Henry Rifle Forums

My tv antenna is okay for watching the local news and old reruns but I seldom watch it. The only thing I’m really interested is baseball and football. A neighbor gave me their account name and password to Spectrum and Direct Tv so I’ve been watching the Brewers at home for three days. Then I discovered modern TV’s have access to dozens of programs if you have internet. I don’t however my phone is a hotspot and I get 5G. With the combination I get hundreds of shows for free

The oddy which I call the garage has a 50” smart tv but I’m thinking of getting a 65”. I’m heading to Wally World later today.

So does anyone else use just Roku and apps like that? I’m shocked to learn what I’ve been missing.

We gave up cable years ago when Time Warner got us really hot under the collar. Story for another day. We "got by" with books and DVDs for years until we upgraded our internet service. We now watch Amazon Prime. We have a Prime account for other reasons. We also pay a very small amount for Britbox. We don't have a "smart" TV, but a $20 Roku box works just fine.

Sir Henry wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 20, 2025 7:53 am

My tv antenna is okay for watching the local news and old reruns but I seldom watch it. The only thing I’m really interested is baseball and football. A neighbor gave me their account name and password to Spectrum and Direct Tv so I’ve been watching the Brewers at home for three days. Then I discovered modern TV’s have access to dozens of programs if you have internet. I don’t however my phone is a hotspot and I get 5G. With the combination I get hundreds of shows for free

The oddy which I call the garage has a 50” smart tv but I’m thinking of getting a 65”. I’m heading to Wally World later today.

So does anyone else use just Roku and apps like that? I’m shocked to learn what I’ve been missing.

I have Roku TV I bought about 4 years ago. You can also hook up an antenna to it for local broadcasts, which comes in handy when the internet doesn't cooperate (happens frequently here) with the streaming shows. Roku is a WiFi connect to my internet box. Pretty easy set up. It's all (mostly) free if you don't mind tons of commercials. And of course there's many pay to watch/subscription streaming services, which can get expensive.

clovishound wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 20, 2025 8:11 am

We gave up cable years ago when Time Warner got us really hot under the collar. Story for another day. We "got by" with books and DVDs for years until we upgraded our internet service. We now watch Amazon Prime. We have a Prime account for other reasons. We also pay a very small amount for Britbox. We don't have a "smart" TV, but a $20 Roku box works just fine.

I need a bigger tv anyway. The oddy is big enough to warrant a bigger one.

GunnyGene wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 20, 2025 8:16 am

Sir Henry wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 20, 2025 7:53 am

My tv antenna is okay for watching the local news and old reruns but I seldom watch it. The only thing I’m really interested is baseball and football. A neighbor gave me their account name and password to Spectrum and Direct Tv so I’ve been watching the Brewers at home for three days. Then I discovered modern TV’s have access to dozens of programs if you have internet. I don’t however my phone is a hotspot and I get 5G. With the combination I get hundreds of shows for free

The oddy which I call the garage has a 50” smart tv but I’m thinking of getting a 65”. I’m heading to Wally World later today.

So does anyone else use just Roku and apps like that? I’m shocked to learn what I’ve been missing.

I have Roku TV I bought about 4 years ago. You can also hook up an antenna to it for local broadcasts, which comes in handy when the internet doesn't cooperate (happens frequently here) with the streaming shows. Roku is a WiFi connect to my internet box. Pretty easy set up. It's all (mostly) free if you don't mind tons of commercials. And of course there's many pay to watch/subscription streaming services, which can get expensive.

I can see the AT&T tower from about two miles away and at home very seldom have problems. I thought of getting the high speed Spectrum cable but it’s only good for one location and I have three. The only downside of using my phone is that I have to leave it in the building. Last night I went to the house taking the phone and when I got back to the oddy I had people yelling at me because the distance was too far.

Sir Henry wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 20, 2025 8:30 am

I can see the AT&T tower from about two miles away and at home very seldom have problems. I thought of getting the high speed Spectrum cable but it’s only good for one location and I have three. The only downside of using my phone is that I have to leave it in the building. Last night I went to the house taking the phone and when I got back to the oddy I had people yelling at me because the distance was too far.

