Channels & viewing

[Sunny3]

We just installed Roku and we can't find our normal programs like on TV Land, HGTV, and more.

I realize that the channels may be different from our Cox service but all we have found are prior shows not live shows. Is there a channel guide somewhere that we can use to find our live shows?

Thank you!

[Strega]

There is an HGTV app here:

https://channelstore.roku.com/details/c8a8c6c736eb84d20a1777c8e8a213ac/hgtv-go

I don't see an app for TVLand but you may find it on multi-channel apps like SlingTV, Philo, etc.

[Sunny3]

Hi Strega ,

Thank you for that information.

So, there is no channel guide to know where to go to watch a certain live TV show?

It seems we have to sort through so many shows to find the one we want to watch and then it's not a live show.

Thank you!

[Strega]

Do you mean over the air TV on a Roku TV?

I personally haven't really watched true "live TV" since DVRs came out about 22 years ago, so I may not be your best source of info for live TV.

In general, each app, does whatever it does, (ie: content provider decides how to present shows) however many apps do report info through Roku search so you can find a lot of shows that way.

[Sunny3]

We have a Roku TV that we have connected to our cable service.

We thought we'd eliminate the cable service and switch to Roku instead.

Roku works very differently and we just want to get our favorite show live.

It seems that Roku doesn't work this way so we will be returning our purchase and stick with cable.

Thank you very much for your help and time. I appreciate it.

[atc98092]

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@Sunny3 wrote:

We have a Roku TV that we have connected to our cable service.

We thought we'd eliminate the cable service and switch to Roku instead.

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That only happens if the cable provider offers a channel for Roku devices that provides that functionality. If the channels are not encrypted, then you can probably just tune them like a regular over the air TV channel. However, it's very unlikely those pay channels are unencrypted over the cable. That way they can force you to rent a cable box from them, so they can make more money, along with selling your viewing habits to data compilers. 

I just searched the channel store for anything from Cox, but it doesn't look like they offer one. 

[Strega]

Apps meant to be a cable replacement/competitor include: SlingTV, Hulu Live, YouTube TV etc.  (All of these cost money, but then so does cable.)

[Sunny3]

Strega,

Yes, I understand that there will be a charge.

Right now we are paying close to $300/per month for basic Cox cable services.

We were hoping Roku would be a complete replacement for Cox and we could cancel the Cox service.

We played around a little with Roku last night and it's just very time-consuming to find the shows we want to watch that are live. We have Cox On Demand right now and it seems this is all Roku offers (previous shows and not live shows).

We never did find TV Land or HGTV and this household watches those networks all the time.

I'm thinking Roku may not be the best option for us.

Thank you again, Strega

[Sunny3]

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@atc98092 wrote:

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@Sunny3 wrote:

We have a Roku TV that we have connected to our cable service.

We thought we'd eliminate the cable service and switch to Roku instead.

---

That only happens if the cable provider offers a channel for Roku devices that provides that functionality.

Thank you, atc98092,

That's the point, we want to completely discontinue our Cox cable service.

We have disconnected one TV completely from Cox cable and installed Roku.

We simply can't find any live shows or networks that we used to watch.

Everything seems to be reruns like Cox On Demand provides.

Thank you for helping, atc98092. I apprecaite it.

[atc98092 · Accepted solution]

@Sunny3 Depending on what else might be available, you may still need Cox for your Internet access. In some places, the cable company is your only available choice. That will change over the next year or so as SpaceX gets their Starlink satellite service fully operational. 

As to streaming services, Fubo has TVLand and HGTV. You can also find HGTV on Sling and YouTube TV. so there are streaming options for those two particular channels. 

Fubo offers a free trial, and you can see what's available here: https://www.fubo.tv/welcome