Community Discussions

[atc98092]

"CWG" wrote:

"atc98092" wrote:

"CWG" wrote:
I managed to find Roku 4640CA units on Amazon, which I assume are the Canadian ones but I am not sure how recent/up to date they are because I am so new to Roku. If they are up to date versions they can be found by searching using the model number rather than 'Roku Ultra', which was how I had been searching.

The 4640 is the previous (original 2016) version of the Ultra. In some ways it's better than the current 4660/61 version, as it includes a Dolby Digital encoder, optical out port, and more internal memory for channel storage. 

Thanks. They are available for $125 and free shipping from some vendor in Quebec, and for $128 from some other vendor but fulfilled by Amazon (so two day shipping if you have Prime). Am I right in guessing that it will simply update to the newest software once connected?
I picked up an Nvidia Shield yesterday but will return it as I expect the Roku will be easier to use, and it definitely costs less.

I have Roku players/TVs and a Shield. Depending on exactly what you want from a player the Shield might be the better choice. If you stream media from a server on your own network (ripped movies), the Shield can't be beat, as it supports all of the video and audio codecs and virtually any container. But it is more difficult to set up and use. If your streaming is all from the Internet, it's tough to beat a Roku. 

[CanMan14]

"DBDukes" wrote:

"CanMan14" wrote:
...
Exactly that.  The updated Premiere and Premiere+ are not shown on https://www.roku.com/en-ca/products and are not available in stores on Canada (neither is the Ultra 4661) so where are you getting your information that all of these are available in Canada @DBDukes?

I went to that page. And scrolled down. Did you scroll down?

When I scrolled down, I saw the Premiere and Premiere+ listed. When I clicked the "Where to buy" buttons, Canadian Tire (which I've heard of) and something called !ndigo (which I've never heard of) were shown. For example, this page: https://www.roku.com/en-ca/products/roku-premiere See? That's a Canadian page. And it has the device you say you can't find.

Does your page not allow you to scroll down, maybe? If that's the case, perhaps a different browser would be helpful. 

Yes @DBDukes - thanks for the tips on scrolling but I'm not a moron.  That page shows the old 2017 Premiere and Premiere+, not the 2018 models - that is my point.  And both Canadian Tire and Indigo show "out of stock".

So I'm back to exactly the same thing as I said originally - if you go to the very very very bottom of the page (I do know how scrolling works in a browser) after the trademarks and site map links and directly underneath "About Ads & Cookies" you can change the region to "Canada - English" and then it only shows the 2017 product line - the 2017 Premiere, Premiere+ and Ultra is listed - not any of the 2018 versions of the same!!!  Change the region to "United States" and the model lineup changes completely and we see the new 2018 models.  Tried that @DBDukes?  Do you recognize the visual difference between the new 2018 Premiere+ and the older one?

Hence the original point: except for the 4K stick and the Express there is nothing available in Canadian retail.  All retailers are out of stock with no information on any new stock coming in.  And no information on either the Roku site on any retailer's site about the 2018 models.  Consequently the original question: has Roku given up on the streaming boxes in this market?  They're probably just burning through old stock of the 4K stick and Express.

[jeffrok]

As with other companies, Roku usually releases their products in the US first, and a few months later, they release them to other countries.. if I recall, the 2018 Premier/+ just came out recently. Give it a month or two. I doubt they've given up on Canada.

[DBDukes]

"CanMan14" wrote:
...
Yes @DBDukes - thanks for the tips on scrolling but I'm not a moron.  That page shows the old 2017 Premiere and Premiere+, not the 2018 models - that is my point.  And both Canadian Tire and Indigo show "out of stock".

So I'm back to exactly the same thing as I said originally - if you go to the very very very bottom of the page (I do know how scrolling works in a browser) after the trademarks and site map links and directly underneath "About Ads & Cookies" you can change the region to "Canada - English" and then it only shows the 2017 product line - the 2017 Premiere, Premiere+ and Ultra is listed - not any of the 2018 versions of the same!!!  Change the region to "United States" and the model lineup changes completely and we see the new 2018 models.  Tried that @DBDukes?  Do you recognize the visual difference between the new 2018 Premiere+ and the older one?

