Hi, everyone !!



The BIG NEWS story this week (in terms of Roku-specific matters) came when 'Fortune' shared details, in an article published only yesterday, that Roku are looking to raise a new round of funding, with at least $200 million being sought primarily from investors based in the USA. Past funding has already brought in around $210 million from investors that include Sky UK, Fox Networks & Netflix among others but it's not yet clear if UK Roku users will benefit from this latest injection of capital.


Perhaps the money will be swallowed-up by Roku's plans to expand their advertising presence in New York City? After all, the cost of bricks & mortar in NYC are far from affordable and with the recent revelation, published by 'The Real Deal', that Roku have just signed a lease for 15,931 square feet of office space at 114 West 41st Street (moving-up from their current 3,000 square feet)... you can bet that there was some hefty financing associated with that particular NYC relocation!


While that's all the Roku-specific news I have to report this week, there were also several items of Roku-related news which came my way. Since we Brits can often be found talking about the weather, it'll probably please many of you to learn that The Weather Network intends to add live-streaming video to 'The Weather Network' channel for Roku devices, as well as their apps for Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV... which is good news for anyone with those streaming devices! According to a recent report, published by 'Fierce Cable', from where I discovered the news... the live stream "will include local weather information for cities around the world along with maps, warnings and alerts" which will be a nice addition to the user-generated content and on-demand video content already available.


In other Roku-related news, 'Reuters' has reported that the 'MLB' (short for 'Major League Baseball', if you weren't already aware) may begin streaming on 'Facebook' for the upcoming baseball season. The article states that, "Facebook is in talks with Major League Baseball to live stream one game per week during the upcoming season", but 'Reuters' acknowledges both 'Facebook' and the 'MLB' have declined to comment on the matter. What's also unclear, at this stage, is whether any such live streams would be viewable via the 'Facebook Photos and Videos' channel on Roku devices. At the very least, let's hope 'Facebook' uses its "global" reach to share these live streams (if made available) with their users on a "worldwide" basis. If not, at least we still have 'MLB.TV' on Roku devices! ;-)


The other item of Roku-related news I have to share with you this week concerns an update to the UI (User Interface) for the 'Shudder' channel on Roku devices. Those of you who have previously made use of the horror streaming service on Roku will know that the main menu was (originally) somewhat basic and (ahem) "buried" the content inside folders for "All", "Genres", etc. However, the new-look UI puts the streaming titles on show from the get-go... with sections for "New Arrivals", "Top Picks" plus the afore-mentioned "Genres" all displaying colourful images of the "horrors" on offer! Here's a couple of screenshots, previously shared via my Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels, to illustrate this latest improvement to what is an absolutely essential Roku channel for any fan of the 'Horror' genre:-










As with other recent 'Weekly RoundUp' posts, I'm going to (once again) ask you to refer back to the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels for details of some special offers which may be of interest. In particular, there is a great deal on the top-of-the-range 'Roku 3' [Model: 4200EU] which is (currently) available via both Tesco Direct and Currys / PC World for only £49.00 - that's less than half-price, when compared to the original RRP (Recommended Retail Price) of £99.99 - equivalent to a saving 51% on the flagship UK Roku device, which is awesome! I also posted details of the access codes for some more private channels (available in all regions) among the other bits & pieces shared via Twitter... so, as always, it's worth looking back over my recent tweets for some extra treats! ;-)


Moving on... the list of new additions begins with three channels 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've said before, I love discovering apps like these... because they illustrate precisely why it's worth reading 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 (to identify the latest apps for UK Roku devices) risk missing-out on channels like this altogether. 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 Roku UK users. So, if you really want to know what's available to UK Roku users channel-wise... be sure to read this blog every week! ;-) :-)


Before I run through the new channels... a brief 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 below 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 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 which were released between 19th and 25th February 2017:-







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

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




THE BOOK TRAILER CHANNEL.........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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







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

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








BOB RODGERS MINISTRIES NETWORK...........................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






HOT LASH TV...................................................COST: £0.69 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






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

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






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

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






THE FLAMING GODHEAD...................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






AMERICA GOES TO WAR.....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






JO's WESTERN CLASSIC MOVIES.......................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






IMPACTO VISIÓN...................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






LATAM TV LIVE.....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






EBONYLIFE TV................................................COST: £2.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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


PLEASE NOTE:- That, as this 'EBONYLIFE TV' channel was not added to the "New" category of the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store until after the publishing deadline for the current crop of reviews by 'Roku Guide', there is (currently) no active link to a review of the channel. So, until such a time as the "missing" review is published via the 'Roku Guide' website, here is the full description for 'EBONYLIFE TV' as found on the Roku Web Channel Store:-

EbonyLife TV, Africa’s first Global Black Entertainment and Lifestyle network, was launched on June 30, 2013 and began broadcasting on July 01, 2013 to a pan-African audience, by a license agreement with Multichoice (DStv) Africa, Africa’s largest Pay TV platform. The channel is distributed to 49 African countries, including South Africa and Southern African countries. EbonyLife TV continues to secure distribution deals across the globe. In the UK, we are available to viewers on Talk Talk TV; we serve viewers in Canada via the Ethnic Channels Group. We are concluding terms with Virgin Media and DISH, while our VOD platforms are also available for download by viewers in the US, Europe, Canada, Asia and the Middle East on Play Store for Android devices and on App Store for iOS devices, as well as at vod.ebonylifetv.com. EbonyLife TV believes it’s the dawn of a new era in Africa and is motivated by the need to create and remain an alternative form of media for the continent. Our Mantra is “everything you think you know about Africa is about to change forever”. This rallying cry and credo drives us to constantly inspire and celebrate Africa while enabling it to take its place on the global stage as a media and entertainment powerhouse.

Hopefully... the above description will provide you with sufficient information about the channel to make-up your own mind as to whether (or not) it sounds like something you'd add to the selection of channels on your own Roku device(s) but, needless to say, once details of the "missing" review have been made known to me... I will add a link for the 'Roku Guide' review to this post in due course.







FALA AYU...............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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


PLEASE NOTE:- That, as with 'EBONYLIFE TV' (above), this 'Fala Ayu' channel was not added to the "New" category of the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store until after the current crop of reviews by 'Roku Guide' had been published. Consequently, there is (once again) no active link to a review of the channel. Likewise, until such a time as the "missing" review is published via the 'Roku Guide' website, the only relevant information that I am able to provide is the description of the 'Fala Ayu' channel... as found on the Roku (USA) Web Channel Store:-

Ayu Brazil started her Music since 2013 and she holds a large fan base in Brazil. The singer comes from a family of musicians and her father Rodrigo Tristao is her music producer. Ayu went viral in 2014 with her Frozen covers. Most of the channel covers are Disney and Anime songs. In 2015, Ayu began producing authorial songs and states that it has always been her greatest goal. She likes to compose with her father and her brother, Caio. Ayu does shows in anime events and she's known for her electrifying presence on stage and her affection for her fans "Ayubers".

Once again... hopefully the above description will provide sufficient information about the channel for you to make-up your own mind as to whether (or not) it is something you'd add to the selection of channels on your own Roku device(s) and, as before, once details of the "missing" review have been made known to me... I'll add a link for the 'Roku Guide' review of the 'Fala Ayu' channel to this post.







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

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


PLEASE NOTE:- That, as with the 'EBONYLIFE TV' and 'Fala Ayu' channels (above), this latest channel from developer, "We BellyDance", was not added to the "New" category of the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store until after the current crop of reviews by 'Roku Guide' had been published. Like the two channels listed previously, there is (again) no active link to a review of the channel. However, since the channel store description is very brief for this 'BellyDancers' app... with the only information offered being, "This belly dancers channel is non-stop bellydance", I won't have any more details for you until such a time as the "missing" review is published via the 'Roku Guide' website. Again, once the specifics have been made known to me, I will add a link to this post.






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

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


PLEASE NOTE:- That, as with the 'EBONYLIFE TV' plus 'Fala Ayu' and 'BellyDancers' channels (above), this 'Aerial' channel from developer, "Orjen Solutions", was not added to the "New" category of the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store until after the current crop of reviews by 'Roku Guide' had been published. Like the three channels listed above, there is (once more) no active link to a review of this channel. However, since the channel store description is very brief for the 'BellyDancers' app... with the main aspect being, "Breathtaking aerial HD video, used for Apple TV screensaver", I can't provide any more info for you until such time as the "missing" review is published by 'Roku Guide'. As mentioned above, once the specifics have been made known to me, I will add a link to this post.






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

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


PLEASE NOTE:- That, as with the 'EBONYLIFE TV' and 'Fala Ayu' plus 'BellyDancers' and 'Aerial' channels (above), this latest channel from developer, "We BellyDance", was not added to the "New" category of the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store until after the current crop of reviews by 'Roku Guide' had been published. Like the two channels listed previously, there is (once more) no active link to a review. However, as the description is (again) rather brief for this 'BellyDancers' app... with the only information offered being, "This belly dancers channel is non-stop bellydance", I won't have any more details for you until such time as the "missing" review has been published by 'Roku Guide'. As before, once the specifics have been made known to me, I will (of course) add a link to this post.

Hi, everyone !!



Those of you who follow the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels for this blog may recall my mentioning, in a recent tweet, that there was to be live coverage of The Academy Awards ceremony via 'NowTV' on Roku... for subscribers to their 'Sky Cinema' Month Pass. You'd think that having a major broadcaster such as Sky involved - who, let's not forget, have also contributed financially to the development of Roku as a company - would at least give some indication that "The Oscars" are very much of interest to film fans in the UK as they are to movie-goers in the United States? Apparently, this must have escaped the notice of the Roku "Theme Team", who (once again) failed to extend their latest featured (i.e. custom) theme to UK Roku devices. Then, to add insult to injury, they shared a photograph of their 'Oscars' theme via social media... enquiring of Roku users: "What do you think of our latest on-device theme?" - or did they share the photo because, without it, UK Roku users would have been unable to offer an opinion? I guess we'll never know... but, for those of you who would like to get a glimpse of the latest Roku theme (not) added to (UK) Roku devices, here is a screenshot:-






So if you'd care to respond to Roku, by venturing an opinion on their "...latest on-device theme", at least you now have a first-hand view of it (albeit, via the above image and not on your Roku device) and can let them know what you think... maybe if enough UK users call them on it, we'll start to see a few more featured themes on Roku devices in the UK, instead of the slowly decreasing number we are presented with year on year? While you're at it... Roku could probably use a reminder that, in the not too distant future, there is an opportunity for them to add a "Mother's Day" theme to UK Roku devices for 'Mothering Sunday' on 26th March 2017. Somehow, they have managed to ignore Roku mums in the UK every year so far... despite remembering (every year) to not add their 'Mother's Day' theme to UK Roku devices when celebrating Roku moms in the U.S. during May each time. Surely, if they can exclude UK for "Mother's Day" in the USA, they can exclude other Roku regions whenever we're celebrating the occasion here in the UK? Anyway, I think you get the point I'm making?!


In other Roku-related news from "The Oscars"... both 'Amazon Video' and 'Netflix' made history at the 2017 Academy Awards, by being the first streaming services in the history of the event to receive an award. In fact, while 'Netflix' bagged one statue for their office mantlepiece, 'Amazon Video' came away from the ceremony having received three of the coveted statuettes... WAY TO GO, AMAZON! For those who may have missed the news, 'Netflix' won in the "Best Documentary Short" category, with their documentary short film, "The White Helmets", while 'Amazon' won for both "Best Actor" and "Best Original Screenplay" with feature film "Manchester by the Sea" as well as winning another for "Best Foreign Language Film" with "The Salesman"... and with 'Netflix' having recently acquired Martin Scorcese’s next picture, while 'Amazon' are known to have dropped big money (we're talking millions, here) on "The Big Sick" at Sundance, it's clear these two streaming services (among others) are going after quality content and are prepared to pay a premium to get it. With that in mind, this is probably not going to be the last time that a streaming service gets  acknowledged by The Academy!


Speaking of 'Netflix' and big money spending... their media centre made another announcement in the week, by issuing a press release, to say they would be investing an incredible $1.75 Billion dollars in no less than ninety separate European productions, including original content, co-productions, and licensed content. With Dana Feldman observing, in a recent 'Forbes' article, that speculation is rife as to the suggestion that 'Netflix' may be reaching saturation point in the United States... this massive European investment indicates that Netflix may believe it's best chance at rapid growth is in foreign markets, like those available in Europe, as opposed to the slow progress now being made in USA.


Not to be outdone... 'Amazon' issued their own press release this week, as revealed on 'Businesswire', with the news that their Amazon Video Spring Pilot Season would premiere on 17th March 2017. The plan is for FIVE NEW PILOTS: The Legend of Master Legend, Budding Prospects, The New VIP’s, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Oasis, to debut for all Amazon customers in UK, Germany, Austria, Japan plus USA to stream and review. The new pilots come from prominent creators including Amy Sherman-Palladino, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, Terry Zwigoff and Steve Dildarian, andfeature prominent actors including Rachel Brosnahan (House of Cards) and Tony Shalhoub (Monk) in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; Richard Madden (Game of Thrones), Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense, Alpha House) and Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire, 24) in Oasis; John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone), Dawnn Lewis (Major Crimes) and Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire) in The Legend of Master Legend; Joel David Moore (Bones), Will Sasso (MADtv) and Brett Gelman (Fleabag) in Budding Prospects; Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation), Matt Braunger (Agent Carter), Missi Pyle (Gone Girl) and Jonathan Adams (Last Man Standing) in The New V.I.P.’s.


