Roku 2 XS 1080p HD Streaming Video Player w/ Wi-Fi, Angry Birds & Motion Sensor Remote Control $64.99 f/s

Suggestions on an antenna? I checked tvfool.com and it looks like the towers by me for local channels are 10-13 miles away, mostly north-west... and I could use an indoor "set top" antenna to pick them up...

This is really off topic, so let me start by saying a Roku is a great way to watch Netflix, Crackle, and other streamed services. I love using this with Playon because that adds channels like Hulu, the Food Network, and the History Channel I liked when I had cable plus some awesome archives of classic shows and movies. The XS is my favorite Roku due to the fact that its usb port can stream local media.

That said, we spend less than 10% of our viewing time looking at streamed media. Most of that is Netflix and you can stream Netflix to most new devices. If you are going to cut the cable, you are going to need solid broadcast for news, sports, and live programming. That means a good antenna pointed in the right direction and a decent distribution system. You will likely miss your DVR as much as anything once you pull the plug.

Do some reading [wordpress.com] and you will be a happy cable cutter.

You need to go though a process of seeing what channels are available, in what direction they are from your home, and how far. Once you have this information, you will be able to select the right antenna. It may be something that sticks to a window or sits on the set or is on the roof.

Start here [wordpress.com].

Thats good to know.. strange.. but good to know. Maybe I'll look into a HTPC.. could get hulu for free and not have to deal with h+ for the time being...

Thanks for this info. I actually just remembered I have an older antenna attached to my chimney. I'll see if I can pick up anything with that before I go into buying new antennas...

Using Playon with the Roku looks like you can get the free Hulu and the Youtube channel, correct?

Any good way to catch The Walking Dead? I DVR it now but have noticed amctv.com a bit flaky about showing the episodes

What file formats will this stream from my computer?

too bad Roku want a credit card in order to set up the devise.

too bad Roku want a credit card in order to set up the devise.

That is how I started. I hooked an antenna I bought for my camper up when we lost power/cable to see if I could catch some news. Turns out I caught a lot more.

I catch shows like Walking Dead on Netflix. You have to wait, but I actually prefer watching a season over a couple days. Playon and Roku both get Youtube -- there are private channels on the Roku like Video Buzz even if YT is not officially supported at this time. Free Hulu is available via Playon and Plex -- though Plex Hulu is sketchy.

Just a heads up about Hulu+. Not all shows will work on all devices.

Doesn't really matter if you have a way to stream/connect your computer to your tv though.

Just thought that was an annoying little tidbit and your post reminded me of it...

Yeah, I bout 500 of them for $19 on eBay over the past 2 months!!
(They were all cancelled.)



The user is referencing a post that was deleted by the moderators. The same type of "Roku XS for $19/$21/$26" posts pop up every week on SD, but we found out several months ago that all of these eBay posts were scammers.


It started with a few eBay sellers hacking the accounts of their 'rival' sellers. These targeted sellers were well established (95 to 99% satisfaction rating). Unfortunately, these hackers would post 200+ items of Roku XS for about $25, PS Vitas for about $55, etc. Since the user is locked out of their own account, eBay would eventually delete these user accounts, thereby eliminating these 'rival' sellers. In turn, the hackers who have their own legitimate eBay accounts would then be able to raise the price on all of their items because they have gotten rid of their major competitors.


Now we're seeing copy-cats who post these sought-after items. However, these copy-cats use brand new accounts with 0% satisfaction ratings. PayPal/eBay puts a hold of 30 days on fund paid to these sellers. Fortunately, these sellers quote that their items take about 45 days to ship, so they can pull the funds and close their accounts before they ever ship the item. Another variant of copy-cats will actually ship items to generate authentic shipment tracking numbers, but the buyers usually end up with a box containing a rock.


I don't know if the SlickDealer above was trolling, or if he actually believes erroneously that he will be receiving a Roku XS for $21. In any case, the moderators on this site deleted the thread after a couple of hours so you won't find a reference to it anymore. If you set up a deal notification/alert for "Roku", you can view the new threads that pop up once a week before they are eventually deleted by the mods.