ROKU & High Speed internet questions - Please help if you know.

[Sam Murdoch]

Hi All -

I'm looking to help my housebound sister (who lives 4 states away) to set up a better system for TV watching.

Current set up:

• No smart TV

• Cable for Internet only

• DISH for TV but stupid expensive. Basic with one added channel and a Hopper for 2 TVs - but since she is a long time customer they keep upping the cost with no added benefit. Another $ 20.00 per month next month to nearly $ 100.00.

I'm considering dumping DISH and bumping her internet to a bundle for cable and phone with higher speed (to 200Mbps) then adding a ROKU. The ROKU will give her channels that she can't get on her local cable provider. She lives in a no competition for cable zone. (I'm the guy who pays these bills so I can deal with the companies directly.)

QUESTIONS:

1) Is 200Mbps fast enough for TV streaming?

2) Is ROKU a decent affordable way to do this?

3) Am I asking the right questions?

Additional info:

Family could chip in and buy her a new smart TV if that is needed to make ROKU work but she lives far away, is not that physically capable or technically savy enough to set up a new TV without help. Still...

If I cancel DISH, I know from my own experience that they will be very amenable to lowering the price and giving a much much better deal - as if you are a new customer - but possibly it will take being willing to be without TV for a few days to a few weeks. As she is housebound this is quite a sacrifice for her. I would rather avoid the drama.

The only options I have - again because of the lack of competition in her area and because of some very specific TV watching needs that she prefers - are:

1) The cable/ ROKU set up

2) Try to negotiate with DISH but with no clout.

# 1 is my preference if you guys can tell me that ROKU works well and is user friendly.

Thanks very much.

Sam

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Saw a Samsung dvd player at Sams club a few weeks ago that also acted as a smart tv box. Iirc it was only $40. I may get one for our none smart tv. (I have been streaming more video than watching cable anyway. I get 7 channels over the airwaves and I am thinking about cutting the cable anyway.) I can use my phone as a remote, look up what I want to see on the net, and push a button to have it play on the tv. A smart tv like an LG with web os can cruise the net like a computer using a wireless keyboard. A bit slower though.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

If you get the keyboard for the tv, get the keyboard with the mouse pad on it., $24 at best buy.

[Jim Becker]

Roku is almost the "gold standard" when it comes to streaming content services and would be a good choice, IMHO, for what you state is needed. It gives you access to quite a few streaming content options, too, including Hulu + which includes live TV. And the 200mb Internet service is more than adequate for streaming. A single HD stream is only really using about 10mb max. I have 150/150 service and with multiple people streaming different content to different devices, there is plenty of bandwidth to spare.

FWIW, I'm an Apple guy and use Apple TV for streaming, but if I weren't, I'd be using Roku. I will say, however, that the Samsung Smart TVs that I bought my daughters for Christmas this year handle streaming very, very well and at under $300 for a 40" set, were a good value.

[Nathan Johnson]

We average somewhere around 25 - 30 mbps and do not have cable. We have zero issues streaming content on the tv while each using smart phones.
I have one small smart tv with roku built in, and two blu-ray players (Samsung and sony) connected to other tvs. All tvs have rabbit ears for local channels in HD.
I would say the roku is probably the most user friendly. I would also say that I detest the Samsung interface...it's clunky and stupid...but it is several years old.
All in all, I don't watch hardly any tv, but my fiance uses Hulu and Netflix a lot. We do not miss cable at all, and I am quite happy not paying them for commercials and channel surfing.

You don't need a smart tv. You can buy a standalone blu-ray player, roku, firestick, etc streaming device/stick to plug into any of the newer televisions.

[Pat Barry]

1) you have plenty of speed at 200 MPS
2) ROKU is great, I have ROKU a Firestick, a smart TV with googlecast built in. All work fine.
3) you dont get something for nothing. HULU, Netflix, HBO go, etc, all cost monthly fee. Those fees add up in a hurry
4) live TV sports is something you wont get with ROKU without something like an ESPN subscription.
5) I find sports lacking on all streaming media you can get that with cable

[Robin Dobbie]

I would consider committing immoral acts for 200mbps.(not really) 4 or 5 megabits is plenty for one person, as long as the connection is stable.

Don't forget about Netflix DVD/Bluray mail service. Best quality, best selection, no commercials, no buffering.

[Yonak Hawkins]

...Hulu + which includes live TV.

...you dont get something for nothing. HULU, Netflix, HBO go, etc, all cost monthly fee. Those fees add up in a hurry.

I've been seeing ads from Utube. They are offering live TV, as well. I can't vouch for its quality or inclusiveness, but I wonder if this is a good alternative to cable or satellite. It sounds promising.

[glenn bradley]

I've been streaming TV for years over what was sold as a 10Mbps service without issue. This has morphed to a 30Mbps service but, not at my request for more bandwidth. Much of the hyperbole over Mbps is for up-selling. I have buildings on campus full of general computing users that still run on 100Mbps uplinks for lack of adequate fiber facilities for higher speeds. I also run 100Gbps paths for all sorts of gigantic research data and everything in between. I have been pushing data since 1200bps (yes, twelve hundred bits) was exciting. Large numbers impress people but, don't pay for something you don't need.

P.s. I also have a small form factor computer that was only a few hundred bucks that I use for nearly all my streaming functions. Sometimes a computer works better as a computer. For folks not comfortable with directly interfacing, something like the Roku or Fire Stick front end is better. I find them a little maddening ;-)

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Maybe I don't know enough about ROKU. I was told, rightly or wrongly, that it is preset for lots of streaming services, like hulu, but can not just surf the internet. If I locate a foreign streaming service, ROKU won't let me watch it. LG's Web os, will let me use the tv like a computer and just show the content without going through a thing like roku. I don't understand why these tv's do not have the fancy computer chips to do that without using a roku. I can even go on this forum and post this message from my Samsung tv. Can roku do that?

[Jim Becker]

I would consider committing immoral acts for 200mbps.(not really) 4 or 5 megabits is plenty for one person, as long as the connection is stable.

'Kinda subjective... "Needs" are relative to the individual.

[Sam Murdoch]

Thank you all - valuable and encouraging info here. You are contributing to my sister's well being in her otherwise
small world, in the spirit of the Holy Days. Thanks again.

Sam

[Matt Meiser]

4 or 5 megabits is plenty for one person, as long as the connection is stable

''''

Don't forget about Netflix DVD/Bluray mail service. Best quality, best selection, no commercials, no buffering.

[Curt Harms]

If you want a good selection of content, you'll need something like Hulu or Netflix in addition to the Roku. I had Hulu for a year and it was OK but I'm not that much for movies, I tend toward TV shows and documentaries. I was paying around $8/month for Hulu and wasn't watching it that much. I switched to Amazon Prime for $3/yr. more and see it as a better value, good streaming video for my tastes and 2 day shipping on lots of stuff - or sometimes faster. One thing to be aware of re wifi streaming devices. I live in a townhouse community and there are a LOT of wifi networks. Most of them run at 2.4 Ghz, along with microwave ovens and other devices. The more devices emitting on the same frequency the slower the real world throughput. There is a second wifi frequency, 5 Ghz. which is not nearly as busy but many video streaming devices can't use that frequency. If I were to buy another streaming device, dual band (2.4/5 Ghz.) would be something I'd want. Now if I were in a cabin in the woods, 2.4 Ghz. would be fine and I think the lower frequencies are better for distance and obstacles.

[Yonak Hawkins]

glenn, what service do you use to stream live TV ? Do you get most of the things offered on cable ?