Saving money on TV - Roku install with pictures

I will have a number of posts detailing how we have saved money on TV and entertainment by "cutting the cord" and surviving without pay TV (cable/satellite/IPTV). You will learn about how much free and low-cost (legal) streaming content is available to supplement or replace your current TV and movie viewing.

The Roku streaming player is a small device about the size of a hockey puck that connects to your TV and brings a huge amount of the videos, music, movies, games and TV shows available online straight to your TV screen. By purchasing a Roku (multiple models that currently range in price from $49.99-$99.99), the one-time cost gives you access to over 500 different entertainment channels. Roku players are very quick and easy to install, connect to virtually any TV, and require only AC power and a wired or wireless Internet connection. I recently installed a new Roku 2 XS and have provided pictures to show how quick and easy installation is:

Here is the Roku 2 XS box

Here is the TV that I will use with this Roku. As you can see, it is an older TV (at least 8 years old) and does not even have an HDMI input. As you will see, Roku works with new or old TVs.

Here's what the inside of the box looks like

A closer look at the Roku 2 XS and its remote

Here is a look at everything that's included - RCA (video and audio) cables, batteries for remote, AC power adapter, Roku 2 XS (rear view) and remote control

A closer look at the back of the Roku 2 XS

Closer look at the included accessories

Extreme close-up of the Roku 2 XS. Micro SD card slot for additional storage and future expansion (optional - Micro SD card is not needed for setup or normal use), standard size HDMI port for digital audio & video connection, A/V out for use with the supplied RCA (yellow, white, red) cable, ethernet port for a wired Internet connection, manual reset button, and DC in to connect the supplied AC power cable.

Note the time on the clock. After opening the box and taking a few pictures, we began the install at 6:42pm.

Another view of the Roku 2 XS and accessories. The AA batteries give some perspective as to the size of this incredibly powerful and awesome device.

An extreme close-up of the connections I used to install the Roku 2 XS. I only needed the power cable and used the A/V out with the supplied RCA (yellow, white, red) cable for video and audio connection to the TV.

A look at the back (and very dusty) connections available on the TV

Once connected to power and the TV, the Roku automatically begins the setup process

Rear view of the remote control

Front view of the unwrapped Roku remote control

First step is selecting a wired or wireless Internet connection. I used a wireless connection - the Roku lists the available wireless networks and I used the remote to enter my network password.

After connecting to the Internet, you are prompted to choose your local time zone

Once your time zone is set, the Roku automatically checks for updates and downloads any that are available. You must set up a free account at the Roku website to complete activation (and provide payment information in case you purchase any paid channels).

Before I knew it, updates were installed and the Roku was ready to use! The latest generation of Roku players allow game play and some come with Angry Birds pre-installed.

And here is the finish time - 7:28pm. Total setup time took me 46 minutes and that included extra time to take lots of pictures, about 5 minutes of rearranging and rerunning wires behind the TV, and my first game of Angry Birds.

The finished product - sitting nicely next to the Wii

Saving Money With Smartphones

When our twin boys were born in 2009, we did not have smartphones. Our phones were with AT&T and while we would have loved to have iPhones, our 2-line shared family plan only cost us around $75 each month and we did not want to almost double our bill by adding $60 plus taxes and fees for two data plans that would rarely be used. The boys were born at 28 weeks (three months early) - J was in the NICU for 6 weeks and it was 4 months before L was able to come home.

The hospital had free wifi Internet access and we also had wifi at home and work. We slept at home and when not working, spent most of our time at the hospital with the boys. We were updating our blog for family and friends, and it would be so much easier to be able to post quick updates and check email while at the hospital. I was close to buying an iPod Touch, which would be a one-time expense and give us access to the web and apps anywhere there was wifi without making any changes to our AT&T wireless bill (we were already out of contract but just did not want to spend more).

My brother had the best solution. The iPhone 3GS had been out a few months. He found a great deal and was able to get a used iPhone 3G for each of us! We put our AT&T SIM cards in the iPhones and did a factory reset using iTunes. This was perfect for us - we had fully-functioning iPhones using our same $75 2-line family calling plan. The iPhones worked anywhere, anytime for phone calls and texts - the only limitation was that we only had Internet access where wifi was available (exactly like an iPod Touch). The iPod Touch would have been my solution, but I really didn't want to carry around my phone and and iPod everywhere.

Yes - the fine print in AT&T service contracts says that you must have an iPhone data plan (or smartphone data plan) when using an iPhone or any other smartphone. This is because they subsidize the cost of the phone in exchange for a contract. You "save" money now by paying around $200 for a top-of-the-line smartphone instead of its actual $600-$700 price. The cost of your data plan throughout your contract more than makes up for the savings you receive... Fortunately this worked for us because we did not buy the iPhones from AT&T or Apple, so we were not required to add data plans or get new contracts. Yes, AT&T could tell that we were using iPhones instead of our old phones, but the only hassle was an occasional text message every few months saying "iPhone 3G requires a data plan. Please call 1-800-... to add data to your plan."

AT&T never did anything and we used those iPhones for two years. Yes, it was a hassle not having Internet while in the car or in places without wifi, but for us it was well worth the savings.