Netflix and Roku Review
Last February I wrote a post about using a service called Springpad to plan a date night with my husband. In that post I mentioned the fact that we have never hired a babysitter so that we could actually have a night out at the movies.
This summer I’ve been enjoying a three month free trial of Netflix along with a Roku device, a way to watch Netflix movies on demand using my WiFi. I only used the Roku with my Netflix account, so this review does not include any experience using Roku with Amazon Video on Demand or Major League Baseball.
Because we have used DirecTV for the last several years, the idea of watching a movie nearly any time is not a new one for my family. But in many ways, watching streaming Netflix videos on the Roku was much better. For starters, the Roku can move with you from room to room very easily, so you do not need to have a cable or satellite receiver on your television in order to enjoy a movie. Also, the choices of movie are almost infinitely better than the limited choices through my satellite provider. One glitch that has upset me in the past is having to wait for the next start time if I miss the beginning of a movie that I want to see. With Netflix and Roku, there is no start time – you watch the movie whenever you want!
There are, however, limits to using the Netflix and Roku together. The main difficulty in my home was the lack of access to children’s movies. The selection of movies for children aged 3 to 5 years is terribly slim and does not include favorites such as Disney princess movies. This is not to say that Netflix does not carry these movies – they are simply not available in streaming format. Despite this limitation, Netflix in general has been very simple to use and a source of a great deal of fun for my family.
Using Netflix, with or without the Roku, eliminates the need to remember to take a video back to the store, which quite frankly is something that I never remember to do on time. I am not a daily errand runner, so throwing “return movie” into my regular day is just a recipe for disaster.
Because my family does not watch a great many movies in general, I have not yet decided if I will continue my subscription to Netflix beyond the three month free trial, but I do know that I have been very happy with my subscription this summer. Thanks, Netflix and Roku!
You’ll like this if…you are a movie-watching family, especially if you’ve got the same sort of chaos in your life that I have in mine! There is nothing easier than having movies you’ve chosen delivered to your door or streaming live into your home. I love technology!
This is not for you if…you will will not actually take advantage of the service and watch movies. As cool as the Roku is and as wonderful as Netflix is, if you’re not a movie watcher at least every so often, then these services are probably not for you.