There were one or two other Roku-related news stories during the past seven days... such as the news from Google about their new "YouTube TV" streaming service, with details shared via Google Blog, and a private data leak, as reported by 'Wired', which arose from a software bug affecting Cloudflare that, according to Lifehacker, could impact on millions of websites... and has already resulted in the announcement of a Security Update from Plex, published via their blog, which is one of the most popular DLNA servers used by owners of Roku streaming media players as well as NowTV Boxes. Since these are peculiar to certain Roku regions, or specific use cases, I will not expand further on those issues here... but recommend you follow the links and read the articles that may concern you.


As with other recent 'Weekly RoundUp' posts, I'm also going to ask you to refer to the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels for details of some special offers which may well be of interest. In particular, there is a great deal on the latest 'Roku 2' [Model: 4205EU] which is (currently) available via Maplin for only £49.99 - equivalent to a saving of £20.00 on this UK Roku device - and is worth a look if you're not interested in the additional features (private listening, motion control for gaming plus "point anywhere" WiFi Direct operation) provided by the enhanced Roku remote that is supplied with the flagship 'Roku 3' [Model: 4200EU]. I also posted details of the access codes for some more private channels (again, available in all regions) among the other bits & pieces shared via Twitter... so, as always, it's worth looking back over my recent tweets for a few extra treats! ;-)


Moving on... the list of new additions includes four channels 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've said before, I love discovering apps like these... because they illustrate precisely why it's worth reading 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 (to identify the latest apps for UK Roku devices) risk missing-out on channels like this altogether. 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 Roku UK users. So, if you really want to know what's available to UK Roku users channel-wise... be sure to read this blog every week! ;-) :-)


Before I run through the new channels... a brief 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 below 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 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 which were released between 26th February and 4th March 2017:-








CHANNEL 62..........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That this 'Channel 62' app for Roku devices is actually an updated / re-branded version of an earlier release on Roku devices, called the "Oklahoma Underground" channel, which was featured in my 'Roku UK Channel Store - Weekly RoundUp #185' from October, last year. As such, you will find that the links provided (above)... one to the official channel description from the Roku (USA) Web Channel Store, and another to a corresponding 'Roku Guide' review, both point to the earlier incarnation of this channel developed by 'Bearded Dragon Productions' who, it now seems, have undergone a re-branding of their own... preferring to use the name 'Creative Innovations Media' for their developer credit this time around. Fortunately, the current version remains FREE-TO-ADD as well as FREE-TO-STREAM on Roku devices... so, rather than read an outdated review, it may be better to add this 'Channel 62' app to your Roku and see for yourself what the channel has to offer! ;-)






RIDE PUPPET FILMS.............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, while this "Faithlife TV" channel is new to UK Roku devices, the developer originally added it to the Roku (USA) Channel Store several years ago now and (consequently) you will find that the channel icon featured in the 'Roku Guide' review (see link above) no longer matches the one shown here. Given how that 'Roku Guide' review (of the original channel) dates all the way back to March 2014, you may also find that not all of the details apply to the current version. Should you wish to add this "Faithlife TV" channel to your Roku, you won't find it in the "New" category of the channel store... so, to avoid scrolling through 600+ channels in the "Religious" genre, I suggest using the built-in Roku "Search" feature to find and install the app on your streaming media player(s).







TENNIS TV.........................COST: FREE-TO-ADD + £9.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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






CALVARY HANFORD............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, as with the "Faithlife TV" channel above, while this "Calvary Hanford" app is new to UK Roku devices... the developer originally added it to the Roku (USA) Channel Store more than four years ago now and (consequently) you will find that the channel icon featured in the 'Roku Guide' review (see link above) no longer applies to this current version, which is why I have chosen not to include it here. Given how that 'Roku Guide' review (of the original channel) dates all the way back to October 2012, you may also find that not all of the details apply to the current app. Should you wish to add this "Calvary Hanford" channel to your Roku, like "Faithlife TV" (above), you won't find it in the "New" category of the channel store... so, as with the "Faithlife TV" channel, you can avoid scrolling through 600+ channels in the "Religious" genre to add it, by making use of the built-in Roku "Search" feature to find and install this app on your streaming media player(s).







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

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, while this "Cantinflas TV" channel is FREE-TO-ADD to Roku device(s) and does include content (currently ten titles) that's FREE-TO-STREAM on Roku, the info provided in the "Official" Roku Channel Store description states that this channel, "May require additional fees", so please be aware of this possibility when selecting future content via this channel. That said, all of the videos available at launch can be streamed for free... so, it could either be a mistake (regarding the possibility of extra charges), or it may be a safeguard against any costs which may be applied to future additions within the video library of the "Cantinflas TV" channel? Only time will tell! ;-) :-)






PROPHETIC MINISTRIES TODAY.......................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, for some (as yet) unknown reason, this "Prophetic Ministries Today" channel appears to have escaped the attention of the folks at 'Roku Guide' who (thus far) have not published any review for this latest release from the app developers at 'Lightcast.com'. Needless to say, once the details of any such review have been made known to me, I will add the "missing" link to this article. Meanwhile, please accept my apologies for any inconvenience that may result from it's absence.







BLACKBELT TV.....COST: FREE (7-DAY TRIAL) + $5.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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






DOCCOM TV..........COST: FREE (7-DAY TRIAL) + $5.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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






U - NATURE......................................................COST: £0.69 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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






PANORAMA SCREENSAVER........................COST: £0.69 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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






THE CAPE COD CHANNEL..................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






HERALD MAIL NEWS NOW.................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "NEWS & WEATHER" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






CANAL LATINO.....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






ZOOMIN.TV GAMERZ..........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






ROCK PAPER SCISSORS FREE............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






BRIEFING ROOM...................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "NEWS & WEATHER" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






FUSION PLUS.........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






LAOS PLANET TV..................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






OTT FLOW...............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






TAMASHAKHANE PERSIAN TV..........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






FIREWORKS CHANNEL......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, due to the fact this 'Fireworks Channel' was not added to the "Official" Roku (USA) Channel Store until after the publishing deadline for the current crop of 'Roku Guide' reviews, there is (currently) no active link to any such review of this channel. Needless to say, once the details have been made known to me, I will add the "missing" link to this article in due course. Meanwhile, please accept my apologies for any inconvenience that may have been caused by it's absence.








UNKNOWN CHANNEL........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, having checked the channel numbers for each category, it has come to my attention that another (as yet) unidentified channel has been added to the "Religious" genre. However, in order to determine the name of this channel, a full audit of the six hundred plus apps that populate the category must be undertaken. As this will take quite some time, I have been unable to provide any links or details prior to publishing this post. Needless to say, once I've determined what this "missing" app is, I will (of course) update this article with the relevant information. Meanwhile, please accept my apologies for any inconvenience which may have been caused by the absence of those details.

Hi, everyone !!



As far as UK Roku users are concerned, the BIG NEWS during the last seven days since my previous 'Weekly RoundUp' was published has to be the imminent arrival of an "Official" app from 'TVPlayer'. Some of you may recall that there was a private channel, by Ryan Cullen [Twitter Feed: @Artesea] who also developed the "unofficial" FilmOn app [ACCESS CODE: arteseafon], which had feeds for 'TVPlayer' that could be streamed on Roku devices... but, for whatever reason, that was subsequently blocked and we've had to wait until now for any sign of an official presence from 'TVPlayer' on the Roku platform. Here is a screenshot of the tweet I shared, earlier in the week, when the news was first broken to me via another Roku user, Christopher Parr [Twitter Feed: @Khryztophfer], who (like me) had long been pressuring 'TVPlayer' for a comment regarding the release of a Roku channel:-







Having heard the news, I immediately contacted 'TVPlayer' via Twitter... seeking confirmation as to whether the release of an official Roku channel was imminent and, not long afterwards, received an answer "straight from the horse's mouth" (or perhaps, as it's Twitter, that should be the bird's beak?!) to the effect that, while their "aim" is to launch by the end of March, they cannot (at this stage) give an exact date as to when it "will go live" on Roku devices. Anyway, just for the record, here's another screenshot (of the response posted via the 'TVPlayer' Twitter feed) confirming the news:-







There was also some good news on the gaming front this week, with the announcement from indie Roku developer, Marcelo LvCabral [Twitter Feed: @LvCabral], that he has begun working on yet another retro-gaming remake for Roku players. This time it's the 1982 classic, "Moon Patrol", which is getting a port-over to the Roku platform. Younger gamers, who may not be familiar with this old arcade classic, can get a glimpse of the project (so far) courtesy of this video from the developer:-






In other news... following on from their win at 'The Oscars' [aka 'The Academy Awards' ceremony] there was an announcement from Netflix, via an official press release, that two of Korea's best-known storytellers are to unite for a new 'Netflix' original series - called "Kingdom" - which is set to break new ground for K-Drama, by combining two popular genres in one series: historical period drama and zombie action-thriller... I know, sounds great already doesn't it!?!! Anyway, the show will be a collaboration between director Kim Seong-hun, whose "Tunnel" was a top five movie at the Korean box office in 2016; and writer Kim Eun-hee whose series "Signal" was among the top Korean Dramas of last year. All 8 episodes of this new original series, from prominent K-Drama production company, Astory, will premiere exclusively on 'Netflix' in 2018 to all members... in over 190 countries!


Speaking of other countries, the last main news story I'd like to re-visit for this 'Weekly RoundUp' article concerns another collaboration... only this time it's between 'BBC' and 'ITV' who, although they may (at first) seem unlikely bedfellows, have joined forces to produce a new streaming service in the United States, called "BritBox", which will bring content from both British broadcasters to TV audiences in the USA soon after first airing in the UK. This means that, for only $6.99 per month, all subscribers to "BritBox" in the U.S. will be able to watch the latest episodes of Emmerdale, Casualty, Eastenders and Holby City within a day or two of them being shown in the UK. Better yet... there is a 7-DAY FREE TRIAL of the service, for those Americans who may be unsure of whether to sign-up for the "BritBox" service, as well as others seeking to "...unleash their inner Brit" by registering for this US-ONLY endeavour from two of our most-cherished television providers. Of course, were it not for the fact there's also a free-to-add Roku channel for subscribers, I would (probably) not have even mentioned it here... but, for readers of this blog in America who might otherwise have missed it, here is a screenshot of the "BritBox" post I came across last night & shared via Twitter: @ukrokuchannels not forgetting there's also a 'Roku Guide' review providing a more detailed overview of the "BritBox" app for any Roku owners in the USA who may be considering this US-only Roku channel / service.









As with other recent 'Weekly RoundUp' posts, I'm going to ask you to refer back to the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels for details of some special offers which may also be of interest. If  you missed it last week, the deal on 'Roku 2' [Model: 4205EU] which I shared is still available via Maplin at only £49.99 - equivalent to a saving of £20.00 on this UK Roku device - and well worth a look, if you're not interested in the additional features (private listening, motion control for gaming plus "point anywhere" WiFi Direct operation) provided by the enhanced Roku remote supplied with the flagship 'Roku 3' [Model: 4200EU]. I also posted details for a couple of 'NowTV' pass offers plus access codes to some more private channels (again, available in all regions) among the bits & pieces shared via Twitter... so, as always, it's worth looking back over my tweets for a few extra treats! ;-)


Despite being short... the list of new additions starts with two channels 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've said before, I love discovering apps like these... because they illustrate precisely why it's worth reading 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 (to identify the latest apps for UK Roku devices) risk missing-out on channels like this altogether. 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 Roku UK users. So, if you really want to know what's available to UK Roku users channel-wise... be sure to read this blog every week! ;-) :-)


Before I run through those new channels... a brief 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 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 the few new Roku channels which were released between 5th March 2017 and 11th March 2017:-






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

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






ZOLFM 106.5.........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That this 'ZOLFM 106.5' channel for Roku devices has been previously known both as "CanalAmerica" and "CanalAmerica.TV" before arriving at the current channel store name, of "ZOLFM 106.5", which should (hopefully) remain the same for (at least) the next six months... which is how long the former brand names were in use, prior to being changed. While the current app still bears the same unique identifier, '61268', as the former "CanalAmerica.TV" app - as evidenced by the URL for the previous channel description from the Roku (USA) Web Channel Store - there the similarity with this latest incarnation ends. For that reason, I have decided not to re-share the link to the old 'Roku Guide' review in this article... but, rather, wait for a review specific to 'ZOLFM 106.5' from the folks who publish the 'Roku Guide' website before adding the "missing" link to this post.







IP CAMERA VIEWER - BASIC...........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






IP CAMERA VIEWER - PRO.........COST: £2.99 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]

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






LET NETWORKS..................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






V12S TV CHANNEL..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

Hi, everyone !!



Following on from the revelation, in my previous 'Weekly RoundUp' post, that there will soon be an "official" channel from 'TVPlayer' on UK Roku devices... another BIG NEWS story came our way this week when Scottish Television (STV) published their own "official" app for 'STVPlayer' to the Roku UK Channel Store. This means that (in terms of UK Roku-specific applications) almost all of the main broadcast television providers (with the notable exception of 'UKTV' - hint, hint!) now have a streaming service available through UK Roku devices, which is GREAT NEWS for owners of any such Roku-branded media player(s) looking to stream any such content here in the UK! :-)


Not so fortunate, however, were users of (ahem) "Roku Powered" (bit of a misnomer, if you ask me) streaming media players from 'NowTV' who (so far, at least) do not have access to the 'STV Player' app on their NowTV Boxes (smart, or otherwise). This is despite having the other UK CatchUpTV channels (BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 [formerly 4oD], and My5 [formerly Demand 5]) available to install via the built-in "App Store"... that (currently) still offers a paltry 51 Roku apps, versus the much larger selection of some 3,600+ which feature in the "Channel Store" on UK Roku devices.


