Roku Streaming Player Review

This little set top box is a great complement to any home entertainment center.  It basically lets you access your streaming services from you TV.  If you already have Netflix and Hulu plus you will find this streaming device to be very useful.  You simply plug the box into your power strip and tv and then hook it up to your wireless network and you are ready to go.  There are many Roku channels and apps that you can then download.  Some channels like Netflix and Hulu plus will require you to link your accounts, some are free, and others cost a small fee or charge subscriptions.

Depending on how you watch TV this can be a viable replacement for your cable or satellite tv accounts.  The catch is that there will be no programming.  You are completely in charge of what you watch. This sounds great until you just want to veg out in front of the tv, and cant find anything on because there are too many choices.  Also if your goal is to get rid of pesky advertisements this may not be feasible since channels can sell advertising.  Crunchyroll and Hulu plus both do this, and
Hulu plus has a bit too much advertising for something I pay for in my opinion.

Personally I went back to having a DirectTV account, but i still use the Roku to access my Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Crunchyroll content.  To be honest it was the desire to see new kids tv that made us go back.  Roku has a lot of kids content but its all a bit dated and after you have seen the same episodes of "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" 20 times Disney has broken down your will to not seek out some cable provider just so you don't have to see the same damn episode one more time.  If you don't have this issue and can deal with a lack of programming then this may be the way to go for you.  If not the boxes are cheap and lets you stream video from the internet directly to your tv, and the box just works.

You can find Roku almost anywhere.  I think we bought ours at Wall Mart.  Or you can order it at www.roku.com.  There are several models to choose from and one should be affordable.