Saturday, October 14, 2017

Roku UK Channel Store - Weekly RoundUp #240





Hi, everyone !!



Having bemoaned the fact, in my previous 'Weekly RoundUp' post, that among several recent press releases from Roku came the bitter-sweet news (from a UK perspective) that there was to be another refresh of the Roku streaming player line-up in the United States, just one year after the last, with no mention of any new Roku models for the UK... you can imagine my delight when I saw this header had replaced the usual one found on the UK Roku website overnight during the middle of the week:-





HINT:- Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!


As can be seen from the above screenshot, after two and a half years of waiting, there are finally some new Roku products for the UK. The new line-up includes two Roku models that are entirely new to the UK. They will both be available for pre-order from Wednesday 18th October 2017, with the main highlights for each of them being as shown below:-


  • 5X More Powerful and BRAND NEW to the UK Roku Express Model;
  • BRAND NEW: Roku Streaming Stick+ Offers Up to 4X Wireless Range PLUS Brilliant HD, 4K and HDR Picture Quality AND a New Roku Voice Remote with buttons to control not only the Roku Streaqming Stick+, but also TV power and volume!


A quick look at the newly revised product page from the Roku UK website revealed that the pricing for these latest additions to the UK Roku line-up will be only £29.99 for the entry-level Roku Express model, and a very reasonable £79.99 for the top-end Roku Streaming Stick+ which brings the option of 4K / HDR streaming to UK Roku users for the very first time. You can compare features between these two new streaming products from Roku, thanks to a PDF on the Roku UK website, which will enable you to better assess the differences between them (and any existing Roku devices you have) to see which one is right for you, before making your purchase. Meanwhile... here is another image, taken from the UK Roku website, which confirms the pricing information outlined above:-





AS BEFORE:- Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!



Despite my initial euphoria, at the official announcement from Roku about these new devices, I have to admit that I am also somewhat disappointed that the 2017 Roku Ultra [Model: 4660], which has just replaced the original 2016 Roku Ultra [Model: 4640] in the United States, did not also receive an official UK release to replace the (former) flagship 'Roku 3' [Model: 4200] and maintain a set-top box option for Roku users in the UK that also includes ethernet, USB, and MicroSD ports for those of us who prefer not to rely on wireless connectivity for our streaming needs. I'm assuming, since they are no longer listed on the UK Roku website, that the existing models (i.e. Roku Stick [Model: 3500EU] plus the Roku 2 [Model: 4205EU] and the aforementioned Roku 3 [Model: 4200] set-top box) have all now been discontinued - at least in terms of availability for purchase - as far as Roku UK goes. So, if you still wish to purchase one of those models, I would look to do it sooner rather than later... since supplies of those devices have been dwindling (across the entire product range) from Roku retailers in the UK for around six months now, and I can't see them being available for too much longer once these latest devices hit the stores come the end of October. Speaking of which, here is another image (again, taken from the Roku UK website) showing which retailers will stock the new devices:-





ONCE AGAIN:- Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!



It's not clear, at this time, whether the previous "Recommended Roku Retailers" in the UK such as Amazon UK, Argos, Currys / PC World, etc. will also continue to stock Roku devices and provide additional options for UK Roku purchasers to obtain their chosen device(s) but I'm hoping they do. Nice to see 'Sainsburys' among the retailers listed for 'Where To Buy' these new products, especially after they dropped support for their 'Sainsburys Entertainment' channel on UK Roku devices. Maybe there will be more retailers added to this list over time but, as it stands, I don't feel there are sufficient outlets for Roku to sustain an aggressive UK marketing strategy such as is needed to compete with the heavily subsidised 'NowTV' boxes. If Roku could raise awareness of their own devices, to a level which matched what 'NowTV' has achieved, they might generate enough interest to warrant the release of the 'Roku Ultra' [Model: 4640] and updated Roku Stick [Model: 3800] in the UK, too! :-)


Meanwhile, here's a video from Roku introducing you to the new 'Roku Express' [Model: 3900], that will be available in the UK next week, and which comes courtesy of their official 'YouTube' channel:-






Likewise, here's another video introducing the new 'Roku Streaming Stick+' [Model: 3810], that will also be available in the UK next week, and again comes courtesy of their official 'YouTube' channel:-






The good news, with both of these devices, is that there is no longer a redundant shortcut button for the 'Rdio' channel (long-since discontinued) because it has been replaced with a different shortcut button (one of three newcomers) which may (or may not) appeal to you, based on your preferences for streaming. Love them, or loathe them, the new shortcut buttons are: 'Red bull TV', 'YuppTV' and 'Rakuten TV UK' which can all be found, alongside the familiar 'Netflix UK' shortcut button, on the remotes supplied with both of the above new products. The downside for UK Roku users, is that the remotes which come with this new line-up of streaming players no longer include shortcut buttons for either 'YouTube' or 'Google Play Movies & TV' and (personally) I'd rather have kept those and maybe replaced 'Rdio' with 'NowTV'... although 'Amazon Video UK', or 'MUBI UK', or even one/all of the UK CatchUp TV services would have made for better additions than what we now have:-






Of course, in an ideal world, Roku would have (finally) listened to their customers (as they clearly eventually did with the TV Volume / Power buttons) and made these four 'Shortcut' buttons so that they could be configured, via the Roku 'Settings' menu, to launch whichever of the channels that were assigned to them by the individual end-user. Granted, it would have meant losing a revenue stream for Roku by so-doing but it would make a lot more sense to please their customer base by including an option that each could tailor to their own needs... and thereby sell more devices (hint, hint)! ;-) :-)


However, while I'm less enamoured with the new shortcut buttons, I am at least pleased to finally see the 'Voice Search' feature added to a Roku remote in the UK, as with the 'Roku Streaming Stick+':-






Obviously, I'm tied-up with my Hallowe'en blogathon over the next two weeks... but, as soon as I can find the time, I'll try to post an article or two about these latest offerings so that anyone from the UK who may be interested can see what they're all about. Meanwhile, feast your eyes upon these brand new Roku products once more... and count your pennies, so you can buy one in the coming week! ;-)






Anyhow... with little time for anything else aside from details of new UK Roku models, in terms of newsworthy items to bring you from the last seven days, I'd best now turn my attention to getting you up to speed with all the latest new Roku channels added to UK Roku devices since my last 'Weekly RoundUp' post was published - and, as you will soon discover, there have been quite a few! ;-) :-)


If you did happen to read my previous 'Weekly RoundUp' post, in which I commented as to how 'Roku Guide' had fallen far short of compiling a complete set of reviews for all of the new channels which were released in the seven days preceding their article, you will doubtless be pleased to hear that I have since posted active links to 'Roku Guide' reviews for all of them. Sadly, as their most recent article (dated 13th October 2017) does little more than to play "catch-up" with reviews that were absent from the previous week, it means there were very few 'Roku Guide' reviews for the channels which were actually released between the 7th October 2017 and 13th October 2017. As a direct result, there are currently "missing" links to 'Roku Guide' reviews for close to sixty per cent of the new additions to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store in this particular 'Weekly RoundUp' post. Unfortunately, this (once more) leaves UK users rather short of additional info... and, much like the last month or so, rather than simply regurgitate what is written in each channel description from the channel store, I'm (once more) going to have to leave it for each of you (individually) to access those details via the built-in channel store on your Roku device(s). Needless to say, once the "missing" reviews have been published by 'Roku Guide', I will (as I have in previous weeks) ensure that I add the relevant links to this post. Apologies (yet again) for any inconvenience that may have been caused by the absence of active links to an independent review for so many of these new channels but, like I say, it was completely out of my hands. Meanwhile, I advise scanning the list below to see which channels (if any) you think are likely to appeal... and then going to the built-in channel store on your Roku device(s), to read the description(s) there, for precise details on your pick of the latest new Roku channels (apps) which have been added to UK Roku devices during this past week! :-)


