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User32768's avatar
User32768
Streaming Star
3 years ago

How to Perform a NON-DESTRUCTIVE Channel Scan?

Hello,

 

We got two Roku devices for my elderly mother. She does not have cable television service, and her local OTA channels are located in two different directions. There are others, relatively close, in yet another direction. She is in her 80s, and - as with approximately 8 out of 11 of the elderly population - cognitive decline is a factor. She can adjust the antenna, because the rotator control panel is just a simple knob, with the headings for the three transmission locations clearly labeled (by me; I created a paper overlay). She cannot, however, handle performing a channel scan every time she changes the aim of the antenna. And I have not yet figured out where the option to do a non-destructive channel scan, e.g. add television stations, rather than replace previously scanned ones, is in Roku's OS/GUI.

 

Will someone point me to it, please? Much thanks in advance from my mother, me, and - I suspect - the vast majority of elderly (and probably everyone else) who cannot afford the $100+/month Internet access account upgrade it would require to be able to stream everything. 

TV & Player Setup

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  • AvsGunnar's avatar
    AvsGunnar
    Community Streaming Expert
    3 years ago

    User32768 

    Sounds like when you say "two Roku devices", assuming you are talking about two RokuTVs.

    Unfortunately, the RokuTV does not appear to allow users to "manually" add OTA/antenna channels. (at least on my Insignia, and reportedly other manufacturers). You might want to try a better antenna that at least will pick up all the available signals (even weak) so they are detected during the channel scan and then adjust the antenna as necessary to tune-in the signal.  If you already are using a decent antenna, then may be better idea to get a different TV with a better tuner and allows the manual adding of stations and then attach a standalone HDMI Roku device to the TV for streaming purposes.

    This is another reason I prefer using a Roku device attached to a non-smart TV rather than an integrated RokuTV.  There have been continuing complaints of this so hopefully a future firmware update will some day allow the manual adding of OTA/Antenna channels to avoid having to perform a channel scan after reorienting an antenna.