Student-Friendly TV without cable-- check out my Roku video too

A few weeks ago, I gave some ideas for students on how to get free TV and movies without a cable or satellite bill.  I went back to school after my daughter graduated, so we both don't have cable.  She watches on her laptop and I watch on my Roku.  I mentioned streaming options on PS3, Wii, Roku, XBox360, Roku, Apple TV and others on my blog: http://tvwithoutcable.blogspot.com/2012/03/free-tv-and-movies-on-your-laptop-and.html .  I also mentioned some TV and movie channels that are accessible right off the internet.

I discussed playon which streams from your computer to the television, its merits and trying it free to make sure your internet speed and computer are adequate on this blog: http://tvwithoutcable.blogspot.com/2012/03/more-roku-channels.html  

My first video can be seen at: http://tvwithoutcable.blogspot.com/2012/03/roku-mini-tour-tv-addiction.html which gives a mini tour of Roku on television.

Some additional student-friendly channels on Roku include: new channel iFame which has indie movies, music, dance, and even some hip hop and classic comedy from Three Stooges and Abbott and Costello; Party Rockers Dance Reality, TED (some courses use these), Revision3--geekbeat and net news, AOLHD-cooking to gadget new, many radio channels, many sports and movie channels previously mentioned, Giant Bomb-video game reviews and previews, Twit-tech, Tested-smartphone, tablet camera reviews, Screened-trailers and more (some humor), Crunchyroll-anime, Live Exercise and other exercise channels, cooking channels, Kid Paint-like Mario Paint, comedy from Funny or Die and Break, Blinkx-videos, Kung-Fu Theater and so much more!  There is are vimeo, picasa, flickr, shutterfly, Smugmug, Facebook photos & videos, horoscopes, travel, international stations, and religion channels.  Games are probably at cost.  The budget $49.99 Roku LT when available comes without angry bird game.  You can also get private channels to put on Roku.  And....if you don't like a channel, press the asterisk on your Roku remote, follow the prompts and voila...it's gone.  Come back for more ideas and enjoy the show!

www.flickr.com Go to collegemum's photostream

Roku: mini tour & TV addiction

MANY people before me have created blogs and sites about Roku, some with great screenshots.  If my embedded video doesn't work, see it at: http://youtu.be/FGq1OG6uu5I .  I simply wanted to save money, so I set up an experiment to see if I wouldn't go stark raving mad without my sound box to keep me company and sing me to sleep.  TV is like "boxed company," sad huh?  I was raised with TV in every room (except bathrooms); I admit it, I was addicted to THE BOX.  Why isn't there a teleholics outreach or a 5-step program to set us free?  Roku is a portable streaming device that offers an alternative so our living rooms don't go silent and our brains can get their daily fix of movies or TV shows.  Here are some of my screenshot photos:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/collegemum505/?saved=1  Here is one of them:

I began my journey with old analog TVs and no antennas.  Pulling my cable connection for me literally meant NO TV.  I had to do it in steps, just like an addict.   A little Roku box on an old analog TV with a game or video channel (under ch. 2) plus 2-3 yellow, white, maybe red A/V openings, and high speed Internet are all that are needed to see series, movies, news.  Add an amplified antenna and a digital converter box and you may get some local stations too, it was so exciting when that antenna pulled in TV at no monthly cost!  Add that antenna to a newer HD TV and voila!  Roku has Audio-visual or HDMI connections.  Come back soon to learn more tips about Roku, TV alternatives, Free shows & movies on the Net.

Free TV and movies on your laptop and desktop!!

IF YOU ARE ON-CAMPUS without a TV you still can watch your favorite 
shows on your laptop or desktop,  or connect to TV through Wii, 
XBox360, Playstation3, Apple TV, and more!

If you don't want to pay for cable or satellite, check out my other blog posts, 
and my future ones! 
  
Go to TV.com, Hulu, Crackle, Inmoo, Popcornflix, Vanguard, IMDB and many 
more!  Most major stations including Syfy channel, Lifetime, NBC, ABC Family, 
ABC, FOX, TBS, and so much more offer full episodes online.  Also watch some 
full episodes of Showtime originals like Weeds, Californication at Sho.com.  

