Hi, everyone !!
Firstly, let me just say that I hope you all had a "Happy Hallowe'en" and that each and every one of you had a fun & safe evening... whether attending a spooky soirée, or enjoying some kind of horror-themed streaming via your Roku media player(s), or (perhaps) even out-and-about with your "trick 'r treat" bag(s)! Speaking of "treats"... there was ONE HUGE HALLOWE'EN TREAT for Roku owners (in all regions) as announced, 'IN THIS POST', on the "Official" Roku Blog yesterday afternoon (Oct 31st). In case you missed it, I'll give you a clue that should enable you to "put two and two together", as the saying goes, to discover AN IMPORTANT NEW ROKU CHANNEL that can be used FOR PPV CONTENT (i.e. Pay-Per-View Movies & TV) on your streaming media player(s):-
THINK OF A PAY-PER-VIEW MOVIE SERVICE BY THIS COMPANY...
SUITABLE FOR USE WITH THE STREAMING MEDIA PLAYERS OF...
AND THAT CAN ONLY MEAN ONE THING...
...IS NOW AVAILABLE
ON ALL CURRENT GENERATION*
ROKU PLAYERS !!!!!!
Yes folks, Roku owners in all regions now have even more movie-viewing options, "from the hottest new releases to iconic classics", as well as a TV selection that includes "laugh-out-loud comedies, nail-biting dramas, notable documentaries and more" PLUS everything from the most recent episodes to entire past seasons of "can't-miss" TV with an OPTIONAL SEASON PASS to have the very latest episodes automatically added to your library on the day after they are aired. There's also a really useful built-in function, called "Info Cards", which (if you press "Pause" at any point, while viewing) will reveal the name of whichever actor is "on screen" at any given time. Essential if, like us, you're always saying things like... "who's that actor?" and "where do I know that face from?", when you're watching something on television. For more info, read the "Official" announcement from Roku (see link above).
Better yet, though... Roku owners who add the channel to their Roku player selection and sign-up for the "Google Play Movies & TV" service will find that there is AN ADDED BONUS in the shape of a rather special "GIFT FROM GOOGLE" that entitles you to A COMPLIMENTARY HD COPY of the "X-Men" movie. Although, if that's not your thing, give it a week or so before signing-up and there will be an alternative "Gift from Google" on offer... which will (hopefully) be more to your liking !!
*INCIDENTALLY... "Current Generation" refers to any Roku model that was introduced after June 2011 which, in the case of UK Roku owners, means EVERY UK ROKU MODEL RELEASED since the "official" introduction of the streaming media player to these shores back in January 2012. In other words, it doesn't matter whether you own a 'Roku 2 XS' and/or 'Roku LT' (which were the original models available for the UK market)... one of the newer UK models from 2013, i.e. 'Roku 3', 'Roku 2' and/or 'Roku 1'... or, the very latest 'Roku Streaming Stick' from 2014... because, the good news is that THEY ARE ALL COMPATIBLE with the 'Google Play Music & TV' channel for Roku!
Perhaps of more interest, however, is that the 'Google Play Music & TV' channel has been added to the Roku UK channel line-up despite being in direct competition with 'Sky Store' in the pay-per-view arena which begs the question as to why 'Blinkbox' and/or 'Amazon' have yet to add their own Roku channel in the UK?! Surely, the fact that 'Google Play Music & TV' has now been added to the Roku channel selection in the UK must end any/all speculation about Sky/NowTV blocking their rivals from adding a channel to Roku players in the UK?! In which case, what is the hold-up with 'Amazon' and 'Blinkbox'? OK, so the launch of 'Fire TV' may explain the reluctance of Amazon to add their (already developed) Roku channel for the UK market (at least for now) but what excuse can 'Blinkbox' put forward for their continued absence from the platform?! With Netflix, NowTV, Sky Store and now Google onboard, not forgetting an entire suite of UK CatchUpTV channels, it's not like they'd be sailing into uncharted waters (so-to-speak) and Roku would be A NEW REVENUE STREAM FOR BLINKBOX whose parent company Tesco are currently in need of new avenues to explore. So, COME ON TESCO... wake up and smell the coffee (already) and LET'S GET BLINKBOX ON UK ROKU PLAYERS !!
