Roku setup

[ouijamomma1970]

I find it totally ridiculous that Roku offers ZERO customer service.  The answer to my question is no where on this site! I bought my mom a Roku with voice command remote for Mother's Day.  She become a widow in 2020 and has to watch her spending now that it is just her and she is retired. So, thinking she could have local, live TV I got her the Roku.  I too have two Rokus and bought them so I could cut out my cable bill after also loosing my husband in the same year.  I still have to keep cable as I have no home antennae.  We were told at the store that they all offered live, local TV listings.  There isn't even a CBS channel app on Roku! So she is 80 and having to get up and down to switch between Roku and live TV old school antennae. So my question is can Roku actually provide FREE, LOCAL, IN REAL TIME LIVE TV? If not I spent $120.00 bucks for nothing because all TVs are now smart TVs so what's the point to Roku? I get the free content which I never use.  But to show a CBS logo on the box and the verbiage falsely advertises live TV. 

[AvsGunnar]

@ouijamomma1970 

The short answer is that the Roku Ultra does not have a built-in TV tuner to receive free local channels.

Other Channels/apps that have tried to develop methods to provide/receive OTA (over the air/local channels) to streaming users have unfortunately been sued by TV broadcasters over "rebroadcast fees" and their distribution methods.

Sounds like your mother's TV does not remote control ability to switch between TV Inputs to allow both the Antenna and the Roku device to be toggled between. (Is the TV old or is the TV remote missing or just unable to switch Inputs - a little unclear).

There are a few considerations/avenues that may be better money spent...

1. Purchase a RokuTV.  This will allow both free OTA channels and streaming channels to be watched since a RokuTV inherently has a TV tuner with an integrated Roku OS platform.

2. Purchase a newer TV that allows for Remote Control selection of TV inputs. (ability to toggle between connected devices such as OTA and Roku)

3. Perhaps see if a Roku compatible universal streaming Remote is able to switch the Inputs between coaxial OTA and the Roku device. 

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Just some thoughts off top of my head.  Feel free to post back if you need more help or have additional questions.

[StreamerSue]

@ouijamomma1970  Your venting at the wrong people. There is no local Roku store. So you bought it from some uneducated person at Walmart, Best Buy or Target. The only true way to get free live local stations is by using an antenna. If you bought a Roku TV then you could use an antenna. Since you bought a Roku device the only way to get live local station is by signing up for a live TV streaming service. If you want local stations you don’t need cable anymore. You can use YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream or FuboTV. All of those have a monthly subscription fee. Around $65. I understand your frustration but whoever told you you can get free live local stations on a Roku device is incorrect. If you can use an antenna then hook up in antenna. You did not even need to spend the extra money on a Roku Ultra. A Roku Express 4K would work. If you buy a Roku TV understand that not all areas will receive good reception.

My father is 85. Years ago I bought him a. TCL Roku TV and signed him up with DirecTV Stream. He loves it 

[DBDukes]

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@ouijamomma1970 wrote:

... We were told at the store that they all offered live, local TV listings....

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Then a salesman lied to you. Or told more than he knew. Having said that, I use Tablo to watch TV over the air via Roku. But that's a $200 expense for the Tablo DVR setup. Once you set it up, you're good to go, but there is that large up front expense, so that may not be feasible at the moment.

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@ouijamomma1970 wrote:

... I still have to keep cable as I have no home antennae.  ...

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There are live streaming services that include local channels, but they run $65/month and up. If cutting cable would drop your bill by more than $65/month, then that might be a way to go. Just verify Internet price in case you are getting a bundle. Comcast, for instance, is $49/month for 50 mbps service, which is plenty fast for streaming. That makes Internet and live TV streaming at $114/month. Your ISP may have a different pricing.

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@ouijamomma1970 wrote:

... There isn't even a CBS channel app on Roku! ... But to show a CBS logo on the box and the verbiage falsely advertises live TV.

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CBS merged their CBS All Access app into Paramount Plus. By the way, there is a CBS app, but it authenticates against a cable service. Without authenticating, you can watch some recent shows on-demand, but not live. There is no free live-get-everything CBS app. Paramount Plus does include local CBS, and that service is $10/month.

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@ouijamomma1970 wrote:

... If not I spent $120.00 bucks for nothing because all TVs are now smart TVs so what's the point to Roku? ...

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If the smarts in the smart TV work well -- not all do; if it's not a Roku TV, Fire TV enabled, or Android/Google TV device, it's generally a subpar device -- then you don't really need a Roku or any streaming device. But I've always hooked up Roku to my smart TV and use it because it's a superior experience to me. Larger selection of apps, more updated and supported features in apps. Of course, if you only watch a certain few services, then that won't make a difference.

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@ouijamomma1970 wrote:

... So she is 80 and having to get up and down to switch between Roku and live TV old school antennae. ...

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The remote for the TV should have a button to switch inputs. Roku is on one of the HDMI ports. The antenna is on a TV, cable, or some similarly names input. Some TVs allow you to disable inputs that aren't in use, so you may be able to make it simply toggle between the two inputs (Roku HDMI and antenna), but that depends on your TV and the features it has.

[Hector-Roku]

Hi @ouijamomma1970, these are great points listed by @DBDukes, @StreamerSue, and @AvsGunnar as responses. As a side note, The Roku Channel does also provide live TV, but the channels offered within the live TV section are not local. If you would like to check this out, please follow this link: https://channelstore.roku.com/details/1ac1f6c4b2a10445e55c6fca4f14d064/live-tv-on-the-roku-channel for more information. This app should come natively on Roku for you to enjoy! If you have any other questions, please let us know.