Roku 3

[Chunk-O-Funk]

I tried an antenna tonight. One of those flat amplified ones. We got it from Costco. It sorted of picked up ION, QVC, and HSN. The rainy and windy weather probably contributed to that, but I think living in a neighborhood with lots of neighbors, WiFi, and so on around had something to do with it too. We get enough rainy and windy weather around these parts that I'll have tonight issues frequently enough to make this not worth it. I'm going to return the antenna tomorrow, that option is out the window.

Try it without the amplifier if you can. I've heard amplified antennas don't always make your reception better. If you are already close to the towers (10-20 miles) you may get fewer channels. YMMV. It's one of those things you should try with and without.

Also, Some stations broadcast with what's known as hi-V towers. Different antennas will deal with this differently. For me, those Hi-V stations are CBS and Fox stations. I had a Winegard antenna and my current Mohu antenna does a better job with those stations.

 

[Chunk-O-Funk]

You cannot stream it to multiple devices like netflix only one at a time can watch or you need to buy another account but still another 20 cheaper than cable.

You are able to do this to some effect. I think this is not what you're talking about, but I thought I would pass this on.
I put a splitter in line to get two HDMI outputs on a Roku .Amazon.com: FOME 2-Port HDMI 1x2 Powered 3D Amplifier Splitter VER 1.4 for Dual Display with Full HD 1080P, 3D, HDCP, Deep Color, HD Audio Support (One Input to Two Outputs) + FOME GIFT: Computers & Accessories
You can use this to feed two displays like shown. I use it to send a signal to my TV for watching news and what have you and one signal to my home theater for watching movies and the like.

 

[ImNotJoel]

You are able to do this to some effect. I think this is not what you're talking about, but I thought I would pass this on.
I put a splitter in line to get two HDMI outputs on a Roku .Amazon.com: FOME 2-Port HDMI 1x2 Powered 3D Amplifier Splitter VER 1.4 for Dual Display with Full HD 1080P, 3D, HDCP, Deep Color, HD Audio Support (One Input to Two Outputs) + FOME GIFT: Computers & Accessories
You can use this to feed two displays like shown. I use it to send a signal to my TV for watching news and what have you and one signal to my home theater for watching movies and the like.

That's makes sense I don't know why I didn't think of that, thanks!

 

[ZenG]

I have Roku.

Quite happy with it. I also have a Netflix subscription ( Canadian), which I'm not really impressed with as far as choices go. Netflix option is on Roku.

For what it is , Roku is a pretty good bang for the buck. Lots of HD stuff.

Without Netflix there are still quite few free movie channels. But many of the movies are "seen before waybacks".

Don't mean to hijack...but quick question:- why is it that on cable t.v. shows, some of them the sound is so muffled and almost incomprehensible.? I have to crank shows like Scandal and Blacklist using the home theater rig up to high levels just so I can understand what they are saying.......(no..I don't have hearing problems). yet the commercials always come in crystal clear.

 

[JimK]

What is your Home Stereo rig?
We have a Bose 3-2-1 rig...no center speaker...my wife sez she can never hear the dialog...so, she cranks it; the resulting bomb blasts, explosions, etc rock the foundation.
I have been told the center speaker is used for dialog, so I am thinking that's her (our) issue.
Commercials always come in better...

 

[JimK]

...I just picked up a 24" Smart TV (1080) for cheap @BB (spare bedroom). The Apps are very limited compared to the Roku. Thumbs up for Roku.

 

[Chunk-O-Funk]

I have the same problem with my HT setup. I know what the problem is though. The center speaker that is responsible for 80% of the sound is a bit undersized for my right/left speakers. Since my purchased I have read comments like "don't skimp on your center channel speaker" and how important it is.

Also, I have read that if you're watching a movie that is in 5.1 and you have stereo speakers (no center channel speaker) you should listen in stereo via the Roku settings. That way the vocals will go to your left and right speakers.

One other trick is if you are using a receiver try the night (listen at night time) setting if you have it.

