Can a Roku streaming stick be used to get free TV stations?

[dadiOH]

Yes, I do. That is how the Roku sends data...via the HDMI channel.

Once you plug it in and set up Roku you and your entire family will be able to huddle around that little monitor and enjoy all the best of the free channels available. You'll have plenty of opportunity to make popcorn, open a beer, take a leak, whatever you need a few moments for, during the commercials. After a winter or two of that, you may decide that the $8-$10 per month for Netflix or Amazon isn't such a ripoff after all.

But wait, there's more.

If you would like to have a more comfortable viewing experience by viewing via your TV, then get a Roku device that will connect via RCA phono plugs to the TV rather than HDMI. As I said originally, that is model Roku Express+

3910RW. It would set you back $35 but that is less than buying a new TV. Worth it? Depends upon how much you value lebensraum.

[mike]

OTA is generally better than what you can get over cable. Windows media center just sends the raw data to the hard drive. Cable, or tuners like HD Home Run or Roku or netflix seriously compress the data before saving it.

Watch a football game OTA, then on Cable. When the camera follows the runner, there's a LOT of detail in the background changing quickly. On Cable, it's a blur. OTA you can see everything clearly.

Watch a TV soap opera that has a lot of closeups on cable. The actors have facial blemishes and wrinkles etc. When the camera switches to them, their face is clear. The details fade in as the compression algorithm catches up. When they turn their head, the wrinkles disappear, then fade in again. It's very annoying. OTA doesn't have that problem. Wasn't as noticeable on NTSC, but ATSC shows the problem big time.

Indeed. Who is the vendor of your 6MBytes/sec DSL? I could never get over 3Mbits/sec on DSL. At 6MBytes/second, I could cancel fiber and double my speed on DSL.

[dadiOH]

Originally, Verizon. Now, Frontier but they use the same gear Verizon used; basically, Frontier bought the gear, customers and upkeep from Verizon, only the name changed.

However, keep what you have...mine is 6+ megaBITS, not bytes. My excuse is that I had not had my morning coffee :)

[Char Jackson]

Like, for example, the Egyptian Belly Dancing channel? Or the Aquarium channel or the Fireplace channel? ;-)

I have 3 Roku devices, one for each TV, and one of the channels I use the most is AccuRadio. It delivers uninterrupted*, ad free, no talking, music all day long, in the sub-sub-sub-genre of my choice. You can drill into any of multiple categories of music, then continue drilling down until you find just what you want. I think AccuRadio is also a website, and there could be ads there, but on Roku it's free of ads.

*Ok, to be honest, there's a recorded voice every couple of hours that says, "You're listening to AccuRadio", but that's really easy to ignore.

[Frank Slootweg]

What was it again about not using multiple nyms in a single thread!?

And BTW, you're welcome, twice, one time for 'Ragnusen Ultred' (the

*two* spaces persona) and another for 'Bob J Jones'.

But I'm a little bit disappointed that you can lie, cheat, belittle, insult, etc., but can't be bothered to acknowledge help/advice/ .

[mechanic]

Great site, thanks!

[Neil]

The short answer is "no". You can get TV content in a number of ways via Roku, but they aren't free. Services like Hulu offer some of the shows on several networks, but most shows are not included and there is a monthly charge for Hulu. Some networks, such as CBS All Access offer selected content, but they charge for it. None of the options are like watching broadcast TV.

[trader_4]

If he's willing to pay $20 a month, SlingTV could be an option.

[Char Jackson]

You're welcome. I use the heck out of it.

[mike]

On 3/28/2018 8:09 AM, Char Jackson wrote: snip

I went to the website. All I got was 10 minutes of advertising followed by a loop of "you're listening to accuradio" every few seconds.

Maybe I needed to create an account to hear anything.

I should drag out the roku.

[Sjouke Burry]

I clicked the country button, and thats what I got.....

[Char Jackson]

Wow, what a difference. :) No ads on Roku, nothing but ads on the web?

I had to check it out for myself. I didn't see any ads on the site, just music, and no looping "You're listening to AccuRadio". AdBlock Plus says it blocked 12 ads, but I can't explain the looping you encountered. Maybe try another browser? Definitely try it with your Roku, though.

[mike]

It does work with firefox.

I listen to music at low volume at night. Helps me get to sleep. Accuradio has a channel that's perfect. The periodic screaming an ad at me kinda defeats the purpose.

I dug out the roku, but realized that I can't control it without the HDMI display. Don't think that's gonna work for me.

[Amethyst]

That brings up a good point where I wonder of the Roku Streaming Stick can "stream" a movie onto a TV that was previously downloaded onto a desktop computer using the youtube downloader?

[C:] youtube-dl.exe

I got the YouTube downloader from here:

And the MP3 encoder from here (if I want to download just the audio):

Can a Roku streaming stick stream from the local desktop to the TV?

[Amethyst]

We are Spartan.

We have one couch in the entire house, one table, one bookshelf, etc.

We currently have that one huge but old Sony TV we bought for $100 years ago (before the advent of HDMI most likely), so any TV would have to replace the huge Sony TV we have now.

This Walmart one is less than $100 & says it has speakers & HDMI in:

[george]

Yes, quite easily with Plex.

[Paul]

We went "virtual shopping" for a TV set for someone in another group, and this is what we ended up with. If you shop around, you can shave at least another $20 off the price.

LG 28" Class (27.5" Actual Diagonal Size) LJ400B Series HD 720p LED TV $167

But, it's only got YPbPr,Audio-Lin, Audio-Rin, and one HDMI. Reviews say (as you'd expect) that sound sucks and it could use a sound bar to help out. A sound bar is a possibility, it there's a headphone jack on it.

I'd look for a similar unit, with "wide viewing angle" (means it's not using a TN panel), and see if you could get one with more HDMI on it or something. Having just one HDMI is limiting, as you'd want one for an optical player, and one for your Roku.

For example, this one has two HDMI, but maybe the screen viewing angle isn't the same. In one review I could find, someone claimed the plastic chassis rattles if you turn up the volume above 18.

Samsung 28" Class (27.5" Actual Daigonal Size) M4500 Series HDTV $200

OK, found a spec here (if you can trust this), and it's 178 degrees, means it's not TN.

Anyway, shop around a bit.

Frys has a good collection to scroll through, but not necessarily the best price.

*******

Paul

[Good Guy]

In future please trim down your list of cross-posted newsgroups especially REMOVE WINDOWS10 NEWSGROUP FROM SUCH IRRELEVANT POSTS.

[Char Jackson]

+1 Plex is probably the most popular method. There are other Roku channels that work similarly.

[mike]

Here's another example of egregious waste of internet bandwidth. Maybe this guy could refrain from including massive amounts of irrelevant crap and trim it down to the usual basic malevolent drivel.