As tough as that may be for (some) owners of 'NowTV' boxes to face-up to, the bitterest pill they had to (collectively) swallow during the past seven days was having "Developer Mode" disabled on their devices, thanks to a software update from 'Version 7.0 Build 9620' to 'Version 7.5.3 Build 4068' that began rolling out this week. Here's a screenshot of what 'NowTV' had to say about it:-







Of course, the major consequence of this latest action by 'NowTV' to "improve the service" as well as to "safeguard the device from piracy" is that all "unofficial third party" (i.e. side-loaded in Dev Mode) software and/or apps (e.g. PLEX, Roku Media Player or the "unofficial" FilmOn app by Ryan Cullen) will be disabled (and removed) and you will not be able to re-install them going forward post-update. Naturally, this has caused outrage among the 'NowTV' user community... many of whom had decided to purchase their 'NowTV' devices to use as a cheap 'PLEX' client for streaming media on their TV. If you have been affected by this, and would like to voice your opinion on the negative effect of this 'NowTV' software update, then I advise leaving a comment - via the dedicated discussion thread for this topic - on the 'NowTV' community forums.


Those wishing to read more on the subject should see the recent news article, published via Engadget, which offers a little more insight on the subject. There was a subsequent update to this news story, written by Jamie Rigg [Twitter Feed: @jmerigg], which offered a potential workaround... however, having mentioned it via social media, I was contacted by independent Roku developer Ryan Cullen [Twitter Feed: @artesea] who informed me that this particular solution was unlikely to work. There have been one or two (less than desirable) suggestions made for anyone who'd like to use their device for PLEX alone (provided it has not yet received the software update) but for the majority of NowTV Box users I'd say the best course of action is to upgrade to a fully-fledged Roku device. Doing so will mean that, instead of losing access to 'Developer Mode' plus any apps you used to side-load onto your NowTV device(s) via that method, you can get all of that plus another 3,600+ apps to choose from! :-)


In other PLEX-related matters, a recent article by 'AFTV News' on the subject, revealed that the beta testing of "PLEX Cloud" has ended and the service is now available to all 'PLEX Pass' subscribers. Of course, the main advantage of this is that you can host all (or part) of your personal media library in the cloud... without needing to run a local Plex server. The downside is having to pay for cloud storage through Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive to take advantage of what "PLEX Cloud" has to offer. Since the cost for this can soon escalate, based on the amount of data stored, it’s probably not a viable option for those with massive media libraries who would benefit more from having unlimited storage. That said, it is a useful additional feature that can be "unlocked" by anyone choosing to pay for a Plex Pass subscription... and, if used wisely for easy access to select titles only, could well be a cost-effective way to stream from anywhere without the need to configure routers & home networks. As you might expect, the "PLEX Cloud"service can then be used to view your media via the 'PLEX' channel on your Roku streaming media player. If you'd like to read more about the availability of the "PLEX Cloud"service you can do so, via a dedicated post, published through the official PLEX blog.


Another massively popular Roku channel that has been featured in the news a lot lately is 'Netflix', and the past week has proven to be no exception, with several news stories emerging specific to the service. Following on from the news, in my "Roku UK Channel Store - Weekly RoundUp #208", that Netflix would be investing an incredible $1.75 Billion dollars across multiple European productions... it's clear that the company has high expectations for their growth in this part of the world. However, judging by a recent report from Rethink Technology Research it now seems that European growth forecasts for Netflix could be larger than expected.  The report, highlighted in a subsequent article published by 'MultiChannel', argues that the rise of paid OTT in Europe could see subscriptions hit a total value of €8.1 Billion (£7.02 Billion) by 2021, with Netflix being the biggest beneficiary having an anticipated 45 Million of the estimated 62 Million total OTT subscribers expected at that time.


Meanwhile... as Netflix continues to "cop a deaf-un", as we say in these parts, over repeated requests from subscribers to stop the awful "auto play" feature which has been ruining the Netflix browsing experience for many in recent months, they decide to test a couple more new features to "improve" the service. Fortunately... the first of these, as reported in a recent article by 'The Verge', sounds like it might prove to be quite popular when binge-watching TV shows. The idea is that, to avoid watching the same introduction over and over, when watching multiple episodes of the same show... you hit a "Skip Intro" button to bypass the opening credits. The other change being proposed is, in my opinion, rather more "...meh" since the idea is to replace their (current) star rating system with an alternative type of scheme which is based on a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" choice by the viewer. According to another report, published in a separate article by 'Variety', consumer testing has (so far) shown that the "thumbs" system has resulted in a 200% ratings increase (i.e. the total number of ratings given by users) versus the "star" rating method. Perhaps, if the numbers of "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" votes were shown against each title, I could learn to live with it... but, personally, I'm happy with the current "star" ratings system and (as with my feelings over the "improvement" to add auto-play while browsing) I'm inclined to say, "If it ain't broke... don't fix it!", when it comes to leaving ratings.


Thankfully, aside from raking-in the money and (often unnecessarily) tweaking their user interface, Netflix continues to invest in quality content... and in that respect, as per their latest press release, they intend to complete, restore, and release an (as yet) unfinished film co-written and directed by Orson Welles. The film, "The Other Side of the Wind", takes a satirical look at Hollywood through the story of a legendary film director, attempting to make a comeback with one last masterpiece. Work on the project began as far back as 1970 but remained incomplete at the time of the director's death in 1985. Starring no lesser acting talents than those of John Huston, Peter Bogdanovich, and Dennis Hopper (among others) having made the investment it now falls on Netflix to complete the task and produce a final version for release. To this end, they have brought-in the original consultants who worked with Orson Welles on the film back in the day. Whether it will match-up to earlier works by the legendary director remains to be seen but it is clear that Netflix hopes to make a good go of it!


As in other recent 'Weekly RoundUp' posts, I'm going to ask you to refer back to the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels for details of some special offers which may also be of interest. If you somehow missed it, the deal on 'Roku 2' [Model: 4205EU] which I've been sharing repeatedly for the past couple of weeks is still available via Maplin at only £49.99 - which is equivalent to a saving of £20.00 on this UK Roku device - and well worth a look, if you're not interested in the additional features (private listening, motion control for gaming plus "point anywhere" WiFi Direct operation) provided by the enhanced Roku remote supplied with the flagship 'Roku 3' [Model: 4200EU]. I also posted details of access codes to some more private channels (again, available in all regions) among the bits & pieces shared via Twitter... so, as always, it's worth checking my tweets for extra treats! ;-)


As with last week... the list of new additions again starts with two channels that, despite being new to UK Roku devices, are not listed in the "New" category (i.e. genre) of the Roku UK Channel Store. Being a blogger, I love discovering apps like these... because they illustrate precisely why it's worth reading 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 (to identify the latest apps for UK Roku devices) risk missing-out on channels like this altogether. 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 Roku UK users. So, if you really want to know what's available to UK Roku users channel-wise... be sure to read this blog every week! ;-) :-)


Before I run through those new channels... a brief 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 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 the few new Roku channels which were released between 12th and 18th March 2017:-






THE SWEET SPOT.................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






IMMERSION IN NATURE..............................COST: £2.49 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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






ST PATRICK'S DAY SCREENSAVER.........COST: £0.69 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]

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






THE AUTO CHANNEL - TACH LIVE..................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, for some (as yet) unknown reason, "The Auto CHannel - TACH Live" appears to have escaped the attention of the folks at 'Roku Guide' who (thus far) have not published any review for this latest release from the app developers at 'Vidillion, Inc'. Needless to say, once the details of any such review have been made known to me, I will add the "missing" link to this article. Meanwhile, please accept my apologies for any inconvenience that may result from it's absence.






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

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, as with "The Auto CHannel - TACH Live" above, this 'IBN' channel appears to have escaped the attention of the folks at 'Roku Guide' who (thus far) have not published any review for this release from the app developers at 'trueGOD Television Networks'. Needless to say, once the details of any such review have been made known to me, I will add the "missing" link to this article. Again, please accept my apologies for any inconvenience that may result from it's absence.






WORLD VIDEO BIBLE SCHOOL........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






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

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






GIZZY GAZZA.......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "PERSONAL MEDIA" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






M3U PLAYLIST PLAYER.....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






GRIND CITY RECORDS.......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






RIVER OF PRAISE................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






STV PLAYER.........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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


PLEASE NOTE:- That, since this "STV Player" channel for Roku streaming devices has not (yet?) been made available via the Roku USA Channel Store, there is no web channel store description on the Roku website... which means that clicking on the link provided above will (instead) redirect you to the official UK website for 'STV Player' from where further information can be obtained. Should you have any questions, comments, or suggestions pertaining to this new 'STV Player' channel on UK Roku devices, or other aspects of their business, I'm sure that the folk from 'Scottish Television' who developed the 'STV Player' channel will be only too pleased to hear from you. For those who prefer the "old-fashioned" way(s) of getting in-touch, you'll find both postal and email addresses for 'STV'... as well as various phone numbers, on the 'Contact Us' page, published via the official website for 'Scottish Television' [aka 'STV', to you and me]. Meanwhile, those wishing to connect with them via the more "current" means of social media can do so via their official Twitter Feed: @WeAreSTV or else, through their FB page, at:- Scottish Television (Facebook) ;-)

ALSO:- For similar reasons to those given for the lack of a web channel store description, there is also (currently) no active link to any 'Roku Guide' review of the "STV Player" channel. Furthermore, it is unlikely that we will ever see an 'Roku Guide' review of the (currently) UK-only "STV Player" channel for Roku devices.

AS A BONUS:- For those times when, for one reason or another, you find yourself with no Roku device close-to-hand... there are FREE MOBILE APPS FOR iOS PLUS ANDROID DEVICES that can be downloaded from the respective app stores, at no cost to users, via the links shown below:-


FREE DOWNLOAD:- Of iOS app for Apple mobile devices (from the 'iTunes' App Store)

PLUS

FREE DOWNLOAD:- Of Android app for mobile devices (from the 'Google Play' Store)


FINAL THOUGHTS:- It may have been a long time coming... but, this official "STV Player" app for UK Roku devices will be none the less welcomed by Roku owners in the UK - especially those living north of "the border", since it will provide access to content from Scottish Television (STV) that was previously inaccessible using the 'ITV Hub' channel [formerly known as the 'ITV Player' channel] and that is really great news! :-)

Hopefully, this will provide further encouragement (not that it should be needed) to both 'UKTV' and 'TVPlayer' who have both been slower than most to develop apps for the Roku platform in the UK. That said, despite 'UKTV' revealing they still have "no plans" for a Roku app, we recently received confirmation from 'TVPlayer' that an official Roku channel was imminent... and, all being well, you should see one listed on these pages within the next few weeks - fingers crossed! ;-) :-)






VIRTUAL IRISH PUB............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

Hi, everyone !!



Following on from the revelation, in a recent 'Weekly RoundUp' post, that there will soon be an "official" channel from 'TVPlayer' on UK Roku devices... further details about the Roku app came our way this week when TVPlayer confirmed (via Twitter) that there will be "...at least 20 premium channels" as part of the (optional) paid 'TVPlayer Plus' aspect of the service on UK Roku devices. Here is a screenshot of when I shared the news via the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels as to what UK Roku users can expect from the forthcoming 'TVPlayer' channel on Roku UK devices:-






Based on current details for Channel Availability on TVPlayer, across the various existing platforms supported by the service, all of which have been published via the official website... I speculated that, of the 29 "premium" channels that are (currently) available within the (optional) paid 'TVPlayer Plus' aspect of the 'TVPlayer' service, the nine "missing" channels might well be as follows:-

• Comedy Central
• MTV
• Nickelodeon
• Nick Jr.
• Gold

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only blow felt by NowTV Box users in the last seven days... and, let's not forget, many are still reeling from the news that 'NowTV' have disabled "Roku Developer Mode" on NowTV devices, with their latest software update, and (in so doing) also wiped any side-loaded third party apps (e.g. 'PLEX', plus the "unofficial" app for 'FilmOn TV' developed by Ryan Cullen) from the NowTV Boxes of those who had previously installed them. Anyway, the bad news concerns the removal of a Roku channel from the "App Store" on NowTV devices. Worse still... is the fact that this will also impact on any UK Roku users who may have wanted access to this particular app.


Some of you may already be aware... if you tried to find 'Fitness Magazine' on your Roku device or NowTV Box in recent days, and were unable to find it, assuming it had been removed... if so, you would have been right! With 57 additional channel choices under "Fitness" in the channel store on UK Roku devices, that may not be such a big deal for most users. However, the removal of this app from NowTV Boxes has seen the "Special Interest" category in the (ahem) "Roku Powered" (bit of a misnomer, perhaps?!) NowTV App Store, reduced from six channels to just five. Significantly, this means the total number of channels (or, "apps", if you prefer) that populate the built-in "App Store" on NowTV devices has fallen to just fifty… which is the same total as featured on the original white (Roku LT cloned) NowTV Box when it launched in July 2013!


