Discussions

[Visitor45763]

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@ku-sux wrote: You would think but they're not fixing it and they're not admitting it either.

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Collusion tactics. It's very convenient that Roku can imply it's the tv makers. And, the tv makers don't have any control over the software. 

The common theme is the customer taking the hit. That's what nobody should forget. Someone was saying recently that it's the tv makers' fault. They should be testing the updates, and approving them. That should be obvious to Roku more than anyone else. Why does Roku continue to push known problems out (updates), just because "it's not my fault?" 

Collusion tactics. Everyone got moist about "cutting the cord" from abusive Comcast, et. al. Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss. (The Who -- Won't Be Fooled Again).

[ku-sux]

No software updates correct this issue. It's algorithmic and Roku doesn't have the capacity to handle the traffic.

The fix is to add more servers. I received a call from Roku and was instructed to remove the Roku Channel and reinstall it. However, I was asked for the specific programs I wanted to watch before doing so. This was in the daytime. I was able to watch both movies I said I wanted to see.

Now in prime time, the Roku Channel doesn't work. I've been thru this dozens of times. It's the same story on all free channels. I'm sure Roku is well aware of exactly what the issue is here. Roku is not being honest about it. It's not hard to figure out why. They fear the impact this knowledge will have on sales. And rightfully so.

The stock price closed today at $471/share. Anthony Wood, CEO of Roku, sold 45,000 shares on 2/1. He's got plenty more. The growth is explosive. Roku is a gusher.

I'm not able to get any of the FREE programming Roku claims it offers. All FREE content is inaccessible. I've done plenty of experimenting over the past couple months to determine that this is algorithmic. Roku is prioritizing paid content. It's just the FREE stuff that's inaccessible and there is no truthful error message delivered to the end user.

Why don't you admit it? Is the filthy rich upper management telling you not to divulge the truth to customers? Do you really expect me to believe I'm a special case? Are they not telling you the truth? I'm fed up with the deceit.

I would like someone to get back to me with the truth and tell me exactly what Roku is doing to fix this issue and when I can expect to get the FREE content Roku claims is available while knowing full well that they don't have the capacity to handle the traffic during prime time viewing hours in the US.

Is this too much to ask? I'm giving Roku every opportunity to come clean before I start making noise. At minimum, they need to make sure I personally get the service they claim they offer, and I want to know when they are going to make that happen.

I'm tired of being ignored. Pass this on to superiors and please have someone get back to me pronto. Thank you.

[ku-sux]

That does not work.

[ku-sux]

Sorry, I ran out of patience with this issue a while back. Roku is not addressing the issue. I'm fixing to become a very squeaky wheel.

The fix is to add more servers. I received a call from Roku and was instructed to remove the Roku Channel and reinstall it. However, I was asked for the specific programs I wanted to watch before doing so. This was in the daytime. I was able to watch both movies I said I wanted to see.

Now in prime time, the Roku Channel doesn't work. I've been thru this dozens of times. It's the same story on all free channels. I'm sure Roku is well aware of exactly what the issue is here. Roku is not being honest about it. It's not hard to figure out why. They fear the impact this knowledge will have on sales. And rightfully so.

The stock price closed today at $471/share. Anthony Wood, CEO of Roku, sold 45,000 shares on 2/1. He's got plenty more. The growth is explosive. Roku is a gusher.

I'm not able to get any of the FREE programming Roku claims it offers. All FREE content is inaccessible. I've done plenty of experimenting over the past couple months to determine that this is algorithmic. Roku is prioritizing paid content. It's just the FREE stuff that's inaccessible and there is no truthful error message delivered to the end user.

Why don't you admit it? Is the filthy rich upper management telling you not to divulge the truth to customers? Do you really expect me to believe I'm a special case? Are they not telling you the truth? I'm fed up with the deceit.

I would like someone to get back to me with the truth and tell me exactly what Roku is doing to fix this issue and when I can expect to get the FREE content Roku claims is available while knowing full well that they don't have the capacity to handle the traffic during prime time viewing hours in the US.

Is this too much to ask? I'm giving Roku every opportunity to come clean before I start making noise. At minimum, they need to make sure I personally get the service they claim they offer, and I want to know when they are going to make that happen.

I'm tired of being ignored. Pass this on to superiors and please have someone get back to me pronto. Thank you.

[ku-sux]

Yeah well, people want to watch FREE content. I know because I'm a people and I cut the cord believing their BS about free content, especially on the Roku Channel.

They're selling so many units that their poor planning is coming back to bite them. It's great that the streaming revolution is providing them such a windfall now.

But I absolutely hate the dishonesty they are displaying. While they may be trying to bring enough capacity online (I hope), they are wasting my time by not coming clean.

And I figure I don't have to tell you how horrible their customer service is. My handle was Ro-ku-sux. Somehow they found time to change it while they were ignoring me and the issue.

