Cutting The Cable Cord With Internet TV Devices- Roku Streaming Player - Step 2

In our ongoing quest to cut the cable umbilical cord and optimize our program viewing while also optimizing our technology investment, there are several internet TV devices to consider.  

Testing the Roku XDS Streaming Player 1080p

We picked up the Roku XDS Streaming Player a few weeks back.  It’s the first internet TV device we’re testing out for our cutting the cable cord project.  With three HDTVs in our home, different solutions for different viewing options may be right for us.  Roku XDS Streaming Player 1080p can be purchased here:  http://amzn.to/eFZ4hR

Roku Is A Known Entity And Is A User Friendly InternetTV Device

We selected the Roku box as our first internet device to test because many reviews came back that it’s basically plug and play.  The most noticeable feature of the Roku box is that it’s incredibly compact and seemingly simplistic in its inputs/outputs.  The device comes with a small remote control device that presents everything in icons. 

We’ve been using Roku over the past several weeks to gather not only our first impressions on functionality, but to consider our opinion of the product as we add channels and features to our viewing options.

Installation and Ongoing Channel Additions

We chose to install the Roku device to our modem with a hardwire Ethernet line for the best connectivity options.  Users can also synch wirelessly, although I’d recommend the hardwire install because content downloads are faster and more reliable this way.

Multiple Channels for Viewing

Initializing took a few minutes and then Roku quickly brought us to the home page where we could view the current channels that come pre-installed.  Roku has been busy hammering out deals with content partners to address users interest in watching news, television shows and movies.  The makers of Roku pre-install several channels, including Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, Hulu and Roku Newscaster.    

The Roku Channel options menu allows users to select from hundreds of additional channels.  So far, we’ve added a food channel, an educational channel and an European radio channel.  Synching our Netflix account with Roku took a few steps that were self explanatory.  Once inside the Netflix channel, we could immediately view movies we’d selected and also view additional content that Netflix chose for us based upon our usage patterns.  Access to hulu was also quick and simple, showing us a lineup of the entire season’s tv programming.

News Broadcast without Commercials

For users who like to watch the nightly news, Roku’s Newscaster channel literally gives users access to the top 4 major broadcasters – ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, as well as additional channels such as CNN, BBC and the infamous (not really) Nasa channel. 

Our primary news gathering takes place during the day over the internet.  That said, overall, we’ve been very impressed with the selection offered for news.  In general 5 days worth of news is made available and we’ve been impressed with the latest lineup, noting that Al-Jazeera was just added a few days ago.

Children’s Programming

We thought that using the Roku box would severely limit our ability to select top quality children’s programming.  Our experience has actually been the opposite of this.  We’ve been impressed with the wide and varied childrens programs available for our children.  If there’s something we’d like to watch but it’s not available in instant viewing, we’ve ordered the DVD.

Commercial Free Internet TV Viewing

The positive kicker to testing out the Roku XDS? There are no commercials!  A 30 minute broadcast cuts nearly 1/3 of the viewing time set aside for commercials out of the picture.

Which Roku box is right for you?

There are three Roku boxes to consider and I picked the Roku XD-S device because the device users Wireless N, has an upgraded remote control and can show content in 1080p.  The Roku XDS also has a USB port, which is perfect for us bc we like to view pictures on our HDTV. 

Users who want 1080p capability and need to synch wirelessly, but don’t care about a USB port, will want to go with the Roku XD Streaming Player 1080p.  It’s available here:  http://amzn.to/hloWBo

For users who can hardwire their Roku box to their television set and want up to 720p, the entry level Roku is perfect and a perfect price as well: Roku HD Streaming Player http://amzn.to/fcCvzL

Internet TV for the Minimalist and Maximalist

So far, we've been very impressed with the Roku's ability to handle most of our viewing needs.

The one area that's missing?: Live sports viewing.  However, this can be made up with subscribing to several internet channels, like NBA GameDay, MLB.com.  We're going to test out antennae viewing next.

