Hi, everyone !!
The BIG NEWS this week, in terms of Roku-specific announcements, came courtesy of the "Official" Roku Stream Blog who posted individual articles for UK Roku users, as well as those in the USA and Canada, all of which shared information about important changes to their Roku apps for iOS (Apple) mobile devices (i.e. iPads, iPhones, etc.) plus Android mobile devices (again, incl. phones & tablets).
This new and improved 'Version 4.0' of the Roku app offers Roku users simpler access to popular features of the app thanks to the sleek, new navigation bar (located at the bottom of the screen) that makes both the remote function and access to channels (installed, or not) far easier to get at. There are also new tabs (shortcut buttons) to discover "What's On" or share "Photos+" any visual media to your TV that happens to be stored on your mobile device. Launching "Channels" can now be done with just one tap of the channel icon and, better yet, whenever a channel is launched (via the app) an remote control interface will appear on-screen (again, in-app) to provide a more seamless experience in getting to the content found within your chosen channel. In addition, you'll find a "Search" icon at the top of the "Channels" and "What's On" screens, making it even easier to find what you want! :-)
When it comes to controlling your Roku device(s) via the app, the on-screen remote (accessible, at any time, using the new "Remote" tab on the navigation bar) the directional pad and the "buttons" have been moved closer together... making it easier to operate with only one hand, if need be. There is also a "Channels" icon (found top-right of the screen) within the "Remote" tab to facilitate quick and easy access to your installed channels, for whenever you need to switch between Roku apps! :-)
In other Roku-related news, the original "Havoc Television" channel for Roku devices has been taken "Out of Service" and anyone who had previously installed this channel will now see a message, when the channel is launched, which says: "Sorry, this channel is no longer in service" and the only option is to press the "OK" button on your Roku remote (either the original, or Roku app version) to "Quit" the "Havoc Television" channel. This news is worse for NowTV Box owners since, unlike Roku UK devices, the replacement "Havoc TV" channel (available in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store since November 2016) has yet to find it's way into the "App Store" found on streaming media players from NowTV. As a result, there is now ONE LESS ROKU CHANNEL ON NOWTV DEVICES with the "Music" genre (i.e. category) of the "Roku-powered" (ahem) App Store on NowTV devices being reduced from five channels to only four. Another reminder of why UK streamers should be choosing to buy genuine Roku-branded models (Roku Stick, Roku 2, Roku 3, etc.) instead of "Roku-powered" NowTV devices, which are now 3,500+ Roku channels short of offering the vast array of streaming options that are (currently) available to UK Roku owners! So, while those with NowTV devices have little choice but to accept their App Store now offers even less than it did last week...
... anyone with an UK Roku device can simply use the Roku "Search" feature to find and install the "Havoc TV" channel, to continue enjoying content from Havoc Television on Roku devices. Here is the channel icon for the newer version of the app (not available on NowTV devices) so that you can more readily identify the replacement channel from the search results (or via the channel store):-
As always, there were a few other snippets of Roku-specific and/or Roku-related news this week, but due to time constraints I'm going to refer you back to the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels for that, as well as some new channel-specific content which may be of interest to those of you who subscribe to the "Shudder" horror streaming service and one or two other niche channels (who shared info via social media) that I decided to retweet. In addition, I posted some other Roku-related bits & pieces (again, via Twitter) so it's worth looking back over my recent tweets for some extra treats! ;-)
Meanwhile, as was the case in my previous 'Weekly RoundUp' post, we (once more) begin our list of new additions to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store with some more apps that, despite being new to UK Roku devices, are not listed in the "New" category (i.e. genre) of the Roku UK Channel Store. As I said last week, I love coming across apps like these... because they illustrate precisely why it's worth taking time to read the 'Weekly RoundUp' posts on this blog. Any Roku users who simply rely on whatever they see listed under the "New" category in the built-in channel store of their streaming media players for identifying the latest additions to UK Roku devices risk missing-out on these channels altogether. Other websites offering Roku channel listings base their contents on the Roku USA Channel Store, which means they also include apps which are unavailable to Roku UK users. So, if you want to know what's available to UK Roku users... be sure to keep reading this blog! ;-)
DM13DO.................................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
HEADPHNZ...........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "MUSIC" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
MALIMAR TV FREE.............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "INTERNATIONAL" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
TERRAFOX TV......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "WEB VIDEO" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
GOOGLE PHOTOS ALBUM................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "PHOTO APPS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
LUNDY CHAPEL...................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
HEART SHAPED BONES......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "LIFESTYLE" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
THE BAZILLIONS.................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
PLEASE NOTE:- That "The Bazillions" channel for Roku players, which was recently developed by Future Today Inc., should not be mistaken for the much older "Bazillions TV" channel which was created by the kid-friendly rock-n-rollers themselves & added to Roku devices back in 2013. In fact, this potential for confusion over the two Roku apps is the most likely explanation for the absence of any active link to a 'Roku Guide' review for "The Bazillions" channel. Presumably, once the folks at 'Roku Guide' realise that there are two separate channels available, we will see a 'Roku Guide' review of the above (more recent) channel published soon after. Needless to say, once details of this review have been made public, I will (of course) add the "missing" link to this post! ;-) :-)
ROGUE COUNTRY...............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "MUSIC" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
CORNER FRINGE MINISTRIES..........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
CURETALKS..........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FITNESS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
THESEMYTHS.......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
SUPER BABY ENGLISH.......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
VIET SONG MEDIA..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "INTERNATIONAL" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
IMPD PLAY.............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
ANDREW FARLEY MINISTRIES........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
REEL MOVIE CLASSICS.....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
PAULA HEWELL MINISTRIES...........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
CHRISTIAN CHANNELS.....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
WGUD-TV..............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
TATETI TOYS TV...................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
RESTAURANTE LATINO.....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "INTERNATIONAL" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
98,1 RADIO X - QUÉBEC.....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "NEWS & WEATHER" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
GOLF NEWS NET..................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
ATMOSPHERE FOR HEALING...........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
PUPPY SCREENSAVER................COST: £0.69 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SCREENSAVERS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
GHANA360.............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "NEWS & WEATHER" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
CHINESE NEW YEAR.................COST: £1.49 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SCREENSAVERS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
SECOND EBENEZER............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
Anyway, as you can see, there's still a couple of 'Roku Guide' reviews missing from the above list of channels... which is because they either missed them (as with the 'Second Ebenezer' channel), due to their publishing deadlines, or mistook them for existing channels (as with 'The Bazillions' channel). So, expect this article to be finished-off as and when those "missing" reviews become available... along with details of another (as yet) undetermined new channel for UK Roku users. In the meantime, all of the above are available on your Roku devices now... so, if you're really keen to find out about a particular channel, why not install any that you like the look of (or are simply curious about) and see for yourself?! We'll be back soon with more info... but, until then - that's all folks! :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment