Channels & viewing

[harryarcos]

I have not used this Roku 1 very much, but when choosing BBC iPlayer it starts to load and then says "not available on this device". Tried a factory reset - did not realise that you had to jump through all the hoops of registering an account etc. - but still no iPlayer. It is shown on the list of channels and on the box and it was the main reason I bought the device. Any ideas? Thanks. 

[Ello2022 · Accepted solution]

@harryarcos  You have a Roku 1? The Roku 1 was released back in 2013 and discontinued in 2016. The BBC iPlayer is not supported on your Roku. Therefore you will need to purchase a new generation Roku if you want to stream BBC iPlayer. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/help/questions/supported-devices/roku-nowtv

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/help/questions/recent-changes-to-iplayer/iplayer-roku-closure

[harryarcos1]

Thank you for your reply, but it is not good enough is it? I do not think that we should be supporting a ‘throw away’ world and add to pollution of the environment any more than necessary. My Panasonic DVD player/recorder must be at least 15 years old as is the LG tv. My 2004 Prius just past an MoT with zero advisories and yes, I could afford to replace it. 

Unless someone comes up with a convincing reason as to why it is impossible for the Roku 1 to  link to the BBC iPlayer - which is the reason I bought it - I will be looking into whether or not I can take the matter further. I will certainly not buy a new one.

ps I have had to reply as harryarcos1 as the Roku site would not recognise my name or password which I only entered yesterday and on the second and subsequent attempts, as soon as I started typing the password, the cursor would jump to the end of the username and enter the letters there. It clearly recognised harryarcos because it would not let me use the name again. 

[Ello2022]

@harryarcos1  This has nothing to do with Roku. Companies stop supporting older legacy products all the time. Hulu dropped support for several older devices cause there app won’t work on older devices. A Roku 1 is very old. BBC decided to no longer support several older devices. If you want an answer ask them. But it’s a normal practice. Companies such as Hulu, Netflix, Prime and BBC would have to have different versions of there app/channel to support every device out there. They have to make a cut off somewhere. Hulu dropped support of TV’s and DVD players. It’s entirely normal. But this isn’t a Roku decision. It’s BBC. I provided a link.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/4/21280617/hulu-support-older-roku-devices

[Ello2022]

@harryarcos1 Directly from BBC

[harryarcos1]

Thank you for your comment and link. I would not say that something manufactured in 2013 was "very old", but I will take it up with the BBC who are very keen for me to drop the paper licence, while condemning tons of electronic hardware to the dump - very little is actually recycled!

[Ello2022]

@harryarcos1  In today’s advanced world of ever changing Technology even products a year old are considered out of date. Your Roku is roughly 9 years ago. Roku devices are inexpensive. So you can purchase a newer model for cheap and be up and running. Chromebooks are only supported by Google for 6-8 years. Your average Windows computer is about 8-10 years. And those are 3x as much as a Roku. People with 3G phones needed to upgrade to a 4G

[makaiguy]

@harryarcos-

Just to put this in context.  As newer models are brought out, new options, capabilities, and performance improvements are added.  Many streaming services add these capabilities to the Roku versions of their channel apps.  This often requires ever increasingly complex programming to support the newer models, but still retain compatibility with older less capable models. At some point, especially as the much older models increasingly get replaced with newer ones, the channel may decide it is not worth the effort to maintain support for older units and may drop support for them in order to make their channel apps less complicated and thus more reliable and easier to maintain.

You can blame this on Roku if you wish, but by doing so, you are asking them to never improve their product offerings.  That's not going to happen.

If you decide to bite the bullet and replace that ancient Roku 1 with an up-to-date unit, you will be astounded by how much faster and responsive the new one is, and you'll be kicking yourself for not upgrading sooner.

[harryarcos1]

OK. You have convinced me. I see that the Roku Express is available for £19.99 so I will pick one up and hope that it does not become redundant too soon.

Thanks.

[Ello2022]

@harryarcos1  Don’t buy a base model Roku Express. It only connects to the 2.4GHz WiFi. Get at least the Express 4K or 4K+. A better option is the Stick 4K