Check Out These Roku Models for Cord Cutters

We cut the cord several years ago, but then went back to getting Directv through AT&T because the cost of internet alone was almost the same as getting a bundled package. In fact, internet plus one of the services (such as Youtubetv) would cost more than we pay to have 120+ channels.

I have been a long time user of Roku and can't recommend it enough. I currently have a Roku-enabled TV and Roku Ultra and don't miss cable at all. If there was one improvement I'd make to Roku it would be to enable HD antennas on their devices like the Ultra. I suppose, though, that would be a more appropriate comment on the Roku website than here.

We still have cable, which provides our house with TV, 200 MB internet, and VOIP telephone. We only watch "free" channels on cable, and enjoy the many channels that cable provides. We don't subscribe to any other paid programming (Netflix, HBO, YouTube TV, etc) and don't miss them. Each year, I call the cable company and re-negotiate our subscription to their current low-cost special promo deal, and they are always happy to oblige. We have a fire stick on a back room TV, and I get tired of always logging in to my cable account to permit watching their locked content, which I'm guessing I'd have to pay for anyway without my cable account.

I cut the cord a few years ago, and we went to over-the-air broadcast of local channels with a TIVO box for time-shifting. We love the TIVO, but the local broadcast signal sometimes varies. Our HOA does not allow rooftop antennas, so we have been using indoor antennas. It worked great at first, but the signal strength has deteriorated recently for some reason. We haven't tried Roku, but we did try Pluto TV and also Hulu. The problem I see with those services is that they don't give live broadcast of local channels, plus most have subscription fees. (Pluto is free) I still haven't found the perfect solution.

I have had Roku players for about 10 years, to stream Netflix and Amazon Prime. Last year, I cut the cord when my TV provider raised the price again. I already had four ROKU players on four TV's because of Netflix and Amazon. My TV provider raised the cost to $160 plus internet which included T/V and 10mb internet. No more expensive tv box fees, I gave them back. My cost went to $84.95 a month for all the TV channels I care to watch on 4 TV's.

Love the Roku's, have mostly the top of the line 4K ones. Great for older smart TVs where Hulu won't work anymore. The chromecast is a waste of time. We've had various streaming services and antenna for the last several years. If I get rich I might get cable, but otherwise not.

I echo Doug W's comment exactly. I've got my cable/internet subscription down to $107/mo including all the fees. If I cut the cable then my internet goes up $15/mo. I have amazon prime and Netflix and that's as far as I'll go with subscriptions and it's plenty of tv. I'd like to hear how other cable cutters record shows.

I have Roku, love it. I'm too far out of the city to get over the air, so, yes, have cable subscription with internet. Best find for watching is MHz. Just dropped Netflix, can do without.

I cut the cord a year ago. I was paying $265/month for the triple-play bundle at Comcast. Too much! I use two over-the-air (OTA) antennas connected to an HDHomeRun Quatro tuner which provides DVR capabilities. I use a Plex server to manage the DVR recordings, and it all feeds via wired/wireless network to Amazon Fire TV 4K Sticks running Plex on three TVs. Once it is set up, OTA is FREE, and the broadcast resolution is much higher than the compressed cable signal. I supplement the broadcast TV with Philo for an extra 58 channels such as A&E, Discovery, Hallmark, History, TLC, etc (many of the channels that are in cable bundles). I already had Amazon Prime and Netflix, which I continue to use. I save a lot, which quickly paid for setting it up. The Plex software provides the up-to-date guide grid, and manages recordings and playback.

I have a Roku TV (TCL X5000)which is several years old and the built in Roku device works great. Additionally, I have subscriptions to Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. Even with all this we had cable to watch the local channels. About 6 months ago I cut the cord, got an antenna, a Tablo, and an external hard drive. With the Tablo and the hard drive I can watch and record local television. I spent about $300 on the antenna, Tablo, and hard drive and reduced my cable bill by $100 a month. I do subscribe to the Tablo guide ($4.95/month) All together, with my internet service, which I also use for home computers, tablets, and phones, my monthly bill comes to a about $105 a month, and I have more entertainment sources than I can use.

Seems like a plug for Roku as there are several equally if not better alternatives. I personally do not like ROKU as I got burned years ago. My 1080P Roku stick became obsolete within a year. I personally prefer the 4K Firestick as it can do all that Roku can do, plus you can load your own apps. I have Firefox and PIA installed. I know others who also install Perfect Player, LiveNet TV, and KODI. The Firestick is very versatile.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I've owned several Roku devices and two Chromecasts as well. Roku seems to have edge in terms of depth of content, and I think that's because they are not bound to the Amazon, Google or Apple ecosystems.

@John >> "Seems like a plug for Roku...": I thought maybe it was a plug for amazon, since quick ebay search shows that the RokuUltra at the same total price (free S/H) but without needing a paid 'prime' membership.

We 'cut the cord' a couple of years ago and I miss it!! Netflix does NOT replace cable. I used to watch a lot of sports, documentaries, dramas, and comedy shows on cable. I no longer have a TV so getting a Roku, with the added cost of getting a TV, is probably too costly.

I watch primarily movies so I opted to not get cable service from my HOA even tho my assmt includes it. I started with Netflix DVD, added Amazon Prime and recently added Criterion. My monthly fee altogether is $27 and Amazon Prime has other services. I like Amazon Prime and Netflix because it's very easy to add streaming cable and movies for one time viewing and cancel.

I cut the chord over 4 years ago. Don't miss it at all. I invested in a Channel Master DVR and 2 antennas in my attic for my local over the air channels. I also later purchased a Roku3 which I still have and it works fine for my streaming of Sling TV and Netflix. I am now looking into the AirTV box that will stream my local channels and place them in my Sling TV channel list! And like with my Channel Master DVR I can record my local channels to an external HD then stream those to any TV that is linked to my home network.

I think I watch too much T/V, but i'm not stopping. I pay just over $300 per month for Directv with whole home DVR and a wireless genie box and separate internet. The problem is the only thing I watch live is football and baseball. I am a huge racing fan (esp. NASCAR) and I watch everything after the fact (usually the same day).
I need something to cover all of the major sports, incl. racing, and the different networks they are broadcast on, with DVR and local channels (though I do have an antenna for locals when satellite rarely goes out).
Anything that meets all criteria?

I've had Roku for a long time and recently "upgraded" from the "hockey puck" to the Premier. The only disappointments were, no Ethernet and no
5 GHz wireless feed. The 2 GHz is very crowded here but, so far, works ok.

We cut the cord a year ago with a 4K Firestick. The experience with it was not good. There were a lot of freezes and reboots. All of our cord cutting friends were claiming great results, so we decided it had to just be the firestick causing our woes. We switched to a Roku Ultra LT that we picked up at Wally World and have been much happier. We have since discovered that our freezing and rebooting issues were caused by our Cox Internet. The Roku handles it so much better than the Firestick did. Overall, even with the dodgy Internet issue, we are happier. Our bank account is a lot happier.