Roku

[gatorknights]

Does anyone know--is this a one time purchase, or do you have to pay fees to use it after you buy it. I'm hearing conflicting stories regarding this. Anyone have one, and how do you like/use it?

[LeafUF]

Don't have one but the answer to your question is both. You pay one time for the box but then have to pay for the streaming services monthly that you use such as Netflix.

Plenty of new TVs, DVD players and all gaming consoles will give you the same capabilities plus be better multitaskers.

[orangeblueorangeblue]

I'm not sure there's a one stop shop that's comparable to Roku for the price. Maybe Apple TV. PS3 and 360 do not have (native) Amazon Instant Video or half of the other "channels" that come with Roku. Very few TVs have it.

Back to the OP, you can buy it as a one time purchase and use all of the free channels (like Crackle, a poor man's Netflix) so it never costs you anything. Most people buy it to have all of their streaming options on a single device.

[TWGator]

We got one in late January and love it. In fact, we've suspended our satellite service until football season, because we find we're using Roku so much right now. We have a subscription to Hulu Plus ($7.99/month; well worth it IMO) and also use Crackle (free), Vimeo (free), Pandora (free), as well as several other smaller channels. But the main reason I got it was for my MLB.TV package. I'm a huge Cardinals fan. So far this season, out of 13 games, I've watched 10 on the Roku where I wouldn't normally be able to. Highly recommended.

[Judoka]

+1 to the idea of ditching paid TV for online content. My TiVo provides most of the same function that the Roku does (Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, YouTube) but I do have a few friends that have one and like it. If I didn't already have a media center PC I'd opt for an Apple TV, but I have a lot of iTunes content that wouldn't be accessible with a Roku.

[Zendra]

You pay to buy the device. Roku just enables you to view streaming content on your TV. You still need to pay to get streaming services. Basically a Roku purchase just gives you the benefits of watching TV on your pC.

[Juggernautz]

I have Apple TV & Roku. Roku has a bigger selection but the Apple TV seems to have better quality.