Save Money Watching Movies via the Web with the Roku Box
I recently read an article about saving money by watching movies/TV via the Internet. I decided to look further into this.
After a little research I decided to purchase the Roku HD-XR box. This small simple device allows you to connect your TV and high-speed Internet to access video content via the Internet. You control the unit via a remote control.
Roku offers 3 different models (Roku SD ($70), Roku HD ($90), and Roku HD-SR ($120). I decide to purchase the Roku HD-SR because I have a HD TV and I wanted to connect to my router wirelessly. The other 2 models do not include wireless connection to your router. Connecting the device is extremely easy. I just plugged the power in and plugged the HDMI cord into the Roku box and TV.
Roku claims you can setup the unit in 5 minutes. This took me longer because I couldn’t get the unit to connect to my router. It took me a few minutes to figure it out, but once I got it working, I was very impressed. For one I was surprised that the videos streamed with no hesitation (or buffering). When starting a video it does take several seconds to load, but once the video starts to run, there is absolutely no hesitation.
I currently have AT&T FastAccess DSL Xtreme service which claims download speeds up to 3 Mbps. However, download speed in reality averages about low 2+ Mbps. This seems to be fast enough to watch HD videos with no hesitations. When I watch HD videos on my laptop, sometimes there is hesitation (buffering) but with the Roku box, there is none which was surprising.
When initially viewing a video on the Roku it will state video quality from 1 to 4. Most of the time my video quality is 4, sometimes 3 but rarely 2. A video quality of 2 or 1 isn’t good. One occasion when video quality was 2 I unplugged the router and modem to reset the connection and video quality jumped to a 4.
As far as HD is concerned, HD is only for 720p. There are no 1080p HD videos available it seems. So if you have a 1080p HD TV, watching 720p HD videos will not be as sharp.
I also decided to try Netflix free 2 week offer which includes watching videos via the Roku box. For $9 per month, I think this is a great deal. You have access to many movies online and DVDs by mail. The newer movies are still by mail, but there are quit a few movies/TV shows available online. Again I was impressed with the video quality and streaming with Netflix.
Purchasing the Roku Box included a $10 credit from Amazon Video on Demand (AVOD). However, when I tried watching HD movies on AVOD it kept telling me I wasn’t setup to watch HD movies because my speeds was too slow. However, the movies streamed well and the video quality was acceptable. I’m not certain if HD videos from AVOD come in 1080p but if you don’t have fast enough speed it drops to 720p.
The Roku box also allows you to access numerous channels if you don’t sign up for Netflix or AVOD.
So in conclusion, I highly recommend the Roku boxes and Netflix service to watch videos and movies via the Internet. This can save you tons of money my reducing or eliminating your cable/satellite service.
Roku is currently offering 10% off their players.
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