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Get a library card and a DVD player for your TV. I don't have HBO but I can watch many HBO series on DVDs I borrow from the FREE public library. Libraries have DVDs and CDs to check out just as they do books ... which are also great entertainment by the way.
The Kindle Fire HD 8 is kind of like a mobile library. Plus, there's no danger of losing or forgetting to return the movies. A Kindle can also download and hold hundreds of books. Amazon offers a considerable selection of books for free, and the others are relatively low cost. Then, there are the applications a person can download and play offline on a Kindle; it's a pretty good source of entertainment, online and off.
Hey, OP, take the Kindle to your local library for a win-win.
Ok, you bought a kindle fire. You will go to the library to use wifi to watch tv, now you need some tv. You have some choices that are free like the wide internet of whatever is on youtube, or crunchyroll or vice or one-off episodes regular tv channels hve posted on their websites (all of the "channels" that Roku has for free are just free on the internet anyway, nothing special about the Roku.) None of that free stuff is everything that a TV channel would have shown except for the PBS website which seems to offer everything free for streaming either through an app or the website. They mostly all want your money.
You can check the TLC website to see what is there but most cable channels require that you have, and login with, your cable tv account to see their content online. So no real savings, still need cable.
Then you have some pure internet offerings like Netflix (movies, some previous years cable tv, very little brand new), Hulu which is NBC/Comcast mostly current and recent TV (even some cable shows) TV shows will and won't participate as they see fit. So last year I watched Blacklist on Hulu but this season they are not streaming it, it will probably land on Hulu AFTER the season ends. Either Netflix or Hulu is about $8/mo. Hulu has commercials like TV, netflix doesn't. You can also tithe to HBO for access to their content independent of a cable subscription if you love HBO- but I think its pricey. CBS has also gotten in the game and offered online subscriptions to its current and past content (all the Barney Miller you can gag down!) for some monthly fee. I have no idea who would pay CBS for this.
There is also the elephant in the room which is Amazon Prime. It is $99/year, gets you free Amazon shipping and free access to a random unpredictable agglommeration of tv and movie content that no one else fought to stream access to which is included in that $99. Additionally Amazon will SELL and RENT you content like a digital video store, through your Kindle. You can watch episodes of some current run shows for $1.99/ea, older shows you buy the whole season for $20, or rent a movie for 24 hours for $3 or something. It will let you do all of this through your kindle easy as pie. Like the itunes store does for Apple products.
An Amazon Fire is a tablet (a small computer) and will pick up the internet from wi-fi spots. You can put ebooks on it and read off it like a Kindle also. A Roku hooks up, either wired or wirelessly, to your TV and delivers content from your internet service.
Amazon Prime is a subscription service (maybe an initial subscription came with your Fire) wherein you can get movies, Kindle books, and other entertainment stuff at reduced prices or maybe free because of your Prime subscription.
By the way, there are instructions online if you want to build your own HD antenna - the people who've done this say they actually work pretty well. They use clothes hangers and a wooden frame and the thing can sit right behind your TV. This picks up some HD channels.
A USB port looks like a little slit in the back of your computer, you can use it to hook up flash drives (Google it) and other devices. To my knowledge, a Kindle Fire HD 8 does not have a USB port. You can subscribe to Amazon Prime, though, for about $99 per year. With that, you can get access to free movie streaming AND you can actually download one or two movies to watch when you aren't online. As long as you have internet access, you can always switch out movies, and Amazon has a pretty nice selection. You can also look into Netflix DVD delivery services, which is around, like $10 per month I think. That might work depending on what you like to watch. You can also stream Netflix for only about $8 per month, but, again, that depends on the bandwidth, and since I've heard that Comcast may actually start charging more for excessive use of bandwidth, the cafes may certainly start limiting customer access to it. There's no easy solution for avid internet hogs. I don't even have my TV plugged in!
As far as your "trash reality shows" from Discovery and all of its affiliates, you might just want to look into ordering seasons of your favorite shows online and downloading them. Spend some time hanging out on social media to find out what your favorite reality stars are planning to do next, if you're a big fan...
Since Roku is an internet streaming device, then no it wont work for you. Unless you could hook it up to a smart phone that has adequate speed and a large enough data plan - ?
