My family and I are currently reviewing one of the coolest things. It's the Roku Digital Video Player, and it's changing the way we watch TV. With the Roku, we get instant access to all kinds of television and video, streamed right to our television. Let me tell you - we are loving it!

The Roku lets you stream video live from several free channels that come installed on the player or lets you choose subscription or paid services such as Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Video. We chose to subscribe to Netflix. For less than $10 a month, we're able to watch all kinds of programming instantly, such as movies, television shows or specials. Also, we get unlimited DVD selection through the mail, one at a time. We're considering switching back to basic cable. The Roku could save us lots of money.

And we're having so much fun experimenting with the channels. You can get Pandora music through the Roku straight to your TV. Right now, I'm enjoying listening to various Christmas music stations as I work or play with Brady throughout the day. You can also access popular web services like Flickr and Vimeo from your TV, but I have to admit that I haven't played with those features yet.

I'm not extremely techie, but I'm starting to really enjoy exploring different gadgets, tools and toys. The Roku really seems to offer so much for a rather small price. There are three different models, each with various features. They range in price from $59.99 to $99.99. A reasonable cost for something that offers so much versatility in entertainment.

I have to say that I really have only positive things to say about the Roku. The only negative I can think of is that you do have to weigh the pros and cons of each paid service to determine which makes sense financially for you and your family. It could be really easy to get a little carried away with adding paid subscriptions because there are so many choices. For now, I'm choosing to stick with Netflix only. I do think we'll get rid of some of our pricier cable features because we can get so much more through Roku in combination with Netflix. I may choose to add another subscription service or two in the future, but I plan to play around with one thing at a time.

And from now until tomorrow, 12/12 at 11:59 PST, you'll get free shipping on the Roku XD and XD/S. If you're looking for alternatives to cable or satellite dish, you should check out Roku.