Anyone with a Netflix, Hulu Plus, or Amazon Prime account has probably thought about the best way to watch those videos on their TV.
There are actually a lot of different options for this, such as video game consoles, smart TVs, Blu-Ray players, and even something like hooking your computer up to your TV, but each of these options has its drawbacks.
Whether it’s complicated, inconvenient, expensive, or just slow, there is almost always a simpler way.
This is where a category of products called set-top streaming boxes comes into play. They exist only to stream video from the Internet to your TV, and they are less expensive than any of the options listed above. One of the leaders in this market is Roku, and they offer a number of different models with assorted features and prices.
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The Roku 1, however, is the least expensive option that is capable of delivering 1080p video content. This fact, combined with its low price, has made it a very popular choice for people who want to make Netflix watching on their television as simple as possible.
The Roku 1 can be purchased from a number of retailers, both online and in brick-and-mortar stores. At the time of this writing, stores such as Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, and Amazon are all selling them. The links for these products are all available below.
Note that this product is priced competitively at all of these stores, so the best place to purchase it will typically come down to personal preference or a well-timed sale. Additionally, some of these places only sell the Roku 1 in stores, so you may need to use the “Find in Store” option on the product page to see if your local store has any in stock. This is a really useful feature if you want to avoid driving to the store only to find that they have sold out of them. Selling out could be a real possibility as the holiday season approaches, as the low price of the Roku 1 could make it a really popular item.
You should also make sure to pick up an HDMI cable, as you will need one to connect the Roku 1 to your TV, and the Roku does not include an HDMI cable. You purchase a cheap HDMI cable here from Amazon.
If you are thinking about buying a Roku but aren’t sure about which model is the best choice, check out our comparisons of the Roku 1 with a couple of similar models below.
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Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read over 50 million times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.