Thursday, June 3, 2010

A Father's Day Gift Idea

Who has Netflix here?
Well if you do, then do I have a Father's Day gift idea that will knock the socks off your husbands this year.  They will be kissing you and marveling at your sheer genius in getting them something they never knew they wanted.  Ladies (and maybe some gentlemen), I now present to you the Roku:


Now you can go to the website to read all the little techy details, but basically what this box does is hooks up to the internet and your Netflix account so that any movies, TV shows and other Internet based On Demand programs that you would normally only be able to watch on your computer, can be magically downloaded and played from your TV screen.

I don't ever get excited about tech type stuff.  When Art brought home our flat screen TV and hooked it up, I greatly disappointed him when I said "I don't see a difference."  You would have thought I stabbed him in the heart.

But this little guy is marvelous.
Let me do a little demo

So you have it hooked up to your TV already, and this is what your screen will look like.
Oh and excuse the crooked pictures.  I have had the stomach flu for the last 2 days and apparently it has affected my equilibrium and picture taking skills, and I don't feel like Photoshopping these guys.  I'm sure you'll understand.
You can pop into your Netflix account and view any On Demand type movies and TV shows for FREE at anytime!  This is how we were able to get caught up to the saga that was LOST.
There are a whole slew of kids programs to watch too, without commercials.  I hate commercials on kid's shows.  They are so obnoxious and badly made.

If you notice up top you'll see we have 80 of these types of programs in our queue.  There's no limit to how many you can download!
Oh and there's MLB.TV.  I think there's a TV show for NFL too.

Okay but my absolute favorite part of the Roku box is that we can get Pandora on it!  Do you know what Pandora is?  It's basically internet radio that only plays the kind of music you like.
You enter an artist such as Jack Johnson, and it will only play that genre of music.  And now with the Roku, we can play Pandora from our TV.  We love it, even the kids.
You can choose just about any artist you like.
Flight of the Conchords, Art's choice.  I think they're annoying, but whatever.
A little Cake anyone?
Jason Mraz is an overall family favorite.
As well as Jack Johnson of course
Anyhow, you get the idea.
The whole gadget is pretty impressive, but the fact that you can get Pandora on it, just takes it to a whole new level.

The Roku box starts at $79.95-$99.95.
We've had ours for over 2 years now and we use it almost daily.
I think your husbands would dig it.
But remember it only works if you have a Netflix account.

Please let me know if you decide to get your man one of these, and what you all think of it.

So since my husband already has this nifty little device that I'm about to recommend, can some of you provide me with some suggestions to get him this year?

12 comments:

  1. great idea andrea!
    our blue ray player does the same thing - we can instantly watch all of our instant play movies on our television from netflix ( which is great since we don't have cable), we have pandora (which is my favorite too!), blockbuster, rovi tv listings ad vudo - it's grea!
    it was funny because i gave the hus a list for costco and he came back with nothing on my list... just the blue ray player and a bunch of junk food! ha.
    hope you are feeling 100% - praying for you.

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  2. Thanks ms. techie guru. Too bad my man only sits in front of the idiot box to watch fishing shows and the Outdoor Network. Oh, and we can't forget world poker tour and UFC. Who needs movies when you're already in entertainment heaven. Oh, I DO! I DO! Rescue me please.

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  3. I would LOVE this but we don't have Internet access anywhere close to our tv {and b/c we are in rental, rewiring it is not an option.} So sad b/c this ROCKS.

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  4. Thank you! Thank you! for sharing...You have solved the "what to get daddy for Father's Day" dilema!
    Blessings!
    Jill

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  5. i am really intruiged. my man sleeps though movies, but the mlb channel would blow his mind. i'm off to check it out. hope your feeling better!

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  6. Loved this post. Thanks for a fantastic idea. Wow. Hadn't heard of such a thing, but I'm adding it to MY wish list--forget Father's Day.
    And we love Pandora around here. So fun. How many of your readers can actually quote a Cake song?
    I can!
    Brad always tells me that I'm his "Short Skirt and LOOOOONG Jacket" girl.

    And also, just a quick--glad I've found your blog. Some people you just seem to click with. Glad to add you to my list.
    Happy day!

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  7. This is SO right up our alley! Since both of our men our computer geeks, I am surprised Reed has never mentioned this thing. Is it actually possible he DOES NOT know about it? I'm going to hope not and pick up one NOW for Dad day. Thanks neighbor!

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  8. By the way I can totally quote Cake too (one of my all time FAVS)!!! "As soon as you're born you start dying. So you might as well have a good time!" So good! Oh, and Andrea..we WILL get you to like FOTC eventually. You can't help but love Bret and Jemaine.

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  9. We have a Blu-ray which connects to Netflix, and an Apple TV - so we are covered on these devices. I don't have any good ideas...

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  10. Our Blu Ray player has the same feature, and it rocks! And I am totally addicted to Pandora. Cool and cooler!

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  11. Oh Andrea! Did you CHOOSE Delicatessen??? Or did that just happen to be some movie that came up automatically? It doesn't really matter I guess, but I LOVE that movie! If you've seen it, awesome. If not, it's from the same guy who did Amelie. 'nuf said. Very cool gadget btw! Genius.

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  12. Okay, this is NEAT! I am going to have to seriously consider this! I have never ever heard of something like this before!
    P.S. Just found your blog, super cute & I am now following!

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