There was a thread very similar to this within the last 2-3 months.

Here, I found it:

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/6190545/savannah-rental-without-cable-tv#n=29

graywings - Oh, that was me!! Thanks. I think I'm going to hand this off to DH...When I'm alone in the house, I never have the TV on. I listen to NPR on the radio.

Our son put a Roku "stick" in our TV about 6 months ago. We love it. We have watched so many movies with Amazon Prime Video, which I prescribe to. He had to write down instructions for it LOL. Not hard to do but I would not be able to do without his instructions.

It's fairly easy. You plug the Roku device into the TV and the power outlet using the connectors that are attached to it - only one plug for each. All you need to bring is the device and its cords and its remote. The only other thing needed is the wifi password. Wifi setup is in 'Settings/ Network/ Set Up Connection'.

If you need to sign in to any apps, you can do it using a smartphone, tablet or laptop, entering the code they show you on the screen.

And when you're done, you can simply unplug and go. No exiting, saving or anything like that.

And last time I checked, you don't even need a remote if you have a device that you can put the Roku app on.

You can sign into individual apps on the Roku using your cable account credentials. We cut the cord years ago and have only had Roku since.

I have nothing to add beyond my comments in the earlier thread, linked above, other than to reiterate that I absolutely, positively would not enter any personal sign-on credentials to a device at a property used for a vacation visit.

It’s very common in the Airbnb world. Hosts have the Roku set for guests. On mine I set the dates of the reservation and it resets when they checkout.

"Hosts have the Roku set for guests"

What do you mean by this?

There is a setting that puts the unit basically back to factory. You can put in a set of dates and when guest turn it on they log in with their credentials on whatever channels they have an account. When the date range expires it logs all out.

As the owner of that roku and the airbnb space, I can’t log in remotely until after the departure date. Now if I enter the actual space I could override it with some work as I recall, but that wouldn’t let me get into their accounts,just mine

The only 'credentials' I've ever had to enter to sign in to an app on Roku is an email address. That's hardly sensitive info.

Guest Mode is an interesting function to learn about , thanks. It's not something I can use but I'm sure many do.

Reverting to my original comment, something to consider is that for many people and in my case, my YouTubeTV log in is my Google credential. It's the same as my username and password for Gmail and all the associated capabilities. I would never enter this information into a device owned by someone else. I guess if you planned ahead you could set up a new, throw away email address with a different password, send that email account a family member invite for YouTubeTV, use that on the Air BnB device, and then remove the YouTube TV authorization at the end of the visit. I'm not sure about other content providers.

Much easier and certainly secure would be to to use a PC or tablet device to "cast" the TV image from any and all content sources to the TV if it has to be watched on the TV (Roku devices have this capability or you could bring a Chromcast dongle). Or, even enjoy the content on a PC or tablet, or better yet, enjoy a vacation visit as a break from TV.

Thanks again for this conversation. Two weeks without TV would be just fine with me, but I look at it as Sesame Street... DH is an avid sports fan and news junkie. TV babysits for me, I ignore it and do my own thing. I have shared your comments with him, and he's going to figure it out...we've been married 43 years and dance well together.

FYI, you are not required to sign in on YouTube. There's a guest mode.

I specifically referred to YouTube TV which is an internet streaming source of TV channels (the same ones as from a sat or cable system) which cannot be accessed without a paid subscription ($65 a month) and a sign on. It can be accessed anywhere, the sign-on from any device is the subscriber's Gmail username and password. Unless I'm mistaken about Roku and YouTube TV in particular, I set it up nearly 2 years ago. It may be one that sends a verifying code to enter. Others though I believe, like Netflix and Amazon Prime, involve the account holder's username and password. Similar things I don't want on someone else's device. Nor, when dealing with people I don't know, would I want to authorize use on someone else's equipment outside of my own control, no matter what someone would say to me what they plan to do to delete it without my involvement.

If anyone has a recollection about it, I'm anything but worried or paranoid about cyber security or risks beyond taking simple, thoughtful precautions. Entering my credentials of any kind on someone else's device, unless it's a browser that I know I can easily erase retained info for, is over the line of what I think is prudent.

My regular YouTube login is with Google too. Youtube is owned by Google.

Pretty sure that when you're using your own Roku, the only device that's taking your info is the Roku - you're not entering anything into anyone else's device, and if it remembered your passwords and email, you would not need to enter them again. There's no browser involved - other than if you go to activate an app on your phone - which is optional. I do it because it's faster than entering passwords using the remote.

I do not see much of a risk from this, unless perhaps there's a hacker set up nearby with a wifi scanner...? What good does a Netflix password do anyone, other than maybe getting some free Netflix?

You don't seem to have understood my comments but that's fine.

I have a couple of supplementary, special use Google/Gmail accounts and don't see the need for yet another one for YouTube TV. I have apps on our phones and iPad for our streaming services and between those and a PC, many different ways to cast to a TV or watch directly readily available and ready to go though only one is needed at any one time.