Hence the original point: except for the 4K stick and the Express there is nothing available in Canadian retail.  All retailers are out of stock with no information on any new stock coming in.  And no information on either the Roku site on any retailer's site about the 2018 models.  Consequently the original question: has Roku given up on the streaming boxes in this market?  They're probably just burning through old stock of the 4K stick and Express.

Yep, sure enough, those are the 2016 models. I saw the Express device, saw the Premiere names, and mashed them up wrong in my mind. My apologies.

So, it looks like Canada is still dealing with the 2016 models (4620 & 4630). So it's even worse for you than you thought.

On the positive side, you do have the better version of the Premiere+ than the newer Express-style form factor. Specs are mostly the same, but the 4630 has additional functionality than the 3921.

But, yeah, your point is taken.

[CanMan14]

"DBDukes" wrote:

But, yeah, your point is taken.

Sure, "water under the bridge now".  

And yes, could have bought the old Premiere+ but the reality is that we checked all over the place and there's none to be found.

So my original point: wanted to buy some for Christmas presents and couldn't.  Old models are nowhere to be found.  New models haven't been added to the Canadian lineup.  I understand the point that maybe they're just slower to release the new models to the CA market (yes, I agree, that's typical with many manufacturers) - it's just that if that's the case then Roku has really bombed out with their timing for this Christmas season (and Black Friday / Cyber Monday as the situation was the same back then).

It's a failure when you have customers that want to buy and no product to sell them.  Exclusive of the "Express" and 4K stick which I didn't want for the reasons mentioned previously. 

[CWG]

"CanMan14" wrote:

"DBDukes" wrote:

But, yeah, your point is taken.

Sure, "water under the bridge now".  

And yes, could have bought the old Premiere+ but the reality is that we checked all over the place and there's none to be found.

So my original point: wanted to buy some for Christmas presents and couldn't.  Old models are nowhere to be found.  New models haven't been added to the Canadian lineup.  I understand the point that maybe they're just slower to release the new models to the CA market (yes, I agree, that's typical with many manufacturers) - it's just that if that's the case then Roku has really bombed out with their timing for this Christmas season (and Black Friday / Cyber Monday as the situation was the same back then).

It's a failure when you have customers that want to buy and no product to sell them.  Exclusive of the "Express" and 4K stick which I didn't want for the reasons mentioned previously. 

I know Costco was blowing them out and have probably sold out, but I wonder if it might be worth popping into your local warehouse and asking them to search the chain's stock (assuming you are a member)? I might do that myself.

[CanMan14]

Unfortunately Costco only has Roku in Hisense TVs - no STBs left.

At the end of the day, Roku has totally missed both Black Friday and Christmas sales opportunities in Canada.  And I'm wondering if they'll ever bring new supply to this market.

[CanMan14]

Website (for CA) has now been updated to only show the Stick+ and Express which matches what I've been observing in store and commenting on in this thread.

Too bad for those of us that need earphone jacks, bluetooth remote, and ideally and ethernet port.

[vwsean]

No response from Roku on this? How is this even a thing?

[RokuTannerD]

@vwsean Thanks for the note. You can review the current models we advertise by visiting our site at: https://www.roku.com/en-ca/products/players

You can also look around at online retailers if you are interested in another model of Roku device that may not be advertised in your location. You can use any model of Roku device in most locations, and still access the same channels and services for your location as long as you link your device to a Roku account located in that region. 

Other features, such as Private Listening, are available via the free Roku mobile app, without the need for a remote with a headphone jack. You can see more about that on our Canadian support site here: https://support.roku.com/en-ca/article/217478308-how-do-i-use-headphones-on-my-mobile-device-for-pri...

Thanks,

Tanner