Roku, Netfix Bring Mixed Review

I got Roku as a Christmas present last year. In case you didn't know, Roku is a device that brings streaming programming to your television set. But not ANY streaming programming that you can get on your computer: it has to be something on the Roku menu. And that's too bad: I can receive a lot of stuff on my computer that I can't get on Roku. Plus, a lot of their sites carry a monthly fee. Netflix is one; Hulu Plus is another.

I already have watched some of "plain, free" Hulu on my computer. They offer some episodes of some old TV series I like, such as Mary Tyler Moore. To get more, I would need to subscribe to Hulu Plus. Sadly, I can't get simple, plain Hulu on Roku: I have to either get Hulu Plus or Hulu Nothing. My Roku gives a free trial month of it, but right now I have enough on my hands just watching Netflix. Not that I don't have some serious beefs with it...

I decided to go ahead and get streaming Netflix on for a small monthly charge. They have every single Star Trek television episode ever made, and I have some serious catching up to do (especially with Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise). I also like MacGyver, and they also have every episode. But with other series, I was often disappointed when I found out that streaming Netflix didn't carry them. With movies, it is also a hit or miss proposition. Those old Clint Eastwood westerns are virtually absent (although not from "DVD" Netflix). When I first started watching on my Netflix account, all except the last three James Bond movies were available. Now, none are. Also, I could watch the old Sergio Leone classic A Fistful of Dynamite (aka Duck You Sucker). But they withdrew that one, too. I called the Netflix representative about this and was told that they have to continually renegotiate licensing agreements in order to continue airing different shows. So although I'm disappointed that Netflix falls short of my expectations with their offerings, I still have an awful lot of good stuff to watch.