Some devices stream to TV through the net or directly including Xbox360--
http://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-360/audio-video-setup-and-use/media, 
Nintendo Wii, PS3, Roku...                                                                                                                             

Some of the sites like spiritclips.com can be used on net or streamed to TV with
a device like roku, Hallmark Hall of Fame films for less than $3.00 a month.  Follow
my blog to learn more!

 BEING HUMAN on Syfy, watch it for free!!

More Roku channels!

My last posting showed how to get free Nowhere TV.  Some additional TAPED material on Nowhere TV includes: daily taped Boston/New England area news and weather (channel 4, 7, Fox25) and WMUR (temporary issues), Lifetime (8 movies and some TV shows), taped sports and international news stations, kids and technology programming, taped broadcasts of Conan, Jimmy Fallon, archived old movies and television and more.  


CRACKLE is another free channel which is also available on the Internet.  It includes movies from 1980s to 2010 (21, Passengers and more), and TV shows from 1960s (All in The Family, Seinfeld, Married with Children, Archangel, Anime and more).  


I tried a free trial of HULU plus and was careful to cancel (done online) before my month expired (normally $7.95/mo.).  Regular Hulu offers free TV and movies online, HULU plus is streamed straight through the roku (and maybe Xbox 360) to TV.   This link claims a 2 month trial but does suggest double-checking--http://freebies2deals.com/2011/09/free-2-month-trial-to-hulu-plus.html .  I didn't have to involve Facebook as this offer mentions.  I have found a way to get local basic channels without roku or cable so most of the TV show offerings on Hulu plus didn't appeal to me.  


An alternative to Huluplus on TV for those with a very fast Internet speed and newer computer is Playon TV at http://www.playon.tv/content-channels .  I suggest not buying playon UNTIL you try it, and there is a 2 week free trial (may have to officially cancel)---going to download.  It includes: 
                                                             There are additional plug-ins too.  Playon streams through a middleman, the Internet, so speed is more critical.  My older computer and, or slower Internet speed (1.6mbps) had a delay in sync and, or in video motion speed despite lowering video speed.  If you like it, at the moment there is a roku plus cost offer for a license (read more of what that offers).   Follow along for more tips, channels, and how to reduce or cut the cable cord, keeping in mind cable versus satellite versus Internet costs (and whether contract and how long it is).
  

Cable-less, some movie channels on Roku

First I want to give credit to the screenshot in my first blog to: http://deviceguru.com/roku-screenshots/  Check it out after understanding the basics.  I learned today that Comcast customers have a new alternative coming out that may compete with Netflix-http://news.yahoo.com/survive-post-starz-netflix-194922104. html as a little less expensive.  Netflix effective today has broken their contact with Starz, but they will have other offerings that they claim are comparable.  Netflix is month-to-month without a contract, basic membership for streaming only is $7.99/month and can be cancelled at any time.  Netflix like some of the other sources I will mention can be accessed through the web, but the point of streaming devices is to watch it on TV.  Amazon.com has an amazon student for 6 mos. free of 2 day free shipping on some books/items for students, and they had me join that on one email and get a free month trial of Amazon Instant Video (Prime) on another.  If I want to join after my free month, then I can get half price as a student ($39/year) through my amazon student membership for prime movies/TV and other movies/TV at cost.  There may be another fee for Amazon student after 6 mos, but upgrade is part of amazon instant video prime fee so if I join the instant video I get amazon student benefits with it- http: //www.amazon.com/ gp/prime?ie=UTF8&* Version*=1&*entries*=0 .  If in doubt as to what you are buying or agreeing to press the "contact us" button on the right and after answering a few questions and providing your number, they will call you.  Vanguard Cinema, Crackle, Popcornflix, Inmoo.com, Openfilm and others can be accessed for free on Roku or the web mostly with just Movies, but Crackle has TV too.  There are a succession of other free movie channels mostly at the roku channel store, mostly of old films including Moonlight movies, Drive-in classics, Retrovision, and PubDHub (Gold version at cost, careful what you click into).   This is the icon for Nowhere TV.

Here are lists of some of roku's private channels: http://www.roku-channels.com/, http://hiddenchannel.com/ & http://streamfree.tv/apps/rokuchannels.php.  Private channels get added through your roku.com account or a link. http://streamfree.tv/apps/roku-private-channels/all-private-channels/nowhere-tv-20-thread.html leads you to Nowhere TV which I will discuss more next time.

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!