netflix, hulu, redbox, roku which is best

[frank]

I am going to sign up for one of these services and wonder which had the biggest selection of movies and tv series. with the fewest commercials. I was hoping to get some input from you guys as to which one is the best. I would do a poll but don't know how. sorry I forgot amazon prime. thanks

frank

 

[REWahoo]

Below is a good comparison of all the services, although the cost info may be out of date. Note that Roku isn't included as it is a media streaming device rather than a streaming service.

We prefer Netflix followed by Amazon (mostly due to the free shipping with Prime). I tried Hulu+ but the commercials drove me nuts (no commercials on Netflix or Amazon).

 

[martyb]

We have Netflix & Amazon Prime. I wish the selection of recent movies was a little more inclusive. Seems like they are a little slow at becoming available to watch.

 

[aja8888]

Last week:

BIL got Nebraska movie through the Netflix mailer (he doesn't subscribe to the download service). DW wanted to see Nebraska but it was not available through the Netflix download service (). Amazon Prime had Nebraska but it was $3.99. (So DW just borrowed BIL's DVD.)

All is not equal here!

 

[martyb]

I'm tellin'.....lol

 

[MichaelB]

We've used Netflix since day 1 and Amazon prime only recently, although we've had access since they rolled out their service. Both have shown a shift in their newer programming toward TV shows and probably 80% of that (wag) is shared but there is enough proprietary content to make each a good deal. The Netflix user interface is much better IMO.

 

[Chuckanut]

I had Hulu+ and Netflix. I just cancelled Hulu+ due to the high number of commercials, and the fact that many of the commercials were repeated over and over and over again until I was totally sick of them and their product. I have taken the $8 a month I used for Hulu+ and used it to purchase one Netflix disk at a time. So now I have Netflix streaming and one disk at a time for things not on streaming.

I use a ROKU device. They just added the YouTube channel to my older device, and I am very happy with that.

Lots of goodstuff is on the Netflix disk service, but not available via streaming from travel documentaries to movies to old British TV shows (Season 1 & 2 of Enemy at the Door, for example) , etc.

Hopefully, Aereo will get the OK from the Supreme Court so we can get the free TV, broadcast over public airways in our area. Local hills make reception iffy even if one is only a few miles from the broadcast antenna.

 

[martyb]

I'm currently on the Hulu+ 1 week free trial, but am most likely going to cancel it due to the things Chuckanut is talking about. Will stick with Netflix & Amazon Prime, though.

 

[target2019]

I have Netflix for 4 devices. If there is just more than 1 watching, find out whether a service has limitations for watching.

We recently added Amazon Prime. I prefer the Netflix interface over Amazon.

We use Redbox. Actually, the kid at home uses it. You don't need an account, just a credit card! Saturday night we rented two movies. Just make sure to get them back to a Redbox before 24 hours is up...

 

[tryan]

psst ... just google "watch bla bla bla movie free". Then hook up the laptop to the hdmi port on the flat screen.

My son taught me this one. We haven't paid for a movie since. If it's on DVD .... it's FREE.

Just for kicks I searched Nebraska ... Megashare has it .... free.

 

[RunningBum]

I switch around. I had Amazon prime for a year when I got my Kindle Fire. After the year was up I went back to Netflix. I've stopped that for now and will go back to Amazon when I feel like starting to watch Sopranos. I think Prime is a one year commitment, but you can stop and start Netflix at any time. They do charge you the full month but don't stop the service until your month is up.

I don't do the free sites because it seems like a good way to get a virus, plus it's probably not legal. It seems no different than sneaking into a movie theater.

 

[GrayHare]

Something I didn't like about Prime was that there was no way to see only the list of pre-paid titles. Instead the pay-extra titles were intermingled, getting in the way of finding the others. Perhaps that is no longer the case. Never had that problem with Netflix.

 

[W2R]

I just have over-the-air reception and Amazon Prime. I have only watched a couple of shows on Amazon Prime and didn't especially enjoy doing so. I use Amazon Prime for the shipping, so I will keep it.

So for ME (only, YMMV), the best would be "None of the above". I prefer just over-the-air reception and spending more of my couch potato time doing other things like listening to the radio, listening to podcasts, playing video games, participating on the forum, or reading.

 

[Katsmeow]

I've tried lots of things.

We are in an area where OTR reception even with a good antenna is basically non-existent.

Netflix - we can get one disk and stream. We use this a lot. Netflix is best for older movies and TV shows. It has some original programming (House of Cards, for example). If it has what you are looking for it is great. But, it does have spotty coverage. If you are wanting to watch network TV shows from this season then Netflix is not your best bet. We have cable TV actually but still get a lot of benefit from Netflix.

