Who has Netflix hooked up at home?

i have a roku XS and could'nt be happier. over a year with no cable, and no worse for the wear. of course what would life be without the walking dead, breaking bad, top chef...etc...so we also use amazon instant video to buy those shows. the fall lineup is generally where most of the good shows are, and when we're watching 4-5 shows, it works out to about 40 bucks a month, plus 7.99 for netflix. but some months, especially over the summer, we only pay 7.99/mo for the netflix. we had been paying over 100 bucks a month for cable...all set.

im buying a TV in december, a panasonic ST60, which is a so called "smart tv"...which should run netflix, hulu...etc...all that crap. so the roku will be relegated to the bedroom. i also have a bluray player that is netflix capable, which will fall by the wayside on november 15th when i pick up my PS4. the setup on the roku could not possibly be any easier. you plug it in to the ethernet and it does the rest. you get an online roku account where you can add channels to your roku player...there are even hidden channels with some really cool content that not many people know about. there used to be an HGTV stream on a hidden channel, of course it got cancelled, but still, it was a good few months of free HGTV. that's one channel you wont find free streaming anywhere. anyway...good luck.

powderburner said:

(or hooked up anywhere else, I guess)

Warning: RANT ahead, thinly disguised as feeble qstn.

So, finally, to the question: Do any of you young geniuses know of a way to side-step the normal Netflix setup and use a wire?

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Not sure this is the answer you wanted, because you will still need some sort of "box.". If you have a router attached to your cable modem you usually have about four ethernet outlets. (usually one is hardwired to a desktop or laptop computer.). You can use another Ethernet cord to hardwire your router to some sort of "box" or smart tv. There are also devices to route your Internet connection thru house wires if wireless is not your thing
Here is one
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AWRUICG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

You will still have to go through the Netflix set up to register any of the "boxes". Netflix is pretty liberal, you can run I think one of everything at once (one computer connection, one tv, one game station, and a tablet--- at least that is what it used to be. Netflix is basically making sure you are a bona fide paying user.

You could just hook up a laptop to the TV and play netflix through that... That's what I used to do before I had a smart tv

Sounds like you would be better served by dragging the Beta machine back out and hooking it up.

paul.nortness said:

Sounds like you would be better served by dragging the Beta machine back out and hooking it up.

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So many comedians around here.

This mess started because my wife saw something that was supposed to be "free" and signed us up. When she learned that we had no connection to get the netflix signal to the TV, she dumped this in my lap. So, I was coming from a cold start, learning on the fly.

I am also not in the mood to go buy a box to try, have it fail for whatever reason, go buy another box, etc. The only working computer at home that is "ours" (my wife's machines are from her job and do not allow installation of personal software, the kids and their machines are all gone) is my old laptop, and I doubt it is fast enough any more to do a decent job of processing smooth video. I am also not keen on purchasing more hardware due to the fact that I am still less-than-fully-employed and we are still paying hospital bills for my wife. I was just hoping there was some sort of low-cost option. The roku thingy sounds like it's about in my ballpark.

I appreciate all the serious suggestions.

powderburner said:

So many comedians around here.

This mess started because my wife saw something that was supposed to be "free" and signed us up. When she learned that we had no connection to get the netflix signal to the TV, she dumped this in my lap. So, I was coming from a cold start, learning on the fly.

I am also not in the mood to go buy a box to try, have it fail for whatever reason, go buy another box, etc. The only working computer at home that is "ours" (my wife's machines are from her job and do not allow installation of personal software, the kids and their machines are all gone) is my old laptop, and I doubt it is fast enough any more to do a decent job of processing smooth video. I am also not keen on purchasing more hardware due to the fact that I am still less-than-fully-employed and we are still paying hospital bills for my wife. I was just hoping there was some sort of low-cost option. The roku thingy sounds like it's about in my ballpark.

I appreciate all the serious suggestions.

Click to expand...

It's probably a week or two free, by the time you get it set it up it might be over. You could sign up with a different email if it runs out before you get it hooked up.

powderburner said:

... I appreciate all the serious suggestions.

