but we mostly only watch netflix bc it's built into the TV. With Amazon we have to fire up the Playstation and use that controller and that's more of a pain in the ass. we use amazon for shopping mainly but there are a few shows I binged on that netflix didn't have.

I almost exclusively use either one for TV shows and movies though. I've never used any services that have news and talk shows.(that I know of).

actually pretty darned good! Was easy to install on my phone and now I beam it to a Bluetooth speaker. Just downloaded the soundtrack from Hamilton, and lots of other good stuff. And making play lists.

I'll have to check that out...thanks!

It's pretty good, you can search by new offerings, or title or artist or genre, and stay in prime for free stuff, or get linked to where you can also buy individual songs too.
Also, if you have a kindle, there are supposed to be great free books offered. I have been considering doing that as well. and for all the services, new songs are added and old stuff dropped after a while. JBL makes some really nice waterproof bluetooth portable speakers with nice full sound, just that and your phone and you can take the party anywhere.

covering my page in stupid recommendations that have very little to do with what I like.

selection seems to have gone in the crapper. Tons of B movies I have never heard of.
Both seem to be suggesting lots of crap though.

If you want access to previous recent episodes of news and talk shows, Hulu Plus is probably your best bet. You can pay a bit extra to not have commercials.

It also has quite a lot of foreign TV and movies. At present, it has the Criterion Collection of classic and foreign films, but it will be losing those around November, because Criterion will be teaming up with Turner Classic Movies to launch its own streaming service.

Having a device, like AppleTV or Chromecast, that will allow you to watch Youtube videos on your TV, really enhances the experience for me.

Eliminates all ads. Great for music, documentaries and old movies plus a zillion other things.

They have John Oliver, Bill Maher, and Vice.

Plus you could watch Game of Thrones and catch up on shows like The Wire, Deadwood, and Six Feet Under.

Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu Plus. I also rent movies on iTunes. I watch all of this on my iPad

I use the internet and podcasts for news and politics.

I hear you about Dish Network, we are about to cut the tv cable for good, after whittling it down to a nub over the last couple of years. I've had it with cable companies. Done.

We watch 4-6 channels... okay, maybe 8. That's it, we are not that into it. They need to make better shows or something because I am not paying $100+ per month for six channels. Nope.

It's like this:

You go to a restaurant and want to get.. say a burger, fries and a drink. Maybe dessert too. The waitperson says you have to order 1/3 of the things on the menu to get that order. 2/3 if you want dessert too. Those are the rules, you can't get your burger unless you also get a salad, fried chicken, waffles, eggs, pancakes, soup, every sandwich they have, etc. Oh, and you have to pay for all of it.

Most people would walk out of that crazy restaurant.

but what has gone from decent programming and now too many shit infomercial channels

Like you I watch just a few channels now

I tried Sling, but its pre-purchase claims did not pan out. You can try it for a week and then cancel. I cut the cable two years ago and really miss MSNBC. You can find show segments at msnbc.com (Rachel's address is http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show). It helps somewhat.

Bill Maher streams on HBO Now. But you can find show segments on Youtube for free. I subscribe to Bill, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and Mr. Deity there. If you find any others, please post them. Youtube has a great deal of comedic progressive material (my favorite) -- Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers and Samantha Bee are a few others.

MSNBC can only be watched on a computer, but anything on Youtube can be watched on a smart tv with roku.

Some people can get local tv channels with an antennae. That's how we did things in the olden days.

There are A LOT of digital channels out there. Most of them are crap, but the same can be said for cable.

And there's always Redbox and the library for DVDs.

The best value depends on what you like and what you watch. For original and/or independent shows on cable channels like The Walking Dead, Orphan Black, Jessica Jones, or what you'd find on Syfy, BBC, AMC, etc - Amazon Prime and then Netflix, to my taste. The problem with Amazon is that for newer episodes, you still have to buy the seasonal package, not everything is part of the "prime" listing. But the selection is really good. Netflix has fewer, but also good, original programming.

Hulu is hands down the best value if you like standard, popular television. Most tv shows come up on Hulu a day after it airs on tv. A few are missing, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is one, which seems odd. Why isn't it on Hulu yet?

There's some, but not a lot, of news shows on Hulu. Thom (The Big Picture) and TYT are available but I can't get the subtitling to work so I don't watch them. Comedy Central's Daily and Nightly Shows come on Hulu the following day. I never miss Larry (Nightly Show). I don't watch msm so I can't help you there. I have no idea.

For movies... Netflix is excellent, with lots of documentaries, but they tend to be older movies. Amazon is choice #2 but good stuff tends to cost extra.

So basically:

Standard tv - go Hulu. For old, older and classic tv shows (binge watching heaven), go Netflix
Non standard tv- go Amazon but be ready to pay a little extra per show or season
Movies- go Netflix or Amazon Prime

*note - Amazon Prime comes with other perks, many of them, it's a great value but comes with some measure of guilt. They truly are the Walmart of the internet. Kind of monstrous, actually.

guilt

The Real News Network (my fave) and Bloomberg TV (good Snips of Financial News) plus International TV. The Personal Channel AP from "Nowhereman TV" gives you the International.

I've also added Acorn TV, Netflix and Amazon to Roku.