Two months ago, my family and I thought it was economically viable to disconnect our cable service, or cut the cord. We just thought that it was no longer worth paying over $100 a month (excluding internet and phone service ) for something we watch less than four hours a day. After researching options based on our television viewing habits, we decided to purchase the Roku 2 XS because of its high definition streaming capability.
After literally 20 minutes of connecting our Roku 2 XS to the internet, we were watching our first movie. This is what I’ve learned in 60 days about watching movies and television shows on the Roku.
Movie Choices
The first piece of advice I would give to any Roku 2 XS buyer is not to expect it to completely replace your other television subscriber services like U-Verse or Xfinity, especially when it comes to movies. Nothing replaces the convenience of movie watching on those services. The Roku does have a Netflix channel so if you have the service already, that’s a plus. Yes, the Roku 2 XS has plenty of channels that feature “free” movies, but the selections are sparse and almost always come with some commercials.
I would recommend adding Amazon Instant Video through an Amazon Prime membership. Prime is not just a great service for saving on shipping items or borrowing Kindle books; Amazon Prime membership includes FREE movies and television series episodes from Amazon Instant Video. You can also order premium movie and television series on a per-view basis. It’s very much worth spending $80 a year on, although we got a 50 percent student discount thanks to my wife.
When we bought our Roku 2 XS, I knew that I would have more to lose than anyone when it comes to television because I’m a fan of live sports. I knew our Netflix service would cover my kids’ cartoon shows and my wife’s cooking and documentary shows. But watching live television outside of our local HD Antenna streams were a no go. Or so I thought.
But for another $40 a year, PlayOn gives you access to television shows from the major networks. We used the trial version of PlayOn and found that yes, the major networks do have standard definition streaming videos, but they aren’t live and are much like whatever you would find on your favorite channel’s website. However, PlayOn does allow developers to make custom channels that you can load onto your server. These channels will often stream live events or television shows from around the world, to include live sports. Once you figure out how to load the scripts (you can do it in a five-minute learning curve), it opens up your live television viewing options. My HD antenna doesn’t pick up a live ABC station, but through PlayOn, I found a streaming ABC station and was able to watch the NBA finals. It wasn’t in HD, but it was good enough. With the 2012 Olympics coming up, it feels good to know that I can watch any even in live time on my Roku 2 XS.
If you are really into watching newer network shows in HD, the Roku 2 XS also gives you access to Hulu Plus. It’s only $9 a month. Hulu Plus also has movies and older television shows. We’re also using that service, but not nearly as frequently as we do with PlayOn or Amazon Instant Video.
There are many other niche-related channels for your Roku that are free. They do feature games you can purchase for less than $2 a pop. But since we have a Wii, Nintendo DS, PC, and lap top, our family feels no other need to purchase games. And there are probably another 500 paid or free channels for any other niche you can think of. There are probably more free religious television channels on Roku than I’ve ever seen on paid cable. I’ve even seen a Roku channel dedicated to Kung Fu movies! Just beware that these channels have very frequent commercial interruptions and you could find yourself watching the same commercials over and over again.
Final Roku XS Bill
With Hulu Plus costing us $8 a month and Netflix costing us $9 a month, our monthly movie and television bill is $17. If we keep Prime and PlayOn, our annual bill would be $284 a year. The Roku XS doesn’t completely replace the convenience and options of our old cable service, but with a few adjustments, it’s a moneysaving purchase.
