Hi, everyone !!
Those of you who read my "Roku UK Channel Store - Weekly RoundUp #90" last week may recall my commenting as to how I felt the recent "holidays" (i.e. "public" or "bank" holidays, as UK readers would likely refer to them) in the shape of "Thanksgiving" and "Black Friday", for those residing in the USA, had a bearing on the lack of new channels released during that period. Unfortunately, whilst I am able to boast that there have been TWICE AS MANY CHANNELS ADDED during the past seven days, it has (in reality) been another quiet week in terms of new additions to the Roku UK Channel Store as it has (once again) in all regions where Roku streaming media products are supported... you need only take a quick look below to see exactly what that means for UK Roku owners this week !!
That said, as with last time, many UK retailers are (still) offering some hefty discounts to tempt the British public into purchasing a Roku streaming device to "gift" someone come 25th December. Eagle-eyed online shoppers looking for a Roku bargain may have spotted further special announcements, via the companion Twitter Feed to this blog: @ukrokuchannels, in which I gave (yet) more details for some of the HUGE SAVINGS to be had on the current crop of Roku streaming media players. During the past week, I have seen the 'Roku 3' offered for £69.00 (usually £99.99) through both 'Amazon' and 'Currys / PC World', as well as 'Roku 2' for only £39.99 (originally £79.99) at 'MediaStreamingMarket', plus 'Roku 1' at just £28.98 (instead of £59.99) at both 'Amazon' and 'eBuyer'. This means customers stood to make A SAVING OF OVER THIRTY POUNDS and, in one case forty pounds, on all those Roku models. Better yet (if you're quick) you'll find that (as of the date of this post) you can still take advantage of those bargain prices - BUT HURRY, THESE DEALS WON'T LAST FOREVER !!!!!!
ALSO, DON'T FORGET... the folks at 'Rdio' recently teamed up with Roku to provide all purchasers of a new Roku with a FREE 2-MONTH TRIAL OF 'RDIO UNLIMITED' giving each and every one of them the opportunity to ACCESS 30+ MILLION SONGS via their Roku streaming media player(s) which would otherwise have cost £19.98 for this premium service! As mentioned previously, you will find full details of the promotion, VIA THIS PAGE, on the "Official" Roku UK website. So, if you're considering the purchase of a new Roku player as a gift for that special someone (or, even if you are "self-gifting", as per the 2013 holiday campaign), this will provide some added incentive for those of you still sitting on the fence about it. To claim 60 DAYS OF 'RDIO UNLIMITED' for FREE, all you need do is purchase and activate any new Roku device before 15th January 2015. After that, you simply need to install the 'Rdio' channel on your new Roku player and sign-in / sign-up to an 'Rdio' account by clicking the relevant links on your screen. You then have until 31st January 2015 to "Upgrade" and claim your two free months' of 'Rdio Unlimited' for FULL ACCESS to the service !!
PLEASE NOTE:- That, if you do intend to take advantage of this offer from Rdio / Roku, you should make a point of reading the FULL T&C's which can be found using the (above) link for details of the promotion. Essentially, UNLESS YOU CANCEL during your free "introductory offer" then you will be liable to paying a (monthly) fee of £9.99 which will automatically continue indefinitely until you do take the necessary steps to cancel the subscription. To learn more about the cancellation procedure you should visit the relevant page(s) of the "Official" Roku UK website, FOUND HERE, which will help you to (hopefully) avoid any unplanned expenditure. That said... you should receive an email, reminding you that the "Introductory Offer" is about to expire, before the end of the introductory period but, in any event, A FEE WILL BECOME PAYABLE IF YOU DO NOT CANCEL so it's probably better to be safe than sorry by taking care of things yourself and not relying on an email reminder !!!!!!
Before I proceed any further with this 'Weekly RoundUp'... a brief reminder that, whilst I had hoped I'd be able to catch-up on the missing Roku-related news from this blog in the coming weeks, with all the extra work I've been burdened with of late it remains unlikely that I'll be fully caught-up anytime soon. Until I do find the time... my 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 and will endeavour to flesh-out what's missing ASAP! Admittedly, 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 my "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 dragged-on (far) longer than anticipated, and apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused you in the meantime, but (all being well) things will be back 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. As for "mending" all of the "broken" links from previous 'Weekly RoundUp' posts, I still can't put a time-scale on how long that is going to take but (like I said before) if you "copy" the existing link(s) and change the "http" prefix to "https", as well as removing the "forward slash" between 'channels' and '#!details', so that "channels#/!details" becomes "channels#!details" in each weblink, you should find that they will all work for you and redirect to the new-look version of each individual channel description. As with the last few 'Weekly RoundUp' posts, every link from this week (as well as all future posts) will make use of the new format, so it's only those from 'Weekly RoundUp #1' up as far as 'Weekly RoundUp #86' which you'll have to amend... at least, until I can edit/repair the links for you !!
