Ready to ditch Cable TV! WDTV Live vs Roku vs Vudu - Which is best for me?

Question

So I'm totally fed up with paying the cable company my hard earned money month after month so that I can watch a few good programs and a whole bunch of crap that I have no interest in. I only really watch 3 or 4 channels and the rest are junk. It would be one thing if they offered me an a-la-cart option, but I've got to pay for all or nothing and, at $70/month, I'm leaning towards the "nothing" option.

I've been looking around and I found some interesting looking home media solutions for under $150. I'm looking for info on these from people who own and use them so that I can make the best decision. I'm looking at the Western Digital TV Live, Vudu, and Roku. Picture quality is not at the top of my list since I have an old analog TV, but because of this I need to have composite a/v capability. Ease of use is pretty important since I'm really busy and don't have a lot of time to fiddle with gadgets, although on the same note, I'm not a techno-idiot either and can usually figure things out if I have the time and patience (key words). Finally, I'd like to have access to a good amount of the TV shows that I like: Fringe, Breaking Bad, The Office (I guess I could get that on network TV with a digital antenna), Colbert Report. I'm not going to cry if I can't get them all, but I'd like to have access to most of these, and fill in the gaps by watching whatever online or through some program like Kiteplayer which I've heard good things about (comments welcome).

Thank you all for your input and advice. I look forward to your responses. These are some really cool gadgets and I can't wait to call my cable company up and tell them that they're fired!!

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

We've been pretty happy without cable for a few years, streaming Netflix Watch Instantly and Amazon Video On Demand to the TV. Although we use an Xbox to make the connection, the Roku Box gets high marks in user reviews on ease of set-up, price, and hardware quality. Good product reviews available at Vodyo.com {see link].

Both Netflix and Amazon have good selections of TV shows as well as movies, but we still end up plugging the laptop into our flat screen and watching Hulu for the latest episodes of family favorites. The setup requires specific cable and a decent laptop video card, so it's a bit geekier, but still pretty straight forward once you've taken the time to figure it out.

Source(s):

http://vodyo.com/triple-play-3-digital-video-players-from-roku/

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Good answer. Thanks for the info.

Answer 2

Don't get very excited- it is VERY hard to replace cable TV.

As mentioned, Roku only gives you what is available in Netflix streaming - which is a subset of the Netflix catalog, at least one season old.

Vudu is also mostly movies.

itunes (with Apple TV) has also some shows, but you need to pay per show.

Answer 3

i don't believe Roku Box will get you new/live programming like that. it plays things from the netflix and amazon video libraries. and they're setting up new partnerships, but everything i've heard is pre-programmed stuff.

VUDU looks like almost the exact same thing, but i've never heard of it. i do hear good things about Roku Box.