Hulu Plus - You can watch a lot current shows on Hulu (slightly delayed) for free. But, you get a larger archive of shows if you pay. I've been playing for Hulu Plus but while probably drop it. We have cable now and can watch most TV shows on the computer through Comcast and we are getting the X1 DVR (record up to 4 shows and watch on any of our TVs) so there isn't much need for us for Hulu Plus. However, if you don't want cable and you want to be able to watch current TV shows and you want to be able to watch them less delayed and want to be able to see past seasons then Hulu Plus is probably more for you.

Amazon Prime - We get this as a by product of our Amazon Prime subscription. I find Netflix has more overall but we've occasionally rented a movie here.

Redbox - May have used it once. Netflix (one disk) meets our needs for this

 

[FIREd]

We use Netflix (mostly) and Amazon (occasionally). We dropped Hulu+.

 

[Alan]

I have Netflix for 4 devices. If there is just more than 1 watching, find out whether a service has limitations for watching.

We recently added Amazon Prime. I prefer the Netflix interface over Amazon.

We each have a Roku for our 2 TV's and watch Netflix and Amazon Prime. With Netflix we only have the basic service but it allows both of us to watch Netflix through the Roku.

 

[brewer12345]

DW wants a streaming device and it seems like the Roku family has the most options for who they play with. Easy to use? Problems? Reviews?

 

[MichaelB]

DW wants a streaming device and it seems like the Roku family has the most options for who they play with. Easy to use? Problems? Reviews?

We've been through a couple of units and had a few issues with the wireless. One died because of battery leakage in the remote. Other than that, my 4 year old granddaughter can use the Roku. Their business model is to make some new features and programming available only to new models, which can be a PITA.

 

[Alan]

DW wants a streaming device and it seems like the Roku family has the most options for who they play with. Easy to use? Problems? Reviews?

We've been using Rokus for several years now and are very pleased with them (I got one unexpectedly as a gift from DD so didn't do any research on which is best). They are certainly easy to use and include some TV "channels" such as PBS who put up documentaries, Masterpiece dramas and the like.

 

[Ally]

We have a Roku and Netflix streaming and Amazon Prime. We also have a basic cable set up that is bundled in with our phone and internet for very little. We have found some really great shows, particularly British shows on both, more that we could possibly watch.

 

[Chuckanut]

Brewer12345, If you get the Roku, get the Roku 3. It's worth the extra $30 or so to get the latest and greatest tech. Example, the remote operates via wifi so you don't need line of site to the base Roku, and I believe it has a headphone jack in the remote that might be nice at times. It might also have faster wifi, but I am not sure of that.

 

[aja8888]

Brewer12345, If you get the Roku, get the Roku 3. It's worth the extra $30 or so to get the latest and greatest tech. Example, the remote operates via wifi so you don't need line of site to the base Roku, and I believe it has a headphone jack in the remote that might be nice at times. It might also have faster wifi, but I am not sure of that.

Its processor runs roughly 5 times faster than the earlier units. Roku 3 is the way to go.

 

[ERD50]

DW wants a streaming device and it seems like the Roku family has the most options for who they play with. Easy to use? Problems? Reviews?

IMO, they are OK. But I really think the way to go is with a laptop or maybe tablet with HDMI output, connected to the TV. I guess there are wireless ways to do this to, but wire is simple and reliable.

My reasoning is, the Netflix app on a computer, with full sized mouse/keyboard (or trackpad if you are OK with those), is far easier to use than any little app on a little device. The computer Netflix app is, IMO, far better than on either the ROKU or our Vizio 'smart TV'. And they seem to keep the computer versions up-to-date. I'm still waiting for the ROKU to support 'profiles' on the Netflix app - the desktop version has had it for almost a year I think. This way, I don't have a bunch of 'chick flicks' in my watch list, and DW doesn't get documentaries in hers.

And anything you can get on your computer is available to you (most local TV stations have all sorts of their stuff on-line), youtube, and everything else, with the same interface you are already familiar with.

Plugging and unplugging a laptop may not be super convenient though (I just leave an HDMI cable plugged into the TV, tucked off to the side). But it's not bad.

-ERD50

 

[Tree-dweller]

Got a roku3 for our newer tv, but had to get a roku1 (roku2 was sold out) for an old tv we still use that has no hdmi input. R3 is hdmi only.

 

[robnplunder]

I have Android MX2 box and canceled Neflix subscription. Google for searching for free movie stream site will work too but the box makes it very easy.