# NetFlix & Hulu on the home TV, HOW??



## sixgun86 (Jul 11, 2012)

We are moving to a new place and do not want to sign a two year contract for TV so we are going to a Netflix, Hulu, internet tv service with an occasional red box rental. ( Her idea & Loving it. )

We have a small older LCD tv and a big CRT tv. Both have nice pictures, etc.. but are far from internet tv era. *What do I need in order to watch Internet tv on these older platforms?* I was thinking just a USB/RCA cable but I'm afraid the picture won't come out right, or having the laptop plugged into it all the time would get old. 

Idea is to save some money by avoiding Sat TV or local provider and their contracts so I don't want to purchase anything too expensive, and since I have to buy two of them... price is a concern. I'm seeing a lot of these internet boxes, or google tv android operated flux capacitors but I dont know anything about them.

Thoughts? Cheapest way to get Netflix over my CRT TV?


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## JaxJonBoat (Jul 11, 2012)

here are some otions....we gave up cable over a year ago and havent looked back, saves over $120 a month.....more money for the boat ;-)

our tv has the apps built in, but most blue rays also have the apps, which would make hooking up to the tv's super simple, proabably $200 or less for blue ray with apps, play station 3 have apps. we use that also but here are a list of some stand alone units.

https://www.vizio.com/costar/overview

https://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipod/family/apple_tv

https://pcgamesi.com/sony-nsz-gt1-wi-fi-enabled-1080p-blu-ray-disc-player-featuring-google-tv.html

if it where me I would buy a sony blue ray and call it a day.


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## Buddychrist (Jul 11, 2012)

The wii has Netflix and hulu


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## sixgun86 (Jul 11, 2012)

Those are all neat, but that's two hundred dollars for two of them and neither tv is HD. Don't need app's or HD. Just a bargain basement hack. 

I'm sooooo cheap. #-o


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## JaxJonBoat (Jul 11, 2012)

sorry, i dont know of anything that would work reliably for less than $100. Maybe shop ebay or CL for the units I listed. On my big tv even tho it has apps i have a small net top computer hooked to it, lenveno brand, but even that was $300. a used wii might be a better option as it has rca's and not hdmi.


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## Buddychrist (Jul 11, 2012)

The wii is 100 bucks and you can get spare hookups to move from tv to tv without re-wiring. I move my wii around the house from tv to tv all the time and it works great!


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## donmac (Jul 12, 2012)

For around $100 you can get a blu ray dvd player with built-in wifi, netflix, hulu plus, etc... Just check out best buy or your closest big box store of choice.... If you don't have wifi then you can just use the ethernet connection.


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## Jay415 (Jul 12, 2012)

WDTV live. It does what you want plus more. I use it to play home movies on the big screen in the living room from my pc in the other room. 

https://amzn.com/B005KOZNBW


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## sixgun86 (Jul 12, 2012)

Jay415 said:


> WDTV live. It does what you want plus more. I use it to play home movies on the big screen in the living room from my pc in the other room.
> 
> https://amzn.com/B005KOZNBW




This looks like the money shot.. Good eye Jay. They are averaging $40-$75 ea.

Now... They make 4.. Which one do I need?? lol. They are in order of which is the cheapest. Plus and Hub have the cat 5 connection which I figure is a must? Probably run a router and skip the wifi? I'll be running two tv's.. Could I get away with one unit? 

Mini
WDTV
Plus
Hub


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## Jay415 (Jul 12, 2012)

I have the Western Digital WD TV Live Streaming Media Player - WDBHG70000NBK-HESN (The one in the link i posted) i paid $99, Not sure the differences between them. I originally had it set up with wifi and worked fine...I have since hard wired with cat 5 and there are less hiccups.

You'll need a unit at each tv


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## sixgun86 (Jul 13, 2012)

Ended up going with Roku. 

$50 ea. They have some tv channels that are free. Also Gun talk*? That was what really sold me. :mrgreen: 

Netflix and Huluplus = $16mo. plus their free channels & crackle.


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## Canoeman (Jul 24, 2012)

I know this thread is a little old..

I cut off cable back in January and have just been utilizing my media pc and torrents/hulu etc.. whatever is free ive been using it.

I am leaning towards using Boxee by Dlink.. https://www.boxee.tv/buy

How is the Roku device treating you?


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## sixgun86 (Jul 24, 2012)

I tested it out at a friends house the other day and it was awesome. Won't have it up and running at my place for another two weeks or so as we move on the 1st, but I'll keep you posted.


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## DocWatson (Aug 26, 2012)

sixgun86 said:


> I tested it out at a friends house the other day and it was awesome. Won't have it up and running at my place for another two weeks or so as we move on the 1st, but I'll keep you posted.


So, it's after the 1st (you did mean August 1st, right ???), how's the Roku treating you ?? 

I've got the "original" internet TV setup, the Logitec Revue. I paid $100 about 2 years ago. I prefer the full keyboard interface to the smaller controlers offered by the others when surfing the net on the TV, but not so much for watching the TV.

But, unless you get one used, it won't be an issue for you to consider. They don't make them anymore.


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## sixgun86 (Aug 26, 2012)

DocWatson said:


> sixgun86 said:
> 
> 
> > I tested it out at a friends house the other day and it was awesome. Won't have it up and running at my place for another two weeks or so as we move on the 1st, but I'll keep you posted.
> ...




Roku is great. They do limit what is available ie no youtube or hulu. Only hulu plus, but we have been spending a majority of the time wathcing netflix which has all three of us covered. Myself, my worst half, and plenty of programming for the little one. For $50 to be able to watch it over your TV you cannot go wrong. Worst case it's resale value still remains high. Not many if any at all are available second hand. We will be getting the free programming for local news, and old classic shows that aren't available.


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## LOWEBIGJON (Sep 13, 2012)

I have Apple TV and luv it, it has it all and can listen to music loaded on my computer.


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## sixgun86 (Sep 13, 2012)

Not sure if I mentioned this, but there are a lot of Channels that aren't listed that you can subscribe. If you login you can add them from a list that is kept updated by an outside source. Lots of good viewing. Easy for someone to start their own TV channel too.


Tinboats TV!


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## billyelliott (Nov 16, 2013)

I had never imagined watching Hulu in countries like Australia, but thanks to the Streaming VPN, I can now watch it without any hassle and the best part is it comes at a very reasonable option.
https://www.streamingvpn.com


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## Colbyt (Nov 17, 2013)

We have both a Roku and a NeosMax. Had I been smart enough to buy the more expensive Roku with the USB port I would only have one unit. The USB allows one to copy all their music to a USB drive and get rid of the CD clutter. Both work fine for streaming but the Roku is easier to use. The Neos lets me get pictures and music from a network attached 2TB hard drive. The drive has a simple home server built in.

The Amazon Prime plan offers a lot of content and free 2 day shipping (on purchases from Amazon) for about $84 per year.

There is a lot of free content (with commercials) no matter which device you use.


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