HSMom2One Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 Despite the fact that I alone would love to go without tv entirely, our family currently has cable tv that my elderly mother (who lives with us) buys for the household. I'd like to help cut back her expenses though, and I'd also like to have a bit more control over tv programs that my dd is able to watch. (Dh is addicted to tv and will not give it up, so it is here for dd to watch when I allow her screen time.) I've read some threads here about people using Roku and Hulu, and would like to convince the rest of my family to switch over to something like that. But before I present this to them I'd like to know a little more about how it works. First of all, does each tv in the house need a Roku box? Next, does a household share a Hulu account so that different tv's can watch different programs simultaneously? In our case, we have Mom in one room with her personal tv and then another tv for the family in a different part of the house. How would we need to be set up for that? Thanks for clarification on this. Blessings, Lucinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 I don't have a Roku, but we do have a Blu-Ray that streams. Most of the new Blu-Rays will stream Hulu. Hulu (for streaming most of the programs) is a paid for service - Hulu Plus. It's $7.99 (I think?) per month. Roku is a device and Hulu is a service if that makes sense. I know little or nothing about Roku but I know you can get a streaming Blu-Ray for just a little over $100. Yes, for the Blu-Ray you'd need one for each television. Many of the gaming systems will stream to your television too if you have one of those, but as we do not, I don't know how to use them either. ;) I'm not sure this was of much use, but at least it will bump it to the top. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 How timely! My brother just gave us 3 mos. of Netflix for Christmas, which includes streaming but we have no way to make that happen. We don't have cable or a Wii. Someone just suggested a Roku to dh, so we're looking into that. We have to figure out how to input it into the TV - the poor thing already has two TiVos, a digital conversion box, and a VCR/DVD player hooked up to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photo Ninja Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 My parents recently got a Roku and it works great. You do need open connections on your tv so connect to the Roku box, and I think you need wireless internet also. I'm not sure how it works if you don't have wireless internet. You would need to check into that. As far as I know, the Roku only works on the tv it is connected to, not on multiple tvs. At least the Roku my parents have works this way. Anyway, my mother is loving watching Netflix movies and tv shows instantly on the Roku. She has not explored Hulu yet. The Roku came with a free month to Hulu Plus, but after that you need to pay. It is not expensive, but Hulu Plus does cost. I don't know if you can watch more than one tv at a time on one Hulu Plus account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 My parents recently got a Roku and it works great. You do need open connections on your tv so connect to the Roku box, and I think you need wireless internet also. I'm not sure how it works if you don't have wireless internet. You would need to check into that. Guess we'll have to find some kind of adapter plug to get more inputs or something... As far as I know, the Roku only works on the tv it is connected to, not on multiple tvs. At least the Roku my parents have works this way. Heh, that's not a problem for us, anyway - the reason the poor TV's so overloaded is that it's the only one we've got. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMom2One Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 I guess I needed to specify in my post that I do understand about Roku and Hulu are. Roku is the box that you connect to the TV and Hulu is an expanded service you subscribe to that streams in TV via wireless Internet. So now that I've clarified that, I'm back to the main point of my op. I'm wondering - 1. If I need a box for each TV in the house and 2. Whether or not we can use Hulu on more than one TV at the same time, each TV watching different programs. We also have a Wii and use it currently to watch Netflix movies, but I am not sure if that is enough to watch the programs we'd also like access to through Hulu. Wow! It's getting harder to keep up with technology anymore! Blessings, Lucinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 You do not need to pay for Hulu. There is an expanded service that is for pay but there is lots for free. However, I am guessing it is just a matter of time before it is only for pay. I watch modern family and glee for free on Hulu. You can only go back 5 episodes but since I watch every week that isn't a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i.love.lucy Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 What about sports? My dh can't live without his NFL football. I know the season is almost over, but he'll have to be able to have it. He found some kind of weird website where you can access non-televised (in your area) games, but it's really very bad. I don't think he'd want to make a change if he had to miss out on football next fall. We do watch a lot of stuff like Turner Classic Movies, Mythbusters, Top Gear, PBS, etc. Can you get stuff like that? We could live without it, I suspect.:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 I'm wondering - 1. If I need a box for each TV in the house Yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3byzaz Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 My poor husband has just spent wayyy toooo many hours of his vacation trying to figure all this out. We dropped Direct TV and were trying to watch just the major network channels and use our wii for Netflix. Well, it's been quite the ordeal!! :tongue_smilie: We had to get a digital conversion box (52.00) and tried to get two antennas for the roof (didn't work indoors) and that was like another 80 something. That also didn't work well- only got two (barely) of the three networks. Bought a blu ray to stream netflix and hulu and that was another 150 cuz it has to have the wifi thing in it or that's another 80 we were told by the Costco guy. UGH!!! I am getting ready to call Dish Network as we speak!!! :001_smile: He just can't get any 'normal' channels and we want those for the basic shows we watch. The kids never watch anything but Netflix, but we do miss Fox news, HGTV, etc. You can watch them online hooked to the TV - yes, but ours is not the best quality and then it's hard to use the computer at the same time!! So....it's not been easy. I wasn't really thrilled with Hulu plus, but I'm sure it's just me. We were going to take the blu ray back and just get a roku, but frankly are weary of the whole process. Dish would only be like $33.00 a month for the cheapest pkg with a dvr. That probably doesn't help, but the whole idea is near and dear at the moment!! :) lol... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrixieB Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 What about sports? My dh can't live without his NFL football. I know the season is almost over, but he'll have to be able to have it. He found some kind of weird website where you can access non-televised (in your area) games, but it's really very bad. I don't think he'd want to make a change if he had to miss out on football next fall. We do watch a lot of stuff like Turner Classic Movies, Mythbusters, Top Gear, PBS, etc. Can you get stuff like that? We could live without it, I suspect.:tongue_smilie: Football (and other sports) is my dh's issue too. Mythbusters is on Netflix streaming (no commercials, yay!). Netflix might have some of the other things you mentioned; you can check their site without being a member. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMom2One Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 What about sports? My dh can't live without his NFL football. I know the season is almost over, but he'll have to be able to have it. He found some kind of weird website where you can access non-televised (in your area) games, but it's really very bad. I don't think he'd want to make a change if he had to miss out on football next fall. Yeah, what about sports for dh? This would be a big issue at our house too! And.....What about the answer to my Question #2? Blessings, Lucinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMom2One Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 My poor husband has just spent wayyy toooo many hours of his vacation trying to figure all this out. We dropped Direct TV and were trying to watch just the major network channels and use our wii for Netflix. Well, it's been quite the ordeal!! :tongue_smilie: We had to get a digital conversion box (52.00) and tried to get two antennas for the roof (didn't work indoors) and that was like another 80 something. That also didn't work well- only got two (barely) of the three networks. Bought a blu ray to stream netflix and hulu and that was another 150 cuz it has to have the wifi thing in it or that's another 80 we were told by the Costco guy. UGH!!! I am getting ready to call Dish Network as we speak!!! :001_smile: He just can't get any 'normal' channels and we want those for the basic shows we watch. The kids never watch anything but Netflix, but we do miss Fox news, HGTV, etc. You can watch them online hooked to the TV - yes, but ours is not the best quality and then it's hard to use the computer at the same time!! So....it's not been easy. I wasn't really thrilled with Hulu plus, but I'm sure it's just me. We were going to take the blu ray back and just get a roku, but frankly are weary of the whole process. Dish would only be like $33.00 a month for the cheapest pkg with a dvr. That probably doesn't help, but the whole idea is near and dear at the moment!! :) lol... Oh man, this does NOT sound good! We are trying to cut costs, not spend more money. Thanks for sharing your experience 3byzaz! I need to know these things. Blessings, Lucinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 (edited) I wasn't really thrilled with Hulu plus, but I'm sure it's just me.No, it's not just you. For one thing, I don't see any way to effectively limit what is available using Hulu Plus. Netflix limits content to what is in the queue. Also, it really is just for TV with very limited other content available. Since our attic antenna receives all the networks fine in HD from 60 miles away and we can record using our OTA DVR, we don't have a strong urge to pay for what we already get for free. (Yes, you can stream Hulu for free, but IMO it is a pain to use a computer for streaming.) ETA: Also, I REALLY do not like the ridiculous number of commercials that you get with Hulu Plus. Netflix streaming is the same price with no commercials. Edited January 3, 2011 by RegGuheert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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