UPDATE: Roku3 TV As promised to some of you who requested it, here is my latest on life without DirectTV. As you may remember, after 25 years with DirectTV I severed the cord about 4-5 weeks ago. Still havent missed it but I will give you my personal experiences to date. First, I learned there is an Achilles Heel to the Roku device. They simply forgot to add the Internet browser, but going into developer mode I was able to add it. The average person should not try this, its not worth the effort anyways. In theory, the Internet browser would allow you to travel to sites like PrimeWire (a streaming site) and stream about anything in the world about an hour after its aired in its primetime spot. The browser for Roku is sluggish and frustrating and its just an unproductive waste of time. Therefore I say to you... AUGMENT your Roku3 with an HDMI cable and your laptop. Not only can you surf faster, you establish a better connection speed and can hit more sites. TNT and ESPN are a couple stations that resist all temptation to allow steaming of their networks. Oddly enough, most of the programs on those stations BY TITLE are streamable after their intial airing. DIrectTV can be replaced...make no mistake, but to do so one must use the free tv over the air (which has really gotten a lot better), their Roku3, and finally the laptop with HDMI inputs. Hey....free is a pretty good price...dont you think? I didnt pay DirectTV $100 this cycle....so I feel pretty good about that. Now.....hulu is a site allows for new and old television shows to be viewed for FREE. HuluPlus is different....take heed of that. You pay about $8 per month (I think) and get more current movies and stuff. If the Roku3 browser worked better, you could simply go that route and type in the URL. Since the Roku browser is crap, I recommend using the laptop to navigate there. If you like the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and dont mind being one night behind, you can watch him and Letterman on demand...on your schedule. However....since those are network shows...you can always stay current watching them via free TV airwaves. The Roku3 has apps for Lifetime, A&E, The History Channel, Smithsonian Channel, (and more) and I love all those channels and watch them. Kathy loves the show Devious Maids, but now watches the show on Mondays instead of Sunday when it airs on your local cable or DirectTV. YouTube has most shows and most channels you care to watch, and I use that feature a lot. I often watch shows that are about a week old.....but who cares...you know? Why do people have DVRs? So they can watch shows later....right? Netflix is a mainstay and a keeper. The $8 per month I pay them is well worth it. Not only do I get a plethora of movies, but lots of good TV shows too. My area of concern will come in October when NBA and NFL seasons come alive, and Heaven knows I cant live without them. It appears both may be viewable on laptop after their initial airings, but I still have to get educated about those things. So far I am happy with not having DIrectTV, but its an individual choice. I recommend you get the Roku3 and try it out before disconnecting any services....just to see how you hold up emotionally after pulling the plug. This update sort of became a mini-blog....but since it was requested...I did my best to condense where Im at in this grand experiment. Feel free to message me with any questions. CIAO folks!
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 20:21:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015