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[wabashtrail]

I have been a Roku Fan from the beginning, and I hope this thread is taken seriously, and not deleted.

"usage of VPNs to circumvent" are not allowed.

Is Roku aware that Netflix loves ExpressVPN?  In fact they embrace it.

It gives the Netflix customer more Content - (Exponentially).

More Content fuels more customers, and more customers fuels more revenue.

In my humble opinion, there are only 3 Necessary Channels and 1 App:

1 - Sling with the News Package

2 - Youtube

3 - ExpressVPN

4 - Neflix Unlocked.

It is Sad to see Roku pushing customers away, and sending them over to the Firestick and Google TV platforms.

Youtube problems aside:

If "Netflix Friendly" VPNs were allowed in the Channel Store, there would be no reason for Roku customers to leave.

[DBDukes]

Roku isn't saying you can't use a VPN. Roku is saying you cannot use this forum to advocate VPN usage to circumvent geolocation. 

[wabashtrail]

I understand that, but Roku customers prefer simplicity over technical.  That is the success of Roku.

I also believe that "Netflix International" or "Netflix Unlocked", would be a Huge Win for Roku, and stop the migration to the Firestick.

The success of the Firestick is Not the Hardware or the Platform, it is the door for international streaming via a VPN.

Expats and travelers are packing a Firestick, not a Roku Stick, and international streaming is growing rapidly.

[DBDukes]

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@wabashtrail wrote:

Expats and travelers are packing a Firestick, not a Roku Stick, and international streaming is growing rapidly.

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I don't understand why that would be. Roku devices don't preclude the use of a VPN, only the advocacy via this forum. Why would they use a Firestick instead of a Roku Stick. Both will work. Are you saying that because this forum doesn't allow advocacy of VPNs that people who have never even been to this forum are buying Firesticks for travel abroad?

You gotta remember, only a small percentage of Roku users ever come here. That would tend to suggest that only a small number of people traveling abroad that want to take a streaming device would ever come here. I'm missing something in the logic.

[wabashtrail]

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@DBDukes wrote:

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@wabashtrail wrote:

Expats and travelers are packing a Firestick, not a Roku Stick, and international streaming is growing rapidly.

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I don't understand why that would be. Roku devices don't preclude the use of a VPN, only the advocacy via this forum. Why would they use a Firestick instead of a Roku Stick. Both will work.

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Maybe I am missing something.
You are away from home for a month, and you or your girlfriend want to watch these movies:
Erin Brockovich, MIB, Bourne Identity, The Island, First Blood, The Matrix, Die Hard.

Attach the Firestick, open ExpressVPN App, set location for U.K., open Netflix and stream Erin Brockovich.
Or set to Australia, and stream MIB
Or Spain, and stream Bourne Identity, or The Island
Or Canada, and stream the Matrix, or First Blood
Or USA, and open Hulu and stream Die Hard.

How does this work with a Roku Stick?

[DBDukes]

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@wabashtrail wrote:

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@DBDukes wrote:

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@wabashtrail wrote:

Expats and travelers are packing a Firestick, not a Roku Stick, and international streaming is growing rapidly.

---

I don't understand why that would be. Roku devices don't preclude the use of a VPN, only the advocacy via this forum. Why would they use a Firestick instead of a Roku Stick. Both will work.

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Maybe I am missing something.
You are away from home for a month, and you or your girlfriend want to watch these movies:
Erin Brockovich, MIB, Bourne Identity, The Island, First Blood, The Matrix, Die Hard.

Attach the Firestick, open ExpressVPN App, set location for U.K., open Netflix and stream Erin Brockovich.
Or set to Australia, and stream MIB
Or Spain, and stream Bourne Identity, or The Island
Or Canada, and stream the Matrix, or First Blood
Or USA, and open Hulu and stream Die Hard.

How does this work with a Roku Stick?

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I'd replace the word "Firestick" with "Roku Stick."

If an app won't work, that's because that's how the app developer designed it. Roku doesn't build the apps.

[atc98092]

Since the Roku OS is not open source (based on Linux but not open), and there's no ability to install something like a VPN, this is really a moot discussion. There's no way to run a VPN directly on the Roku itself. You have to have the VPN running for your entire network. Can it be done? Certainly. But it's not something you can take with you when you travel. 

[wabashtrail]

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@DBDukes wrote:

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@wabashtrail wrote:

Expats and travelers are packing a Firestick, not a Roku Stick, and international streaming is growing rapidly.

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Are you saying that because this forum doesn't allow advocacy of VPNs that people who have never even been to this forum are buying Firesticks for travel abroad?

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I was speaking more to Roku Inc.  Remember, I love the Roku Platform, along with a small device that has an Ethernet port.

I have a lot of friends in the Philippines, and they all stream content from home (USA).  They are using a Firestick.

So again my point is that Internationlal streaming is Huge, and Roku is missing out by not including VPNs in the Channel Store.

[wabashtrail]

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@atc98092 wrote:

Since the Roku OS is not open source (based on Linux but not open), and there's no ability to install something like a VPN, this is really a moot discussion. There's no way to run a VPN directly on the Roku itself. You have to have the VPN running for your entire network. Can it be done? Certainly. But it's not something you can take with you when you travel. 

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? If Roku added VPNs to the channel store, they would not work?

Would it not be the same as the Firestick only with the better Platform?

[atc98092]

For the most part, providers do NOT want you circumventing geographical restrictions using a VPN. They license their content to be streamed in certain locations, and their contract does not permit them to provide content elsewhere. Doing what you are saying is breaking their contract, and places them in a possible legal situation. 

Just because international streaming is "huge", that doesn't make it legal. Yes, I understand the point. Yes, if I'm a legal resident of the US that happens to be somewhere else at the moment it would be nice to still access the content that is available to me when I'm home. But it's not legal, or at the very least you're violating the terms of use with the provider.

You mentioned earlier that Netflix is fine with it. I have serious trouble believing that, because they to geographically limit where their content can be viewed. I would imagine they are OK with their original content, since they themselves are the owner. But anything they license from another studio almost certainly has restrictions on where Netflix is permitted to stream that content to.