You might be able to use a WiFi booster to increase range.

GunnyGene wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 20, 2025 8:53 am

Sir Henry wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 20, 2025 8:30 am

I can see the AT&T tower from about two miles away and at home very seldom have problems. I thought of getting the high speed Spectrum cable but it’s only good for one location and I have three. The only downside of using my phone is that I have to leave it in the building. Last night I went to the house taking the phone and when I got back to the oddy I had people yelling at me because the distance was too far.

You might be able to use a WiFi booster to increase range.

I’ve thought about that. For the time I’ll just try to remember.

Gene, I have a Roku television that has the Roku app and many many free things. I also pay a lot every month for cable TV from Spectrum. I get wifi and TV and can watch almost anything you can think of. The package I have gives me additional streaming apps for free. If it's on TV, chances are I can watch it. We don't watch that much television anymore, but it's nice to be able to watch just about whatever you want. I looked into cutting down the bill, but all in all it gives us pretty unlimited access to whatever we can think of.

I have a 65" smart tv hanging off the living room wall. It's great to move around, depending where you sit. I also have a smaller 43 or 50" tv down stairs. That's the Roku one. At the camp we have a 50" I think. That has a different app similar to Roku. That stuff is all free too. I got the camp tv at Walmart.

When Mary was working from home, we got a router with two satellites. I can be out near the barn and get a good signal. The technology is always improving, we just need to be aware of what it can do for us.

I looked at 65 and went 75. Im not sorry I did. Ball games on that 75 are awesome. Sams has a great selection of them many on sale. Been using a Roku box for a few years along with Amazons Stick

Sir Henry wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 20, 2025 7:53 am

My tv antenna is okay for watching the local news and old reruns but I seldom watch it. The only thing I’m really interested is baseball and football. A neighbor gave me their account name and password to Spectrum and Direct Tv so I’ve been watching the Brewers at home for three days. Then I discovered modern TV’s have access to dozens of programs if you have internet. I don’t however my phone is a hotspot and I get 5G. With the combination I get hundreds of shows for free

The oddy which I call the garage has a 50” smart tv but I’m thinking of getting a 65”. I’m heading to Wally World later today.

So does anyone else use just Roku and apps like that? I’m shocked to learn what I’ve been missing.

Go big. You've got the space for it. Your guests will be less huddled in front of the TV and more comfortable.
We went big once. It was too big for the space we had in the rec room. Took it back for a smaller one. I think it's a 65".
Ours came with a bunch of free channels over the internet and includes pay-for-view apps to a lot of other providers.

Mags wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 20, 2025 12:30 pm

Sir Henry wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 20, 2025 7:53 am

My tv antenna is okay for watching the local news and old reruns but I seldom watch it. The only thing I’m really interested is baseball and football. A neighbor gave me their account name and password to Spectrum and Direct Tv so I’ve been watching the Brewers at home for three days. Then I discovered modern TV’s have access to dozens of programs if you have internet. I don’t however my phone is a hotspot and I get 5G. With the combination I get hundreds of shows for free

The oddy which I call the garage has a 50” smart tv but I’m thinking of getting a 65”. I’m heading to Wally World later today.

So does anyone else use just Roku and apps like that? I’m shocked to learn what I’ve been missing.

Go big. You've got the space for it. Your guests will be less huddled in front of the TV and more comfortable.
We went big once. It was too big for the space we had in the rec room. Took it back for a smaller one. I think it's a 65".
Ours came with a bunch of free channels over the internet and includes pay-for-view apps to a lot of other providers.

I went with a 75 and it’s not too big. The old and new.

I pay minimal fee's for Amazon Prime (which I use for faster shipping anyway) and a Hulu/Disney+/Max (with commercials) bundle. I also still have Dish which is expensive but I do like having the networks and the DVR, thinking of dropping it though, just need to find a free or cheaper access to the networks and news channels.

I went from a 55" to a 70", don't really have room for anything bigger without some major furniture re-arrangement. It is amazing the size difference made with 10 or 15 inches diagonal.

We get hundreds of stations and watch 2.