While it falls just short of equalling the epic list of fifty-plus channels from three months ago, you will find there's a bucketload of new channels in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store this week, including plenty of additional options under "Kids & Family", plus "Special Interest", and "Sports", as well as several more options for those who enjoy "Games" plus "Film & TV", along with a couple of new additions to the "Lifestyle" category (i.e. genre) as well as other new channels for those of you seeking "Web Video", "Shopping", "Educational", "Food" or "Music" videos, to keep you entertained over the coming weeks and months. In fact, with so many new channels to choose from, there should be something to please most streamers here. If not, I again shared details for some private channels (via social media) and some more special offers related to various Roku channels that are available in the UK. Check out my Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels if you'd like to know more about those and, while you're there, maybe "Like" and/or "Retweet" some of my messages to spread the word about what's happening Roku-wise in the UK and beyond! ;-) :-)


Anyway, back to the list... which, as always, will help you to identify the very latest apps which have been added to Roku devices in the UK. Other websites offering Roku channel listings will base their contents on the Roku USA Channel Store, which means they also include apps that are unavailable to UK Roku users. So, like I've said before... if you really want to know what's available channel-wise, for owners of Roku devices in the UK, you need to be reading this blog each and every week! ;-) :-)


Before I run through the new channels, however, a reminder that UK Roku users are still subject to restrictions (imposed by Roku) and (bizarrely) remain unable to access the channel descriptions from the web store on the Roku (USA) website. That said, the majority of text in those web listings can also be found within the individual descriptions from the built-in "Channel Store" (accessed via "Streaming Channels" from the main menu) on all Roku devices and, together with the associated screenshots (where available), should give a pretty good indication of what those channels are about.


My advice to any UK-based readers of this blog is to ignore the links below (and to the left of) each channel icon shown here and (instead) rely on the link to the right (below each channel icon) which (where available) will redirect you to an 'Roku Guide' review for additional details on that channel. As it stands, the links below (and to the left of) each icon are (currently) only of use to readers of this blog from the USA. This means that Roku users from the other "supported" regions of the world (i.e. Ireland, Canada, France and Mexico) are, like those of us in the UK, unable to browse the Roku Web Channel Store - which for now (at least) remains an exclusive privilege of Roku users in the USA. :-(


Hopefully Roku will (one day) wake-up to the fact that improving the experience for users in "other" Roku "regions" is just as important as it is for those who buy & use their products in the U.S. and that denying access to the Roku website does not help the end-user experience for those of us (outside the USA) who wish to browse the web channel store. Meanwhile, that which Roku (apparently) doesn't want UK Roku users to see on their website (i.e. the list of new channels) is regularly summarised on this blog in my 'Weekly RoundUp' posts. So, without further ado, here's my 'Weekly RoundUp' of all the new Roku channels released between 8th October 2017 and 14th October 2017:-






KLOUD9TV...........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "LIFESTYLE" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






BIG BIKINI TV - CASEY JAMES..........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






COOKING WITH COLOR 4 KIDS........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "FOOD" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






NEW YORK GIANTS............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






TOFU DRIFT VAN.................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






COTE MOTORCYCLES........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






ZJ MOTO VLOGS..................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






MOTOR VIDZ RACE & RALLY GAMING.........................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






LEMANS15 RACING............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






FEDERICO SCERIFFO AUTO RACING..............................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






EZ DUZ IT RACING.............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






NAKLEMORE RACING GAMES..........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






XDL WEB TV MOTORCYCLE STUNTS..........................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






DRIFT MISSION AUTO NETWORK.................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






ENGLISH CLUB TV HD.................................COST: £1.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "EDUCATIONAL" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






CHAZNICK.............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






POP LOCK FREE...................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "GAMES" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






DRUID'S TOWER............COST: FREE (n.b. may require additional fees) [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "GAMES" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***


