Discussions

[ghefla]

I'm considering buying a smart TV with Roku. I have Spectrum cable and I have several questions:

-- Will I be able to program it to record shows in the future? Will I have to either subscribe to Spectrum's cloud storage or retain the cable box to do this?

-- I understand I have to access Spectrum cable through the Spectrum app. The Spectrum app I now use on my iPad and iPhone does not have many of the essential features that my current through-the-cable-box provides. Will the app with Roku be able to perform all the functions or is it limited with no operations like fast forward or rewind? 

-- Will I access my Amazon Prime account with the Fire Stick as I do now or in some other way?

-- Are there any other major areas of difference between conventional cable and Roku operations that I should be aware of?

I've talked to Spectrum twice and gotten completely different answers each time. If someone can explain this to me (and, bear in mind, I'm not very technically savvy) I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

[renojim]

1. Roku devices can't record anything.  You will have to subscribe to Spectrum's cloud storage or possibly retain a cable box.  I know nothing about that, so maybe some users here with experience can chime in.
2. Hopefully Spectrum customers can answer, but in general streaming is very different than a cable box experience.
3. There's an Amazon Prime app (Roku calls them "channels" so they can confuse cable customers) or you can use the Fire Stick.  I can't say whether the experience would be identical on both devices, but it should be similar.  It's entirely up to the developer of the channel/app (which in almost all cases isn't Roku) how their channel/app behaves.
4. See #2 above.  Streaming is more about on-demand and is very dependent on your Internet connection and more importantly your Wi-Fi connection if you don't use a wired connection - wired is recommended if you want to avoid a lot of headaches.

If you don't want to take the plunge all at once, you could get an inexpensive Roku device and connect it to your current TV to try out Spectrum's app and maybe their cloud storage.  I believe there's a Spectrum app for Fire TV, so you might want to give that a try.

Hopefully Spectrum customers will fill in some blanks.