Anyway, with all the "missing" Roku-related news (and links) 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 FIVE NEW CHANNELS which have been added during the past seven days. These latest additions to the channel line-up provided FRESH CONTENT in each of the Film & TV, International, plus Screensavers & Apps genres (i.e. categories). Specifically, this means there's been THREE EXTRA CHANNELS in the "Film & TV" genre, in addition to ONE EXTRA CHANNEL in each of the "International" plus "Screensavers & Apps" categories, among the selection of new channels added to the channel store on all Roku streaming devices in the UK during the last week.
In keeping with previous installments from the 'Weekly RoundUp' series, details of these new channels have 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 (where available) with an independent (slightly more expansive) assessment of each one:-
AMERICAN COWBOY CLASSICS.....................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
GUDA TV............COST: FREE [3-DAY TRIAL] + $11.95 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]
PLEASE NOTE:- That, as the "Guda TV" channel does not (currently) feature in the Roku (USA) Channel Store, the link above is for the "Official" Website of the Guda TV channel. If you visit the site, you will see that there is a selection of no less than sixteen different Georgian TV channels available to subscribers of the "Guda TV" channel on Roku streaming media devices, as follows:-
- Rustavi 2
- Rustavi 2 (Mirror)
- Imedi TV
- 1st TV [aka TV.ge]
- 2nd TV [aka 2TV.ge]
- Maestro TV
- GDS TV
- Tabula
- Comedy Channel
- Marao
- Adjara TV
- Obieqtivi TV
- TV 3
- TV 11
- TV 25
- TV Kavkasia
If you'd like to take advantage of a FREE 3-DAY TRIAL offering temporary access to all of the above completely free-of-charge then you should follow the link, HERE, to be redirected to the relevant form on the "Official" Website of the Guda TV channel. If you like what you see, and wish to take out a full subscription, then the cost for regular access to these channels will be $11.95 PER MONTH, as shown above, although that also includes a 7-day DVR facility, offering high quality streams of your chosen programming. Those of you wishing to opt for this full subscription immediately, without the free trial, should follow the alternative link, TO THIS PAGE, where you can sign-up for instant access. Quite why the prices quoted for a (currently) UK-only Roku channel are in $USD (U.S. Dollars) seems bizarre to me but that is how they have been quoted on the Guda TV website... so, there you have it.
Meanwhile, if you'd like assistance when installing & using the "Guda TV" channel on your Roku device(s) there is a useful help article available, VIA THIS LINK, which should provide you with sufficient information to get you started. Should you have any further questions... there is always their contact form, FOUND HERE, for online communication purposes. Or, if you prefer, there is also a telephone number (in the USA) for support and/or general enquiries:- +1 (404) 806 3708 which might prove to be a better/faster option for you. This is particularly suited to those of you with "all inclusive" or "anytime" call plans which give you free calls (usually up to one hour) to the USA... just don't forget about the time difference when you dial - HINT: leave it until mid-afternoon / evening (UK time) and you should be okay - that way, you should be assured of someone being available to help you.
Alternatively, you may choose to connect with them via their Twitter Feed: @GudaTV or, if you just want to get social with them, you can do so easily via their Facebook Page: Guda TV (Facebook). Just be sure to tell 'em that @ukrokuchannels sent you, if you do decide to get in touch with them !!
ALSO:- Most likely down to the fact that the 'Guda TV' channel has not yet been added to the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store, there is (currently) no Roku Guide Review available. If, at some time in the future, this situation changes, I will add a link to this post. Meanwhile, hopefully the details (and links) provided in this post will provide sufficient information about the channel, to give you a good idea as to what to expect, should you decide to add it to your Roku channel selection.
JIBBER JABBER ANIMATION STUDIOS..........................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
SERENITY CHANNEL PREMIUM...............COST: £0.69 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]
HORROR-SciFi-FANTASY...................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
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Anyhow, like it or not, that is your lot for this week and better yet, for the first time in quite a while, we have managed to equal the number of channels which made it into the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store during the same time-frame. If you're in any doubt, there were five channels added to the Roku USA store, just as there were in the UK. However, even with so few new additions in each store, there were (nevertheless) a couple of differences to the list of channels in each region. Should you be interested... I'd suggest reading the current 'Roku Guide' roundup, FOUND HERE, for details of the two channels added to the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store which have not yet(?) been made available on Roku UK devices. Still, no matter which new Roku channels were added in your region, I always think it's better to have SOME NEW CHOICES than none at all, as I hope you agree?!!