Roku UK Channel Store - Weekly RoundUp #133

Hi, everyone !!



Following on from my previous 'Weekly RoundUp' post, in which I revealed that Roku had chosen to "leak" details - inadvertently, or otherwise - for a new Roku "4K Showcase" channel... just prior to an announcement from Amazon, regarding the launch of their "refreshed" and updated 'FireTV' devices, which (in turn) had come barely one week after Apple introduced their new 'Apple TV' device... it may come as little surprise for you to learn that the past seven days have been (mostly) filled with further information coming to light in respect of the next streaming media player offering from Roku. There has been much speculation among the online tech community about the possible launch of an 'Roku 4', or 'Roku 4K' set-top box - as some have referred to it, since before CES 2015 (back in January) when details of Roku's plans for a range of Roku '4K' TV's were made known. Finally, details have emerged of an FCC filing from Roku for 'Model 4400X' which, until we hear otherwise, shall be considered as the new 'Roku 4' streaming media player we have all been waiting for. Now, there's plenty of info I intend to share with you from this past week but (unfortunately) I didn't have time today (Saturday) to compile  it all for this blog post prior to my (self-imposed) publishing deadline. Consequently, I'm going to have to ask for your patience while I get things sorted. My intention is to have everything ready for tomorrow night (Sunday) Monday night (sorry, too busy on Sunday) err... better make that Tuesday night (but, don't worry, I have a good excuse) so please bear with me. The reason I was unable to add the "missing" info on Monday was that there was BREAKING NEWS regarding the 'Roku 4' which I could not ignore. Part of that was a "leaked" image of the new Roku device, unearthed by Elias over at AFTV News (yes, a website dedicated to Amazon Fire TV news & information) which, despite feeling somewhat strange as a source of Roku news is, nevertheless very welcome. So, while you wait an extra 24  hours for me to finish-up this post, here's a tweet I shared of the image sourced by AFTV News:-

Until then, I do have details of the current crop of new additions to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store for you... although, again due to time constraints, there are one or two channel icons, external links, details of 'Roku Guide' reviews, plus information for various associated iOS and Android apps for mobile devices that need to be added to this post as well. Rest assured, it will be well worth the wait once you hear what lies in store! ;-)

Anyway, before I proceed with listing all of the new channels (plus providing links to their associated reviews) for this particular 'Weekly RoundUp'... a brief reminder that, whilst I had hoped I'd be able to catch-up on other "missing" Roku-related news from this blog from recent weeks, all the extra work I've been burdened with of late means it remains unlikely that I'll be fully caught-up anytime soon. Until I do find the time... my one saving grace is that (as mentioned previously) I have somehow managed to remain up-to-date with all 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, but (all being well) things will be back up to speed soon!

As mentioned earlier... all I can offer you for now is a summary of the latest additions to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store from the past week. As with my other recent posts, you can expect any additional Roku-related news from the last seven days, 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 forty-six 'Weekly RoundUp' posts, every link from this week (plus all future posts) will use 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 !!

Still, with all the "missing" Roku-related news (and links) yet 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 FOURTEEN NEW CHANNELS which have been added during the preceding seven day period. These latest additions provided FRESH CONTENT in the Movies & TV, Games, Fitness, plus Kids & Family genres, as well as the Music, Religious, Sci & Tech plus Special Interest categories. Specifically... this means that there were THREE EXTRA CHANNELS in both the "Religious" and "Special Interest" categories, as well as TWO EXTRA CHANNELS in both the "Movies & TV" plus "Music" genres and ONE EXTRA CHANNEL in each of the "Games", "Fitness", "Kids & Family" plus "Sci & Tech" categories making-up the selection of new channel choices which have been introduced to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store during this past 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:-

CURIOSITY STREAM.....COST: 30-DAY FREE TRIAL + $2.99 SD / $5.99 HD (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SCI & TECH" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

CARTER JONES ADVENTURES [n.b. 'Roku 3' only]...COST: £0.69 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]

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

SOUL SAVING MINISTRY.................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

N.B. CHANNEL ICON STILL TO FOLLOW - 

UNAVAILABLE AT TIME OF PUBLISHING

OM BHAJAN BHAKTI........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

N.B. CHANNEL ICON STILL TO FOLLOW - 

UNAVAILABLE AT TIME OF PUBLISHING

CM BOLLYWOOD..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

BEST CLOUD AFFILIATE..................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

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

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

SURVIVAL ZOMBIE FILMS..............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

DOWNSHIFT83....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

FUZZY PUPPET...................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

DECORATING LIKE A PRO.............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

SL CAST...............................COST: FREE + £ VARIOUS (PPV FEES) [Roku Guide Review]

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

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

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

LES MILLS ON DEMAND...............................COST: FREE (n.b. may require additional fees) [Roku Guide Review]

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

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Anyhow, like it or not, that is your lot for this week and, whilst it equates to barely more than one-half of the twenty-seven channels which made it into the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store during the same time-frame, it's better to get a choice of 14 NEW CHANNELS than none at all, don't you think?!

Meanwhile... hopefully everyone in the UK with a Roku player managed to find something they like within the fourteen "public" channels outlined above... or else from the "private" channels, whose access codes were "gifted" to you via the companion Twitter Feed to this blog, at various points throughout the last seven days. Even so, if you didn't find anything to add to your Roku channel selection from the assortment of channels on offer this week, 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 like I say... when it comes to adding more new channels to your Roku, 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 sixty 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 !!