jt20042: just a few thoughts about Roku...
That's a very good explanation that Brad28 gave you of how Roku works... and saves you a ton of money in the process. Went from $150/mo Comcrap bill to $27/mo bill via Roku with Netflix / Hulu / Amazon Prime. It's all the pay sites I need! Cut the cord two years ago and I can truthfully say I've never looked back.
The only things I do miss are Fox News because Roger Ailes refused to institute a "pay as you go" method like some of the other major TV stations have. FoxNews channel is available, but not live on-the-air as it happens. Sports I *can* avoid missing, which is not free via Roku, because I stuck up a Mohu HD antenna up to grab the local stations which carry it. True, I cannot get FS1 or ESPN or whatever channel carries NFL on Thursday nights, etc. but I don't miss it now anyhow. The only thing you have to be careful of is to check beforehand when signing up for a channel if there are charges that go along with it. I have yet to run into a channel that didn't clearly spell out their charges before you got too far down the road paying for something you don't want! There are a ton of channels to choose; you might spend some time looking through them to find the free ones. Just about every topic you can think of, and then some.
This month Roku is revamping their lineup of units, and depending on how new your TV is may determine which one you can use. As I read it, but you should check for yourself... the Roku 1 will be the basic entry-level unit that uses AV cables (red, white, yellow) to hook up your TV to it. Roku 3 will hook up via Ethernet with an HDMI connection on your TV, and Roku 4 is basically the same, but will do 4K / UHD TV signals and has audio return on it. I myself have a Roku 2 because I have an older high-end analog TV with the AV cables that still has a great picture... but the Roku 2 won't be available for much longer and I am not sure the Roku 1 will have as much capability built into it. Of course, if you have a newer/newest TV, then a USB stick might be the easiest, since you can move it between TVs when you need to.
If you want to go with a Roku 2, look around for one of the version that has both the AV cable and Ethernet inputs built in.
Quote:
(Brad28 said: This is also why I prefer the Roku 2 model because you can plug your ethernet directly in, I don't always get the best wireless signal)
I tried to get one of those and Roku had just stopped selling them around that same time, so you might not be able to get that one, and only the new Roku 3/4 have Ethernet connectors.
Finally, I just happened to look at some new TVs this week, and some of them have the Roku unit already built into the TV itself! I don't look that closely at them, but they seemed to be reasonably priced smart TVs. So if you think you might need a new TV, then consider that.... Best Buy was selling a 39" WITH Roku built in for $299! (I don't work for Best Buy nor do I know anything about their products, just sayin')
Anyway, Brad28 gave you good info and I tried to add a little color to it so you could make an easier decision than I had to when I heard about "this Roku thingy" as someone called... Good luck!