Anyone else here use Roku? In our house we primarily consume Netflix and Amazon, but we have these other channels that I occasionally dip into: Flix, Crackle, Pluto, Popcorn Flix…I’m curious if anyone else is streaming other channels besides Netflix and Amazon and what you like on them. I was perusing Flix’s content last night and they seemed to have some interesting independent adult-oriented content - kind of NC-17 stuff but some of it seemed intellectual and interesting (and some just kind of pulpy). I’m getting bored with what I’m finding on Amazon and Netflix and interested in what else is out there.
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I watch Pluto through Roku, because it has a MST3K channel. And it’s FREE.
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I’m using Crunchyroll for my anime fix and my wife uses Viki for her Kdrama’s, the other channel we use a lot is Plex.
More infrequently used but still essential:
PBS
Cryptic TV (really old low budget horror flicks)
Scout for Netflix (The free version is limited but useful for finding things buried deep in the Netflix catalog)
The BBC iplayer is cool if you’ve have a way around the geo blocking.
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Crackle and occasionally Tubeit (it has some good 70s and 80s movies buried back in the menus, but too many ads). Also Hulu, of course. I used to use Filmon to get BBC News, but for some reason the Roku Filmon app no longer carries that (it is still on Filmon).
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PBS, NBC, CBS, CNN etc. The Podcast channel for podcasts. Disney Kids.
There are TONS of international sports channels if you like that, they are super popular.
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I also use Sling on my Roku (but it does cost at least $20/month). If you have cable TV, I wouldn’t bother but it’s a good price if you don’t have cable and miss some of the more common channels. (I got it to watch soccer. 
)
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and PLEX.tv
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I’m confused by Sling and Plex. I gather you are supposed to downloading illegal content to use with them? I don’t really know how to do this.
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I don’t know what its actually called off the top of my head, but the Indian Food Channel is pretty fun. Always makes me hungry.
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Plex does not have to be illegal content. Just content. If you ripped your entire DVD collection and have it on your Home Server, it makes it easy to view what you already have.
Sling is a Live Streaming service that you subscribe to. The Roku just acts as the frontend.
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I’m also using Crunchyroll but was a little let down with the selection there. not sure if I will continue to subscribe.
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OK. I’m gonna write up a how I use Plex.
Its not “illegal” content but it is content outside of the realms of well loved and controlled DRMs by the DRMsers
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The Beeb is getting more annoying about this. Starting IIRC this spring, iPlayer requires a BBC account login which is tied to your registered residential address. It wouldn’t bother me if they let those outside of the UK buy a license.
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Sling is just extremely basic (legit and legal) cable TV. It’s owned by one of the cable/satellite TV provider companies.
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We’ve been using the YouTube channel a lot, although it really needs some stability improvements. We finally tried the new CW channel app … and after watching one episode of a current season show, we’re just going to wait until it comes out on NetFlix in the Spring. Way too many commercials and the interface was pretty bad. (Not quite as actively bad as Hulu, mind you, but still bad.)
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I used the YouTube channel a bit but it was pretty wonky.
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It’s actually updated a few times in the months we’ve been using it. There are places the UX/UI needs improvement, but it’s generally getting better. It still crashes the most of any of the channels we normally use and will often cause the Roku to reboot entirely.
(Still, it’s a great way to catch up on the Hydraulic Press Channel after dinner!)
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There a a few kids channels that my kids adore.
It’s like Will it Blend, but with more pressing.
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I seem to recall that the even pressed a blender … while it was running. Spoiler: the hydraulic press won.
ETA: I also love their accents. “Wah dah fook?”
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