So, after nearly four years plus three generations of NowTV devices, they have no more channels in the "App Store" than when they started! Couple that with the recent update that disabled "Roku Developer Mode" on NowTV devices, meaning popular third-party apps like PLEX and the "unofficial" FilmOn channel (developed by Ryan Cullen) can no longer be side-loaded onto NowTV Boxes… and you begin to wonder why anyone would choose to buy one, over a genuine Roku-branded UK device: which still has "Developer Mode" enabled, where the latest 'PLEX' app can be installed directly from the channel store (with no need for side-loading), and "private" channels (like "FilmOn" by Ryan Cullen) can be installed via your online Roku account using a simple access code (again, with no side-loading)! Then there's the not insignificant matter of some 3,600+ Roku "public" channels (i.e. those that populate the built-in "Channel Store" on UK Roku devices) over and above the 50 Roku "public" channels found in the "App Store" on NowTV Boxes… and, all things considered, the cost of a NowTV Box is not quite the bargain it once was!


Bearing all that in mind... those shopping for a streaming media player in the UK would probably do well to consider the (slight) increase in their initial outlay for one of the other devices on the market, before settling for the cheaper NowTV Box just to save a few quid… because, in the long run, Roku devices (and others) will give you more bang for your buck. Besides which, there's a 'NowTV' app in the Roku UK Channel Store that offers the same 'NowTV' experience as found on NowTV Box. Meaning, aside from not having "Sky Box Office" for PPV (Pay-Per-View) events and requiring an active "NowTV Sports" pass to gain access to the 'Sky Sports News' channel (available with any active 'NowTV' pass on NowTV Boxes) there really is very little reason not to buy a Roku streaming media player over one of the NowTV-branded device(s) in the UK!


Moving on... in another change to the existing channels available via both the "official" Roku UK Channel Store and the "Roku Powered" (but not by much) "App Store" on NowTV devices, others among you might have been wondering what happened to the "Facebook Photos and Videos" app. Well, although it has not been removed (like the "Fitness Magazine" app, mentioned above) there has been some serious tinkering, as well as a re-branding exercise, undertaken on the original channel used by Roku / NowTV Box owners with Facebook accounts. In fairness, a change was long overdue for this channel, because the original icon used for this app led many to believe that it would offer full access to Facebook (incl. news feeds)... which caused most to be left disappointed with the limited functionality. Even then, many of the functions that were present in the original app have long been plagued by problems and some haven't worked in years... so, it's hardly surprising that a re-vamp was on the cards for this Roku channel. The most obvious change to be implemented in this latest update concerns the branding used in the channel store. Consequently, both Roku and NowTV Box users will now find the former "Facebook Photos and Videos" app renamed as "Your Photo Feed" with a completely different channel icon than before, as evidenced by the image below:-






Less apparent are the changes within the channel itself - although, it has to be said, the new name is much more in keeping with what is on offer feature-wise... until, that is, you start to use it and realise that the previously already-limited functionality has now been even further reduced with the removal of access to photos and videos specific to Facebook news feeds. This new-look, "Your Photo Feed", app limits you to only those photos and/or videos which were posted by yourself, or your friends. Not being a Facebook user myself, I had to rely on comments made by 'Roku Guide' as to the experience of using this latest incarnation of the channel... to wit, they claim that: "...in testing, there were still some glitches, such as an extremely limited number of friends being listed, and no photos posted within the last six months" which, even as a non-Facebook devotee, sounds like a bit of a pain. To learn more about what to expect from the new-look, "Your Photo Feed", channel I recommend that you read the full 'Roku Guide' review which has recently been published via their website. Since it is not (strictly speaking) a "new" channel (per se) I have decided not to include it in my list of the latest additions to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store in this current 'Weekly RoundUp' post. However, I thought it best to (at least) mention it here for the benefit of those using Facebook who would like to add this channel to put their Facebook photos and videos up on the big screen via their Roku device.


In other news... those of you who read my 'Roku UK Channel Store - Weekly RoundUp #208' might recall my mentioning the new Amazon Pilot Season would be starting on 17th March 2017. However, in my post 'St Patrick's Day' haze, I forgot to remind everybody about it last week... so I felt I owed it to you to highlight the details this time around. This means you can now get involved... share your thoughts... and cast your vote(s) to determine which of these 'Amazon Originals' will be the next to get a full series, based on your experience of these FREE-TO-STREAM pilot episodes that can all be enjoyed on Roku devices through the 'Amazon Video' channel. Here, in order of their (current) star ratings from Amazon UK reviewers (ranked with the highest number of votes first), are the five new 'Amazon Original' series vying for your vote in this latest Amazon Pilot Season on 'Amazon Video':-

1. Oasis - a near-future science-fiction thriller, which tells the story of a priest (Peter Leigh) who is called to a remote planet where a mysterious, multi-national company is building the first permanent "Off-Earth" human colony. The planet chosen, Oasis, is humanity's last chance to escape from Earth's impending collapse, but it quickly becomes apparent that it may not be as hospitable to humanity as it first seemed...
2. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - set in 1958 Manhattan, Miriam "Midge" Maisel has everything she's ever wanted: the perfect husband, kids, and an Upper West Side apartment... but, when her life takes a sudden turn and Midge must start-over, she discovers a previously unknown talent - one that will take her all the way from the comedy clubs of Greenwich Village to a spot on Johnny Carson's couch. FYI: This one comes from the creator of "Gilmore Girls" :-)
3. Budding Prospects - In 1983, three hapless guys from San Francisco are lured from their sex and drugs lifestyle to the countryside, with the aim of cultivating marijuana. Once there, they find themselves stuck in a run-down cabin in the middle of nowhere, with harsh and unfriendly growing conditions, nosey neighbours, dangerous locals and menacing law enforcement.
4. The New V.I.P.’s - an animated comedy in which four low-level employees seize control of a major corporation, after accidentally murdering the CEO.
5. The Legend of Master Legend - a dark comedy about the life of Master Legend: a real-life superhero, whose mission is the security and safety of the people of Las Vegas. He must juggle the demands of justice with the even more complicated demands of his real family who do not see him as a real hero at all.

Just remember, when you've watched any of the above Amazon pilots, to take the survey and leave your thoughts / opinions on what you've just seen plus vote for more episodes of your favourites! ;-) This is your chance to help Amazon decide which series should get picked-up for a full season, or more... so, by voting, you increase your chances of seeing something you like on 'Amazon Video' in the future - where else can you vote for a series before they've even commissioned the first season?!


Another Amazon-related "hangover" from 'St. Patrick's Day', which I neglected to mention in my previous 'Weekly RoundUp' post was the announcement, published via Business Wire on 17th March, in which Amazon PR made it known that 'Amazon Video' had just extended their exclusive content agreement with 'A24'... ensuring that 'Amazon' would remain the only premium subscription home for all upcoming A24 films, including critically-acclaimed films such as "Moonlight" (recent winner of three Academy Awards, including "Best Picture", at "The Oscars" 2017), plus; current theatrical hit "20th Century Women", and; Casey Affleck’s next film, "A Ghost Story", as well as many more highly-anticipated films from A24, like: "American Honey", starring Sasha Lane (Hunting Lila) and Shia LaBeouf (Transformers), and; "Free Fire" with Brie Larson (Room), Cillian Murphy (Inception) and Armie Hammer (Nocturnal Animals), plus; "The Lovers" featuring Debra Winger (Terms of Endearment) and Tracy Letts (Imperium), and; "It Comes at Night" starring Joel Edgerton (Warrior) and Riley Keough (The Girlfriend Experience).


In other Roku-related news, Appestry has released Android mobile apps that can combine with both Amazon Alexa and Google Home and used to control Roku devices using simple voice commands. The Alexa skill can be used with Amazon Echo and Echo Dot (for Roku owners in the UK) while the Echo Tap is also supported (together with the Echo and Echo Dot) for Roku users in the USA. Here is a demonstration video for the "Quick Remote" Android app, as it is known, showing how to set-up the app with an Amazon Echo so that it can be used to control a Roku device:-







While the "Google Home" is not yet available in the UK, I'm also going to include the demonstration video of that here... firstly, because it includes additional commands (also available for Alexa) that are not demonstrated in the above video showing "Quick Remote" for Alexa / Roku... and, secondly, because readers of this blog from North America (where "Google Home" is already available) might like to see what voice control via "Google Home" could offer them, with this app from Appestry:-






Just remember that these apps are still in their infancy... and, in the case of the Alexa Skill, not yet approved for official release. That said, you could choose to use them now... or, if not, you can always wait for the official release before trying them with your Roku. Either way, the video(s) above will give you a good indication of what to expect from each of these Android apps by Appestry! ;-)


The last item of Roku-related news I have for you this week concerns a recent article by Joe Mullin [Twitter Feed: @JoeMullin] published via 'Ars Technica' on Wednesday 22nd March 2017. The story revolves around some recent court findings in the USA which could effect the 'FOTV' channel found on Roku devices, as well as impacting Roku private channels, like 'XTV' and the unofficial 'FilmOn' channel by Ryan Cullen, that make use of these live-stream feeds from 'FilmOnTV' for providing the content found in their Roku apps. At this stage, it is unclear when (if at all) any U.S. Court ruling that relates to these findings could come into place and disrupt Roku owners who have installed any of the above channels, but I thought I'd give you a heads-up of what could happen (subject to any appeals process preventing it) so you can be prepared, if need be. Meanwhile, further reading on the subject can be found in another recent article, published via broadcastingcable.com, if you're interested. ;-)


As in other recent 'Weekly RoundUp' posts, I'm going to ask you to refer back to the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels for details of some special offers which may also be of interest. If you somehow missed it, the deal on 'Roku 2' [Model: 4205EU] which I've been sharing repeatedly for the past few weeks is still available via Maplin at only £49.99 - which is equivalent to a saving of £20.00 on this UK Roku device - and well worth a look, if you're not interested in the additional features (private listening, motion control for gaming plus "point anywhere" WiFi Direct operation) provided by the enhanced Roku remote supplied with the flagship 'Roku 3' [Model: 4200EU]. I also posted details of access codes to some more private channels (again, available in all regions) among the bits & pieces shared via Twitter... so, as always, it's worth checking my tweets for extra treats! ;-)


Before I run through the new channels... a brief 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 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 the few new Roku channels which were released between 19th and 25th March 2017:-







CHINA UNCNSRD..................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






BEACH VACATION SCREENSAVER..........COST: £0.69 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]

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






FREE CINEMA TICKET.........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, without one of the companion apps for iOS or Android mobile devices, this 'TVCAST' channel will offer no benefits to Roku users. The reason for this is that the 'TVCAST' channel is essentially a "client", designed to work on Roku devices, which enables the streaming of any m3u playlists added to the iOS or Android app(s) for 'TVCAST' using your Roku streaming media player(s) as a conduit to watch the content on your television. For ease of reference, here are the details for adding the FREE MOBILE APPS FOR iOS PLUS ANDROID DEVICES that can be downloaded from the respective app stores, at no cost to users, via the links shown below:-


FREE DOWNLOAD:- Of iOS app for Apple mobile devices (from the 'iTunes' App Store)

PLUS

FREE DOWNLOAD:- Of Android app for mobile devices (from the 'Google Play' Store)


PLEASE ALSO NOTE:- That, while the 'TVCAST' apps for iOS plus Android mobile devices and the Roku (client) channel are all FREE-TO-ADD to their respective devices, both iOS / Android apps offer IAP's (In-App Purchases) that are associated with various use-cases built-in to the mobile apps. So, be sure to read the individual descriptions relating to the app(s) you download and be aware that there may (possibly) be some additional charges applicable to your use of these 'TVCAST' apps.


Meanwhile, if you visit the official website of developer, Guillermo Fuentes, you will find additional details for a 'TVCAST' Web Player that can also be used for streaming m3u playlists. Should you find it necessary, there are online manuals for both Android and iOS apps that will walk you through the process of adding m3u playlists, as well as editing them in order to add more streaming sources. In the event of any difficulty, you can contact the developer via his Twitter Feed: @gfuentesdev or else, his FB Page: Guillermo Fuentes (Facebook) to request further assistance with these 'TVCAST' apps. Lastly, if social media is not really your thing, there is a "Contact Form" on the developer's website.

Hi, everyone !!



