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Originally Posted by Eric H
The Roku is a great device, one of the few computer related things to just work like it should and you don't even need an instruction manual to run it.
Even my first generation model works smoother and faster than the streaming interface built into the TV or BD player.
Netflix streaming is a bargain at less than $10 a month, lots of movies, documentaries and shows there, The TV shows are usually from the prior seasons but if you've never seen them before it's a great way to catch up.
Amazon offers new shows, usually the day after they aired on the Networks, $1.99 for SD and $2.99 for HD, I find SD is plenty good in most cases. If you subscribe to their Prime Service you get a lot of extra stuff for the yearly subscription.
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While it is true that you do not need the instruction manual to use Roku on a very basic level (the player will work as soon as it is connected to your TV, provided you have a broadband Internet connection), you must set up an account with Roku if you want to use features such as the channel store and, of course, to view movies (you have to enter your credit card number to establish the account for this feature).
Some channels such as Crackle, which shows classic TV programs, are indeed free, but most of the movie channels are pay channels. I have an account with Netflix, which allows unlimited video streaming; however, I haven't done much with that feature yet, even to test it. One of these days.
I also have Amazon Prime, but I haven't used the video features of that service yet (I have it mostly for the 2-day shipping speed). However, since I now have my Roku player, I may be trying out some of the other features of the subscription, such as video streaming, in the near future.
One thing I don't especially care for with Roku is the fact that they show most TV programs the day after they air on the networks. I find this particularly annoying when I try to watch the news from NBC, if I should miss the live telecast for any reason.
Roku's "NBC News" channel does have links to NBC Nightly News and to NBC's Meet the Press, but by the time these programs are available to watch they are already a day old. With MTP the time delay doesn't matter much, but NBC Nightly News is worthless if one watches the broadcast the day after it airs, since that day's newspapers will already have most of the news stories covered on the NBC news the night before.
I can get both NBC Nightly News and Meet the Press, however, on my tablet the same day they are broadcast, although there is a delay of about six hours or more before the broadcasts are available online. Until recently, I was able to receive MTP as a podcast, but msnbc.com has discontinued that service; the broadcast is now available exclusively on streaming video from that site.