 

[MJ5150]

Try it without the amplifier if you can.

I did all the testing I could this morning. The Costco antenna we got is a Weingard. I tried some of the tips on the website you linked to earlier.

I checked the FCC website. Of the four channels we'd want, one has good reception, two are moderate, the fourth has poor reception for our address. So even with the best equipment and config, our results will be average at best. OTA just isn't going to work in our hood, and that's ok.

I did sign up for Sling. I like the price and no contract.

-Mike

 

[Chunk-O-Funk]

I did all the testing I could this morning. The Costco antenna we got is a Weingard. I tried some of the tips on the website you linked to earlier.

I checked the FCC website. Of the four channels we'd want, one has good reception, two are moderate, the fourth has poor reception for our address. So even with the best equipment and config, our results will be average at best. OTA just isn't going to work in our hood, and that's ok.

I did sign up for Sling. I like the price and no contract.

-Mike

I like the idea of Sling too. I'd like to get it, but my problem is the tight of the tightest budgets possible.

We'll see. I just bought a new modem and hey that will get rid of a $6.00 rental fee from my ISP. That's almost nothing but it's a start.

 

[JimK]

When we first moved in here (2010), the Cable providers were charging us $10/month for using their modem/router…it was a G-style router & it was not cutting it for streaming.
So, we upgrade & buy our own router & a separate modem.
My wife was paying the cable bill...she looks online & sees the Cable provider's router/modem combo unit @Amazon for $20. She hit the roof!

 

[Chunk-O-Funk]

When we first moved in here (2010), the Cable providers were charging us $10/month for using their modem/router…it was a G-style router & it was not cutting it for streaming.
So, we upgrade & buy our own router & a separate modem.
My wife was paying the cable bill...she looks online & sees the Cable provider's router/modem combo unit @Amazon for $20. She hit the roof!

the ISP's don't give you the best gear available. I will be returning the modem and router they gave me when installing cable. Just because of the rental fee. The router I replaced it with I had a huge performance increase, My original was a D-link N300 non-gigabit route.r $15-20 on Amazon. My new one is a Linksys N750, dual-band, Gigabit router. I paid $40.00 for a refurbished. The modem, I got on a Gold Box Special from Amazon $44.00, a Motorola SB6121. Without their rental fee on my bill, that will pay for both in 14 months.

 

[MJ5150]

I found some private channels that are cool, so that is making this Roku even better than it was. NowhereTV and USTV.

-Mike

 

[-Kramer-]

I have been using SlingTV for over a month now, so I will share my experience.

Like a lot of other people, I have been keeping my cable mostly for live sports. Until Sling, I could not find a suitable replacement for live sports in my home. When I heard about SlingTV, I signed up right away and they opened the program a week or two later.

I have used both the original Roku and the Apple TV to watch Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime for a couple of years so I was comfortable with the technology and my internet speed to stream HD picture. I went out and purchased a Roku 3 since the Sling app is not available for the original Roku. Setting up the Roku was a breeze and signing up for Sling was almost as easy, once I had the app installed on the Roku, I linked them up and I was watching a basketball game on ESPN - probably took about 30 minutes from opening the Roku box to watching TV.

Sling has been mostly smooth sailing. Every once and a while, it will something like "Channel not authorized for playback" and I will have to change the channel and then come back. Not a big deal, but it can be kind of annoying if something important is happening at that moment. Picture loads quickly and channel changes are actually faster than what I was getting on my TWC box.

The only problem I have run into is internet speed. My wife and I had the lowest speed from TWC and it was fine for streaming HD from Hulu and others. We could even browse the internet from another device and not have any problems. With Sling, we have found that if someone is watching TV, all other internet is slow to non-existent on our wifi. I guess I will have to bump up our speed to make sure we still have internet available. FYI, my Roku is on Wifi - might have better luck if I move it to hard line.