For the long-time Roku users among you, with this post being made on the first day of April, it will probably come as no surprise for you to learn that Roku have (as in previous years) been up to their usual tricks in trying to catch us all out with an "April Fools' Day" prank. Typically, these have taken the form of a "new" product or feature being introduced to the Roku line-up. So, in case you missed this recent post from the "Official" Roku Stream Blog, here is a screenshot of their latest effort:-






If you haven't already guessed, from looking at the above screenshot image, the suggestion was that this "enhancement" to the Roku OS would help to satisfy our food cravings while binge-watching by suggesting the perfect snack to consume for whatever content you intended to watch. The interesting food pairings which resulted from this "April Fools' Day" prank can be seen in the image below:-





Of course, Roku are not the only ones to appreciate a bit of leg-pulling on "April Fools' Day" and even went as far as emailing customers about their "new" monthly pass for man's best friend:-





However, if you followed the link to the relevant post from the NowTV Blog, they were pretty quick to point out that it was an "April Fool" prank on their part and steer you towards their real passes. If those with 'NowTV' devices had invested a little more money upfront, they could take their pick from several Roku channels geared towards animal lovers keeping their pets entertained... however, it's good that NowTV did something to lighten the mood among users of their own-branded devices after dealing them the recent cruel blow of disabling Roku Developer Mode and (with it) removing any of the third-party apps that had been previously side-loaded onto NowTV Boxes using that method, like the 'PLEX' and 'FilmOn' channels favoured by many NowTV Box owners. Then again, come to think of it, there is still something slightly unsavoury about following news of something you can't have on NowTV boxes with an "April Fools" centred-on something you, erm... can't have on NowTV boxes! ;-)


Leaving me in a rather less jovial spirit was the revelation from 'TVPlayer' that, despite their previous suggestion the 'TVPlayer' app would launch on Roku UK by the end of March 2017 (i.e. Friday 31st) at the latest, they were still only "...getting there!!!" and merely hopeful "...it will be ready ASAP!". When I enquired as to whether the 'TVPlayer' channel had even been submitted yet, for "approval" by Roku prior to release via the channel store, there was no further comment - as evidenced below:-






Needless to say, I'm really keen to get access to the 'TVPlayer' service on my Roku devices... and, in particular, I'd like to subscribe to the 'TVPlayer Plus' package which, as we know from my last post published a week ago, will bring "at least 20 premium channels" for as little as £5.99 per month that (hopefully) should include access to both 'Eurosport 1' and 'Eurosport 2' on UK Roku devices for the very first time. It may also interest some of you who (like me) are considering a subscription to the paid 'TVPlayer Plus' package (once it does launch on Roku) that 'TVPlayer' has a promotion running, via their Twitter Feed: @TVPlayer, whereby new subscribers can enjoy their first month for free... as well as getting 50% OFF the cost of their second month (i.e. pay £2.99, instead of £5.99) simply by using the code: TWITTERTVP when registering for the service, as evidenced below:-






Depending on how much longer it takes for 'TVPlayer' to officially launch their Roku channel, I have it on good authority (having enquired as to the longevity of the above promotion) that, "...it may be" still available when 'TVPlayer' is (finally) released via the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store. That being the case... my advice to readers of this blog is to bookmark this post, or make a separate note of the promo code, so that if and when the time comes you are able to take advantage of the discount.


For the record... there is also an annual subscription option for 'TVPlayer Plus', priced at £59.99 for the year, which will give you the equivalent of two months free. You could also look at this in terms of an overall cost reduction per month to just £5.00 - which is pretty good value, especially if it does include both of the 'Eurosport' channels, considering you will get over 100 live-streaming channels in total. Should this option appeal to you, I have been advised by 'TVPlayer' that it's very easy to switch from the monthly subscription to paying annually... meaning, you can take advantage of the free trial and half-price second month (using the above promo code) to fully evaluate what you will be getting prior to committing to an annual payment plan with the added benefit of a further cost reduction! ;-) :-)


While we're still on the subject of 'TVPlayer', you may (or may not) be aware that they are closely connected with another company, called 'Simplestream', who are making big waves in the streaming / OTT cloud-based content delivery market. Bearing that in mind, it may interest you to learn that there was a recent news article, published earlier this week, by 'MultiChannel'... which revealed that there had been an agreement reached, between 'Simplestream' and MTG-owned 'Trace' (the urban music and entertainment global media group) to power the new subscription video on demand (SVOD), live TV and radio offering: 'TracePlay'. The reason I'm mentioning it is because the service is slated to come to additional devices including Roku, plus Amazon FireTV and Smart TV's later in 2017! :-)


When it does arrive, Roku users can expect live access to 10 music and sports TV channels, as well as 31 FM and digital urban music radios, plus a selection of urban series, films and documentaries in both English and French languages. The 'TracePlay' service has already been launched on desktop (Mac/PC), as well as iOS (Apple) plus Android mobile devices, and Apple TV... in the UK, France, Benelux, and USA, plus Africa, the Caribbean and Indian Ocean, and will be progressively available to the entire world over time. The 'TracePlay' service (currently) costs just £4.99 per month in UK, with initial pricing set at $4.99 USD for users in the United States, and I'd expect this to be the case when the Roku app is launched later this year. In the meantime, if you'd like to explore the service on one of the existing platforms, you'll find full details of the 'TracePlay' service on their website. Those wishing to connect with 'TracePlay' via social media will find them on Twitter: @TracePlayUK and, if you prefer, they also have an official FB page at:- TracePlay UK (Facebook) where I am sure they will be only too pleased to answer any questions you may have about their service.


In other Roku-related news... it was announced, via a press release from the Netflix Media Center, that the streaming giant had extended it's deal with Adam Sandler and will commit to finance the development and production of four more feature length films starring the successful comedian. Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions will produce each film, which will premiere exclusively to the leading internet entertainment network’s 93 million members worldwide. Sandler's first two Netflix films, The Ridiculous 6 and The Do-Over, are the biggest film releases for the service... while the prolific comedian’s latest feature film, "Sandy Wexler", is set to launch on 14th April 2017. The film is a fun, feel-good, romantic comedy set in Los Angeles in the 90's starring Academy Award and Grammy winner Jennifer Hudson, Kevin James, Terry Crews, Lamorne Morris, Nick Swardson, Rob Schneider, Jane Seymour and Grammy winner Aaron Neville among others. Fans of Adam Sandler should look out for these plus (at least) four more films from the comedian via the Netflix service! :-)


Of course, lately it seems that barely a week goes by without an announcement of some sort from the media centre at Netflix and, likewise, the same can be said of Amazon... who are, arguably, the main rival to Amazon in the global streaming marketplace. So, it will likely come as no surprise for you to learn that it has been revealed, via Business Wire, that Amazon has green-lit the Emmy-nominated All or Nothing, an Amazon Original Series produced by NFL Films, for a second season. This will give Amazon Prime members in the UK, Austria, Canada, Germany, Japan and Mexico, plus those in the USA full access to an NFL season unlike any that’s been captured on screen. Subscribers will get to see the Rams’ entire 2016 season, which began with their relocation back to Los Angeles and culminated with hiring a new head coach and preparations for the 2017 season.


The first season of All or Nothing, which followed the Arizona Cardinals throughout the 2015 season, currently has an average customer rating of 4.8, with 89% 5 star reviews, making it the highest-rated non-kids Amazon Original Series on Prime Video. Produced by NFL Films, All or Nothing: A Season with the Los Angeles Rams is executive produced by Ross Ketover (Hard Knocks, Inside the NFL), and Pat Kelleher (Hard Knocks, 30 for 30 - Four Falls of Buffalo). The showrunner is Keith Cossrow (A Football Life). Directors are Shannon Furman and Pat Harris. Supervising producer is Bennett Viseltear and senior producer is Nick Mascolo. For fans of the L.A. Rams and/or the NFL, plus American Football in general, this is one Amazon Original you won't want to miss on Roku! :-)


Meanwhile, as in other recent 'Weekly RoundUp' posts, I'm (again) going to ask you to refer back to the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels for details of some special offers which may be of interest. If you missed it, the deal on 'Roku 2' [Model: 4205EU] which I've been sharing repeatedly for the past month is still available via Maplin at only £49.99 - which is equivalent to a saving of £20.00 on this UK Roku device - and well worth a look, if you're not interested in the additional features (private listening, motion control for gaming plus "point anywhere" WiFi Direct operation) provided by the enhanced Roku remote supplied with the flagship 'Roku 3' [Model: 4200EU]. I also posted details of access codes to some more private channels (again, available in all regions) among the bits & pieces shared via Twitter... so, as always, it's worth checking my tweets for extra treats! ;-)


Before I run through the new channels... a brief 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 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 the few new Roku channels which were released between 26th March and 1st April 2017:-







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

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






GOLD LEAF CLASSIC MOVIES..........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






GRANDPA's FAVORITE MOVIES........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






BEAN BAG MOVIES.............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






REMOTE CONTROL MOVIE CLASSICS............................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






ADMIT ONE............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






BAR BUZZ...............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






VIET TV NOW........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






CLASSIC MUSICALS............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






PING PONG FREE..................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






U - CARS....................................................COST: £0.69 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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






EASTER SCREENSAVER..............COST: £0.69 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]

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






TEXT ADVENTURES............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






CORNERSTONE NETWORK................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






SEE SOUTH DAKOTA...........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






BONBON NETWORKS..........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






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

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






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

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






LIMITLESS EXP......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, as 'Limitless EXP' was not added to the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store until after the weekly publishing deadline for the current crop of 'Roku Guide' reviews had passed, there is (currently) no active link to any such review of this channel. Needless to say, once the details have been made known to me, I will add the "missing" link for the 'Roku Guide' review to this post. Meanwhile, please accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused by the absence of this link.






BINGE WATCH CLASSIC MOVIES.....................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, as with the 'Limitless EXP' channel above, this 'Binge Watch Classic Movies' app was not added to the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store until after the publishing deadline for the current crop of 'Roku Guide' reviews had passed. Consequently, there is (once more) no active link to a review of this channel. As with the 'Limitless EXP' channel, I will (again) add a link to the 'Roku Guide' review for this 'Binge Watch Classic Movies' app once it has been published. Likewise, please accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused by the absence of this link in the meantime.






AMERICAS GREATEST MOVIES AGAIN..........................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, as with the 'Limitless EXP' and 'Binge Watch Classic Movies' channels listed above, 'America's Greatest Movies Again' was not added to the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store until after the publishing deadline for the current crop of 'Roku Guide' reviews had passed. As before, there is (again) no active link to any review of the channel. However, like the two preceding apps, I will be sure to add the "missing" link to an 'Roku Guide' review of the 'Binge Watch Classic Movies' channel as soon as possible after it is published. Again, my apologies for any inconvenience which may have been caused as a result of the "missing" link from this 'Weekly RoundUp' post.

Hi, everyone !!



The week began with the (somewhat alarming) news that Media Streaming Market, part of Exertis UK Limited, who handle all of the sales from the "Official" Roku UK website appear to have zero stocks for any of the current UK Roku models (i.e. Roku Streaming Stick, Roku 2 and Roku 3) if this screenshot of the product page is anything to go by:-






If you look in the lower left-hand corner (above the footer column with the disclaimer / payment info) you will see that it says: "No products were found matching your selections" and, where you would otherwise see product images plus pricing for the afore-mentioned Roku models, there are no devices shown... meaning that none of the current-generation UK Roku players can be purchased! :-O


The "selections" were made by clicking on the "Buy now" buttons from the product comparison page of the "Official" Roku UK website... any of which will (when clicked) then redirect you to the official website for Media Streaming Market. That is because all product sales from the UK Roku website are handled by Exertis UK Limited who are responsible for the fulfilment of any such online purchases. I have messaged both Roku and Exertis (via Twitter) asking them to comment on this situation but have yet to get a response. However, you would think that Roku would at least acknowledge the issue, and (maybe) disable the "Buy now" buttons, as well as posting an apology to potential buyers of their products here in the UK. As it stands, there is nothing on their website to suggest that anyone clicking on the "Buy now" button for their chosen Roku model will be unable to complete a purchase when re-directed to the website of Media Streaming Market, as evidenced by the screenshot below:-






Aside from being extremely frustrating for any UK Roku purchasers who might have opted to buy their streaming media player direct from the manufacturer of the product(s)... this does not look good on Roku for a handful of reasons including, but not limited to, the following:-

1. Giving would-be customers the run-around before they have even got the product;
2. Failing to maintain minimum stock levels across the product range;
3. Failing to acknowledge the problem;
4. Failing to update their website to address the issue, and;
5. Ignoring repeated requests for answers as to what is happening and why

Having first drawn attention to this matter on Monday 3rd April 2017 via the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels to this blog (as evidenced by the screenshot below) I am sad to say that, five days later, nothing seems to have been done about it... and, sadly, there is still no stock showing when attempting to make a purchase via the Media Streaming Market website. Hopefully, by re-enforcing my concerns in this 'Weekly RoundUp' post, Roku and/or Exertis UK Limited will be prompted to take action over this (inexcusable) situation, but only time will tell...






Of course none of this really helps any NowTV Box owners who, after all their recent woes, may well be looking to upgrade their NowTV Boxes for genuine Roku UK streaming media players. As if not having sufficient access to Roku apps on NowTV devices wasn't enough of a pain... they are now faced with not having the ability to purchase alternative products (via the Roku website) by way of an attempt to address those shortcomings!


Speaking of which... those "shortcomings" (in respect of the limited Roku app selection) got even shorter (if that's the right word?!) with the removal of the 'Revision3' Roku channel from the built-in 'App Store' that features on all (ahem) "Roku Powered" (more like "Roku Restricted", if you ask me) streaming devices from NowTV. Again, I broke the bad news to NowTV Box users via Twitter:-






As evidenced by the above screenshot... this latest withdrawal of (yet) another Roku channel, from the (already massively restricted) selection by which 'NowTV' have decided to limit users of their own-branded devices, means there is now a choice of only 49 Roku channels... which is laughable, when compared to the selection of 3,700+ apps to which owners of genuine Roku-branded devices in the UK have access via the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store on their streaming media players!


As has often been the case in recent weeks... the current list of new additions (once again) starts with a channel that, despite being new to UK Roku devices, is not listed in the "New" category (i.e. genre) of the Roku UK Channel Store. Blogging specifically about Roku streaming devices & Roku-related matters, I love discovering apps like this... because they illustrate precisely why it's worth reading 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 (to identify the latest apps for UK Roku devices) risk missing-out on channels like this altogether. 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 Roku UK users. So, if you really want to know what's available to UK Roku users channel-wise... be sure to read this blog every week! ;-) :-)


Meanwhile, as in other recent 'Weekly RoundUp' posts, I'm (again) going to ask you to refer back to the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels for details of some special offers which may be of interest. Sadly, the deal on 'Roku 2' [Model: 4205EU] which I've been sharing repeatedly for the past month is now over. This may (or may not) have been due to the stock shortages for that model across many of the "Recommended Roku Retailers" here in the UK. Let's hope this is simply a prelude to the launch of new Roku models for Roku UK purchasers... and does not last too long. Meanwhile... you will find other offers that may be of interest to UK Roku users, including a great deal from Wuaki TV UK to purchase the entire (8-film) Harry Potter Collection for only £12.99 (RRP: £39.99)!






