

 

[gr8tdame]

I bought a Roku 2 for my dh for xmas. I hate paying cable and we rarely watch
live tv...except for news and sports. My dh said the Roku would not work as we have older flat screen tube tv's. Well he took it out of the box and it was the easiest hookup ever. Much easier than the xbox. We also have Amazon Prime so we can stream tv shows and movies etc.
Well dh has a new toy ... I play angry birds on my Kindle fire while he plays it on the TV.
We are going to cancel our cable when we get back from Disney and get a ROku for the bedroom tv as well.

 

[Tina]

If your new HDTV is larger than 32", chances are it's 1080p (check your user's manual for details).

Most 32" and smaller HDTVs are (at most) 720p.

If you have an older, "tube" TV, it obvously isn't 1080p (it's 480i).

Sorry, wrong.

I have a 3 year old 43" that is 720p. The size of your screen has nothing to do with the resolution. I also have a smaller tv (a 37") that is 1080p. So this is just the reverse of your advice.

The best way to find out what you have (if you don't have the manual) is to google your model number.

But just an FYI, I have Roku boxes (XD/S) on both sets and they both work beautifully. Yes, resolution is not as sharp on my 720p set, but that's the same with DVD, Roku, and cable. I find the picture just fine on both sets. I would not avoid a Roku if you only have 720p. It's honestly one of the greatest devices to come along in a very long time.

 

[Cyndy]

We got a new rocku2 and love it for netflix and other things, we especially like it for the live streaming of I. U. basketball on ESPN 3, however we seem to lose the signal and have had to turn it off and unplug several times, are we missing somethin? I've checked the website and the uplug suggestion was what we found. We have FIOS and usually have great streaming.

 

[Blueyes87]

DBF has been wanting a roku for several months now but I thought why should we get something else that streams when we have the WII and Netflix (plus didn't really want to spend the money) but after reading some of the posts now I want one! I think he will be happy that I am finally coming around

 

[solfan68]

DBF has been wanting a roku for several months now but I thought why should we get something else that streams when we have the WII and Netflix (plus didn't really want to spend the money) but after reading some of the posts now I want one! I think he will be happy that I am finally coming around

The newest model is only fifty bucks at Amazon and its purple, if you're looking for something other than a plain black box.

 

[DawnM]

We can't' stand watching Netflix or any streaming on our Wii. It is so noticeably different that we can't do it. The interface is horrible to deal with and the quality is so low (480p) that we can tell a HUGE difference in our 1080p machine.

Dawn

DBF has been wanting a roku for several months now but I thought why should we get something else that streams when we have the WII and Netflix (plus didn't really want to spend the money) but after reading some of the posts now I want one! I think he will be happy that I am finally coming around

 

[apnep]

No, you should be just fine, as you don't have to own a 1080p HDTV to operate Roku -- they just mention it, because Roku's output can match the best sets currently on the market.

Thanks, JB2K!

 

[KristinU]

We have four of them!

We dropped Directv when it got up to $100/month.

Netflix streaming $8
Hulu Plus $8
Antenna for live TV

We don't even miss it for the most part.

This is us, excpet we have only 2 TVs, so 2 Rokus.

I have a couple questions if you don't mind?

When you stream can you pause? Forward? Rewind? Also can you set stuff up to stream back to back? Say I want to set the timer on my tv to turn off in an hour or two can I set it up to play two (or however many) episodes of a 30min program in a row without having to start up a new stream? Am I making any sense?

Yes, pause, skip back, skip forward, all of that. As far as stacking them up...at the end of a TV show you can hop into the next episode by clicking a "play next" button (or something like that)

We can't' stand watching Netflix or any streaming on our Wii. It is so noticeably different that we can't do it. The interface is horrible to deal with and the quality is so low (480p) that we can tell a HUGE difference in our 1080p machine.

Dawn

Totally this.

 

[DawnM]

I guess I meant 480i not 480p, whatever, you knew what I meant!

We are actually considering getting rid of one TV and one Roku. I bought an older style TV for the kids' bonus room and got a Roku for that too. NOONE uses it. Sigh.

Dawn

 

[JB2K]

I guess I meant 480i not 480p, whatever, you knew what I meant!

We are actually considering getting rid of one TV and one Roku. I bought an older style TV for the kids' bonus room and got a Roku for that too. NOONE uses it. Sigh.

Dawn

I know exactly what you meant.

And, I also agree about the Wii not being a good streaming device for HDTVs.

 

[mom2minniemouse]

OP, we have HuluPlus and Netflix. We also have an RCA box similar to the Roku. Just so you know, there are many shows on HuluPlus where Hulu does not have the rights to stream through handheld devices or TVs (only via the computer). While I love HuluPlus, I think that's an important detail you should know before expecting to stream everything in the Hulu library to your TV, kwim?