ROKU?

We got rid of cable/dish service several years ago. We use a Roku with Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus and MLB.com subscriptions. (The latter is nearly worthless, though; it seems that any game I want to watch is blacked out.)

I use it and love it and yes you can get rid of cable/dish if it suits you. A good antenna I would say is a must though for local channels. Hulu Plus 9+-/month, amazon prime 100.00/year, etc., etc. for whatever content you want. Just with hulu plus and amazon prime you'll have more content than you can ever watch.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you need a good strong high-speed internet connection in order to adequately stream shows without it constantly having to "reboot" (or whatever the streaming lag is called).

You do need a decent internet speed. I recommend at least 10 Mbps but they say 3 Mbps for hd content is fine. My speed is around 15 Mbps and I never experience any lag on any content. Even fast forwarding is near flawless.

> Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you need a good strong high-speed internet connection in order to adequately stream shows without it constantly having to "reboot" (or whatever the streaming lag is called).

Yes, a dialup connection won't deliver satisfactory performance. 1 mb/s to 3 mb/s should be enough for old-style TV; HD will need more. You do need to be aware of local bottlenecks like a slow WiFi router (if running wireless) or heavy download use by other systems on the network.

I have an older Roku box. Very quickly, I noticed that "free" content is so riddled with commercials (the same 2-3 commercials every 4 minutes on a half hour program) to become annoying very fast. No, one can not fast forward through commercials like we did with vcrs.

To watch commercial free content, as has been said already, costs money that can add up fast. To see an individual tv show for instance, is around 2-3$. Even some of the networks (I forget which one, but ABC, NBC or CBS) is making noise about charging to watch on line.

I signed up for Vudu. Pay as you go, rental or purchase, $4-6 to rent individual movies.

Youtube also has subscription services for tv and I think some movies. Many of the boxes have you tube available.

My good buddy Jules got the RODU 3 and had problems with it.
He went back to the ROKU 1 and things are better. I imagine the issues are a buffering

The only "tv" I have now is what I get from hulu (not the plus) so I do get a ton of the same commercials. (amazing how fast I learned where the keyboard mute button without looking is now found)

We have a Roku3. Zero problems. no buffering with 11 to 16 mgb service. Amazon, Netflix, Acorn (many of the British mysteries for about $5 per month), ESPN viewer, national news netwroks, TWIT, MIT, TED, Smithsonian, History, PBS..hundreds of private channels. Lots of old shows, science fiction, cartoons. The quality of your experience depends on what you need to be happy. If you want all the reality shows, seek elsewhere. We've got 450+ channels with Uverse, but I watch Roku. Go to roku.com to get an idea of the channels, although many private channels aren't there.

I am afraid to cut the cable cord for fear of losing all of the live sports programming. Mr. Frame is the only one to address this, sort of, mentioning MLB.

How are all of you cable cutters doing without live sports like NCAA football, the NBA, tennis, etc?

It would be a tough move for me.

JA, PLS SoCal

For sports try Live Sport Streams. There's a lot of worldwide content available. . and it's free.

Here's a pretty good forum for "cord cutting". Check out the faq's and guides on the right side for more info.

> For sports try Live Sport Streams. There's a lot of worldwide content available. . and it's free.

Looks all fine and good.
Where's the racing or rugby/aussie football?

Here's the Rugby with some Aussie NRL games and
Here's the Racing with NASCAR & Formula One, Motocross etc. and
Here's the Rugby Union with some NZ ITM games

We have roku for a couple years now. Got rid of HBO etc. just have basic cable. Don't miss it.

Show me a match I can watch right now. Please.
I love rugby/aussie football. He11 with American football.
(fire retardant is on now head to toe - flame on)

Well seeing as it's around noon on Tuesday down under I doubt there are any streaming rugby matches. They might have some archive and highlight footage available and it looks like The National Rugby League has some highlight or replay options on their site if you're desperate for a fix. . . How 'bout those Roosters!!
If it's Aussie rules football you're hankering for, here's a couple of links to either watch live or watch highlights etc.

When my wife and I moved again recently we decided to cut the cord to our local cable company except for high speed internet. The only thing I miss is having college football during the fall. So, if I want to watch a game I usually hook up with a buddy who has cable, but him beer for the game, and remind myself how it is not worth the $$$ to support the cable company for spewing out trash like MTV and other worthless channels.

rugby and australian

eric, have you ever been fortunate enough to find Gaelic football? it is truly fascinating

rugby and australian

> eric, have you ever been fortunate enough to find Gaelic football? it is truly fascinating

I have not heard of it. Show me some.

Edit: found some videos.
At least they ain't a bunch of "grass fairies" as a I heard a baseball coach refer to soccer players once.

I'll stick to my Aussie football thanks.