Can a Roku streaming stick be used to get free TV stations?

On 3/26/2018 6:56 PM, Amethyst wrote:
Can a Roku streaming stick be used to get free TV stations?
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=8433834roku.jpg

We are very low tech where I'm asking if I can get free TV with the low
tech equipment that I have already at home.

The short answer is "no". You can get TV content in a number of ways via
Roku, but they aren't free. Services like Hulu offer some of the shows
on several networks, but most shows are not included and there is a
monthly charge for Hulu. Some networks, such as CBS All Access offer
selected content, but they charge for it. None of the options are like
watching broadcast TV.

--
best regards,

Neil

On Wed, 28 Mar 2018 20:46:18 +0100, mechanic
wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2018 10:09:31 -0500, Char Jackson wrote:

I think AccuRadio is also a website, and there could be ads there,
but on Roku it's free of ads.

*Ok, to be honest, there's a recorded voice every couple of hours
that says, "You're listening to AccuRadio", but that's really
easy to ignore.

Great site, thanks!

You're welcome. I use the heck out of it.

On 3/28/2018 8:09 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
snip

I have 3 Roku devices, one for each TV, and one of the channels I use
the most is AccuRadio. It delivers uninterrupted*, ad free, no talking,
music all day long, in the sub-sub-sub-genre of my choice. You can drill
into any of multiple categories of music, then continue drilling down
until you find just what you want. I think AccuRadio is also a website,
and there could be ads there, but on Roku it's free of ads.

*Ok, to be honest, there's a recorded voice every couple of hours that
says, "You're listening to AccuRadio", but that's really easy to ignore.

I went to the website. All I got was 10 minutes of advertising
followed by a loop of "you're listening to accuradio" every few seconds.

Maybe I needed to create an account to hear anything.

I should drag out the roku.

On 29-3-2018 5:15, mike wrote:
On 3/28/2018 8:09 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
snip

I have 3 Roku devices, one for each TV, and one of the channels I use
the most is AccuRadio. It delivers uninterrupted*, ad free, no talking,
music all day long, in the sub-sub-sub-genre of my choice. You can drill
into any of multiple categories of music, then continue drilling down
until you find just what you want. I think AccuRadio is also a website,
and there could be ads there, but on Roku it's free of ads.

*Ok, to be honest, there's a recorded voice every couple of hours that
says, "You're listening to AccuRadio", but that's really easy to ignore.

I went to the website. All I got was 10 minutes of advertising
followed by a loop of "you're listening to accuradio" every few seconds.

Maybe I needed to create an account to hear anything.

I should drag out the roku.

I clicked the country button, and thats what I got.....

On Wed, 28 Mar 2018 20:15:18 -0700, mike wrote:

On 3/28/2018 8:09 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
snip

I have 3 Roku devices, one for each TV, and one of the channels I use
the most is AccuRadio. It delivers uninterrupted*, ad free, no talking,
music all day long, in the sub-sub-sub-genre of my choice. You can drill
into any of multiple categories of music, then continue drilling down
until you find just what you want. I think AccuRadio is also a website,
and there could be ads there, but on Roku it's free of ads.

*Ok, to be honest, there's a recorded voice every couple of hours that
says, "You're listening to AccuRadio", but that's really easy to ignore.

I went to the website. All I got was 10 minutes of advertising
followed by a loop of "you're listening to accuradio" every few seconds.

Maybe I needed to create an account to hear anything.

I should drag out the roku.

Wow, what a difference. No ads on Roku, nothing but ads on the web?

I had to check it out for myself. I didn't see any ads on the site, just
music, and no looping "You're listening to AccuRadio". AdBlock Plus says
it blocked 12 ads, but I can't explain the looping you encountered.
Maybe try another browser? Definitely try it with your Roku, though.

On 3/28/2018 10:55 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Wed, 28 Mar 2018 20:15:18 -0700, mike wrote:

On 3/28/2018 8:09 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
snip

I have 3 Roku devices, one for each TV, and one of the channels I use
the most is AccuRadio. It delivers uninterrupted*, ad free, no talking,
music all day long, in the sub-sub-sub-genre of my choice. You can drill
into any of multiple categories of music, then continue drilling down
until you find just what you want. I think AccuRadio is also a website,
and there could be ads there, but on Roku it's free of ads.

*Ok, to be honest, there's a recorded voice every couple of hours that
says, "You're listening to AccuRadio", but that's really easy to ignore.

I went to the website. All I got was 10 minutes of advertising
followed by a loop of "you're listening to accuradio" every few seconds.

Maybe I needed to create an account to hear anything.

I should drag out the roku.

Wow, what a difference. No ads on Roku, nothing but ads on the web?

I had to check it out for myself. I didn't see any ads on the site, just
music, and no looping "You're listening to AccuRadio". AdBlock Plus says
it blocked 12 ads, but I can't explain the looping you encountered.
Maybe try another browser? Definitely try it with your Roku, though.

It does work with firefox.

I listen to music at low volume at night. Helps me get to sleep.
Accuradio has a channel that's perfect.
The periodic screaming an ad at me kinda defeats the purpose.