 

[MJ5150]

We have 100 meg from Comcast, the Roku is hard wired. I haven't had any issues with speed or picture quality so far. I'm about to drop down to 50 meg from Comcast, but I don't foresee any issues.

-Mike

 

[fjadams]

Have a Roku 3 with Amazon and Netflix.
Discarded cable and went with an antenna. Unfortunately since I live in an apartment I can't put it outside. Lincoln doesn't get many over the air stations to start with and I only get 5 that actually come in. ABC and FOX the best, NBC sometimes and CBS not at all.
I'm going back to basic cable to get the local stations and keeping the Roku for everything else. Looks like I have to give up the Golf Channel, but I don't want another TWC box. Also don't want the $160 a month bill for a lot of channels I've never watched and never would.

 

[Haji]

This was already mentioned, but I'm gonna try to simplify it: When you cancel cable, they want their box back. When you disconnect the cable from the back of the box, take that "cable in" line and screw it to the back of your TV. Search channels, both cable and whatever the non cable selection is marked (I don't remember right now, and it's probably different on your TV anyway) and you'll get the basic channels that your cable provider sends along with the line to your modem. They're on the same line. I get all the major network channels and a couple others.

Search online for "Roku Private Channels". There are some really cool ones, and some not cool ones, but there's a LOT of free content. I have somewhere around 150 channels on my Roku3 right now.

 

[MJ5150]

This was already mentioned, but I'm gonna try to simplify it: When you cancel cable, they want their box back. When you disconnect the cable from the back of the box, take that "cable in" line and screw it to the back of your TV. Search channels, both cable and whatever the non cable selection is marked (I don't remember right now, and it's probably different on your TV anyway) and you'll get the basic channels that your cable provider sends along with the line to your modem. They're on the same line. I get all the major network channels and a couple others.

I just tried this. I picked up four channels. Two were advertising Xfinity, one was emergency alerts, and the other was Latino Xfinity advertising.

Maybe it will change once I officially cancel Comcast cable TV, but I can't imagine they will give me basic cable channels for free once I cancel the big fancy package we buy now.

-Mike

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Also, Some stations broadcast with what's known as hi-V towers. Different antennas will deal with this differently. For me, those Hi-V stations are CBS and Fox stations. I had a Winegard antenna and my current Mohu antenna does a better job with those stations.

Hi-V isn't a type of tower. It's a channel and frequency allocation.

Broadcast TV in the modern era (as we know it in the North America) started with low-band VHF channels 2 through 6 covering from 54 to 88 MHz (sometimes you could pick up channel 6 sound on an FM radio tuned down to below 88 MHz) and high-band VHF channels 7 through 13 on frequencies from 170 to 216 MHz. Later, UHF was added, with channels 14 through 83 on 470 through 890 MHz. The little-used top 14 channels of the UHF band were later trimmed off so those frequencies could be reassigned.

With the switchover to digital TV broadcasting, the UHF and high-band VHF stations mostly kept their frequencies, while the low-band VHF stations got reassigned to high-band VHF (if available) or UHF frequencies. TV channel numbers used to correspond to specific 6 MHz-wide frequency bands, but now they're somewhat arbitrary. The former low VHF band was reassigned to other uses.

So to get good DTV reception, your antenna must receive 170 to 216 MHz and 470 to 806 MHz well. Most flat-panel antennas receive best at broadside, so especially if you live in a fringe area or a neighborhood with RF reflective obstacles, you would do well to make sure one of the sides faces directly toward the transmitting antenna site, and whenever possible, get the antenna up high enough to get a clear line of sight. You might have to resort to a directional antennal, like a yagi or corner reflector, but they'll be substantially bigger.

 

[Chunk-O-Funk]

I'll leave this here:

ROKU Private Channels | 2015 Roku Channels Codes & List

EDIT:
Comcast-Time Warner Cable Deal May Be Bad News For Roku Owners

 

[MJ5150]

I like that page. I spent some time last night going through each of those and checking them out. I found a few we'd like.

-Mike