Forum Discussion

jaa69's avatar
jaa69
Reel Rookie
3 years ago
Solved

PlayOn channel no longer works

I have been using the PlayOn on PC, not PlayOn Cloud app for years.  Always worked great.  Suddenly it no longer works.  What's up?  I can still "cast" content from PlayOn but that now requires I go ...
  • RokuKariza-D's avatar
    RokuKariza-D
    3 years ago

    Hi jaa69

    Thanks for reaching out here in the Community.

    It looks like PlayOn is no longer available on the Roku Channel store and cannot be located in the channel search. If you want more information about a removed channel, please see our support page here: Why is a channel no longer available on my Roku® streaming device?

    We appreciate your understanding.


    All the best,
    Kariza

  • RokuKarla's avatar
    RokuKarla
    3 years ago

    Hello KRisYancy

    Thanks for posting here in the Community.

    Channels, Themes, or Screensavers can be removed at any time for a variety of different reasons. At times, our content providers may choose to remove their channel from our platform at their own request. In other cases, a channel may be removed by us if it violates our terms and conditions. We take reports of piracy or any other unlawful activity very seriously.

    For more information, please see our support page here: Why is a channel no longer available on my Roku® streaming device?

    I hope this helps!


    Regards,
    Karla

fluke's avatar
fluke
Roku Guru
3 years ago
renojim wrote:

Roku "Express" devices aren't eligible for any kind of agent support.  It's been that way for quite a while.  Given their low cost I can't say I blame Roku - it's hard to justify providing agent support that will quickly cost as much as the device did.  It should be noted prominently on the package or device information page, but that's Roku for you.

So Roku Express does not getting any support or is restricted to email support?

I kind of can "blame" Roku.  The $30 product known as "Chromecast with Google TV" (what an awful product name) is entitled to the following support options:

* Get a call (currently less than 1 minute wait)

* Chat (currently less than 1 minute wait)

* Via Facebook

* Via Twitter

Hours of operation is 12:00 Am to 11:59 PM including on weekends.

I don't know the quality of the support but I know the product doesn't feel as polished to me as Roku.  Either way, Roku's lack of chat support for their product of a similar price point just doesn't feel completive.  That is disappointing. 

Paul415 wrote:

Hi fluke,

Thanks for your reply. Your work around sounds great. I wish I'd waited longer before replacing the Roku.

The model I have is a Roku Express, but when I couldn't find answers, I clicked on Agent Help and was given the message "Sorry, you're not eligible for agent support at this level."  That's when I decided to get a Fire Stick, which works fine with PlayOn.

It isn't my work around, LesPaul71 is the one that pointed out the DLNA method still works.

Set your expectations low for Fire TV Stick.  The latest stick runs Fire OS 7 which is based largely on the AOSP version 9 which is from 2018.  AOSP is now on version 13.  The project last released a security update for version 9 on January of this year.  Each of the monthly security bulletins since then have indicated the updates are only for version 10 and above.  It is unlikely that version 9 is now completely secure, they just have stopped supporting it despite Amazon still trying to use it in production in devices still sold and in use.

In terms of support, Amazon live chat is technically provided for "support" regardless of the cost of the Fire TV Stick.  But calling it support would be stretching the definition of the word beyond breaking.  Each chat agent seem to have only 10 minutes to complete the discussion.  This was accomplished by throwing out nonsensical random suggestions unrelated to the problem and since the chat didn't end in time they would transfer to another agent to complete it from their own session.  The next agent may or may not admit to being able to read the previous discussion.  Several times you might find yourself repeating to another agent that clearly has no interest in reading the actual problem and has no focus on actually supporting the Fire TV Stick.  After an hour of transferring around, I was offered an Amazon gift card for my next purchase as their apology for being "unable to help."

If PlayOn is the primary use of the streaming device, my recommendations if products would be in this order:

Roku (via Roku Media Player)

Nvidia Shield TV

ChromeCast with Google TV (not to be confused with ChromeCast 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation)

I can't speak to the support of any of the three of those but the products seem much better than the Fire TV Stick.  Of each of the options, Roku still feels the most polished overall.

Avrution's avatar
Avrution
Binge Watcher
3 years ago

From Playon directly:

 

The PlayOn and MyMedia channels for Roku were made using the old SDK which Roku decided to no longer support. We had lost the ability to update these channels a while back, but the channels remained in the channel store. Unfortunately, Roku decided to delete these channels and other channels that used their old SDK over the last few days. While we look into alternatives, please see the information below for options for your Roku player.

For PlayOn Home recordings (if you prefer to use a mobile app), you need to Cast directly from the PlayOn Cloud app Home section to the Roku player. The Cloud cast channel should launch and your recordings should begin playback.

Using the Cast feature from the Home tab in the PlayOn Cloud app does not require the use of the Cloud service.

For PlayOn recordings on your PlayOn Home PC (if you prefer to use the PC app), you can Cast directly from the PlayOn Home app to the Roku player. The Cloud cast channel should launch and your recordings should begin playback.

For PlayOn Cloud recordings, you need to Cast directly from the PlayOn Cloud app to the Roku player. The Cloud cast channel should launch and your recordings should begin playback.

Casting from the PlayOn Cloud app or PlayOn Home is the best alternative if captions and AdSkip are important.

Keep in mind, the PlayOn Cloud Cast channel is a receiver only. It will not launch with any type of interface on your Roku.

For access to any Media Library content you may have, the Roku Media Player channel is an option if a dedicated channel is preferred on the Roku. Keep in mind, this app was not developed by PlayOn and does not support our new captions or AdSkip.