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The best "serious" thing I can recommend is to have a discussion with your wife. The "Free" Netflix trial begins when she gave them your credit card number (or PayPal account). I'm guessing she did this from her "company" computer.
Depending on her employers computer policy, she may have put her job in jeopardy. (At my job - watching Netflix on the company machine would result in termination - my employer has a very strict policy)

They will charge you $8 bucks a month at the end of the free trial unless you cancel. I understand your budget situation. The only "no additional cost" option for you is to watch Netflix on the wife's computer - and/or to cancel Netflix and be done with it.

powderburner said:

So, finally, to the question: Do any of you young geniuses know of a way to side-step the normal Netflix setup and use a wire?

Click to expand...

Apart from a game console (with excetion to the Nintendo Wii, which can access the Netflix network wirelessly to a wireless router), I got nothing.
I do have a Playstation 3 which is hardwired to a router, and a Wii which is wireless, both have Netflix on them, and both work quite well.
The Playstation 3 does edge out the Wii during busy times of the day (more wireless interference), but during non-peak hours both are about equal.

powderburner said:

So many comedians around here.

This mess started because my wife saw something that was supposed to be "free" and signed us up. When she learned that we had no connection to get the netflix signal to the TV, she dumped this in my lap. So, I was coming from a cold start, learning on the fly.

I am also not in the mood to go buy a box to try, have it fail for whatever reason, go buy another box, etc. The only working computer at home that is "ours" (my wife's machines are from her job and do not allow installation of personal software, the kids and their machines are all gone) is my old laptop, and I doubt it is fast enough any more to do a decent job of processing smooth video. I am also not keen on purchasing more hardware due to the fact that I am still less-than-fully-employed and we are still paying hospital bills for my wife. I was just hoping there was some sort of low-cost option. The roku thingy sounds like it's about in my ballpark.

I appreciate all the serious suggestions.

Click to expand...

a roku HD will fit your needs. they can be found for around 50 bucks through various sources online. you have multiple options when it comes to connecting it to the internet. starting with connecting it to your TV, if you have an HDMI cable, you're all set...if not, order one with the roku. they're about 5 bucks on the low end. this will get the digital signal to your TV through one of your TV's built in HDMI slots.

upon connection of your roku and power up, it will require you to connect to the internet. if you have a router with an open ethernet port nearby, you can simply plug the roku into the router at this point. (this will require an ethernet cable). if you dont have a router nearby, the roku HD can connect wirelessly. you'll simply select "connect to a wireless network"...pick your network...and bingo, you're connected (the network you choose may or may not require a password, depending on your settings). at this point you'll set up a roku account. the account you set up on the roku box will be accessible online through roku.com. you can choose channels from the roku box, or you can browse channels online and send them to your box. news channels, music channels, video on demand (like netflix, vudu, crackle, hulu...etc...). even subscription channels like the NHL channel (full access to NHL games live...not cheap, but great for the hockey fan), and others. it's really as simple as that. a smart TV will also stream netflix, an ipad, a game machine like ps3 or wii, i even get netflix on my cell phone. think of it as an app. you need a computer to run the app. the roku is like a mini computer...thats all. it's internet TV.

anyway...if you need help setting it up or anything, PM me. i love my roku, and i've convinced several of my friends to ditch cable and grab one.

Powderburner -

You're in the DFW area, right? Go to your nearest Microcenter and buy one of these:

https://www.microcenter.com/product/420089/NTV300SL_NeoTV_MAX_Streaming_Player_-_Refurbished

"Now your TV can be Internet enabled to access a huge selection of online streaming channels without a computer. Instantly watch thousands of movies and listen to music. Enjoy thousands of streaming movies and TV shows from Netflix, Hulu Plus, VUDU, and more. Easily browse YouTube clips or listen to Pandora on your TV." It's $40. Tiger Direct or Fry's might also carry something similar.

Or I could just send you my Sony media player until your free trial period runs out (I want it back...).

In regards to the whole thing about not installing software on your wife's company computer - The netflix interface is web browser based. Just sign in and you can watch on the computer without installing anything. She could check with the company she works for, they may not have an issue with her using the computer to stream stuff - at least on her personal time. If so, most laptops have video/audio out and you can get cables to run to your TV. You can buy different cables from online retailers for around $10, sometimes even cheaper.

Think of Netflix as an internet based "information provider" where your account allows you to access to the shows on demand. There is nothing physical about the service hence the need for a device to play the videos on.

I hope this helps.