Solving playback issues

[mike7000]

I currently have an Roku Ultra Model 4660X

The newest apps like Paramount+ and Sling TV are simply unusable because they load so slow and takes almost a minute but let's say 20+ seconds or more at times just for the menu of these apps to show up and another 30+ seconds just to pick a movie to watch and I want to know what is going on?

I have high speed internet 300+ MBPS and can confirm it's not a speed issue because apps like Netflix and YouTube load instantly and movies load with one click on those apps, but most of these new modern apps are so slow and cannot even use them that I am even thinking getting away from Roku.

Is it because the Roku Ultra is using a too slow processor for these new apps? Lazy developers not optimizing apps correctly for the Roku? I am wondering if anyone has the same problem. If a major app like Netflix can run smooth and open almost instantly why cannot the other apps.

I did all troubleshooting tests of resetting the device, making sure it's fully updated, reinstalling the apps, testing the connection and really Roku needs to do something about this particular model and make an update in their system.

[AvsGunnar]

@mike7000 

Can't speak to Paramount+, but can say that Sling (free version) does take a little bit to load on my Ethernet connected 4660.  The shows load immediately though once selected.

Experience silmilar behavior whether wireless or wired.  Takes even longer on my RokuTV.

Wouldn't say it takes a minute for the channel to initially launch (good 15-20secs though), but definitely a bit longer than some others which are very quick to launch.

I would suspect some of the channels are getting a little bloated and getting a little more resource hungry.

[mike7000]

I guess these modern apps are just not optimized properly and sucking up so much of Roku's memory and power that it cannot keep up. The Sling is terrible in my opinion one of the worst apps out there that takes so long to load, I think a few months ago it was even worse but still nothing beats Netflix and YouTube on the the roku you open those up and they are up in a few seconds. I just got Paramount+ and it's so slow the initial menu takes almost 20+ seconds to load then when you select a movie to watch just a spinning blue circle that takes almost another 20+ just for it to load. Developers are not optimizing these apps properly, a good example is Netflix, if it can run smooth and fast and load almost instantly why can't SlingTV and Paramount+ lazy developers?

[AvsGunnar]

Not sure if lazy developers or just getting the channel to work across all the different Roku devices.  Some of the other channels I frequently use had initial problems with Roku OS11 and took a bit to work out all the little bugs.

Still have some channels that I need to exit back to Home Screen and then re-launch the channel to get it to load (get past the loading circle).  Just some quirks with some channels. 

I think it just may be a bunch of little things.  Does seems at times though that the new OS is not playing as nice with some channels as it used to.

[mike7000]

Thanks for your time, really sad that the OS is getting so slow lately. I remember when I got it back a few years back the Ultra it was pretty solid and responsive but noticed slow downs lately, just really disappointed that some apps like Sling and Paramount+ are just getting to the point of not being usable due to slow loading or just not being optimized properly for the system/OS before being released. Roku and developers should implement/test more speed optimizations in their software to make it more responsive and smooth like it was a few years back. If these things really don't improve soon I would have no choice but to move to another platform for streaming as I just can't stand how slow lately it's getting.

Thanks again for the nice chat.

[renojim]

You can't compare apps to Netflix.  Netflix has and has always had an advantage.  So much of the Roku firmware is dedicated to Netflix that I wouldn't be surprised if that's what's slowing down other apps.    I don't even use Netflix yet I've still seen plenty of network traffic going to Netflix servers from my Roku devices.