PLEASE NOTE:- That, while this "Druid's Tower" game channel is both FREE-TO-ADD to your Roku device(s) as well as being FREE-TO-PLAY in it's default (ad-supported) form, the description from the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store states that it "May require additional fees" - however, I should point-out that this is entirely optional... and down to each individual user, because the "fee" you pay is basically $2.99 (optional) to eliminate the commercials from the channel and thereby have fully uninterrupted gameplay. So, either play for free (with ads) or pay to play completely ad-free! ;-)







SO YUMMY............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






BLOSSOM..............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






TUNING TV MÉXICO AUTO NETWORK...........................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






MONSTER SKILLS CAR GAMING......................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "WEB VIDEO" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






ANALOG56X AUTOMOTIVE..............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






D3FEKT FORZA MODS GAMING.......................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






GREDDY AUTO NETWORK...............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






RDP MOTORSPORT...............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






BROKEN IMAGE - AUTO NETWORK................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






TV WAREHOUSE..................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SHOPPING" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






BUBBLE SHOOTER FREE....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "GAMES" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






WHAT IF.................................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






MOMMY AND GRACIE SHOW..........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






MIMODEMAMI....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






STORYBOTS.........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






TV TÃœRK.................................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






RTN RACING...................COST: FREE (n.b. may require additional fees) [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***


PLEASE NOTE:- That, although this 'RTN Racing' channel is FREE-TO-ADD to Roku device(s), the description from the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store states that it "May require additional fees"... and what this boils down to is that you need to subscribe to one of several package options before you can enjoy streaming the live simulcasts of thoroughbred, quarter horse, harness, and greyhound races from dozens of U.S. and international tracks that are available through this channel. For those of you who may be interested, I would advise choosing one of the online subscriptions that are available via RTN... I say this because, while it is (technically) possible to subscribe directly through the channel on your Roku device, the subscription options available through Roku are limited to "pay monthly" plans, of which there are just three. However, if you subscribe online there are numerous options that range from from single-day purchases at $5.00 (USD) per day for next-day replays to an annual plan at $275.00 (USD) per year which includes live and same-day replays for all tracks. The good news is that, once you have subscribed through the website (see link above), you can then simply just log-in to your 'RTN' account (via the main screen of the 'RTN Racing' channel on your Roku device) to get access to any/all subscription plan(s) you might care to pay for - even single day ones! Meanwhile, if you require additional information about the channel, just visit the official 'RTN Racing' website! ;-)







WAC DIGITAL NETWORK..................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






USP TV...................................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "MUSIC" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






MEDIABAY TV.......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






RYAN BACHELDOR FMX MOTOCROSS.........................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






EAT SLEEP RACE AUTOSPORTS......................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






IMAGINE MEDIA AUTO RACING....................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






HAUNTED HOUSE ESPAÑOL.............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***





BOOYA ESPAÑOL.................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






BUSSONGS TV CARTOONS & RHYMES..........................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






ALEX SERLOF FILMS..........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***






SPORTS TRENDS TV...........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***




*********************************************



Anyhow, like it or not, that is your lot this week and, while it falls just short of three quarters of the sixty-two channels that made it into the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store in the same time-frame, it's still better to get a choice of 46 NEW CHANNELS than none at all... as I'm sure you will agree?!


In any event, hopefully everyone in the UK with a Roku player managed to find something they like within the forty-six "public" channels outlined above... or else from the "private" channels, whose access codes were "gifted" to you via the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels to this blog, at various points throughout the past week. However, if you didn't find anything to add to your Roku channel selection from the assortment of channels on offer this week, you can always pay us a visit another time when, with any luck, there will be something more to your liking. After all, there's no point installing every channel because, like I say... when it comes to adding new channels to your Roku, IT'S YOUR CHOICE and, as with all things Roku... THE CHOICE IS ALWAYS YOURS!




*********************************************



As mentioned previously, you can expect my usual summary of all the goings-on (or not) in the (severely restricted) Roku Channel Store (aka "App 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 earlier posts (as mentioned before) for all the new additions to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store in each of the one hundred and sixty-six 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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