Uverse vs. Roku

[nap61]

I am thinking about cutting the cord and dropping my Uverse TV subscription. They keep raising the fees. I am looking at Roku as a replacement. I only watch about 10/12 channels - local news, PBS, Fox News (and Business), Military, Food/Cooking, AMC, TNT, Old movies. I don't have any pay channels.
It seems like if I drop Uverse and get Roku (a one time payment), it would be a lot cheaper, even if I get one or two pay services (Netflix, etc.).
Does anyone in the group use Roku? If so, is it worthwhile? What pay services do you use?

Any pro or con comments welcome.



Norman

 

[Arky217]

I have a Roku; it is the only way to go for me.
Get the Roku 3, the speed and earbuds are definitely
worth the few extra dollars.

(Hint: when you plug in the earbuds, it kills the sound from
the tv speakers. To have both earbud and tv sound, after
plugging in the earbuds, press the volume on the Roku remote
in the following sequence: up,up,down,down,up,up,up,down,down,down.)

I have 6Mb/sec DSL with CenturyLink for $35/month.
It provides my internet service and my Roku streaming.
Absolutely can't stand the number and length of commercials on network tv.
Yes, you will have commercials on the free Roku channels,
but they are nothing like the 2 minute program/5 minute commercials
on cable/satellite, etc tv services.

We watch a lot of Youtube; many of the movies on Youtube are commercial free.
Had Netflix for a while, but after a few months, decided it wasn't worth the price.
Roku has lots of channels to choose from; many are free.
I'd rather have Roku with just the Youtube channel than the highest tier of
any cable/satellite service.

 

[dirt ditch]

We axed Direct TV over a year ago and bought a Roku 3. We use Netflix ($10 a month), Amazon Prime ($10.99 a month + you get free shipping on orders), and my wife watches some shows on Hulu free or CBS All Access ($5.99 a month). They have limited commercials that I won't watch unless it is the local news on CBS All Access. Roku has lots of free channels. Some are good, some are not, most have limited content.

Another thing with the Amazon Prime account is their streaming music service. With our Amazon Tap we listen to streaming music anywhere in the house. No bigger than it is it sounds really good.

 

[ustmd]

We cut the cord about 3 years ago and it was a great decision for us.

Be aware, you will not be able to get any of "Fox News (and Business), Military, Food/Cooking, AMC, TNT" channels with only just a Roku. All of these channels require that you have a cable subscription to view them using only your Roku.

Before we switched completely, we bought the Roku and used it in tandem with Direct TV. After 1 month, we realized there was no reason to have the Direct TV, so we killed it and never looked back.

 

[kcflhrc]

I pay $76 a month for my Direct TV, money well spent if you asked me. Cheap entertainment. ****, I spent $47 Saturday night for 4 people to eat at Jimmy Johns.

 

[TractorGuy]

I didn't know Roku offered channels. I thought it was just an interface for streaming services. I bought one for my daughter before they had a smart TV and they still use it in lieu of the smart TV features. My Visio has a decent interface for Netflix and Amazon but the You Tube app doesn't work for squat. I use a Chromcast for that. Lots of good free entertainment on You Tube. I still enjoy Netflix most of all. We also watch a fair amount of PBS programming over the air.

Won't ever be subscribing to DTV again. That's a long story I won't get into.

 

[dirt ditch]

I didn't know Roku offered channels. I thought it was just an interface for streaming services.

Roku calls them Streaming channels. In our house we just call them channels.

 

[WM75Guy]

I have a Roku mainly for Amazon Prime. We have CenturyLink DSL at 3 Mbps which is not reliable enough to get rid of DirecTV plus we want local channels.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Uverse, owned by AT&T. Doesn't surprise me. They bought DirecTV and now are jacking up prices. I'm about to leave DirecTV for Dish, after about 20 years. Sick of AT&T.

They do nothing in their boardroom but figure out how much to raise prices.

I left their cell phone service for the same reason. Forever rising prices. I went to Republic Wireless and cut my bill in LESS than half. Never looked back. Is it perfect? Close, but not perfect. But about $70 per month more perfect than AT&T.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I pay $76 a month for my Direct TV, money well spent if you asked me. Cheap entertainment. ****, I spent $47 Saturday night for 4 people to eat at Jimmy Johns.

Either you are in your 1st year of a 2 year contract, or you have the bare minimum. I've been continuous user at this location for 13 years and my bill just went up to $126 per month. And I don't have any premium channels.

 

[OKnewguy]

We dropped cable about a year ago, they made it where you had to have a cable box at every tv (with rental). I have this setup now and have dvr, everywhere there is a roku or fire tv, and I save about $80 a month. I do admit it is not as simple as "flipping" channels...
Roku or Fire Tv's at each tv location.
Antenna in attic, feeds Tablo Tv (network attached tunner) This does require about $5 a month subscription for the guide, like tivo but cheaper
Playstation Vue: Cost $30 but get me all the cable channels I like with its own dvr.
Netflix and Amazon.
BTW, I prefer to have all my streamers, hardwired. I find that they are basically instant hi def with no buffering even when streaming to 2-3 tv's at once.
Dave

 

[dmccarty]

... We have CenturyLink DSL at 3 Mbps which is not reliable enough to get rid of DirecTV plus we want local channels.

We have CenturyLink DSL at 1.5 Mbps and we can stream without any problems as long as DSL is working. What is less reliable than CenturyLink is the over the air signal. Digital signals stinks. We can tell if it is windy because the TV signal drops constantly. Twas dropping out last night so I figured we were getting ready to get some rain so I checked radar. Sure enough, here comes some rain. :shocked:

Later,
Dan

 

[kcflhrc]

Either you are in your 1st year of a 2 year contract, or you have the bare minimum. I've been continuous user at this location for 13 years and my bill just went up to $126 per month. And I don't have any premium channels.

You would be wrong on all counts. I have been with them for 12 years. I have their XTRA Package which is 220 + Channels with 1 DVR and 2 Genie Remotes for other TV's. I have to call every year when they try and increase and threaten to disconnect service. Last October my bill went up to $127. I called them to make sure I was under no contract and they said why do you ask. I said I'm thinking of switching providers. That's all it took. Dropped it immediately to $76 with a 1 year commitment. I do this every year with them when my contract expires. They give me the same deal new subscribers get with a 2 year commitment but mine is only for 1 year. Try it, see what happens. My guess is they will drop the price for you. I have done this for probably 10 years now. I like their service and don't want to change, so a quick phone call is all it takes.

 

[Oaktree]

We dropped cable about a year ago, they made it where you had to have a cable box at every tv (with rental).

We have Time-Warner here, which fortunately doesn't need a cable box for their lower-tier packages (yet). I don't know if that will change with the merger with Charter. Hopefully not for a long time...last I knew there was no option other than to rent the #%&@ box from the provider, no way to buy your own. Just another expense that provides no value to the customer.
Off-air is not an option out here in the sticks.

I have to call every year when they try and increase and threaten to disconnect service. Last October my bill went up to $127. I called them to make sure I was under no contract and they said why do you ask. I said I'm thinking of switching providers. That's all it took.

I've found TWC pretty good in that regard, haven't even needed to threaten to go elsewhere. I usually pay my bill in person, after a rate hike I'll just ask the rep what they can do, and they've always given me some sort of 1 year special rate, no hassle.

When we bought our current tv a couple years ago we spent the extra $75 or so and got a "smart" tv. Took me probably 9 months to get around to pulling CAT5 to the living room, and I have to say I wish I'd never bothered. I'd keep reading online about all this "free" programming that was out there, but except for I-heart Radio everything this linked to required a subsciption. For the small amount of non-network programming we watch, it's just not worth the recurring expense.
Dunno if they're true, but I've read rumors that "smart" tvs phone home and can be used to spy. Call me paranoid, but I disconnect the network cable except when I'm using I-heart Radio.

 

[WM75Guy]

We have CenturyLink DSL at 1.5 Mbps and we can stream without any problems as long as DSL is working.

If it's working is the issue. It is so bad that I have the direct number to the repair center so I don't have to go through all the menu options. We have been without phone or DSL 5 of the last 14 days due to 4 line cuts along the highway where they are boring for a new line. Of course you don't realize it till you get home. When you call for repair they give you a 5 day window to get it fixed. During Christmas and New Years we were without service from 12/22 to 12/27 and then again from 12/30 to 01/03. Kept having to go to work instead of being able to remote in when a problem occurred.

CenturyLink has cut the number of service techs from 10 to 4 for my area. Their call center is now in the Philippines so all they can do is enter the service ticket, they cannot contact the local central office to see if it can be fixed without coming out. Often when the tech arrives he makes a phone call to the local central office and they turn the circuit back on within 5 minutes.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

You would be wrong on all counts. I have been with them for 12 years. I have their XTRA Package which is 220 + Channels with 1 DVR and 2 Genie Remotes for other TV's. I have to call every year when they try and increase and threaten to disconnect service. Last October my bill went up to $127. I called them to make sure I was under no contract and they said why do you ask. I said I'm thinking of switching providers. That's all it took. Dropped it immediately to $76 with a 1 year commitment. I do this every year with them when my contract expires. They give me the same deal new subscribers get with a 2 year commitment but mine is only for 1 year. Try it, see what happens. My guess is they will drop the price for you. I have done this for probably 10 years now. I like their service and don't want to change, so a quick phone call is all it takes.

OK, I will tell them a dude from Kansas said it was cool.

 

[kcflhrc]

If it's working is the issue. It is so bad that I have the direct number to the repair center so I don't have to go through all the menu options. We have been without phone or DSL 5 of the last 14 days due to 4 line cuts along the highway where they are boring for a new line. Of course you don't realize it till you get home. When you call for repair they give you a 5 day window to get it fixed. During Christmas and New Years we were without service from 12/22 to 12/27 and then again from 12/30 to 01/03. Kept having to go to work instead of being able to remote in when a problem occurred.

CenturyLink has cut the number of service techs from 10 to 4 for my area. Their call center is now in the Philippines so all they can do is enter the service ticket, they cannot contact the local central office to see if it can be fixed without coming out. Often when the tech arrives he makes a phone call to the local central office and they turn the circuit back on within 5 minutes.

Just an FYI, you can ask for an Onshore REP if needed. Most of the CO's aren't even manned anymore. And the techs don't call the CO, they call the NOC which are a bunch of remote Techs. And if you are having so many issues with your dial tone getting fixed in a timely manner call the Public Utilities Commission. Dial tone is regulated by the FCC and PUC and has to be dispatched to a tech to be onsite within 24 hours. There is a big liability to not have this repaired in a timely manner, 911 calls for example. Broadband is not regulated however. Also those techs probably left on their own with a buy out option and the Company Elected not to replace them. Most Telco's are running a lean ship now and would prefer to have too few techs and work overtime. It's the American way now. Work your employee's to death.

 

[kcflhrc]

OK, I will tell them a dude from Kansas said it was cool.

I will tell them to expect your call

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I will tell them to expect your call

One more question, do you have to Auto pay? Or what is your way to get out of that?

 

[kcflhrc]

One more question, do you have to Auto pay? Or what is your way to get out of that?

I have never auto paid