Weaning off cable and buying a Roku

I started my quest to pull the cable cord weeks ago.  I only owned a series of old analog TVs so I knew no cable initially meant no TV reception without a streaming device or a new HDTV with an indoor antenna.  I bought a Roku (available from www.roku.com or www.amazon.com) but PlayStation 3, XBox 360, Nintendo Wii, some Smart TVs, TiVo, and other devices can stream Netflix and some other channels too.  My first research was finding which device worked for me, and checking into Internet options.  I chose the roku because it had many channels and chose a wireless connection at a slow 1.6 Mbps which barely handles it and wouldn't work as well with a computer on at the same time.  I tested it before I locked in at the rate, and I know speeds of 3-10-12 Mbps would add to faster downloads, but I was trying to save money.  It sounds as though an Ethernet cable may be usable with some Roku models, but double-check on this.  For $49.99 (free shipping) I bought a Roku LT, knowing higher models come with other features and Angry Birds game.  There were no monthly fees, just the price of the Internet service and the box itself.  I connected my Roku through my computer with help from their customer service number--1-888-600-7658 available Monday to Sunday 8am-8pm.  The Roku is played on a game channel or channel below channel 2 so make sure older TVs have that.  You will also need a yellow, white, and red plug opening (or a yellow and white one) on an older analog TV or a HDMI opening (and cable) on a newer HDTV.

The Roku shows a screen like this, which after you pick some channels will be clicked into here.  To add channels you either go to the channel store on the list above or go to your roku.com account.  Many of the 300 or more channels are free, some have tiny or small yearly fees or one-time fees or larger monthly fees.  Some also offer a trial week or month to try them and there are also a significant number of private channels (some free) that can be added with an available code.  Here are 4 pages of private channel codes--
http://streamfree.tv/apps/rokuchannels.php.  After I felt I could imagine life without cable, I cut my service down to local channels first and later had the courage to give up my cable.  I will share more about some of the channel trials and specific channels when I blog next.  There are even many free movie channels!