Remotes & Accessories

[bamajim]

Is there a 'previous channel' button on roku remote?  I use psvue for most of my live streaming.  Football season is upon us and being able to switch between two channels with one button (which is available on directv and cable services) would be a plus

[dfgsrzwer]

The app itself would have to have that feature built into it.

[niaxilin]

Comcast/XFINITY has a "Last" button the the X1 remote. Pressing it brings up a "Last Watched" bar at the bottom of the screen. You can see your history and choose from your last eight watched items.



My dad was going to buy six Roku Ultras and drop cable TV before he relized he would lose this functionality. He would literally pay thousands of dollards to have this added to the Roku. Why? Because he pays that much a year to Comcast, and he says he won't switch without this feature. What a stick in the mud! But you gotta admit, it's not a bad feature.

[Basil]

You can use the Roku remote app on iOS or Android to switch between apps. Not exactly a Last Channel/App button, but it will accomplish the same thing.

[niaxilin]

One big hurdle is there seems to be no "deep linking" into a Roku app. I could be wrong there. The other hurdle is that Roku apps don't report back to the OS on exacly what has been viewed.

For exammple, if my last five channels have been...

1. NBC: Big Bang Episode 12


2. Tablo: Channel 4.1


3. NBC: Star Trek Episode 5


4. Tablo: Colbert, Dec 25, 2017


5. DirectTV NOW: Tennis Channel

...there's currently no way for the Roku to know the history of in-app activity, let alone deep link back to it. Deep linking, plus a history API where Roku apps report back to the Roku OS with their in-app history, would allow for "recently viewed" navigation, like XFINITY's X1 and Google's Live Channels.

This. Would. Be. Amazing!

[T_J]

Sling TV has a previous channel feature. If your watching ESPN1 on the Roku Sling TV app and press the Roku remote OK button twice, Roku will change to your previous Sling TV channel (for example TBS).  Then if press OK button twice, back to ESPN1. Works great. 

I just noticed this thread started on September 1. OP with 1 post is probably long gone.

[dynamo_bollocks]

If you are watching a live TV show:
press the down arrow twice, and the last 4 channels you've been watching will appear.

[tgormlysr]

Use the double arrow (reverse) button on the remote

[DaveJS8]

Only thing that works on my remote is hitting up arrow key, one time. That brings up a list of my channels at the bottom of the screen.  Helpful but not enough for those of us who typically watch or monitor at least two channels simultaneously. 

This feature is a consideration for anyone thinking about 'cutting the cord'. If you rely on weather reports during rough weather season then having the ability to monitor at least two channels can make a difference. Or during sports season lots of people want to watch multiple games. 

Channel navigation is the one thing that is keeping me from taking that final step towards renegotiating my cable tv package. 

[1zodiac]

my roku is older then this thread and it has a previous channel button.

always been up to channel maker if they give that feature.