Since Roku is an internet streaming device, then no it wont work for you. Unless you could hook it up to a smart phone that has adequate speed and a large enough data plan - ?
Roku supports USB playback as well as local network playback. It also supports Plex and DLNA.
Roku doesn't "need" internet. It's just better to have Internet, but the same can be said about any internet enabled device!
Since Roku is an internet streaming device, then no it wont work for you. Unless you could hook it up to a smart phone that has adequate speed and a large enough data plan - ?
Don't have Internet or a smart phone (I feel like I'm repeating myself, heh).
I use a computer at work and have just a basic Tracfone. What I WANT is to be able to stream movies and TV using free wifi in local public venues AND pick up a few local stations for weather/news only (emergencies). To that end, I've purchased an AMAZON FIRE TABLET 7", a flat passive digital cable antenna (?) that fits in a window, and just a cheap TV-top antenna. I will experiment and report back!
Don't have Internet or a smart phone (I feel like I'm repeating myself, heh).
I use a computer at work and have just a basic Tracfone. What I WANT is to be able to stream movies and TV using free wifi in local public venues AND pick up a few local stations for weather/news only (emergencies). To that end, I've purchased an AMAZON FIRE TABLET 7", a flat passive digital cable antenna (?) that fits in a window, and just a cheap TV-top antenna. I will experiment and report back!
You will not be able to stream from home without internet service and having to go to a public place. I'm afraid this will get old after a while. A cheap laptop with a decent size hard drive and DVD drive would be better. I say this as at least with a laptop you could download movies from YouTube and hopefully Hoopla from a local library and then take home to watch in the comfort of your home.
As far as antenna for TV, it sounds like you have an older analog TV maybe that may not have digital capabilities. If that is the case than an antenna will not work for you without a digital converter box. Something like this http://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-HW1...+converter+box
Also, if i don't have you confused with another poster, you state you are surrounded by mountains? There is a web site called www.TVFool.com where you can enter your home address and assuming you were to install a roof antenna, indicate the height it would be placed up from the ground, and it will give you a list of TV stations you could pull in and also what type of antenna you need.
Now I wouldn't rush out and buy an antenna because of the mountains you mentioned. I would first try and see if you can find anyone who installs these antennas in your area, and see if it is doable (good reception with a roof top antenna).
Installing a proper antenna may be an initial outlay of money, but then your done with it. No monthly fees after that. But those are local stations, ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, PBS and some other movies stations probably.
I know it is area specific, but some companies like AT&T, or Earthlink Save on DSL High Speed Internet from EarthLink - it's blazing-fast! (note price is just for 3 mo's so not what you need to know) that have cheap DSL service for internet service. Some do not advertise it, and you may need to make a few calls (check who your local land line telephone company is) They may say you need a land line, but this is false. They can give it to you without a land line.
In case you don't know what DSL is, it is internet service that comes through your telephone lines coming into your house. I wouldn't recommend speeds less that 6 Mpbs. I assume at one time you had a regular phone line in your house? It is cheaper than cable internet service, and slower speed, but sufficient for what you need.
With a roof antenna, and a cheap DSL service, you will have all the TV you probably need. You might want to eventually upgrade your TV to a newer HD set. If you don't need such a huge one, you can pick up a 32" pretty cheap (about $250).
Also, if you had a cheap laptop, you will be able to both play DVD movies from the library or download from the library, connect to the internet and watch varies shows online on your computer (including news) from the network stations online, watch or download youtube movies. You can also download audio books and movies to your laptop's hard drive. There is a new DVD library being offered from most major libraries called Hoopla,https://www.hoopladigital.com/register offered across the US, so you don't even have to go to the library to get the DVD's anymore.
I know I have thrown a lot at you all at once, but If you would like to watch movies or news in the comfort of your home, you are going to at least need a regular laptop with a hard drive in it to download either movies from YouTube or the library to take home to watch, and probably someone to teach you how to do it. You could also bring it with you to work, and possibly use their internet connection during your lunch hour to download to your computer. A chrome book is not going to work for this, as they do not contain hard drives. You may be able to pick up a not so old laptop for a couple of hundred. Maybe ask around at work.
Hope some of this made sense to you.
Last edited by modhatter; 12-05-2015 at 07:34 PM..
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