Hi, everyone !!
Those of you who read my most recent 'Weekly RoundUp' this past weekend (FOUND HERE) will have seen my comments concerning a brief metamorphosis within the genres (i.e. categories) of the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store which, in turn, led to my speculation as to the imminent arrival of the much-anticipated Roku 3 player to these shores.
This morning I discovered that, as well as the software on UK Roku players, the hardware selection now appears to be making some kind of metamorphosis of it's own... with the addition of (drum roll), wait for it... WAIT FOR IT... the ROKU 3 (ta-da) - yes, if the screenshot (below) which was taken from the official Maplin.co.uk website is to be believed... IT'S FINALLY COMING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HINT: Click on the above image to ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!
As you can see from the above screenshot, under "Home Delivery", it says "Out of stock - due in 9 days". The Roku 3 Streaming Media Player is also "Not available" to "Collect In Store" at this time. However, IT IS AVAILABLE for PRE-ORDER as A "WEB ONLY" PURCHASE for £99.99 which includes FREE UK DELIVERY within 3 working days (once it's in stock, of course, which isn't for another 9 days yet, don't forget). So, those of you who (like me) have been (im)patiently waiting for a Roku 3 UK release date now have something to genuinely look forward to, with the arrival of Roku 3 in UK. If you want to get your hands on this latest streaming media player from Roku and be among the first in the UK to take delivery of a GENUINE UK MODEL of the Roku 3 then I suggest you navigate to the Maplin Online Store VIA THIS LINK and pre-order yours now !!
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PLEASE NOTE: As of Wednesday 4th September 2013 the ABOVE LINK to pre-order the Roku 3 streaming media player from the Maplin Online Store IS NO LONGER WORKING and, if used, will result in a '500 Error' from the server on Maplin's website which looks like this:-
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HINT: Click on the above image to ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!
I suspect that this has been implemented by Maplin themselves, perhaps because they were not supposed to have been promoting the Roku 3 before the official Roku 3 UK release date was announced by Roku at some point (hopefully in the very near future). Meanwhile, as we wait on word of an official Roku 3 UK launch from Roku themselves, you can still MONITOR THE SITUATION with Maplin by performing a 'Roku' product search on their website USING THIS LINK which gives a summary as to the availability of ALL ROKU PRODUCTS from the Maplin Online Store.
IT'S INTERESTING TO NOTE: that the ROKU 3 Streaming Media Player is STILL LISTED among the results of a 'Roku' product search ON THE MAPLIN WEBSITE, despite the forced '500 Error' on the product page itself, which suggests to me that a Roku 3 UK release date remains imminent. FYI: the Maplin Online Store AND any local branch of Maplin refer to the Roku 3 streaming media player using a unique Maplin PRODUCT CODE: A21LT so, if you intend to purchase through them, I'd keep a note of that for easy reference when the time comes to buy one.
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I have since checked the Amazon.co.uk website but, as yet, there has been no pre-order for the UK Roku 3 posted there. Once it is, however, I would expect to see the grey imports (from the USA) with their overly-inflated prices of between £134.00 and £158.00 to quickly disappear. Why anyone would have forked out so much money for an import from the USA which isn't even fully functional in the UK is completely beyond me. Still, now that there are genuine UK models of the Roku 3 streaming media player available on these shores, we won't concern ourselves with that issue any more !!
For the record, I have ALSO checked the websites of the other recommended retailers for Roku player here in the UK, as listed on THIS PAGE from the Official Roku UK website. At present, NO OTHER RETAILER (apart from Maplin) has the Roku 3 available through their website. The list of retailers includes Argos, Box.co.uk, Currys, eBuyer.com, Media Streaming Market, Play.com, Scan Computers and Tesco Direct - as well as the aforementioned Maplin and Amazon, of course. That said, I would expect most (if not all) of them to be involved in retailing the new Roku 3 player to UK buyers, since they were all previously involved in marketing the original models of the streaming media player. So, as and when I hear of the Roku 3 being made available through these other recommended Roku UK retailers, I will be sure to let you know.
