Roku Channel Expands to More Than 100 Live Linear Channels

I can't believe how much of a market there is for all the mediocre content filled with the same ads on an endless loop that populate these aggregate services of "live" ad-supported channels — really on-demand on someone else's schedule. I get the news stuff, like CBS News and ABC News. I watch those too, especially for breaking news. But some of this other junk? I know a lot of folks are hurting financially, but if I couldn't even afford $6/mo for ad-supported Hulu, I'd just borrow DVDs from my local library before resorting to the "live" channels on Pluto TV or now the Roku Channel.

I definitely watch the paid apps about 95% of the time, but I do watch Pluto TV occasionally. I like the old game shows on Buzzr and the Cat Channel.
 
I still find it interesting that a zillion streaming services are totally free with Roku and First Stick, and yet Cable & Satellite has to pay dearly for the same content. I am like a kid in a candy store with all of the great streaming product we have. Sure there are ads, but services that are paid for on cable or satellite have ads and they still cost people money. No wonder so many people have cut the cord. Within 5 years, just about everything should be streaming. One nice thing I like is the inexpensive variety, as years ago we asked and asked cable or satellite to add a channel, and rarely did we get it. If we did, it was several years later. Now, we pick and choose what we want. An example a while back I picked up Philo for a while as they carry Aspire. They run a lot of old TV shows. They ran Julia, Room 222, and the Mod Squad. The first two are very hard to find. So I picked Philo up for several months for the $20 and it was great. Aspire I guess is on Direct TV, but this was easier and a lot less. I could easily drop it when I wanted to.
 
I like Pluto.TV.


Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys
Pluto TV commercials seem to have improved and are much more varied. So yeah, Pluto with MST3k and Rifftrax channels works for me!

Seems like first world problems to complain about seeing the same commercial repeatedly, but it is seriously annoying.
 
Pluto TV commercials seem to have improved and are much more varied. So yeah, Pluto with MST3k and Rifftrax channels works for me!

Seems like first world problems to complain about seeing the same commercial repeatedly, but it is seriously annoying.

Especially when they run so many!
 
My biggest problem with Pluto the few times I've watched it for any length of time (other than for the CBS News channel) is how commercials would arbitrarily cut in to a scene or dialogue. That's not a problem unique to Pluto of course. A long-time ago I stopped watching any ad-supported service (e.g., Crackle) for that reason. The only ones that do a decent job with inserting commercials are services that still make you pay something, like regular Hulu or CBS All Access. Maybe Pluto is better now with Viacom's takeover . . . at least on the Viacom channels?
 
Pluto fixed the issue with Commercials cutting into show a month or two ago. Now ads go where they are supposed to go.

They have come a long way.

My Roku TV's got the update now so when you look at the OTA channel guide they added about 100 channels of streaming channels in there as well. At this time there appears no way to edit that list to get rid of crap you will never have to watch but will have to scroll by. Since the channels all have channel numbers,they should have a remote with channel numbers on them. But they have some good channels I have not seen on other services.
 
Pluto fixed the issue with Commercials cutting into show a month or two ago. Now ads go where they are supposed to go.

They have come a long way.

My Roku TV's got the update now so when you look at the OTA channel guide they added about 100 channels of streaming channels in there as well. At this time there appears no way to edit that list to get rid of crap you will never have to watch but will have to scroll by. Since the channels all have channel numbers,they should have a remote with channel numbers on them. But they have some good channels I have not seen on other services.

If you have a Roku TV that comes with an Enhanced Remote, you might notice a Microphone button in place of the Sleep Timer button.

Press the button, wait for the onscreen prompt, then speak a command you want Roku to execute. Examples include:

  • "Find (program, video, app)."
  • "Launch (app)."
  • "Go to (app)."
  • "Switch the input to HDMI 1."
  • "Switch to antenna TV."
  • "Change broadcast channels Channel Up/Down."
  • "Last channel."
  • "Tune to ABC."
  • "Tune to channel 6 dot 1 (6.1)."
  • "Launch Smart Guide."
 
***

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 1, Members: 0, Guests: 1)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)