You will likely find Internet higher if you are not on cable Internet. My cable requires at least basic cable TV in order to get cable Internet. My telephone company requires basic landline to get DSL Internet.
Those, of course, already add to the cost.
I watch a lot of Netflix/Amazon Prime streaming. My cable company just raised the data load to 1TB per month for all levels, except fiber which is now 2TB. Mobile/DSN/Satellite, etc., cannot even compete with that amount of data. Of course, my cable will probably bump up their Internet fee in a month or two.
The data limits are important if you intend to do a lot of streaming. Some mobile claim unlimited streaming, but read the fine print. Most streaming sources are increasing the quality — hi def and superHD — which increases the data transfer. I can stream a 3 hour sports event via the FoxSports app on my android tablet, and it will eat about 7GB of data allocation.
There is a thread on FR about Roku, very informative.
Added XTV to Roku yesterday for live tv. Love it. It is free. It has many of the channels we get on Dish.
I installed a $50 HD antenna in my attic for the locals. Just ran cable from the attic to each tv. If you already have cable run to each room all there is to do is make the connections. Gets more than 20 channels. : )
Anyone starting this process should start by gathering two general items.
1. Find out what broadcast stations are strong over the air to an inexpensive one-time cost of an antenna. Go here: http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29
2. Find out the cost of a “broad-band” internet connection for your house. Cable company, phone company, power company are likely sources.
From those two items all else is add on.
BMFLR
I wish we could, we rarely watch anything except football, college and pro...
While you aall are at it, the Mark Steyn show is on a channel called. CRTV. I cannot understand how to get it and make it play on my tv. I just don’t understand how to get these things to work. Do I play it through a computer to my TV? How?
Lotta good advice above, but I would advise, just cancel cable, get a good high speed internet connection, and then just explore your options from there. There are a hundred and one different ways to mirror whatever’s on your computer onto the TV screen, and once that’s achieved, there are literally millions of options on your computer.
Thanks ALOT everyone.....some REALLY good options from people I trust (over the last nearly 20 years!!). I KNOW there are “tekkies” here from “back in the days of vacuum tubes” and their advice, having been part of the evolution, is priceless!!
Thanks for posting. BTTT!
You’ve been given a number of options.
I’ll offer these two threads.
One with a use of the Roku with x-tv
and another to see the broadcasts on your computer or cell phone
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3484524/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3484315/posts
Tood luck! The power is in your hands
What’s the speed on your DSL? I’ve had Roku running acceptable at 1mb for one TV.
Bookmark!