Roku add an Internet web browser

jaybeetwo​ JRiv727​ stargirl23w​ et al:

This entire thread is ironically moot, because RokuOS actually already includes a browser, and has for many major RokuOS versions/years now (OS10/2021):  Roku Browser 

Roku Browser is hidden middleware and is based on Google Chromium and is used in several scenarios (e.g. , HbbTV (The Roku Channel, Live TV Guide), interactive ads, Roku-provided demos/previews, other Roku middleware, Roku apps, connection setup scenarios, etc).  You can see its license @ Settings/Legal/Third party licenses or https://www.roku.com/separatelylicensedcode.

Roku Browser is available for all currently supported player/soundbar/TV models that support OS 10 or later, is regularly updated (currently version 104.11.33 for most devices), is optimized for IP TV streaming (e.g. uses the devices/SoCs codec/DRM support) on the RokuOS platform, and is one of if not the largest (and slowest to update) app, and is not usually (though sometimes is) name declared when updating.  You can check the current version/channel info of Roku Browser via the Channel Info 'Secret Screen':  Home 3x, Up 2x, L, R, L, R, L

However, Roku Browser is NOT available to end-users/for direct usage because Roku decided this, mostly for legal reasons (e.g. to comply with a/any country's regulations/laws and/or to avoid lawsuits/repercussions from content providers/content licenses when content is accessed illegally by users who might/would use Roku Browser to access sites that provide unlicensed/illegal content - Roku has specific legal/licensing agreements with governments/regulatory bodies/content providers covering availability in different countries, etc), though also for some technical reasons (e.g. lack of "mouse cursor using remote" support).

So, the question isnt whether or not Roku supports or should have a browser - it does: Roku Browser - but rather whether or not Roku will make Roku Browser directly available/useable to users as a regular (non-hidden middleware) app @ some point (e.g. like Silk on FireTV OS), or otherwise get Roku to provide directly stated reasons as to why it isnt.

Your focus should be on demanding/getting specificity from Roku as to why the current installed Roku Browser isnt available for end-user usage especially given its optimization for streaming/IPTV, and to try and convince Roku to do so (again, unlikely, though possible).

Its also possible the Roku Browser (and its Chromium compatibility/functionality) could/should be leveraged to provide additional functionality, such as GoogleCast/ChromeCast (casting/mirroring) protocol receiver support - this would make RokuOS products compatible with nearly all major casting/mirroring protocols (DIAL, Miracast, AirPlay, ChromeCast/GoogleCast), with only the nascent MATTER casting protocol standard not supported (though it should be too, though thats another issue given Roku's current IoT products/services).

Regardless of what the majority does, I would like to have a web browser on my ROKU. I stream new box office releases for free on my LG in the living room. I would also like to be able to do that in my bedroom without screen mirroring from my phone or tablet. It's not that much of a stretch for you guys to add a browser. So no. I don't get it. Probably won't buy another ROKU.

The simple fact is there's a size limit to the Roku OS, and it doesn't have room to add a browser. Back in the early days of the Internet a browser could be pretty simple and take little code space. Today's browsers must handle all sorts of multimedia playback and are just way too large to fit in the space available. 

i want to answer this question from a common chica mindset,
most people that watch tv on their TV are simply going to want to download their favorite common apps.  Hulu, Netflix, Prime, etc.   Since most of us grew up used to not having a web browser on our tv, its not so much a feature a common person will ever use.  

so for those who would like to use a web browser on their TV, remember, the TV has multiple inputs, including HDMI ports ^_^

Because ROKU wants to sell you a useless browser. But, It will probably be crippled.

But, there is a $20 solution:
You can buy a $19.95 Amazon Fire Stick that you can plug into any ROKU and smart TV. Fire Stick has a built-in browser (Silk) that can play any content you can find. 

There is a web app and fast browser app on roku but the catch is. it is a paid app  need to pay to browse the web pages

I agree. I have to unplug my Roku to change to a different HD PLUG IN.

 My Granddaughter competition dances and they live stream, I have to use my laptop. Would be great to just go to their streaming service

SIMPLE!!  ROKU is a TV platform. It allows using APPS from TV providers (including paid subscriptions on many) to stream TV.  Allowing us to have and use a WEB browser would allow all kinds of PIRATE TV streams to be watched on the TV??  THAT totally goes agains the partnership (both benefit financially) between the 2 industries. So using that common sense, it will never happen...... If I ever have something I want to more properly watch on my TV (instead of my laptop) from the internet, I just plug in my HDMI cable (better resolution than casting) and it solves the problem

Need help from the area I'm in and the people here doing the same thing as bringing people's lives

Just stopped in to say I agree, there are times when it would be nice to have a web browser on my TV.

---Phone dead and left your cord at work and you're just too darn tired to go buy another one?  TV browser

----Want to adult stuff but your girlfriend's got your phone locked down with snooper apps so tight you can't even get in Facebook without getting interrogated?

TV browser! 

I'm sure there are many other scenarios, phone broken, gotten shut off, etc but you get the idea.

The question really is:

What does Roku GAIN by denying you a browser?

And the answer is: Everything. Without absolute control of where and how you stream and browse content, they cannot guarantee views for the companies that pay them to advertise all over their home page and everywhere else. It's fairly unobtrusive for now, but Im sure with time it will get worse and worse and corporate greed with its insatiable need to produce numbers higher than the ones the previous quarter slowly erodes modern entertainment until there is nothing entertaining about it at all. Hate to see what it will look like a couple generations from now. Those SciFi films back in the 80's that had the ads coming across people's vision as they go about their day like it's normal, I am afraid they are not very far off the mark. Glad I won't be here to see it.

Anyway, Roku will never allow a browser because it relinquishes control to the user rather than the other way around. I am sure a large portion of their customer base(myself included) would love a roku browser, but they will hem and haw for the next 20 years, throwing out every excuse on the book in order to string you along just long enough to buy yet another device.