Do You Roku?

Do You Roku? was Originally Posted on August 25, 2011 by lavarock

I purchased a Roku on sale for about $45 including shipping. It allows you to use your internet connection and router to watch TV and listen to music. You can also stream Netflix to it and so on, however I am only interested in the free service at present.

The setup is simple, however in my case I had to do a bit of trickery to get things working. I’m using a cellphone and Win7 box as a temporary internet connection. Regular internet connections should be quite simple to set up. My particular unit (the n1000b) can connect via LAN or via WiFi to my router. Newer versions may omit certain connections and functions, so check closely.

The model I have has RCA connectors for video and audio and also has HDMI, optical audio and even s-video. I am using just the HDMI for video and audio, but may play with the audio outputs and my stereo system.

Some of the free stations I receive are Crackle, Pandora, NASA Select, BBC, NPR and so on. You can go to Roku.Com and browse for yourself. AT the moment I am listening to my Pandora music station and have checked in with the BBC and seen the current weather radar view of my island.

For those who want some new channels to watch and listen to, this might just be the unit to do that. Even at regular price, finding free stuff to stream to your TV is a plus.