Years later I still have a crush on our Roku Player and we've been 100% cable free for 2 years. We made the decision to cut the cable cord in 2012 after realizing we only watched a handful of TV channels we were paying for and added up the yearly cost of cable. Bottom line for our house it didn't make sense to keep paying for a service we weren't using, our Roku player had replaced or need for cable. I go more in depth in our decision to cut the cable cord in this post, followed up an anniversary post (see I love the Roku!) For those of you out there who haven't heard of the Roku its a streaming deceive for playing various channels (Netflix, Pandora, Hulu & more I'll get to the more in a few) by using your WiFi. Once you connect the device to your homes Wifi your able to subscribe to the channels I mentioned above and more, some channels you pay a small month service while other channels are free, you only pay for the content you want to watch. Hasani's dad purchased our first Roku player for him (B-Day present) way back in 2010 and we've been hooked every since.
Current Setup
Last year we added another Roku player to our household, we currently have a Roku HD & Roku player, one resides in our living room and the other our master bedroom. Roku has become so popular the past few years that you can buy one at your local Target or Best Buy and of course online at Amazon.com
The Roku are super and small and can hide behind your flat screen TV. Here's a snapshot of our bedroom, can you spot the Roku? It's actually hiddern behind our TV. I keep the remote on top of the TV when its not in use it goes missing a lot lol. But don't worry there's a Roku App for that! Yup if you loose your remote you can use your app to change the channels, genius :) I recently ordered TotalMount Roku mounting kit from Amazon, because both or living room and master bedroom TVs are hanging from the wall and I want to make sure they were securely held in place. Plus majority of the reviews were very positive.
We recently added a flat panel antenna behind our living room TV so we now are able to catch local TV (the news, abc, cbs & fox etc)
We recently added a flat panel RCA Antenna behind our living room TV so we now are able to catch local TV (the news, abc, cbs & fox etc) It's kind of nice, I'll be able to watch the news in the morning and watch a few shows during the weekday if we choose to, however the Roku has replaced my need to watch live TV. Below is what are new RCA Antenna looks like, it only took a few minutes to install and find free TV channels.
Channel Subscriptions
We currently pay for three subscriptions channels: Netflix $7.99 per month (plus we have the 1 at a time DVD subscription) Hulu $ 7.99 per month and I recently opted to try Amazon Prime, with this subscription you pay the year amount in advance which works out to be $6.58 per month. Plus your able to get free 2 day shipping on almost all Amazon orders!! I love ordering something on Tuesday and know it be arriving on Thursday, it makes me a happy girl.
In the past year so many regular cable channels have added a channels on Roku: PBS, AMC & Lifetime just to name a few (all free!) I love watching British movies and TV shows and recently discovered Acorn its $4.99 per month and I'm using its free trial period right now to see if I want to pay for the substitution. Roku recently added RedBox on Roku where you can also subscribe for a monthly fee and get so many rentals per month at the Redbox for free. When we want to watch a movie that's not available on a Roku channel, we typically rent a movie from Amazon (they offer 24 hour digital movie rentals) the rentals range from $1.99 - $4.99 the higher price rentals are in HD
What We Watch
Hasani and I have discovered so many amazing TV shows thanks to Roku! Just to name a few of the shows I discovered thanks to Roku: Scandal (discovered Season 1 on Netflix was hooked and started watching Season 2 on Hulu) Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, The Good Wife (seasons 1-4 are on Hulu & Amazon Prime) and many more.
Seriously one of our favorite things Hasani and I love doing together is picking a new TV show to watch and binge watch! I love being able to enjoy an entire television series over the course of a few weeks lol. I'm also loving that Netflix is producing their own television series with big name stars like House of Cards and the hit I still haven't watched Orange is the New Black. One show we can't get enough of is Walking Dead (season 1-3 is on Netflix) We currently watch Walking Dead Mondays on Amazon it cost us a $1.99 per episode but its so worth it. Gotta have my weekly zombie fix. As you can tell I'm all over the map when it comes to me TV watching, I like English Aristocrats, Zombie Killers and a Chemistry teacher with a bad habit lol.
One of the best changes to Roku in the past year is the addition of the PBS channel, last year I'd have to wait a few days to watch the latest episode of Downton Abbey online and their streaming to forever like forever. I'm now able to watch Downton the same night it airs on Roku. With the PBS channel I've discovered some amazing British TV shows, which you all must must check out.
PBS Must See TV
Downton Abbey
Watch series 1-3 on Netflix or Amazon Prime
Call the Midwife
Watch Series 1-2 on Netflix
Last Tango in Halifax
Watch online on PBS
If your looking for new to you TV shows hope you'll check out the three I mentioned above. Of of the cool things about switching the old dusty cable box for the Roku and sharing the change with our family and friends and all you and we love it is hearing back from some of them who have also made the change and cut the cable cord! Most recently my sister made the switch a few months ago and is happily cable free, and she was one of those people who had like every channel imaginable lol. I love paying for content which actually want to watch verses paying for content we don't. I can honestly say I don' miss cable at all, but it is fun visiting a friends house and flipping though their channels just to see whats on lol.