What Exactly Are We Cutting If We Cut the Cable Umbilical Cord

Subscribing to the ATT 200 channel level of service doesn’t make us mac-daddy channel watchers- yes, there are 300 and 400 channels to consider- but it’s certainly a lot of channels considering only one is watched at a time.  Many of the channels are available in both regular and high definition, or HD, programming.  The four major broadcasters (CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX) all offer both HD and non-HD programming  as do other broadcasters.  All in calculation for cable is about $5.50 per day, so as much as a venti-latte.  

Our issue:  we are tending to watch too much of the channel guide and not enough of the actual programming. 

Our challenge: to optimize what we’re watching and improve the viewing experience, while maintaining, or lowering, the cost per program watched.

Analyzing Television Channels We Actually Watch

I realize that this has been mentioned before, and I’m sure it also resonates with you: we end up surfing a ton of tv waves.  And, it just gets old.  Instead of surfing channels for hours where we end up watching nothing, we’re going to maximize the viewing.  This means the right amount of time for entertainment, information, pleasure, whatever.  A little analysis can go a long way in finding the right solution to this tv watching dilemma.  No more surfing tv waves, let’s ride a few waves of programming we want to watch.

Generally speaking, we’re into numerous sporting events, lifestyle programming, health and wellness programming, children’s programming (for the kiddies, of course), reality programming, documentaries and movies.

·         Television series

·         Lifestyle programming and reality programming- History Channel, Travel Channel, Bravo, Food Network, and then

·         Financial programming - including Bloomberg and CNBC

·         Documentaries – Current tv, History Channel, the 4 majors, Public Broadcasting

·         Movies from dramas, suspense and documentaries, comedy, you name it

·         Sports programming - including college football, golf, some basketball, baseball, and other major professional sporting events like the Super Bowl, World Cup, Stanley Cup (go Flyers!) and Tour de France, among others

Cable Channel Audit/Review

Over several weeks, we did an audit and wrote down all of the channels where a program was watched.  The 20 total channels of television programming for us came down to:

ABC	NBC	CBS	FOX	ESPN
CNBC	Bloomberg	Bravo	Public Broadcasting	Nick Jr
Travel Channel	History Channel	Food Network	Discover	CSS
Golf Channel	Nick Jr/Nickelodeon	CNBC	Current TV	TBS
A&E	TNT	Versus	CNN	BBC

Have to admit that it’s a little hard for me to believe at this point that MTV and VH1 are no longer on my list.  I guess it’s a rite of passage into real adulthood or should I say parenthood to see that Nickelodeon now makes the list, while MTV and VH1 have been relegated to the recycle bin.

Remote Control Surfing

It’s amazing that among 200 channels with hours of programming, we probably watch, on a regular basis, less than 15 channels fifteen in earnest, or less than 10% of the total channels we have in the cable plan.  In surfer’s lingo:  the rest of the channels operate as remote control wave riding until we find the ‘perfect wave’.

Researching Ways to Watch Individual TV Programming Channels

A quick online search on several websites shows that there is ample availability of each channel for our reviewing needs.  hulu.com currently has a deal to offer plenty of options for viewing both major broadcaster content and smaller, niche content creators.  In fact, search for some of the more obscure programming or content creators that you can think of through either Google or hulu and you’ll be surprised at what is available.  The basic viewing can be done on a computer, while premium services let consumers watch programs on your HDTV.  

Watching Movies Through Internet TV

One of the fastest growing markets is movie viewing through a broadband connection without the need for a cable connection.  Netflix, the clear leader in the US market for movie and premium channel viewing, lets users watch content through stand-alone boxes which does not require cable subscriptions.  If users want to keep their cable, Netflix acts as a supplement to what’s available there.

Viewer Options for Live Sports Programming

The one area that seems to be a hold out is live sporting events, which are dedicated to the four major broadcasting networks.  This could be because the bandwidth required to pipe in an HD game to millions of homes in real-time is intense.  There are two solutions though – one is ESPN3, which broadcasts games live.  Users would have to connect their computer directly to their television to watch the programming.  The other solution to the sporting dilemma is using an antennae because major broadcasters broadcast over the air in both traditional and HD.    

First Internet Only Device Review

We are going to dip our toe into the cable-free world and analyze the Roku box.  This is our first foray into the internet tv ready devices and we will keep our cable subscription live and going for comparative purposes.  Stay tuned.