internet on your TV (or TV over your internet)

I've (and you) have been bombarded by Roku ads while browsing in the last couple of weeks.

I had been considering buying a laptop to hook up to my Panasonic Plasma TV, but Roku may be the cheaper way to go.

Roku is a device that allows you to access Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Video, and more and view the content on your TV. It's small and cheap and apparently works fairly well. However it's not the full internet (no web browser, no youtube yet). Reviews have generally been positive.

Another option is Google TV. This doesn't seem as readily available. And is available only on select Sony TVs, Sony Blu-Ray players, or via the Logitech Revue box. The Logitech Revue looks a little more clunky than the Roku but apparently allows you to access the whole internet and includes a keyboard. Here's a review. Ah, not quite everything. No Hulu. Or ABC or CBS.

Another competing device is Apple TV (see end of Roku review). Looks pretty good, but no Hulu Plus (not sure why).

[10/24/11] How about the boxee? And others!

Will these replace my subscription to my cable TV. Not for me. No ESPN is the main bugaboo. But if you just want to watch movies or TV, I could live w/o paying the $90 per month that Oceanic charges for my HD Entertainment Pack and DVR.

Maybe PlayOn will work? But apparently it streams from the internet, so it's doubtful they would stream live games. Apparently you can watch ESPN, but you have to be a Time Warner subscriber already. So what's the point?

[10/24/11] And apparently you can't watch Hulu, only Hulu Plus, on the Roku (and I assume on any of the other devices too).

[12/27/11] Tried out the Roku which was set up at Best Buy yesterday. It occassionally pauses for a significant amount of time, I assume due to internet traffic and/or buffering. But once it gets going, it's not bad. For one thing, you get free Three Stooges episodes at crackle (though I got em all now on dvd). And also kdrama (korean dramas) which are apparently normally only available as an apple app. Then I went over to Costco and saw it selling there for like 15 bucks cheaper. The Blu-Ray players are getting cheaper too. Like in the $60 range now.

[6/11/12] Here's JDoyle32's setup.  He cancelled his cable in 2008.

[6/18/12] What's the difference between Roku LT and Roku HD?  Not much (aside from 10 bucks).

[12/28/13] Another difference, according to erikvines, is the the LT has 256MB flash memory while the HD has 2GB.  But according to wikipedia, both the LT and HD have 256 MiB.

[12/11/12] Ah, here's a difference between the Roku 2 and the older Roku boxes.  The Roku 2 supports closed caption on Netflx.

[12/11/12] Ah, apparently Roku LT supports closed caption too.  How about my Roku HD? maybe, since it's a "new" Roku.  Nope.  So there's another difference between the LT and HD.

[6/20/12] A nice review of the Roku 2 XS (which I saw at Costco for 79.99).

[10/31/12]  Here's a Roku-like device (I think this was the one I saw in a Best Buy ad some months ago) called NeoTV from Netgear.  One advantage: native youtube access. One disadvantage: connects only via HDMI.  And currently only $39 online from Dell.  Gets mixed reviews on Amazon.  The Roku gets better reviews on Amazon and is the same price as from roku.com.

[11/13/12] lifehacker's guide to watching TV shows and movies on the internet (without cable)

[3/5/13] Here's another article from DailyFinance (from two years ago)

[11/28/12] Hey, gave in to the black friday frenzy and picked up a roku at Best Buy on Saturday.  Good deal.  It's the Roku HD, normally $59.99, but on sale for only $39.99 (plus tax).

Spent a couple of days browsing channels.  And some channels are pretty quirky.  It ain't live TV.  There's only a few live channels.  Not much in sports.  It allows you to look at your facebook photos and videos on TV.  No hulu, no youtube.  But then I came across this channel VideoBuzz.  It allows you to access your youtube videos sometimes even better than youtube.  The search function brings up some playlists that I couldn't find on the youtube site (or I don't know how to find playlists on youtube).  This alone probably makes this investment worthwhile as there's a lot of videos available youtube (temporarily anyway as the legality of some these are questionable).  Even VideoBuzz might be of questionable legality as Google has taken away youtube access from roku before.  It's kind of like a pirate NetFlix.

[12/25/12] looking up tablets, I went from this page to this page to this page to this page where I came across Aereo.  What's this?  It's a service in New York which allows you to watch the major network TV channels over the internet without cable or an antenna.  This would seem to be the future.  But they're getting hit by lawsuit after lawsuit.  So maybe not.

[4/1/13] In a blow to major TV broadcasters, a federal appeals court ruled Monday that startup Aereo can continue to stream live local TV through its website and app.

Consumer groups applauded the decision because it ushers in greater flexibility in choosing TV shows without paying a hefty cable bill. However it also signals that more legal fights will likely be waged by broadcasters eager to hold on to advertising revenues and retransmission fees that cable companies pay to carry their channels.

Backed by Barry Diller's IAC Interactive, Aereo enables subscribers to stream live broadcast content from local stations - including the networks, public television and Spanish language channels - on their desktop computer, tablet or smartphone.

[1/30/13] Lifehacker reviews and compares Apple TV, Google TV, Roku, Boxee, WD TV Live.  [The reviewer actually likes his  homebrew XBMC the best.]

And a comparison between Roku and WD TV Live (which Libert has).  The main advantage of WD Live is you can play media files on a usb drive.  One error, this review seems to think that roku supports youtube.  [and there's this report that WD is blocking youtube videos]

[8/29/13] Disney added to Apple TV lineup.  Roku has that already.  But I see they previously added ESPN.  So that might be reason no. 2 for Apple TV.  The ability to stream (AirPlay) from your ipad or itune to TV plus ESPN.

Hmm.. Chromecast can now do that too, but no ESPN yet.  Not on Roku either.

[10/12/13] which streaming device is right for you?

[2/13/14] Another article comparing the Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast.  [and previously posted on my What's On Roku post: Here's a smackdown between the Chromecast, Roku 3, Apple TV.  Notable is that Netflix takes longer to load on the Apple TV.]