TV without wifi - how do I upgrade it?

[Swiper]

Good Grief. By the time I buy a 25 ft right now its another $20.

This won't be happening until January for sure.

Why would you need a 25 ft HDMI cable? 6 ft should be plenty for almost all situations.

[applepansy]

Why would you need a 25 ft HDMI cable? 6 ft should be plenty for almost all situations.

Because that's about how far it is from the computer to where the TV will be.

Unless we get a Roku.

[SanctitasDeo]

I have a Roku. It works beautifully for Netflix. I also have Plex Media server set up on my desktop so that I can stream my local video to the Roku using the Plex app. The whole thing works really well. And as people have said, the cheapest one is about $50. I found it very reliable over wireless and rock-solid on a wired connection (I have the Roku 3).

That is, I think, the cheapest way to do it, aside from the Chromecast. Internet capable bluray players tend to be more expensive, I think.

I got a Chromecast for Christmas, but it came in one of the packages delivered late by UPS/FedEx, so I do not have it yet.

[HoosierGuy]

Roku rocks! I had Roku 2 hooked up to my wireless and it's an awesome little box. It streams Netflix very nice and I've bought a couple of series from Amazon Prime and it streams them nicely too. The only problem Roku had was that it did not have a YouTube app channel. Well this December Youtube and Roku did a deal and now the Roku 3 has a YouTube channel. I now have a Roku 3 and I really like it. Youtube on the Roku is nice too. Youtube is suppose to release their channel for older Roku's later in 2014.

I used Plex too to stream my computer videos to the Roku. Plex is OK.

[Normandy]

We have Wifi in our home, which we use two different ways on the TV.

Wii

XBox 360

We prefer Wii's set up.

We're able to browse the internet, download apps, like, YouTube and Amazon Video. We watch movies and TV shows using Netflix and Amazon. We don't have a cable provider so we can't access things like HBOGo.

We also have a digital antennae, but we live so far out in the country we can't pick up any stations! It's a waste. I refuse to pay for cable through one of those big providers and we don't have a local company. So we stick to old re-runs on Netflix and get excited when a new season comes out on Amazon of a favorite show!

In the end we save $100's a year doing it this way! I really don't mind skipping the cable. I just wish there was a way you could subscribe to HBOGo without needing a cable company to do so.

[jerome1232]

If only the Wii was HD it would be the perfect Netflix machine. I need a Wii U now!

[SanctitasDeo]

I didn't know Roku added a Youtube app. That is great news. I have been watching Youtube videos through my Plex queue.

[mnn727]

Does your computer and the TV have HDMI capability? Meaning can you plug an HDMI cable into both?

If not, do you have a game system? Wii, X-Box, play station have netflix/hulu/amazon Prime capability.

Otherwise Roku or Chromecast are your choices. I know very little about Chromecast but Roku's been around for a while.

[mnn727]

I, personally, do not own a TV with WiFi. If I did I would immediately disable the WiFi functionality because of its inherent security and privacy risk. I'm not interested in a TV that is connected to the internet at all times.

-Finrock

What security/privacy risks do you think there would be?

[Dravin]

What security/privacy risks do you think there would be?

Particularly above and beyond the existing Wi-Fi network. Wi-Fi security isn't infallible but as long as the TV is using the same security protocols as the network I'm not seeing why it would be a weak point.