I dug out the roku, but realized that I can't control it without
the HDMI display. Don't think that's gonna work for me.

mike wrote:

Amethyst wrote:

Given the monitor has multiple different connections, I can free
up the HDMI "IN" of the monitor by using a different cable out of
the back of the desktop tower.

That would free up the only HDMI "IN" that I have.
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=1354901hdmi_2.jpg

So the only question remaining is whether the Roku streaming
stick would work connected to that HDMI "IN" of the desktop
computer monitor.

Just read the manual and plug the thing into the HDMI of the
monitor and see what it does. As I recall, you wifi into it to set
it up. Should be clearly described in the manual. Worry about
other devices after you determine that the content is usable.
Depending on your model, the only audio output is thru HDMI, which
can severely limit your options.

I played with mine for about ten minutes before I gave up on the
useless free content.

I think you'll find that the stuff available for free is absolute
CRAP. Anything you want to watch is NOT FREE. And you can get most
of the same stuff with an app on the computer.

roku is for people who have a dumb tv and want to get content
without dedicating a whole computer to the process...and are
willing to pay for content.

You can get free movies you'd actually want to watch using your
internet browser on your desktop or smartphone. Google tubiTV and
Crackle to get started.

Or learn how to use YouTube. Completely free (at least for now).
Mind blowingly limitless content.

The only thing I miss is major sporting events, specifically the
Olympics and tennis. I can find some of them on YouTube, but I would
rather watch the broadcasts.

On Thu, 29 Mar 2018 22:58:28 -0000 (UTC), John Doe
said:

Or learn how to use YouTube. Completely free (at least for now).
Mind blowingly limitless content.

That brings up a good point where I wonder of the Roku Streaming Stick can
"stream" a movie onto a TV that was previously downloaded onto a desktop
computer using the youtube downloader?

[C:] youtube-dl.exe https://youtu.be/dcaYmLgXsPo

I got the YouTube downloader from he
https://youtube-dl.org/downloads/latest/youtube-dl.exe

And the MP3 encoder from here (if I want to download just the audio):
http://ffmpeg.zeranoe.com/builds/win...n64-static.zip

Can a Roku streaming stick stream from the local desktop to the TV?

On Tue, 27 Mar 2018 18:04:49 -0400, "Jonathan N. Little"
said:

NOTE: The monitor would have to have builtin speakers else you will have
no sound!!!

Much easier just to pickup a Wallymart special TV. You can easily pick
up a small one for $100

We are Spartan.

We have one couch in the entire house, one table, one bookshelf, etc.

We currently have that one huge but old Sony TV we bought for $100 years
ago (before the advent of HDMI most likely), so any TV would have to
replace the huge Sony TV we have now.

This Walmart one is less than $100 & says it has speakers & HDMI in:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sceptre-2...Black/40718688

Amethyst wrote:

Can a Roku streaming stick stream from the local desktop to the TV?

Yes, quite easily with Plex.

https://www.plex.tv/apps/streaming-devices/roku/

Amethyst wrote:
On Tue, 27 Mar 2018 18:04:49 -0400, "Jonathan N. Little"
said:

NOTE: The monitor would have to have builtin speakers else you will have
no sound!!!

Much easier just to pickup a Wallymart special TV. You can easily pick
up a small one for $100

We are Spartan.

We have one couch in the entire house, one table, one bookshelf, etc.

We currently have that one huge but old Sony TV we bought for $100 years
ago (before the advent of HDMI most likely), so any TV would have to
replace the huge Sony TV we have now.

This Walmart one is less than $100 & says it has speakers & HDMI in:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sceptre-2...Black/40718688

We went "virtual shopping" for a TV set for someone in
another group, and this is what we ended up with. If you
shop around, you can shave at least another $20 off the price.

LG 28" Class (27.5" Actual Diagonal Size) LJ400B Series HD 720p LED TV $167

https://www.frys.com/product/9260599#detailed

But, it's only got YPbPr,Audio-Lin, Audio-Rin, and one HDMI.
Reviews say (as you'd expect) that sound sucks and it
could use a sound bar to help out. A sound bar is a possibility,
it there's a headphone jack on it.

I'd look for a similar unit, with "wide viewing angle" (means
it's not using a TN panel), and see if you could get one with
more HDMI on it or something. Having just one HDMI is limiting,
as you'd want one for an optical player, and one for your Roku.

For example, this one has two HDMI, but maybe the screen
viewing angle isn't the same. In one review I could find,
someone claimed the plastic chassis rattles if you turn
up the volume above 18.

Samsung 28" Class (27.5" Actual Daigonal Size) M4500 Series HDTV $200

https://www.frys.com/product/9178328

OK, found a spec here (if you can trust this), and it's 178 degrees,
means it's not TN.

https://www.displayspecifications.com/en/model/61f4d70

Anyway, shop around a bit.

Frys has a good collection to scroll through, but not
necessarily the best price.

*******

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/41725984/n.../#.WsEdQcUwDQw

Paul

On Sun, 01 Apr 2018 17:27:39 +0000, george
wrote:

Amethyst wrote:

Can a Roku streaming stick stream from the local desktop to the TV?

Yes, quite easily with Plex.

https://www.plex.tv/apps/streaming-devices/roku/

+1
Plex is probably the most popular method. There are other Roku channels
that work similarly.