Channels & viewing

[venezim]

I have two TCL 8K Roku TVs, 75R648 and 65R648. A few weeks ago the MAX app still worked, but started displaying a message that soon it would no longer work on these TVs. Now when the MAX app starts it just displays an error screen with the message, "MAX is no longer available on this Roku device", along with a QR code that links to a website to buy a new Roku player. 

These TVs are barely 3 years old, but they were excluded from the Roku OS 14 update, and as a result, the MAX app now refuses to run, and other apps (such as Paramount+) are starting to crash back to the home screen on these TVs, even though these apps work fine on my other Roku TVs.

This is completely unacceptable to abandon TVs that are only 3 years old and cost thousands of dollars. 

What is the plan for future upgrades of these TVs? It is not an acceptable solution to have to go buy some external streaming device to provide the services that should be available within the TV.

[skycladsquirrel]

Same here. My 8k 75" just blocked my MAX. And it's fully updated.

[JWS9518]

Most likely it is something in the hardware or in this case, the lack of hardware capabilities that the TCL has that makes it unable to handle the latest OS.  With a lot of these budget brands, they cut corners on capabilities and the hardware they use.  Max may also have decided not to support its app on the various third-party brand TVs that use a Roku OS, due to those varying hardware and TV capabilities.  

[AvsGunnar]

@venezim and @skycladsquirrel 

I'm with you on this dropped support.  When OS14 was released, was wondering how many users were going to be affected by this. https://support.roku.com/article/228844467 (notes stating models excluded from update).

Experience has taught me not to buy any smart TVs but to just buy the streaming devices.  Much easier to update or simply throw away and move to another platform if issues/dissatisfaction occurs.

I have a 2009 Mitsubishi which was "kind of smart" in its day because it included Vudu. (that was it under Streaming TV).  It came with a separate BluRay DVD player that offered Netflix streaming.  

Before Roku, I just attached laptops/notebooks to the TV for my streaming needs so never jumped on having to have a smart TV for streaming.  I don't even use the one RokuTV I have because of its degradation in performance.

While it should not be the case, I think too many TV manufacturers consider their product disposable (since not even worth the cost to repair them professionally anymore), that they approach their software/hardware support in the same manner.  Unfortunately, that is the situation you both are in.  Either attach a streaming device (Roku or other competitor) or attach a laptop or try casting/screen mirroring your MAX subscription to your RokuTV.

Wish I had better news for you.

[Flapinux]

Unacceptable.

[venezim]

I don't think this decision has anything to do with legacy hardware incapable of running the latest OS, or MAX not wanting to support TCL TVs.  I own 6 TCL Roku TVs, 3 of which are several years older than these two now-unsupported models, and those all continue to be supported and run the latest Roku OS and the MAX app. My guess is that Roku is abandoning support for the 8k TV models because they require extra work to support, and 8k hasn't caught on enough to make it worth their while. So those of us who bought "cutting edge" 8k Roku TVs in 2021-2022 are now stuck.

From the Roku OS 14 release notes, the only three models that are excluded are the only 8k Roku devices ever produced, by two different manufacturers (TCL and Hisense).

• All Roku TV models (2014-2024), excluding models 65R648, 75R648, and 75U800GMR, are expected to receive Roku OS 14.

[Flapinux]

Right & I have the 75R648... So... there's that.