In addition to this special promotion from Wuaki TV UK, I also posted details of the access codes to some more private channels (again, available in all regions) among the various bits & pieces shared via my Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels... so, it's worth checking my tweets for some extra treats! ;-)


Owing to other commitments, I'm going to have to leave it there for now (Saturday) as far as the Roku-related news is concerned but, if you pay another visit to these pages in a few days time, I'll have some extra bits of news for you... including more announcements from Amazon and Netflix, plus details of an offer for Roku users in Canada, as well as some important announcements relating to the Roku channels for Spotify and BBC iPlayer and an update on 'TVPlayer' for Roku in UK! :-)


However, before I run through the new channels... 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 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 the few new Roku channels which were released between the 2nd and the 8th of April 2017:-







DIAMOND CLEAR MEDIA...................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






ALIENTO VISION NETWORK..............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






MELISSA BELLYDANCE......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






DRAW! WESTERNS & MORE GOLD.............COST: £1.49 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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






ORGAN LIVE..........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

***FILED UNDER: "NEWS & WEATHER" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






BABY GENIUS.......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






REEL COUNTRY....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






IDNR-TV............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






POWER CHORD RADIO.......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






CAROLINA CONFERENCE OF SDA....................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






CASCADE HILLS CHURCH..................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

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






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

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






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

***FILED UNDER: "NEWS & WEATHER" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






SLOW TELEVISION..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






JAVIER NATHANIEL.............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






HOLLYWOOD INSIDER.......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






EYE FOR THE INSANE........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

Hi, everyone !!



As far as Roku-specific news is concerned, the ONE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT to emerge from the company HQ in Los Gatos during the past seven days was about the release of a minor update to the Roku OS from 'Version 7.5' to 'Version 7.6' that, according to Ilya Asnis (SVP, Roku OS), will bring "some exciting new features" to the operating system for all current generation devices (i.e. those Roku models released after May 2011). However, it only takes a quick look at the release notes for Roku OS 7.6 to see that the main focus of this latest update is 'Roku TV' models which (as most UK Roku users will be aware) are not available for purchase in the United Kingdom. When you get right down to the details, the only "improvements" that will effect Roku users in the UK are confined to a few minor bug fixes which most will likely not even be aware of.


That said, I do recommend that readers of this blog from other Roku "regions", where 'Roku TV' is available, take a look at the original post from the "Official" Roku Stream Blog... since it contains a basic overview of some important changes such as a new feature, called "More Ways to Watch", that recognises shows & movies you’re watching via Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology. While the "More Ways to Watch" feature can be turned on or off (at any time) through the Roku TV 'Settings' menu... if you choose to turn off "More Ways to Watch" after it was first enabled, then you should be aware that viewing info collected prior to the feature being turned off will not be deleted!


Needless to say, this does raise one or two privacy concerns... although Roku does state that the idea of the "More Ways to Watch" feature is purely to suggest additional viewing options that can enhance the overall user experience. These "additional viewing options" may include the ability to watch your current content from the beginning, watch more episodes of the same show, and/or view suggestions for similar content that is available to stream. There have been several articles published that point to the possible unsavoury side of this feature (you can look them up online, if you so wish) but, in the interest of fairness, Roku have made it clear that: "You’ll be required to enable the feature via an opt-in prompt" once the feature does become available... or else, when setting up a new 'Roku TV' model, such as when "More Ways to Watch" is made available on 4K Roku TV models later this Summer.


Other changes to the Roku OS for 'Roku TV' users include: "Updates to Live TV Pause", as well as the ability to create a "Favorite Channels List" for the Roku TV tuner (when you have a broadcast antenna connected to your Roku TV) and "Custom Input Naming" so you can assign custom names to your 'Roku TV' input icons, plus "Faster Resume From Standby" for HD Roku TV models. All of these changes are covered in more detail via the links (shared previously) in this post. Those of you who are into Roku channel development may like to read this slightly more in-depth post from the "Official" Roku Developers' Blog. Meanwhile... any developers, content partners, or advertisers (as well as anyone else) who would like information on SDK updates pertaining to this latest Roku OS will find full details in the 'Roku SDK Documentation' which accompanies this release! ;-) :-)


One thing I wasn't prepared for, when Roku indicated that Roku OS 7.6 would "...roll out over the next few weeks" and "...be complete before June", was that my UK Roku devices would receive the new software version only one day later, as evidenced by this screenshot from when I first broke the news via the companion Twitter Feed to this blog: @ukrokuchannels on Wednesday 12th April:-






Unfortunately, as quick as the new Roku OS 7.6 was rolled-out in the UK... it was then rolled-back (almost immediately) to Roku OS 7.5 and I'm not entirely sure why!?!! One theory is that someone at Roku accidentally triggered the update for UK Roku devices ahead of schedule (as has happened in the past, from time-to-time) but, unsurprisingly, there has been no "official" explanation by Roku as to the reasons behind this "now you see it, now you don't" trickery with the latest software version. Another possibility which, after some consideration, I believe may lie somewhere closer to the truth of the matter... is that UK Roku user Ben Davis [Twitter Feed: @BenDavis__] reported an issue when using 'Netflix' on his Roku, which occurred only after the update to Roku OS 7.6 was installed. From what I can gather, via the snippets of information shared via Twitter on Wednesday, the update to the Roku OS may have led to an issue whereby 'Netflix' now crashes immediately when it is launched. According to Ben, the splash screen will still show, but loading will time out and nothing happens...


Another Roku channel that has been causing problems recently (even prior to the Roku OS update) is 'BBC iPlayer' which, for some UK Roku users (and NowTV Box owners), was giving an "Error 404" message and preventing streamers from accessing the content they wanted to catch-up on. Although the techies at The Beeb made some changes to the app, it seems that problems still exist for some users which may (or may not) be specific to particular Roku and/or NowTV Box models. Here is a screenshot of the latest announcement (on Friday 14th April) from the BBC iPlayer website:-









If you are one of those people who are unfortunate to have been affected by this, I recommend that you make a point of checking the latest announcements on this issue from the BBC iPlayer website until such a time as the matter has been fully resolved. Both the BBC and Roku are aware that there is a problem and, as I understand it, they are currently working together to find a solution. Hopefully, it won't be too much longer before they find a "fix" for this... as there are many streamers who rely on having Video-On-Demand (VOD) access to content, via catch-up services like BBC iPlayer, as they cannot always watch their favourite programming according to the broadcast schedule. Needless to say, I'll do my best to keep you all appraised of the situation both on this blog and via Twitter! ;-) :-)


By way of an update to other news stories from recent 'Weekly RoundUp' posts on this blog, I'm afraid there appears to have been no progress made with restoring the 'Deezer' app to working status and, as reported last week, the Roku channel is still crashing-out before loading the main menu and causing devices to return to the Roku 'Home Screen' almost immediately after the 'Splash Screen' for the 'Deezer' app has been displayed. That's certainly been my experience... but, if any of you have also had problems with 'Deezer' on Roku, I'd like to hear from you (either by leaving a comment below, or via social media) to ascertain just how widespread this problem with 'Deezer' on Roku is.


It's not all bad news this week, though, with my having received word from 'TVPlayer' that they now "...have everything in place", in respect of their forthcoming app for UK Roku devices and are simply "...waiting for a go-ahead", meaning there is (hopefully) "not long to go!" before Roku UK users can access both free and premium content from 'TVPlayer' on Roku streaming media players in the UK. Here is a screenshot from when I first shared the news via social media during the week:-






While we wait (with bated breath) for the imminent arrival of 'TVPlayer' on Roku devices in the UK, as with other recent 'Weekly RoundUp' posts, I'm going to ask you to refer back to the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels for details of some special offers which may also be of interest. Although the deal on 'Roku 2' [Model: 4205EU] from Maplin (which I shared previously) is over, that model is now being heavily discounted by several of the other "Recommended Roku Retailers" here in the UK. So be sure to check-out my tweets from the past week if you're interested in buying that or the 'Roku 3' flagship device, both of which are being offered with substantial savings! With any luck, this is a prelude to the launch of new Roku models for Roku UK purchasers... but, with no "Official" word from Roku on the subject, we'll just have to wait and see. Meanwhile... another offer that may be of interest to UK Roku users, is a deal from Wuaki TV UK for a Roku Streaming Stick plus an 'HD' copy of the "Interstellar" movie at only £27.99 for both - including delivery! :-)






In addition to this special promotion from Wuaki TV UK, I also posted details of the access codes to some more private channels (again, available in all regions) among the various bits & pieces shared via my Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels... so, it's worth checking my tweets for some extra treats! ;-)


Anyway, as has often been the case of late... the current list of new additions (once again) starts with two channels that, despite being new to UK Roku devices, are not listed in the "New" category (i.e. genre) of the Roku UK Channel Store. Blogging specifically about Roku streaming devices & Roku-related matters, I love discovering apps like these... because they illustrate precisely why it's worth reading 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 (to identify the latest apps for UK Roku devices) risk missing-out on channels like this altogether. 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 Roku UK users. So, if you really want to know what's available to UK Roku users channel-wise... be sure to read this blog every week! ;-) :-)


However, before I run through the new channels... 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 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 the 9th and the 15th of April 2017:-







THE RED SKELTON SHOW...................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






OUIJA NIGHTS.......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






ISIS VASCONCELLOS...........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






CREATOR NATION................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






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

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






DIGITAL CONCERT HALL...............COST: FREE (30-day trial) + €14.90 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






SWEET TWEETS....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






THINKNOODLES - GAMING................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






EXTRA CREDITS - GAMING................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






THE DUDE IN BLUE - CARS................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






SECRET GOLF........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






VGN509.............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






THE LIFE OF JORD................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






RUSSIA INSIDER...................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "NEWS & WEATHER" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






FLAVIU CERNESCU..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






GO RVING...............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






ALLY LAW..............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






DICESTUQUE NO..................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






THE NOSTALGIA RADIO PROJECT....................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






COOKING WITH KARMA.....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






PARRY GRIPP CUTE ANIMALS...........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






LIVE EACH DAY WILLIAMS FAMILY................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






SANFREZCO - PRANKS........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






BUZZ - GAMING....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






ROB DAHM CARS.................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






MICULEK.COM - GUN CONTROL.......................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






THE URBAN MUSIC REPORT..............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






AARON'S ANIMALS..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






TWIN TOYS............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






HOUSE & HOME TELEVISION............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






DOGMAS FOUR.....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






FTC PUBLICATIONS TELEVISION......................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






WE ARE THE DAVISES - VLOG.........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

Hi, everyone !!



It's been a quiet week, in terms of Roku-specific news stories, so I'm going to start this post with a few updates for items of Roku-related news which have featured in previous 'Weekly RoundUp' articles that were published via this blog in recent weeks...


Firstly in respect of the 'Deezer' channel for Roku devices I'm very happy to report that, after hearing back from Bianca Spada (Global Head of Social Media at Deezer) on Thursday 20th April 2017, with the promise they would "...look into it ASAP", the issues with the app have been addressed and Roku users can once again enjoy the fantastic opportunities for music discovery that 'Deezer' affords them. Having had salt rubbed into the wounds left by the non-functioning channel, thanks to ads on TV for the "Flow" aspect of the 'Deezer' music streaming service just a few days prior to that, it was really pleasing to see them address the problem so swiftly. My faith in 'Deezer' has thankfully now been restored and, as Roku users, we can all get back to streaming music from 'Deezer' on our devices! :-)






Another app which has been problematic for UK Roku users in recent weeks is 'BBC iPlayer' and, while I was unaffected by the issues on my Roku players, I know that some people have been beset with a number of issues pertaining to the Catch-Up service from the BBC on their Roku devices and NowTV Boxes. One thing I am able to confirm, having performed a manual check for new software on my Roku devices recently, is that there has been another update to the 'BBC iPlayer' channel for UK Roku devices. Hopefully, this further update will now fix those few odd issues that remained with the app for those affected... however, since I'm one of the lucky ones whose devices are still running smoothly with 'BBC iPlayer', it will be up to the individuals concerned to check the outcome on their own streaming players. Having done so, if one of you could be so kind as to leave a comment for the benefit of others (at the foot of this page) it would (I'm sure) be very much appreciated! ;-) :-)


Moving away from problems with apps that are already on UK Roku devices... to issues with those that have yet to be added, i.e. the 'TVPlayer' channel for UK Roku devices which (despite my being told, "...we have everything in place", on Thursday 13th April 2017) remains absent from the line-up of channels available to UK Roku users via the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store. I'm not sure if I have ruffled too many feathers by asking for further updates on the situation, but 'TVPlayer' has not responded to any of my tweets this past week and all I could get from Roku Support was that they had "No information" about whether the 'TVPlayer' app was currently caught-up in their "approval" process. In any case, with no sign of a 'TVPlayer' app for UK Roku devices at the time of publishing this post, it is clear that I will not get to watch "Genius" via the 'National Geographic' channel (that is part of the 'TVPlayer Plus' package) on Sunday evening at 9pm, as I had originally hoped. With any luck, the 'TVPlayer' app for UK Roku devices will be published sometime during the coming week, so that I can (at least) enjoy the programme on "catch-up", assuming it's available to stream!?!! :-|


