Smart TVs, Roku sticks, cable TV alternatives. Sling? Anyone use these?

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
We just got a Roku stick and Sonic has a smart TV. We are both thinking of dumping cable for them. Does anyone use alternatives to cable and how do you like them? Hubby and I don't want too much TV, except for sports, but Sonic does.

We are trying to cut costs.

All opinions greatly appreciated.
 

pasajes4

Well-Known Member
I dumped cable when I bought a Roku. I bought converter so I could get the local channels. I pay for Hulu and 2 other services and I am happy as a clam. I save over 100.00 a month.
 

Scent of Cedar *

Well-Known Member
I don't know what those things are. I would like to cut costs, too.

Great thread. I will research Roku stick and those other things.

Thank you!

Cedar
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Thanks, Pasajes. Thinking of getting Sling. $20/mo. for almost all the channels and many free channels too.j

Cedar, they let you stream internet to your TV and have some good deals (I think I presented it right...not sure). A lot of especially younger people are choosing to do this. Smart TVs have some few channels built in. Maybe somebody can explain it better.
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
If hubby wants sports you can't ditch the tv completely. You'll need an over the air antennae.

I use cable & have Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, & Acorn. My viewing habits are quite eclectic. I watch very little on the over the air stations anymore, but I'm finding it difficult to give up things on basic cable.
 

Tanya M

Living with an attitude of gratitude
Staff member
I really like Netflix but am also thinking of adding Hulu. To get local channels you may want to consider getting a Mohu Sky antenna, you can mount it inside your attic. I bought a refurbished one from their site and paid $99.00. We can get all the local channels and then some.
I think the cable companies will really be hurting in the next few years with more people streaming through the internet or smart TV's.
Good thread
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
We are, Tanya. We already have Netflix, Amazon Prime and Sling.

The young un's are going to smart TV's and slowly moving from cable. Soon they'll be like Blockbusters...gone.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
In our area, if you want internet & tv, you pretty much have to have cable. Hulu, netflix & Amazon have some things, but the only internet options are cable or satellite and apartments don't allow satellite dishes. Cable co's make it really expensive to have internet & no cable, sigh. We actually pay less to have cable, internet & a home phone than to just have internet. Makes me very annoyed but....

I just signed up for a free month of amazon prime to get the free shipping for xmas. I don't see much on their tv service that hulu & netflix doesn't offer. Do they have anything special on their tv service?
 
In our area, if you want internet & tv, you pretty much have to have cable. Hulu, netflix & Amazon have some things, but the only internet options are cable or satellite and apartments don't allow satellite dishes. Cable co's make it really expensive to have internet & no cable, sigh. We actually pay less to have cable, internet & a home phone than to just have internet. Makes me very annoyed but....

I just signed up for a free month of amazon prime to get the free shipping for xmas. I don't see much on their tv service that hulu & netflix doesn't offer. Do they have anything special on their tv service?

I have Amazon Prime too but use it mostly for the free 2 day shipping. I rarely watch any of the movies on it but I use the free book service and music occasionally.

You have to have cable in my area too just to have internet otherwise it costs an arm and a leg. I did have the triple package, phone, internet and cable but I cancelled the phone and went with a cheaper provider, and my darn cable bill went UP. If it wasn't for my husband and his sports, I'd dump it and just stick with my Roku player and netflix.


http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-amazon-prime-benefits-might-ignoring-right-now/
 
I don't know what those things are. I would like to cut costs, too.

Great thread. I will research Roku stick and those other things.

Thank you!

Cedar

Cedar, just search for Roku. They make a plug in player instead of a stick too. I didn't have an extra port for the stick so I got the player instead. Roku also has free channels and through Roku you can buy a subscription to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, movie channels etc. . I think Roku is well worth the 50bucks.

Another thing is... if someone in your household has a video game system like Playstation, Wii, Xbox, you can get a Netflix subscription and use one of them to stream it to your tv instead of using a Roku to stream.
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
I am a terrible sleeper, and for years I have fallen asleep to old movies. Of course I need headphones to do that. The Roku 3 or higher has a remote that you can attach headphones to, so I set the timer on the TV to turn off in an hour or whatever, and pop in the headphones and watch a quiet (usually old) movie. Something without lots of soundtrack music or yelling. Eventually I've nodded off and find that the tv is off as well. Then I just pull out the earpiece (I only use one side) and stash the remote under the bed and sleep the rest of the night. They also have a slot in the Roku box for a USB stick, so I can put movies on the stick then watch that through the Roku. It's a godsend.

Now, I know that most doctors will tell you that it is not a good thing to watch tv or whatever when you're trying to sleep, but it's better than pondering every bit of stupid thoughts that cross your mind for hours on end. I can't tell you how many times I've watched "The Thin Man", or "The Uninvited". Thousands, I imagine.
 

Copabanana

Well-Known Member
What an interesting thread. And useful. I have 2 Rokus and an apple TV. Not hooked up. I do not know how to use them. I pay a fortune in cable that we do not use. I would love to commit to reversing this. I will read up.

Thank you.

COPA
 

LittleDudesMom

Well-Known Member
quite simply put, apple tv converts your tv to a big computer screen - it accesses your wireless and enables you to view things like netflix content or purchase/rent movies thru the apple store. if you have an apple computer, you can click a button and view what you see on your computer on the tv screen - great for sharing pics! we've hd apple tv for years...
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Thanks, Little Dudes Mom. Explains why Bart got it for Junior. Junior always wants his dad to watch him play or to watch something with him and he told me it's hard to see on the little tablet. He spoils that kid rotten, but he's such a sweet little man.

Thanks for the explanation.
 
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