Most likely, these updates will be posted via the companion Twitter Feed to this blog: @ukrokuchannels rather than here so, if you wish to stay informed of the situation, be sure to keep an eye on that over the next couple of weeks if you're not already doing so. Meanwhile, I'm going to peruse the Quick Start Guide for the Roku 3 which can be read online VIA THIS LINK so I am fully prepared by the time my UK Roku 3 streaming media player arrives !!
Looks like it won't be much longer now, folks... so START SAVING YOUR PENNIES !!!!!!!!
Thanks for the blog. I'm thinking of getting a Roku, but am unsure of UK movie rental options (pay-per-view options like iTunes, rather than subscription service like Netflix). Could you please let me know what the options are? Thanks
ReplyDeleteHi, osm !!
DeleteThanks for taking the time & trouble to leave a comment. It's much appreciated.
Since you mentioned iTunes as a pay-per-view movie rental option, I should perhaps first point out that there is (currently) NO WAY TO WATCH pay-per-view movies which have been rented from the iTunes Store using a Roku player. So, if that happens to be your preferred method of renting & watching movies, then I suggest you get hold of an Apple TV (if you haven't already done so) because it would be better suited to your needs.
Currently, there are mostly FREE movie channels OR those which require a MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION for watching films via a Roku player. Those which require a monthly subscription are NOT TIED TO A LENGTHY CONTRACT but, rather, allow you to CANCEL AT ANY TIME so you need not worry about any long-term financial burden if you choose to watch movies via those particular Roku channels.
For a COMPLETE LISTING of ALL the AVAILABLE MOVIE CHANNELS that are CURRENTLY FEATURED on UK Roku player, you should click on the link for "Film & TV" found under "Roku UK Channel Store Listings" in the right-hand column of this blog (in between my 'Blog Archive' and the 'Roku Blog Roll'. Then, if you need additional information on any of the channels listed, I would recommend that you take a look at the "Roku Guide - Channel Reviews & Updates (USA)" which is included in my 'Roku Link List' (beneath my 'Roku Blog Roll', again in the right-hand column of this blog).
Off the top of my head, one Roku channel which DOES offer films on a pay-per-view basis is called "VODWiz" which has a modest selection of films from the Hannover House movie catalogue, some of which can be found HERE: http://www.hannoverhouse.com/alltitles.html
although, as you will see, it's not the sort of titles that you'll be used to seeing in the iTunes Store !!
Something you may wish to factor in when considering a Roku player is just "HOW OFTEN YOU RENT A MOVIE?" because, at an average cost of £3.49 per rental (more if you rent it in HD) from the iTunes Store, THIS CAN SOON ADD UP !! By comparison, the monthly subscription channels on the Roku player (Netflix, NOW TV, etc) could SAVE YOU MONEY over the course of a month !! If you think about it, EVEN IF YOU ONLY WATCH ONE pay-per-view movie rental PER WEEK (from the iTunes Store) you would have spent the equivalent of the FULL PRICE PER MONTH for NOW TV (which gives you access to ALL of the movie channels from Sky Movies) and MORE THAN DOUBLE THE COST of a monthly subscription to Netflix !!
Given that many of the movie titles in the iTunes Store are ALSO AVAILABLE ON NOW TV [Powered by Sky] and the selection on Netflix is also pretty good (and getting better all the time) it may be worth your while giving those a go, instead of paying for every film individually (as you do with iTunes) - FYI: you can get a FREE TRIAL for both Netflix & NOW TV on the Roku player, so you can easily see if they are likely to work for you in the long-term.
Anyway, I hope that is of some use to you. Without going through the complete list of Roku movie channels to highlight every single pay-per-view option (which may well be the subject for a future post, in it's own right) it's hard for me to be more specific than that. As to whether you buy a Roku player, or opt to stick with Apple TV / iTunes, the choice is entirely up to you... based upon your personal requirements and your particular audio-visual setup, it's for you to decide what is right for you.
Good luck with it all and, if you do decide to join the UK Roku Revolution, remember to stop by this blog on a regular basis for all your UK-specific Roku news and updates !!