Quote:
Originally Posted by Ksyrup
Gotcha. So Roku becomes the TV interface through which I would watch the services I subscribe to, rather than directly from the TV.
Ah, and it looks like they have some free live channels through Roku directly as well. I think this was the set-up we had at a place we stayed on Hawaii for one night. Now it's kinda making some sense.
|
There are quite a few free apps out there (and pay apps, like Netflix), a handful are bundled on to every Roku, but you can search for more online. After years of this, I keep four apps on mine.
Tablo - interfacing with my Tablo device, which has a DVR and is connected to my antenna for broadcast TV.
The Roku Channel - cobbles together quite a few free sources of content. The ad load isn't too bad and you can always back out of a show and reload if it randomly gives you too many ads (there's a timer on ads).
Tubi - cobbles together more free sources of content, a good amount of overlap with Roku. The ad load is a bit higher and the interface not quite as smooth, but you can back out of an ad segment, clear the show, restart it with one ad, then fast-forward to where you were.
Pluto - lots of free channels - they just added a 24-hour Jeopardy! channel. It seems modeled from cable, with 30-minute time blocks and an on-demand section. Of course, that comes with a long, unavoidable commercial blocks without a timer, including the on-demand movies. I find I hardly ever load this app.
You'd then add in Fubo or YTTV or Philo as another app. The app makers periodically update their Roku apps because this is a huge chunk of their business. You pay for the service on your computer or phone, then load the app in the Roku. It will pop up a code, which you then type in on your computer or phone, and that connects your payment account to your Roku device. Each app has a set number of streams, limiting the number of active codes you can have connected to your account at any time.
So it's a little bit of work to understand and set up the accounts. But no customer service calls, like you'd have with cable. It's all automated and you can start/stop service exactly when you want. That alone, I think, makes it less trouble in the long run.