[Visitor45763]

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@ku-sux wrote: At minimum, they need to make sure I personally get the service they claim they offer, and I want to know when they are going to make that happen.

I think your point is very strong. This stuff is serious. That's what I was getting at, the way Roku walks a nebulous line implying it's the tv makers who are the problem. @delectrolux mentioned in another thread that he felt it's bait and switch. You're not the only one seeing it that way.

Somehow they found time to change it while they were ignoring me and the issue.

Reminds me of when they merge threads about the same problem (for years), but never have time to actually track bugs. It's better to track all those "thank you for posting" & "passing it alongs." They don't want the kind of clarity bug tracking would lead to. Which gets back to collusion tactics. It's convenient not having clarity. ("We think you should contact the tv maker." Said with the emphatic smile of Bob the Enzyte guy.).

[Hooty23]

Y'all have charged my debit card 3199 then 723 and I need my refund back

[ku-sux]

What I'm dealing with here is not a bug. It's a feature. This is not about collusion with paid content providers. This is about mega-growth of a platform based on a good idea that has a fundamental flaw in that they evidently figured everybody was going to be happy with the paid content. They did not figure on the massive number of subscribers who prefer the FREE content in their offering. I doubt the idea of "bait and switch" intentionally applies here.

I'm not insensitive to their problem. They need more servers and they need to get them online yesterday to handle the volume of traffic that Roku is generating. In addition, they need to stop acting like they are not aware of this issue. I won't be solved until they acknowledge the reality that a big draw is the FREE content and people are not necessarily satisfied with the paid streaming services that other companies like Netflix and Hulu are offering.

I have the Apple TV+ trial right now. It has the only programs I can view for free on Roku because it's, while they do not truthfully disclose that they are running a tiered access system, their algorithm clearly prioritizes paid content. They have prioritized trials above FREE content because they want to convert trials to paid subscriptions for their content-producing partners. The result is the paid subscriptions work but when a certain level of capacity is reached, people wanting to view FREE content are denied access.

This has not been publicized. They don't want to let anyone know the truth because it could hurt sales, especially advertising sales. If a story appears divulging the service denial of FREE content in the Wall Street Journal, it could very well have a material impact on Roku's business. I am perfectly capable of starting that ball rolling. Maybe Roku would be more open about this rip-off if the questions I've been asking were asked by a WSJ reporter.

I see no reason to have this $100 Roku Ultra box if I can't get the Roku Channel and other FREE content during prime time US hours. I can get Hulu and the rest on my smart TV without Roku. While I've had it for over 2 months, I've only been able to access the Roku Channel 3 or 4 times. Those were in lower traffic hours.

[Visitor45763]

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@ku-sux wrote: What I'm dealing with here is not a bug. It's a feature. This is not about collusion with paid content providers.

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I understand your point, and it's a valid one. I just wouldn't rule out collusion. 

For example, antenna tv was "feature improved" to the point of being made unuseable. The changes were so bizarre that you had to wonder how it could be an innocent mistake. After seeing more of Roku's ethos, I don't think it's too tinfoil-hat to suggest that Roku wanted to drive unprofitable antenna viewers to more "impressionable" channels (ad sharing; carriage fees), as well as paid subscriptions. 

There's really no other explanation. Either the CEO's slow nephew is in charge of development, or there was a malignant motivation to make antenna tv less usable. 

I think it could be the same motivation for Roku not providing free channels. After enough starvation, people will pay up the way Roku wants them to. 

I think the way you describe it is reasonable. I.e., Roku's experiencing unforseen popularity, and needs to provision infrastructure to support that demand. I'm just saying that EVERYTHING else (particularly with Roku TV, not just the external boxes) points to a less generous explanation. Roku does not seem merely slow to execute or incompetent. A lot of things look crooked to me.

[ku-sux]

Seeing a degradation in antenna TV is consistent with my thesis. What you were witnessing was not "feature improvements." That sounds like a cover story. And there's now ay to know whether the CSRs are even aware of it not being true. The thinking ones should have an inkling. The degradation can easily be explained by Roku's creation of an unpublicized tiered system to handle the additional traffic that came on in the 4th quarter of 2020. Maybe the tier algorithm had been there all along but it only started kicking in when the great influx took place.

Antenna TV is FREE content, just like the Roku Channel and the other FREE content I can't access. I've never even tried Roku's antenna TV. I have an antenna that picks up over 50 channels on my smart TV without Roku. Users won't notice the tier effect unless traffic requires Roku to deny access in order to preserve the integrity of the paid channel content. You can bet that any user who encounters problems accessing paid content gets their issue addressed quickly. The longer they refuse to refute my hypothesis, the more evidence that I am right. And I have a couple months worth of evidence. Others who encounter the same denial of FREE content service bolster this explanation. I've been giving them the benefit of the doubt too long already.