Before I get on with the list of all the latest Roku channel additions there have, as in most weeks of late, been some Netflix-related announcements which may be of interest to those who (like me) are currently subscribed to the service. Rather than go into detail here, I'll simply provide you with some links to the relevant articles so you can read them (or not) according to your own preference. The first concerns the imminent approach of a major milestone in terms of numbers for Netflix subscribers worldwide... with an article, published by Multichannel, that reveals 'Netflix' are steadily approaching the one hundred million marker in terms of their registered users. The other announcement concerns a new animated series coming to 'Netflix' which, according to this press release from the media centre, will see 'Carmen Sandiago' return to our screens in 2019. Granted it is still a fair way off but, for fans of the series, I'm sure it'll be a welcome addition to the 'Netflix' streaming catalogue when it comes! ;-) :-)


Anyway, as has often been the case of late... the current list of new additions (once again) starts with another channel that, despite being new to UK Roku devices, is not listed in the "New" category (i.e. genre) of the Roku UK Channel Store. Blogging specifically about Roku streaming devices & other Roku-related matters, I love discovering apps like this one... because they illustrate precisely why it's worth reading the 'Weekly RoundUp' posts on my 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 (to identify the latest apps for UK Roku devices) risk missing-out on channels like this altogether. 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 Roku UK users. So, if you really want to know what's available to UK Roku users channel-wise... be sure to read this blog every week! ;-) :-)


However, before I run through the new channels... 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 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 the 16th and the 22nd of April 2017:-







BACK COUNTRY THEME..............COST: £0.69 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]

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






ANA MOJICA FITNESS.........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






ALCANCE TELEVISION.......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






MOSAIC CHURCH.................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






WALKER NETWORK............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






TOTAL ACCESS TNA WRESTLING......................COST: FREE + £4.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, while this 'Total Access TNA Wrestling' channel is FREE-TO-ADD to your Roku device(s) and does permit you to browse the entire library of content without paying, you will need to create an account and subscribe to the service in order to view any videos on this channel. If you like what you see, and there really is LOTS OF GREAT CONTENT for wrestling fans among the on-demand selections available (never mind the extra LIVE STREAM for weekly programming), you can easily create an account and register from within the 'Total Access TNA Wrestling' channel. Just click on any of the on-demand videos & then follow the on-screen instructions to start watching! :-)

ALSO:- It's worth remembering that you can enjoy all the new episodes of IMPACT Wrestling via Spike TV (available on Freeview Channel 31, Freesat Channel 141, Virgin Media Channel 154, and Sky Channel 160) with broadcasts on Thursday nights (from 9pm to 11pm) as well as another opportunity for fans of IMPACT Wrestling to watch on Saturday night / Sunday morning (which is broadcast from midnight until 2am). In addition to their 'Over-The-Air' (OTA) broadcasts, and the various viewing options within the Roku channel for 'Total Access TNA Wrestling', there are other ways to access IMPACT WRESTLING content whenever your TV and/or Roku device is not close at hand. For example, to watch 'Total Access TNA Wrestling' on-the-go, simply take advantage of one of their apps for mobile devices... which are FREE TO DOWNLOAD via the links shown below:-


FREE DOWNLOAD: Of iOS App for Apple Mobile Devices (from the iTunes App Store)

FREE DOWNLOAD: Of Android App for Mobile Devices (from the Google Play Store)


Other ways by which to stream content from 'Total Access TNA Wrestling', can be found among the information on their official website and, in case of any technical or payment / billing related issues with 'Total Access TNA Wrestling', there is a contact form online through which to get in touch! ;-)







MIKALYN HAY.......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






NOSTALGIC MOVIES...........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






IMMORTAL CLASSIC MOVIES............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






FORMULA 1 RACING............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






NEVIS TELEVISION..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






LANKAFLIX....................................COST: FREE + $4.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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


PLEASE NOTE:- That, as with the 'Total Access TNA Wrestling' channel (above), while this channel from 'Lankaflix' is FREE-TO-ADD to your Roku device(s) and does permit you to browse the entire library of content without paying, you will need to create an account and subscribe to the service in order to view any videos on it. Again, if you like what you see, you can easily create an account and register from within the 'Lankaflix' channel on your Roku device. Just click on any of the on-demand videos & then follow the on-screen instructions to start watching unlimited movies, tv shows and tele dramas, short films, music videos, plus fascinating documentaries from Sri Lanka! :-)

ALSO:- In addition to the monthly subscription option at a cost of $4.99 per month (outlined above), there is also an ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION whereby you pay $50.00 PER YEAR for the service... which is the equivalent to getting TWO MONTHS FREE over the entire subscription period. If the annual payment option seems too big of a commitment, there's also a LIMITED-TIME OFFER from 'Lankaflix' that will get you AN EXTRA 25% DISCOUNT OFF YOUR FIRST THREE MONTHS just by USING PROMO CODE:AWURUDU17 AT CHECK-OUT when you buy your subscription.

ADDITIONAL VIEWING OPTIONS:- As well as enjoying the videos found within the 'Lankaflix' channel for Roku devices, there are other ways to access their library of Sri Lankan content whenever your TV and/or Roku device are not close at hand. Just like the 'Total Access TNA Wrestling' channel (above) you can also watch 'Lankaflix' on-the-go, simply by installing one of their companion apps for mobile devices... which (once again) are FREE TO DOWNLOAD via the links shown below:-


FREE DOWNLOAD: Of iOS App for Apple Mobile Devices (from the iTunes App Store)

FREE DOWNLOAD: Of Android App for Mobile Devices (from the Google Play Store)


Other ways by which to stream content from 'Lankaflix', can be found among the additional details found on their official website and, in case of any technical difficulties when using the 'Lankaflix' channel, there is a Roku-specific Help Page online through which you can get additional help! ;-)







LIFE OF THAI TV...................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






BABY RADIO.........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






Q-TV...................................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






PAUL MITCHELL...................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






GLEN IRIS BAPTIST MEDIA APP.......................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






TRIBUNE DIGITAL MEDIA..................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "NEWS & WEATHER" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






MIGHTY OAK MOVIES........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






CLASSIC ERA TELEVISION.................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






CHEAP DATE NIGHT.............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, for the above "Cheap Date Night" channel and the five channels to follow, there is currently no active link to an 'Roku Guide' review. The reason for this is that the current crop of reviews were published before these last half dozen apps were added to the channel store. Needless to say, once details of the "missing" reviews have been made known to me, I will add the relevant links to this post so that you can refer to them as & when they are available.






HOW 2 BBQ RIGHT................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






BJ PENN...................................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






IMAM HUSSEIN TV................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






HOURGLASS CLASSIC MOVIES.........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

Hi, everyone !!



Whatever else happened, in terms of Roku-specific and/or Roku-related news, during the past seven days since my previous 'Weekly RoundUp' post was published... there was one piece of news which stood out from the rest by far and pretty much dominated my Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels for most of the day on Thursday 27th April 2017 - a day which will go down in streaming history as the time that 'TVPlayer' came to Roku devices in the UK - as evidenced by the publicity shot below:-






There is so much live-streaming content available to UK Roku users, through this one channel, that I would say it is AN ESSENTIAL ADDITION FOR EVERY UK ROKU USER and strongly suggest that you add it to the channel selection on your own Roku streaming devices as soon as possible...


"Why is that?", you may ask... well, with no less than 68 FREE CHANNELS covering a wide content spectrum of well-known channels (think, "Freeview", here) you will be able to live-stream many UK Over-The-Air (OTA) broadcasts on your Roku streaming media player(s). On top of all that, for a low monthly fee of just £5.99 PER MONTH, you can gain access to 24 PREMIUM CHANNELS which brings the total number of live-streaming channels within the 'TVPlayer' app for Roku devices in the UK up to a very impressive 92 CHANNELS OF LIVE-STREAMING CONTENT that are available to every UK Roku user, if they so choose. Perhaps best of all, at least for the sports fans among you, is that BOTH 'EUROSPORT 1' AND 'EUROSPORT 2' ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON ROKU and, at just £5.99 per month, that makes a subscription to 'TVPlayer Plus' even more worthwhile! ;-) :-)


To give you a better idea of the range of live-streaming channels available via the 'TVPlayer' app for UK Roku devices, I've produced the following chart which includes thumbnail-style icons for both the 68 "Free Channels" as well as the 24 "Plus Channels" that can be accessed on Roku in the UK:-







Just so you are aware, there are a number of additional channels (both 'free' and 'premium' varieties) which are not available on the Roku platform (due to licensing restrictions) but these channels can still be enjoyed online, via the 'TVPlayer' website, as well as on Apple (iOS) and Android mobile devices if you have access to those. I've also produced a "mock-up" specific to Roku devices, which I based on the 'Amazon Fire TV' availability listing from the 'TVPlayer' website, that includes details of the various 'free' and 'premium' (i.e. 'Plus' designated) channels that are unavailable on Roku:-







Unfortunately, as mentioned in a previous post (as well as via social media) the new 'TVPlayer' app for UK Roku devices is NOT AVAILABLE ON NOWTV BOXES which is yet another reason why you should seriously consider upgrading to a genuine Roku-branded device, if you haven't done so already. It is still not known whether the "missing" channels (outlined above) are being withheld from Roku as part of an agreement over the future 'UKTV' app for NowTV Boxes... but what is clear, from my communications with 'TVPlayer' in recent weeks, is that 'TVPlayer' is for UK Roku devices only.


Hopefully, those in charge at 'UKTV' will see the light (as in, knowing that any Roku channel which works on a NowTV Box will also work on Roku devices) and submit their (currently in development) app for NowTV Boxes for inclusion in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store at the same time. For, in my opinion, not to do so would be a tremendous oversight on their part. However, if their channel for 'UKTV Play' does not surface on UK Roku devices (as well as NowTV Boxes), let's hope that an agreement can be reached for 'TVPlayer' to then start carrying those "missing" channels so that Roku users in the UK are also able to access all of the 'UKTV' content that is available on NowTV Boxes!


Meanwhile, it seems Sky / NowTV have (at least) come up with some sort of compensation for the absence of 'TVPlayer' on NowTV Boxes by adding another channel to the "Roku-Powered" channel store (or, "App Store", as they call it) on their own-brand of streaming media players. In case you did not spot it, you will find that the 'STV Player' channel for UK Roku devices (which was released around six weeks ago) has now found it's way onto NowTV Boxes. Here's the channel icon to look out for... and you will find it listed among the "Film & TV" channels on NowTV Boxes:-






Perhaps more significantly, the addition of 'STV Player' to NowTV Boxes means that the total number of Roku channels in the 'App Store' is now back to fifty. Considering this is the exact same amount as were featured on the original (white) streaming media player from NowTV, when it first launched (almost) four years ago now, it doesn't really do much to improve the (lack of) appeal these boxes have for me (despite still owning several of them) and, as it stands, the only purpose they serve is for streaming the odd boxing match once every few months because Sky / NowTV have, in their infinite (lack of) wisdom, decided not to add their 'Sky Sports Box Office' app (which is no more than a Roku channel anyway) to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store. Personally, I don't see how this does them any favours... because, to my mind, they're just missing-out on (as yet) untapped income from UK Roku users which could easily add to their profit margin - if they were to add the box office app from NowTV Boxes to Roku streaming media players in the UK. Frankly, it's a bit of a pain having to use my NowTV device(s) just for this one 'Sky Sports Box Office' app... and I'd much rather Sky do the right thing and ask NeuLion Inc (developer of the 'Sky Sports Box Office' app) to clone it for submission to the Roku UK Channel Store - I mean, they're getting money for the event(s) from anyone who makes a purchase... so what do they care if their profits come from NowTV Box owners or users of UK Roku devices, many of whom are likely to want access to these events?! :-/


Anyway, given the huge significance of the new 'TVPlayer' channel for UK Roku users, I have decided to break with (my own) protocol and bump the details for this essential app to the top of my list of latest additions to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store. Had I not chosen to do so, it would otherwise have been "buried" towards the very end of what can only be described as an absolutely MAMMOTH LIST of new channels. After that... it's business as usual and, as has often been the case of late, the list of new additions (once again) continues with a few more channels that, despite being new to UK Roku devices, are not listed in the "New" category (i.e. genre) of the Roku UK Channel Store. Blogging specifically about Roku streaming devices & other Roku-related matters, I love discovering apps like these... because they illustrate precisely why it's worth reading the 'Weekly RoundUp' posts on my 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 (to identify the latest apps for UK Roku devices) risk missing-out on channels like this altogether. 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 Roku UK users. So, if you really want to know what's available to UK Roku users channel-wise... be sure to read this blog every week! ;-) :-)


Given that there is such a large number of new channels this week, you will notice (in the latter part of this list) that there are some "missing" links to 'Roku Guide' reviews. Needless to say, these will be added to this post just as soon as the details have been made known to me. Likewise, due to the intense workload this week, I did not get a chance to add the links to the Roku (USA) Web Channel Store - for the benefit of readers from the United States - so, if anyone from the U.S. wants to read the channel store descriptions, my advice is to look at the information via the built-in channel store on your device(s) until such a time as I am able to add the "missing" links to this post. Apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused you in the meantime! ;-) :-)


