Features, settings & updates

[CelticsFan]

@barr88  The reason that a Roku will time out as well as a Firestick is there for a reason. So do most channels. Hulu + Live TV for example has an inactivity timer. They are there for a reason. So people cannot complain that there streaming device or services ate up all the bandwidth and now my internet bill is $500. The government actually stepped in and made this a thing. If those things weren't there then the opposite of what your issue would be happening. Cox and Xfinity still have 1.2TB data caps. I watched 10 hours starlight of GoT last year. No issues. Why? Cause I was using my remote so the Roku and HBO Max knew I was actually there. You are the 1% who don't want there Roku to stop streaming. The other 99% do

[barr88]

Again, you're missing the point. We're not talking about a STREAMING timeout here. That's completely different... and that CAN involve significant data usage, so Roku already has a setting for that (and has had, for some time well before v9.4), as do most other major streaming device manufacturers.

See "Bandwidth saver" (under Settings>Network). This is the description, taken directly from the Roku: "If you haven't used the remote in 4 hours, a message will display asking you if you're still watching. If there is no response the channel will stop streaming and save your network bandwidth."

And it can be turned ON or OFF, so the user has the OPTION to use it or not use it, depending on their needs.

What we're talking about here is a newly added (relatively speaking) INACTIVITY timeout. A channel is launched by the user and at some point the user is literally doing absolutely nothing with it. No streaming of any kind is taking place, and therefore no data (of any significance) is being consumed. Leaving a completely idle channel open 24/7 for literally days on end consumes so little data that it's of comparatively no consequence (you'd use more watching a single movie).

So the most significant usage of data is, by a wide margin, the actual streaming of content. And yet, even with that, Roku STILL provides the user an option to turn monitoring of it off if they don't want it or don't need it.

The inactivity timeout that was introduced starting with v9.4 was not to save user data, as inactivity uses comparatively insignificant amounts of it and Roku already has an option for streaming data monitoring. And even if it had been added to save user data usage, where is the option (as exists with Bandwidth saver) to turn if off for users who don't want or need it?

I can think of no other plausible reason an additional inactivity timeout was quietly introduced starting in v9.4 (with no ability to turn it off) other than to ensure the user will be presented with a new advertisement every time they turn on their Roku.  If that doesn't matter to you, I'm happy for you.  Everyone is different.  It does matter to me, however, as does having to remember and re-navigate back to wherever I left off in Plex EVERY time I turn the TV on and use the Roku now. 

And for the record, I am NOT some 1% who wants to stream content 24/7. I don't do anything of the sort. What I want is for my Roku to stay where I put it (even when inactive), just as it did for the first half decade I owned it. Whether that makes me "1%" or not doesn't mean I shouldn't have that option... especially when you consider that it had previously/always been there before it was deliberately removed. 

[CelticsFan]

@barr88  No need to write a book. I have been using Roku for 9 years. Never any issues. Inactivity is trigged by no input from the remote. Netflix and Hulu will stop streaming after a certain amount of time. Again it is there to conserve on bandwidth. If you are not watching TV or near your Roku for 4 hours then why even have it on? 

[barr88]

You're clearly not getting it, hence the lengthy reply as an attempt to explain it more thoroughly and not let you confuse or dismiss the actual concern that was being discussed in this thread.

I understand completely what you're saying. The issue here is not about streaming, data usage, or remote inactivity, though. Roku already has controls (Bandwidth saver) for that. And even that can be turned off by the user, if desired.

Your points are valid, they're simply not what's being discussed here. You've never had any issues. That's great. Others have, as witnessed by this very forum's existence.

This is an INACTIVITY-only timer that was first added in v9.4. If you're in a channel doing nothing, Roku will still force you back to its home screen after about 2 hours without warning. In every release prior to 9.4, Roku did NOT do that. The change in behavior is not a good fit for my use case. I would like the ability to turn it off (just like we can with Bandwidth saver) to return the behavior to what it was for the first 5 years I owned the Roku. I'm not alone in my opinion. I (and others) were/are using this forum to express/discuss it. Considering the age of this thread (that someone dug up and replied to), it's unlikely that that's ever going to happen. But the concern is still valid.

It's clearly not an issue for you and that's great.  I don't understand why you keep replying here with information that, while valid, doesn't apply to this particular change in behavior, though.

And Roku does not have a Power button, it's always on, so "why even have it on" doesn't really apply.

[DBDukes]

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@barr88 wrote:

... This is an INACTIVITY-only timer that was first added in v9.4. If you're in a channel doing nothing, Roku will still force you back to its home screen after about 2 hours without warning. In every release prior to 9.4, Roku did NOT do that. The change in behavior is not a good fit for my use case. I would like the ability to turn it off (just like we can with Bandwidth saver) to return the behavior to what it was for the first 5 years I owned the Roku....

Thanks for clarifying. I understand what you're saying. And yes, Roku will exit an app after a period of time, returning to the Home screen. And yes, that is totally separate from the Bandwidth Saver feature that stops streaming. Sorry it took me a bit to realize the focus of your complaint, but I'm following now. At least, I think so.

