ROKU

Streaming TV

In my quest to get free TV and rid myself of pay TV, I bought a ROKU streaming stick.

Before you give me advice on the many antennae, converter boxes and etc., let me stop you and tell you I've tried them all or investigated the possibility. None of them work to get ALL of the local stations. That's all I really want is the free stuff that we were all once entitled too.

You'd think that by paying for the local stations that would qualify me for each local station's sister station such as channels 10, 10.1, 10.2.  But no, I only get one of them.

I've watched HULU and YouTube on my desktop, for free. I wanted to take it to another level and watch those stations along with others that can be streamed through ROKU on my flat screen.

 Notice from the box all of the stations you can stream with the streaming stick. There are even more that you don't see on the box.
BUT, KNOW THIS, you must pay a monthly fee just like you do with cable, DISH,  DirecTV and any other(s) I failed to mention.

There's a free movie channel known as CRACKLE.

It's true name should be CRAP because that's what it is.  Crackle showed me  about 20 minutes of a movie before it went to commercial. I watched five ads. Three of them were the same ad. When Crackle proceeded to show me a sixth ad, I turned it off.  It was as if they were trying to hypnotize me into buying that particular product by continuously showing it to me. If I want to watch a bunch of commercials, I'll just watch regular TV.   You get what you pay for and in this case I didn't pay so I got nothing,

   If I watch vintage TV programs on HULU on my desktop, it's free, yet I can't watch the freebies through the streaming stick. I must register and pay for HULU.

The only thing I was able to get for free with clarity was YouTube. I was able to watch through ROKU the same things I watch on my desk top. The disadvantage with YouTube and ROKU is the inability to read the information (i.e. Subscribe, Show More,Views, Share,  Comments) that's beneath the movie before you watch it, to determine if you want to watch  it at all.  I was willing to accept that.

Deciding which vintage movie to watch from YouTube using the ROKU streaming stick on the flat screen.

 

 

 

 

Overall, I'd have to say, ROKU  does what it professes. If you want more you  pay to play.

P.S.   If you're wondering why the flat screen isn't flat and at an angle, it's because it's housed in a niche, not on a swivel stand and it's a pain to turn it around to unplug DISH and plug in ROKU.  Yes, it's a pain but things could be worse.



That's All***