Roku on Broadband VI?

Yes. Love it.

Works fine for me. I do however have a 1.5Mbs connection. I went into my Netflix account on line and set the quality of my connection/speed to better as to stream at best quality HD would be pushing what my BBVI connection could support. Picture quality is very good on Netflix and better than some SD channels from Dish Network.

Picture quality can vary on the other channels on the Roku as these channels can't afford to have mega servers and multiple pipes to the WWW like Netflix has. This is particularly true on the network affiliates available using the Roku. If you try and watch them during a popular show such as game six of the ALCS there maybe more traffic than this channel can handle so your viewing experience may not be acceptable.

Order the Roku directly from Roku. They will ship to the VI using priority mail. If the Roku doesn't work in your situation you have thirty days to return it for a refund. All you will be out is the postage.

To make the Roku work you must have a wireless router (top of the line Roku can also be connected using an Ethernet cable) and a TV that will either accept an HDMI or composite video inputs. The new model 2 Rokus no longer will output component video.

Jim,

Thanks. We already bought the Roku in the states in anticipation of moving to our permanent residence here. We have the Roku that can connect via Ethernet, and plan to do it that way for best performance (is this correct?). Also have HDMI cable.

My question, though, is about your comment regarding network affiliates via Roku. I was under the impression that it was impossible/very difficult to get live network programming, including sports, on Roku. Can you give more details about how you did this? We have two TVs in the house and Dish is only run to the one in the bedroom, so we plan to use the Roku for our primary TV viewing, if we can get enough live sports, news.

TIA.

Jason

Jason:

I use WiFi on my Roku and have no issues. Some people swear by Wifi others at it. Given that two of the three new Roku 2 models don't have Ethernet jacks I would guess that most people are successful in using WiFi.

US network channels are available to expatriates from a company called USTVNOW. You can watch the network channels for free on your PC or as a channel on the Roku. The network channels are available for free and other typical cable channels are available for a monthly fee.

The service only works if your IP is not registered as being in the 50 US States. Therefore USTVNOW works in the Virgin Islands. I have watched NFL games in Greece. The picture quality is OK and is better than not watching.

If you surf the web you can find other sites that make it possible to watch most if not all sporting events on line. Some work and some are scams. My neighbor watches every Cleveland Browns game on line so he is happy.

Wow. Just registered for USTVNOW. Jim, I think I love you.

My recent experience is that Roku will not ship to US VI. VI is not among the areas listed in the drop down box (for address) when you check out at their web site. Their customer service told me that they do not ship Roku internationally even though VI is served by USPS. However, you may order through Amazon, Walmart or whatever

Order the Roku directly from Roku. They will ship to the VI using priority mail.

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We have two TVs in the house and Dish is only run to the one in the bedroom, so we plan to use the Roku for our primary TV viewing, if we can get enough live sports, news.

If you have Dish in the house, why don't you just upgrade to a dual receiver and watch TV? The cost of doing that may be in the same ballpark as what you are trying to do. wi. Roku . Then you don't have to rely on one of the on and off internet providers we have here.

sloop

I have had two Rokus shipped to the VI. The trick as with many shopping sites is to use state abbreviation VA and the correct zip code.

Another option is to buy one at the Radio Shack at Sunny Isle. Price maybe $10 more expensive, but unless you get free shipping it works out to be about the same delivered cost.

Jim

as a side note, ps3 and apple tv has streamed great on our broadband vi.

Live sports will be mostly from the network channels through USTVNOW. Picture quality will just be OK and for a high demand event like the World Series, the video may hang up and stop so often you give up trying to watch . For news you can watch USTVNOW if you want American network news. There are many international news sources available in English on Roku channels. Euro News and the BBC are worth the price of the Roku alone for their content however, the video quality on these channels isn't even SD quality.

Live streaming of video isn't the forte of Roku. Most live channels don't charge a user fee so they don't invest enough in bandwidth. Netflix, Amazon and some others charge for their programming so they can afford to have multiple robust server farms with lots of downstream bandwidth. Their picture quality is outstanding and I watch movies in near HD quality.

FYI Roku is a hardware manufacturer. Other individuals provide the content and program channels. The quality of the programming depends on them and Roku has little to do with it.

Roku can't get you anything that you can't get now on your PC. It is just a very convenient way to stream video and watch it on a big screen TV. It is an adjunct to Dish and not a replacement. With a Roku and a Dish subscription you could eliminate the need to subscribe to a movie channel, but even then you give up some things. Half of HBO's prime time programming is original series and it won't be available to stream for months if ever.

www.firstrowsports.tv is what I use to stream games. If you have a decent (I dare not say good here on the Islands) Internet connection, the stream won't be all that bad.

It beats spending $100+ every game day at the Saloon.

Question.. Im new to Roku, so is Broadband VI a channel on Roku? If so, can i just look up firstrowsports.tv on that channel and then stream my games? Or is there a code to enter to add firstrowsports.tv as a channel to my Roku? What is the code, if any?

Broadband VI is a broadband internet service provider on St Croix, not a Roku channel.

Roku does not offer a way to navigate to a channel by using their HTTP address.

To add private channels (which firstrowsports.tv MAY be), you need a code provided by firstrowsports.tv, maybe on their website. I am not familiar enough with that website to know the code.

If you're looking for a good selection of live NFL and college sports for a decent price, you should check out USTVNow, which is also a private channel.

Broadband VI is a broadband internet service provider on St Croix, not a Roku channel.

Broadband VI is also on St Thomas, St John, Water Island, Lovongo, Great St. James.....

Ahh. I knew when I typed that I was probably wrong. Thanks for the correction! 🙂

www.firstrowsports.tv is just a web site to watch streaming games.

There is nothing to purchase or download or any kind of codes to use.

I go to the website on my laptop, find the game I want to watch, and then plug an HDMI cable into my laptop that runs into the tv and now I am watching my streamed game on a 50" Plasma.

Is the $50/month (768 kbps download and 512 kbps upload) speed from BBVI fast enough to stream on Roku?