And yes, that is indeed how Roku functions. I was thinking the timeout was closer to four hours, but if you've experienced it at two hours, then I certainly defer to you.

The thread did get derailed a time or two, and my misunderstanding did contribute to that.

I've not tested this on Roku, simply was aware and noticed the behavior, but for me, as it's not an issue, never really gave it much thought. And, as such, I've not done any testing on other devices to see how they operate. Do they exit apps after a period of time? I don't know. Are there settings for that on other devices? Again, I don't know. But now I'm curious to see just how the other devices behave.

I have Fire TV devices (Cube, Stick), Apple TV, Google (Chromecast with Google TV, Nvidia Shield, other lesser devices) so I have a pretty decent test bed. And I had so many other things planned, but now this has me curious. Darn you!!

[barr88]

Lol. Sorry about that. But I did get a nice chuckle out of your reply. So thanks for that.

I'm pretty sure the inactivity timeout is right at the 2 hour mark, yes. I've witnessed it happen on more than one occasion when I've been pulled into an unexpected call for work or something. The Plex screensaver is happily bouncing along on the TV in the background... and then bam... the screen (without warning of any kind) changes directly into the Roku home screen.

When the 9.4 release was still new, you could use that "secret" Roku trick (with the Home, FF, Rewind button presses) to rollback to the prior version (which I did, for as long as I realistically could), so I can verify that the behavior change came from Roku and started with 9.4. A workaround was inquired about in the Plex forums back then, but we were told by staff that they don't have any control over the behavior in Roku (as you might expect).

Prior to 9.4, Roku would stay in the Plex channel (and/or most any other channel, presumably) indefinitely, even if you weren't doing anything with it. And other than a manual check for channel or software updates every few weeks or so, that's exactly what I did. For years. Streaming/playback would stop, of course (like if you fell asleep or something), but Roku wouldn't kick you completely out of the channel and back to the home screen after 2 hours of not doing anything.

If the Roku had behaved the way it does now from the very start, I probably wouldn't have thought anything of it. But with the change, it begged/begs the question why. What's to be gained for the user here? And why not provide a way for users to turn this new "feature" off if it doesn't fit their needs (as is the case with the bandwidth saver). There's really no user bandwidth to be saved (nothing appreciable, at least) from leaving a completely idle channel open in most cases, anyway.

Let's say someone only ever uses their Roku for Netflix. Why make that user relaunch the same Netflix channel over and over again every time they turn their TV on and want to watch something? Prior to 9.4, Roku didn't do that, and they didn't have to. They could come back later that day (or the next) and pick up right where they left off.

In my case, I could leave Plex exactly where I wanted (drilled down into some season of an obscure TV series I was re-watching for the 5th time or something) and it would be exactly right there and ready to go the next time I turned on the TV. Now, I have to start all over from the Roku home screen every time I turn on the TV... and re-launch Plex, and drill down to wherever I was all over again.  The 'On Deck' feature won't work as a shortcut/reminder of where I was, because all of the episodes have already been watched (and marked as such).

The (admittedly mild) inconvenience is not the end of the world, obviously, but this doesn't need to be a "one size fits all" unchangeable option, either... especially when it worked differently (and better, in my case) for many years prior to the change.

[tk11]

It would be nice if designers would, just occasionally, understand that there are a large number of their customers with dementia. I too would like to be able to leave a channel on all day for a family member, or even just have the aquarium screen saver run all day. Just a little audio and/or visual stimulation can be important. And similarly, I used to have DirecTV's DogTV that I left on for my dog all day while I was at work. Unfortunately, when considering "cutting the cord", many of us don't stop to think that we'll lose control of when our entertainment is to be turned off.  Sadly, I don't suspect this to ever change. I don't imagine there's money to be made by someone in design calling a meeting to discuss how the experiences of their customers with dementia can be improved.

[renojim]

@tk11, you should at least be able to keep the aquarium screensaver active all day.  Ensure the "power saving" option under Settings->System->Power isn't enabled.

[barr88]

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@tk11 wrote:

 or even just have the aquarium screen saver run all day.

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I concur with @renojim.  You should be able to keep just the Roku screensaver active indefinitely.  But that’s basically it.  As far as keeping any channel (or playback within that channel) active, that’s another story.  And the short answer to that story is… not so much. 

There are obviously use cases where arbitrary non-adjustable timeouts and settings don’t fit the user’s needs.  Not every user (such as me) has any bandwidth concerns.  Not every user (such as me) needs a Roku to ever do more than one thing/channel.

All I was advocating for was the option to not timeout back to the Roku home screen after a couple hours of perceived inactivity/not-streaming.  Bury that option 10 levels deep in some obscure menu (with explicit warnings I have to acknowledge before I can enable it) if you want to, just give me the option to continue to enjoy my Roku the way I enjoyed it for the first half-decade I owned it.  As-is, it appears this change may have been made primarily (if not solely) just to make sure Roku could put at least one ad on my screen every time I turned it on.    

I think the Roku is a good product that does what it’s supposed to without much in the way of issues.  I do give props for that, as that’s becoming increasingly rare in today’s tech. However, I’ve not purchased (or recommended) another Roku since this change was made, nor do I intend to.

[Kittyg]

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