Moving on... with all of the extra input required for the "Countdown To Hallowe'en" throughout the month of October now behind me, it seems highly likely that I'll finally be able to catch-up on all of the missing Roku-related news from this blog sometime soon. Until I do... my one saving grace is that (as mentioned previously) I have somehow managed to remain up-to-date with all of the latest additions to the "New" category of the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store, during the past couple of months, and I now just need to flesh-out what's missing. As some of you will be aware, there are quite a few articles that I need to catch up on but, rather than post links for individual weeks, I'll simply refer you back to an earlier post, "Roku UK Channel Store - Weekly RoundUp #78", which contains all of the pertinent information you might need when researching back over the items in question. Again, I'm sorry this has continued to drag-on for (far) longer than anticipated, and I apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused you in the meantime, but (all being well) things will be back up to speed before too long!
For now... all I can offer you (once again) is a brief summary of the latest channel additions to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store from the past seven days. As with my other recent posts, you can expect all the Roku-related news from this past week, along with details of any changes to the channel selection found on NowTV Boxes, to be added at some point in the near future. Until then... there's THREE NEW "Religion & Spirituality" CHANNELS, as well as TWO MORE OPTIONS in the "Special Interest" plus ONE EXTRA CHANNEL per category for the "Film & TV" plus "News, Weather, Sport" and "Screensavers & Apps" genres, among the channels that have been added in the last week. Hopefully that'll keep you all occupied until I'm back on track!
Anyway, with all the Roku-related news still to follow, let's now press on with the current 'Weekly RoundUp' of NEW ADDITIONS to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store. This time, there are EIGHT NEW CHANNELS which have been added during the past seven days. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, these latest additions to the channel line-up provided FRESH CONTENT in each of the Film & TV, News, Weather, Sport, Special Interest, Screensavers & Apps plus Religion & Spirituality genres (i.e. categories).
In keeping with previous installments from the 'Weekly RoundUp' series, details of these new channels have all been listed below, together with links to obtain further information {by clicking on the channel name(s) beneath the respective channel icon(s) as pictured} and to read a 'Roku Guide' review with an independent (slightly more expansive) assessment of each one:-
LOVE [by Fawesome.TV].......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
myKAZOO TV........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
THE AMERICAN DIGITAL NETWORK............................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
GOOGLE PLAY MOVIES & TV........COST: FREE + CONTENT FEES [Roku Guide Review]
HEADWATERS CHRISTIAN CHURCH.............................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
GRACE FAMILY CHURCH.................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
HYDE PARK COMMUNITY UMC......................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
YOUR PHOTOS SCREENSAVER...........COST: £1.49 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]
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Anyhow, like it or not, that is your lot for this week and, whilst it doesn't quite match-up to the sixteen channels which made it into the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store during the same time-frame, I always think it's better to have SOME NEW CHOICES than none at all, don't you ?!!
Still, hopefully everyone in the UK with a Roku player managed to find something they like within the eight channels outlined above. If not, then you'll just have to pay us a visit another time when, with any luck, there will be something more to your liking. Afterall, there's no point installing every channel because, as I've said before, when it comes to adding new channels to your Roku player, IT'S YOUR CHOICE and, as with all things Roku... THE CHOICE IS ALWAYS YOURS !!
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As mentioned earlier in this post, you can expect my usual summary of all the goings-on (or not) in the (severely restricted) Roku Channel Store that features on NowTV Boxes to follow in the near future. Meanwhile, whether you happen to own a Roku player, a NowTV Box, OR BOTH, as I do... be sure to check my previous posts (as mentioned above) for all the new additions to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store in each of the thirteen preceding weeks and then come back again in seven days' time for my next 'Weekly RoundUp'. However, if you can't wait that long, remember you can always keep up with all the UK Roku action (as it happens) throughout the coming week, by following the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels where up-to-the-minute info on all things Roku-related (here in the UK) is posted on a daily basis (well, almost).
Until the next time, then...
That's all folks !!
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