[Jeffhs]

The title of this thread is misleading, IMHO. There is no free lunch, as the expression goes. I don't care what cable service you have, you're going to pay for that service even if you have basic cable (broadcast channels only), as Time Warner refers to its lowest tier of cable TV service. No payment, no cable. It's as simple as that.

I have TW basic cable, phone and Internet, and like it a lot. I'm not using the cable, as I have a Roku player with the TWC TV app. This means, of course, I am watching TV via streaming video, not over the cable. The only reason I have cable on my account at all is so the TWC TV app will receive my area's local channels (this is, as I understand it, a quirk in the cable operator's billing system--at least Starter TV service [broadcast channels only] is required if you want local TV channels through your Roku as well as other streaming services; I seriously doubt, however, if this policy will change any time soon). There is absolutely no way to legally circumvent this requirement; it is impossible, as access (or lack thereof) to any cable channel is controlled at the headend and also dictated by the service package you currently subscribe to. This means Roku's claim that the player can receive 200 or more channels (with the TWC TV app if local channels are desired) is valid only if you have a subscription to a video package which offers this many channels. This also means many of the streaming channels in Roku's "channel store" will not work unless you have a video package which carries those channels; in other words, don't try to add, for example, the National Geographic channel from the channel store if your cable service is Starter TV--it won't work. The channel will be added to your Roku's home screen, but any attempt to set it up will fail immediately (you will get a window on your TV screen asking you to contact your cable operator to upgrade your service) and the channel, of course, will not work until or unless your cable service is upgraded to a package which has this channel in its lineup. The cable system is set up such that, again, there is no way to legally get around this, so please, don't even try--you will get nowhere fast and, at worst, you could lose your cable service or even face charges of cable theft if you somehow manage to receive cable channels for which you are not paying.