Now for the fun part hearing your thoughts about television now, how do yo watch TV in your home? Could you ever give up cable? Have you recently switched to a Roku player or another streaming device? Also what shows should I check out or channels on Roku?
Would love to hear your thoughts!
Current Setup
Last year we added another Roku player to our household, we currently have a Roku HD & Roku player, one resides in our living room and the other our master bedroom. Roku has become so popular the past few years that you can buy one at your local Target or Best Buy and of course online at Amazon.com
The Roku are super and small and can hide behind your flat screen TV. Here's a snapshot of our bedroom, can you spot the Roku? It's actually hiddern behind our TV. I keep the remote on top of the TV when its not in use it goes missing a lot lol. But don't worry there's a Roku App for that! Yup if you loose your remote you can use your app to change the channels, genius :) I recently ordered TotalMount Roku mounting kit from Amazon, because both or living room and master bedroom TVs are hanging from the wall and I want to make sure they were securely held in place. Plus majority of the reviews were very positive.
We recently added a flat panel antenna behind our living room TV so we now are able to catch local TV (the news, abc, cbs & fox etc)
We recently added a flat panel RCA Antenna behind our living room TV so we now are able to catch local TV (the news, abc, cbs & fox etc) It's kind of nice, I'll be able to watch the news in the morning and watch a few shows during the weekday if we choose to, however the Roku has replaced my need to watch live TV. Below is what are new RCA Antenna looks like, it only took a few minutes to install and find free TV channels.
Channel Subscriptions
We currently pay for three subscriptions channels: Netflix $7.99 per month (plus we have the 1 at a time DVD subscription) Hulu $ 7.99 per month and I recently opted to try Amazon Prime, with this subscription you pay the year amount in advance which works out to be $6.58 per month. Plus your able to get free 2 day shipping on almost all Amazon orders!! I love ordering something on Tuesday and know it be arriving on Thursday, it makes me a happy girl.
In the past year so many regular cable channels have added a channels on Roku: PBS, AMC & Lifetime just to name a few (all free!) I love watching British movies and TV shows and recently discovered Acorn its $4.99 per month and I'm using its free trial period right now to see if I want to pay for the substitution. Roku recently added RedBox on Roku where you can also subscribe for a monthly fee and get so many rentals per month at the Redbox for free. When we want to watch a movie that's not available on a Roku channel, we typically rent a movie from Amazon (they offer 24 hour digital movie rentals) the rentals range from $1.99 - $4.99 the higher price rentals are in HD
What We Watch
Hasani and I have discovered so many amazing TV shows thanks to Roku! Just to name a few of the shows I discovered thanks to Roku: Scandal (discovered Season 1 on Netflix was hooked and started watching Season 2 on Hulu) Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, The Good Wife (seasons 1-4 are on Hulu & Amazon Prime) and many more.
Seriously one of our favorite things Hasani and I love doing together is picking a new TV show to watch and binge watch! I love being able to enjoy an entire television series over the course of a few weeks lol. I'm also loving that Netflix is producing their own television series with big name stars like House of Cards and the hit I still haven't watched Orange is the New Black. One show we can't get enough of is Walking Dead (season 1-3 is on Netflix) We currently watch Walking Dead Mondays on Amazon it cost us a $1.99 per episode but its so worth it. Gotta have my weekly zombie fix. As you can tell I'm all over the map when it comes to me TV watching, I like English Aristocrats, Zombie Killers and a Chemistry teacher with a bad habit lol.
(image via fanpop)
One of the best changes to Roku in the past year is the addition of the PBS channel, last year I'd have to wait a few days to watch the latest episode of Downton Abbey online and their streaming to forever like forever. I'm now able to watch Downton the same night it airs on Roku. With the PBS channel I've discovered some amazing British TV shows, which you all must must check out.
PBS Must See TV
Downton Abbey
Watch series 1-3 on Netflix or Amazon Prime
Call the Midwife
Watch Series 1-2 on Netflix
Last Tango in Halifax
Watch online on PBS
If your looking for new to you TV shows hope you'll check out the three I mentioned above. Of of the cool things about switching the old dusty cable box for the Roku and sharing the change with our family and friends and all you and we love it is hearing back from some of them who have also made the change and cut the cable cord! Most recently my sister made the switch a few months ago and is happily cable free, and she was one of those people who had like every channel imaginable lol. I love paying for content which actually want to watch verses paying for content we don't. I can honestly say I don' miss cable at all, but it is fun visiting a friends house and flipping though their channels just to see whats on lol.
Now for the fun part hearing your thoughts about television now, how do yo watch TV in your home? Could you ever give up cable? Have you recently switched to a Roku player or another streaming device? Also what shows should I check out or channels on Roku?
Would love to hear your thoughts!
