Question Roku 4: Anyone???

[plaver]

I've just looking at Roku 4 as an alternative to the Amazon Fire. I know Roku4 still hasn't been launched outside of the US. I was wondering if anyone one here (UK or anywhere else in the world) have got there hands on one of these and can give me some feedback.

I'm looking to replace my PS3 for my source of UK catch-up TV as I can only get 'All 4' and 'BBC iplayer' on the PS3 where as on Roku4 and Amazon I can get all the UK free to air channels

I'm based in Oz and would obviously need to import the Roku 4 & the Amazon

 

[ovbg]

The Roku 4 is a great box, but it has a couple of hurdles for Smart DNS users like yourself.
1) You need to put your DNS servers in your router as there is no way to do this on the device. (not all routers can do this).
2) You will need to block Google's own DNS servers via static routes (even fewer routers can do this).
3) You can't add apps from other regions. Which means if you ever wanted to also add US apps, you can't.

On the other hand, you will get all the main UK catch-up services and more:
BBC iPlayer (including live streams)
BBC Sport
ITV Hub (including live streams)
All 4
Demand 5

Plus pay services like
Now TV
Netflix
Amazon Prime UK

The Amazon Fire TV on the other hand does not have any of the above problems. You can easily add your Smart DNS directly to the device and you don't need any static routes. You can also add American apps to the UK ones in order to get even more content (but this requires a little trick).

On the negative side, there is something significant missing: You get:
BBC iPlayer (including live streams)
BBC Sport
ITV Hub (no live streams yet)
Demand 5
UKTV Play (with Dave, Really, Yesterday and Drama)
TV Player (live streams of above channels plus Channel 4 for free, plus pay channels like British EuroSport).

Along with:
Netflix
Amazon Prime.

As you can see, All 4 is missing! No one knows if it will arrive, but the general consensus is that it must at some stage - we just don't know when.

If all you want is the main 4 networks, then instead of the Roku 4, why not a Now TV Box? This is a "Roku Powered" Roku 3 that Now TV sells for only £15. It has everything the Roku has mentioned above it the free section, and Sky never hound owners if they don't subscribe to Now TV. They have free delivery in the UK, so you will need to get a friend or relative to send it to you. After-all, you don't really need 4K right now as none of the FTA catch-up services use 4K, and even if they did, you would never be able to reach those heights from Australia.

 

[plaver]

Thank you for the comprehensive reply, I guess I want something that is simple to set up. All $ is the most of all the UK catch up TV. I'll look into the Now TV in more detail as that might be good cheap alternative, I take it you only have register with NOW TV rather than ROKU??

 

[ovbg]

Correct. You only need to register with Now TV. The key to remember here is that despite the fact it is "technically" a Roku. It is not a Roku. It will have Now TVs user interface on it, and it can never be turned into an actual Roku.

This is the disadvantage of the £15 price tag. But the advantage is that if you just want the free-to-air UK apps, you have them for only £15.

 

[fxv300]

just tried to use UHD on ROKU4 on AmazonPrime. Unfortunately Amazon Prime does not yet support the device and best you get is HD. Spoke to support at Amazon and they confirmed this. Works fine on Netflix at 4K (2016) albeit at 29fps.

 

[plaver]

The Roku 4 is a great box, but it has a couple of hurdles for Smart DNS users like yourself.
1) You need to put your DNS servers in your router as there is no way to do this on the device. (not all routers can do this).
2) You will need to block Google's own DNS servers via static routes (even fewer routers can do this).
3) You can't add apps from other regions. Which means if you ever wanted to also add US apps, you can't.

On the other hand, you will get all the main UK catch-up services and more:
BBC iPlayer (including live streams)
BBC Sport
ITV Hub (including live streams)
All 4
Demand 5

Plus pay services like
Now TV
Netflix
Amazon Prime UK

The Amazon Fire TV on the other hand does not have any of the above problems. You can easily add your Smart DNS directly to the device and you don't need any static routes. You can also add American apps to the UK ones in order to get even more content (but this requires a little trick).

On the negative side, there is something significant missing: You get:
BBC iPlayer (including live streams)
BBC Sport
ITV Hub (no live streams yet)
Demand 5
UKTV Play (with Dave, Really, Yesterday and Drama)
TV Player (live streams of above channels plus Channel 4 for free, plus pay channels like British EuroSport).

Along with:
Netflix
Amazon Prime.

As you can see, All 4 is missing! No one knows if it will arrive, but the general consensus is that it must at some stage - we just don't know when.

If all you want is the main 4 networks, then instead of the Roku 4, why not a Now TV Box? This is a "Roku Powered" Roku 3 that Now TV sells for only £15. It has everything the Roku has mentioned above it the free section, and Sky never hound owners if they don't subscribe to Now TV. They have free delivery in the UK, so you will need to get a friend or relative to send it to you. After-all, you don't really need 4K right now as none of the FTA catch-up services use 4K, and even if they did, you would never be able to reach those heights from Australia.

Finally got hold of (hand carried from the UK) and set-up the little NOWTV box from the UK.

First impressions are, it's a great little box and bargain for 15 quid.

Many thanks for the info and suggestion.