However, before I run through the new channels... 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 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 the 23rd and the 29th of April 2017:-





TVPLAYER.............COST: FREE + £5.99 PER MONTH (OPTIONAL) FOR 'PLUS' CHANNELS

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, since this 'TVPlayer' channel for UK Roku devices has not yet been released via the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store, there is no 'Roku Guide' review for the channel. When I get more time, I'll add a few more details (including some useful links) to this post... but, for now at least, I suggest you visit the 'TVPlayer' website for more information. One thing I will say is that the 'Eurosport' channels are excluded from any FREE TRIAL that may be offered by 'TVPlayer' so, if you wish to watch 'Eurosport 1' and/or 'Eurosport 2', you will need to opt-out of the trial and make an immediate payment to gain access to them. Anyone wishing to try 'TVPlayer Plus' can take advantage of the PROMO CODE: TWITTERTVP to get the first month free, followed by a second month at a discount of 50% (i.e. half-price) and, if you opt-out of the free month (to get 'Eurosport' on Roku) you will only be charged £2.99 initially... and then £5.99 per month going forward. If I hear of any other special offers and/or promotions for 'TVPlayer' on Roku, then I'll share them via Twitter (in the first instance) and may well include them in a future 'Weekly RoundUp' post, so be sure to keep an eye out for that (and more money-saving tips for UK Roku users) in the coming weeks! ;-) :-)







RADIO LATINOS UP!.............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






TIME OF GRACE....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






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

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






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

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






LAKESHORE BIBLE CHURCH............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






BAILEY LIVING.....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






CLASSIC MOVIE LIBRARY..................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






RETRO MOVIE EXPO............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






DINNER AND A MOVIE........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






FRANZ HARARY's MAGIC ILLUSIONS...............................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






YOGA WIZ..............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






PRAISE GOD TV.....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






CLASSIC MOVIE VAULT......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






LIFE ON UNLEADED.............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






SHALOM CENTER FOR PROSPERITY.................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






95FORTY............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE...............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






THE ONLINE COACH............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






MADDIE WELBORN.............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






LILY PEET...............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






SMART SHAPES.............................COST: £0.69 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]

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






ARCA 7...............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






ALL NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY.....................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






ICONS OF HORROR - JOHN CARRADINE..........................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






ICONS OF HORROR - BORIS KARLOFF..............COST: £0.69 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]

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






ALL LIVING THINGS.............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






COLOMBIA AL MUNDO.......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






CHILE AL MUNDO................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






BRASIL PARA O MUNDO.....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






THE LLAMASIR.....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






BCN MUSIC.............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






MR. WHOSETHEBOSS..........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






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

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






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

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






RELAX..........................................................COST: £1.49 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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






DOMINICAN NETWORK PREMIUM.............COST: £2.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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






FOUR STAR TV.......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






TOP5s.................................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "PERSONAL MEDIA" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






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

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






SENC EVENTS........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






JAY KARL's PRANKS.............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






ANTOLOGÍA DE LA MÚSICA CUBANA.............................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






MIRROR FOR ROKU..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "PERSONAL MEDIA" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






KNOW CASH...........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






ELENA GENEVINNE.............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






SIXTIES TIGER RADIO.........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






FILM DICE...............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






BARONS FINANCE................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "NEWS & WEATHER" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






CORNERSTONE BROADCASTING......................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






BEYOND THE USUAL...........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






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

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






HALFTICKET KIDS................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






THE LOUNGE CHANNEL.....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






PTV WORLD...........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "NEWS & WEATHER" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






I READ 2 KNOW.....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






KIDZ KINGDOM.....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






U - TECH...........................................................COST: £0.69 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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






MEN'S FITNESS......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






RADAR NEWS........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "NEWS & WEATHER" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






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

***FILED UNDER: "PERSONAL MEDIA" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






NYRA NOW.............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






PAKISTAN VISION.................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






LET'S PLAY VIDEO GAMES.................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






BE LEGENDARY INCORPORATED TV...............................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






MOMENTOS PROFÉTICOS TV 24-7.....................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






SBC - SCOTTSDALE BIBLE CHURCH.................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






PLAYON DESKTOP................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






DV-FITNESS SPECIAL...........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






DV-WEIGH LOSS SPECIAL...................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






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

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






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

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






FREE MYSTERY MOVIES....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






EXERCICIO EM CASA..........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

Hi, everyone !!



It's a case of mixed blessings this week, as regards the BIG NEWS STORY for Roku-related matters, with the good news (for Roku USA users) being the announcement that "Twitter for Roku" has finally come to the platform in the United States. You can read more about it in the "Official" Press Release from the Roku Newsroom, or else this related post from the "Official" Roku Stream Blog. The mixed blessing, and (therefore) bad news, from a Roku UK perspective... is this new video app by Twitter (for the Roku platform) is US-ONLY and, sadly, NOT AVAILABLE ON UK ROKU DEVICES... at least for the time being. Those of you from the U.S. can easily add the "Twitter for Roku" channel via the Roku (USA) Web Channel Store online while, for the benefit of readers in other "regions", here is a screenshot of the channel description so you can see what you are (currently) missing:-







As with most Roku channels, you are probably better-off reading an unbiased, independent appraisal of the app to gain a better insight as to what is on offer (and how it performs) from a user-perspective. So, for ease of reference, here is a link to the 'Roku Guide' review of the "Twitter for Roku" channel so readers from all Roku "regions" can also view the pros and cons of this "New & Notable" app. If nothing else this third-party review explains, far more clearly than the "Official" description from the Roku (USA) Web Channel Store, exactly which aspects of Twitter you can and cannot expect to get use of if (and, hopefully, when - from a non U.S. perspective) you add the "Twitter for Roku" app.


I was also disappointed to learn that the official RT (Russia Today) channel had been withdrawn from the Roku platform at some point during the last seven days. Luckily, for UK Roku users who still wish to access world news from an 'RT' point-of-view, there is a live feed of 'RT' available among the free channels provided by the new 'TVPlayer' app for Roku devices. If you are from a country other than the UK, there are also several Roku private channels which can give you content from 'RT' and numerous other providers. If you have yet to install any of these apps... they are available in all Roku regions, including the UK, and details of the codes needed to install them are as follows:-


To add private channel 'Newswire' USE CODE: newswire, or;

To add private channel 'Nowhere TV' USE CODE: h9dwc, or;

To  add private channel 'channelPEAR' USE CODE: channelpear


Any of these three private channels will enable you to stream news content from 'RT' on your Roku device(s) and I can happily recommend all three as worthy additions to your Roku channel selection, with the added bonus that they are all available for free... although there is a "premium" option, with extra benefits, for 'channelPEAR' subscribers who would like to remove the restrictions imposed on free users in respect of both the number of devices and media sources that you are allowed! ;-) :-)


One channel that will (hopefully) not be removed from Roku anytime soon is 'Amazon Video' who, according to a recent report by 'Deadline', have commissioned a new half-hour comedy series which will star Danny DeVito and Jeff Goldblum as a broken-up music duo who find themselves forced to re-unite in spite of their hatred for one another. It's not just the actors with 'pedigree' either... as the show is created and written by Tim Long (The Simpsons) and produced by Brian Grazer (24, Rush, American Gangster, A Beautiful Mind) plus Francie Calfo (Empire, Those Who Kill) together with Danny DeVito and his son Jake. A release date for the series has yet to be set... but, as I understand it, this (currently) untitled series will be made available on 'Prime Video' for Amazon subscribers.


Another 'Amazon Video' story that surfaced recently, via an article on the 'Recode' website, suggests that there may finally be an official app for 'Apple TV' devices sometime later this year. Sources have said that the two companies “are close to an agreement” which means we could see 'Amazon Video' on 'Apple TV' when their much-anticipated 4K-capable model is released later this year. So, why talk about a streaming device from 'Apple' on a blog about 'Roku' media players? Well, be it for no other reason, I am (at least) curious to see whether Roku will be prompted to (finally) release their own 4K devices in the UK to avoid further loss of sales in the high-end video streaming market... such as they have already done by allowing both Amazon's 'Fire TV' set-top box and Google's 'Chromecast Ultra' to steal a march on them in that department. If recent performance is anything to go by, we'll most likely see a 4K-capable NowTV Box before Roku brings any new models to the UK! :-/ :-|


In other Roku-related news... though not specific to Roku users per se, the ever-newsworthy 'Netflix' has issued yet another press release which revealed how they have just signed a licensing agreement with Chinese streaming giant, iQIYI, that ensures 'Netflix Originals', such as "Stranger Things", will be legitimately available to streamers in China and (hopefully) stem the tide of pirate streams that many people there have been resorting to, in order to watch these popular series.


Meanwhile, as has often been the case of late, the list of new additions (once again) begins with a few more channels that, despite being new to UK Roku devices, are not listed in the "New" category (i.e. genre) of the Roku UK Channel Store. Blogging specifically about Roku streaming devices & other Roku-related matters, I love discovering apps like these... because they illustrate precisely why it's worth reading my 'Weekly RoundUp' posts. 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 (to identify the latest apps for UK Roku devices) risk missing-out on channels like this altogether. 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 Roku UK users. So, if you really want to know what's available to UK Roku users channel-wise... be sure to read this blog every week! ;-) :-)


However, before I run through the new channels... 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 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 30th of April 2017 and 6th May 2017:-






TASTE IT - FOOD.................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, at the time of publishing this post, I had been unable to find any reference to a description of the 'Taste It - Food' channel from the Roku (USA) Web Channel Store. Likewise, and as a direct result, there is also (currently) no channel icon [aka "HD Poster" in Roku terminology] and no active link to an 'Roku Guide' review for this new Roku channel. The only information that is known about this app comes from what is featured among the few descriptive details from the built-in channel store on all Roku streaming media players. Needless to say, you can easily look this up for yourselves simply by accessing the channel store on your devices but, for ease of reference in respect of this article, I am going to reproduce that info here for you now...


CHANNEL STORE DESCRIPTION:- The best food recipes, reviews and shows all in one place!
VERSION: 8
RELEASED: 28th April 2017
RATED: All Ages
CATEGORY: Food
DEVELOPER:- Unreel Entertainment LLC


I have a hunch, based on the fact that (from the one screenshot available) this 'Taste It - Food' app seems to feature episodes of "Epic Chef" (which were also on another app by the same developer), this may just be a re-branding of the "Epic Meal Time" channel for Roku devices. That earlier app had the unique channel store identifier "134068" so, if / when the 'Taste It - Food' channel appears in the Roku (USA) Web Channel Store at any time in the future, we will be able to see if my theory bore any truth. Although (thankfully) infrequent, this kind of thing does happen from time-to-time... so I would not be too surprised if that was indeed the case (again) this time around. To add further weight to my speculative thoughts, the "Epic Meal Time" channel has now mysteriously disappeared from the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store and (presumably) from other Roku "regions" around the globe so I am quietly confident that my initial hunch will prove to be correct. Meanwhile... I would suggest that the U.S. readers among you take a look at the Roku (USA) Web Channel Store description for "Epic Meal Time", and those from other countries (including UK) refer to the 'Roku Guide' review of the "Epic Meal Time" channel, for what I believe will be sufficient relevant information for you to get a pretty good idea of what this latest Roku app from 'Unreel Entertainment LLC' is about, too! ;-) :-)








FIT FUSION [by Jillian Michaels]....COST: FREE + $9.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






FREEDOM FEENS RADIO..................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "NEWS & WEATHER" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***






MUSIC VIDEO KING.......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






CHRISTINA J DUGGAN......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






WEST COAST CLASSIC FAVORITES.................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






EAST COAST CLASSIC FAVORITES.................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






ALL KARAOKE MUSIC CHANNEL..................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






BROWSER X..................................................COST: £2.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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






KIDS FIRST...........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






GOSPEL VISION TV.............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






JESSE AND MIKE................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






STORY BOOTH....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






OXYGEN TWO.....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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








DITTY TV - MUSIC TELEVISION....................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That this 'Ditty TV - Music Television' channel is (currently) sitting in the "Music" category of the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store together with an earlier Roku channel by 'DittyTV' called 'Ditty TV - Americana Music TV' whose 'Roku Guide' review may (or may not) also apply to this latest app for fans of Americana and Roots style music from the fine folks at 'DittyTV'. Whether the original Roku app by 'DittyTV' will remain in the channel store alongside the current incarnation remains to be seen. However, since I was unable to find any reference to a description of the newer app on the Roku (USA) Web Channel Store, the link provided above (and to the left) below where the icon for this channel should be will (instead) redirect you to the official website for 'DittyTV'... from where further information can be obtained. There is an FAQ section on the website, in addition to the 'About' page, but (if need be) you can also connect with 'DittyTV' via Twitter: @DittyTV as well as through their official FB page: DittyTV (Facebook) where I am sure they would be only too pleased to hear from you and listen to your feedback on the channel(s) or answer any further questions. :-)

PLEASE ALSO NOTE:- That, for similar reasons to those outlined above for the absence of any link to a description of the 'Ditty TV - Music Television' channel on the Roku (USA) Web Channel Store, there is also (currently) no active link to an 'Roku Guide' review for this latest app from 'DittyTV'. If this situation should change, at any time in the future, I will (of course) update this post with all the relevant details. Meanwhile, I hope that the links provided for the description + review of the original Roku channel from 'DittyTV', as well as the additional website / social media links, provided herein will (at least) point you in the right direction, should you wish to know more before then! ;-) :-)