Roku Device Features, Settings & Updates

[Magister_Ludi]

The Late Show comes on too late for me to view.  I would like to know if there is a way to view on demand.

[atc98092 · Accepted solution]

Roku players are not DVRs, and have no recording abilities. There are devices that provide DVR services that you can use through a Roku, such as the HD HomeRun networked tuner. Myself, I have a media PC with a TV tuner and I use J River for recording OTA. The paid version of Plex also supports a TV tuner, and some specific channels might permit saving something in the cloud for later viewing.

But if you want to record something that is streaming via your Roku device, it can't be done.

[hewscsi]

my roku 3920x only records certain series, but not all that I have selected to record.  i think the roku is not up to the task.  the local pbs station has this old house and ask this old house which i would like to record.  i have successfully setup recording on other channels, but it won't record those two shows.  is the roku a piece of junk or is it verboten to record pbs shows for later viewing?  my vote is piece of junk.

yes, the red circles are visible for the shows when i am looking at the guide.  

[atc98092]

---

@hewscsi wrote:

my roku 3920x only records certain series, but not all that I have selected to record.  i think the roku is not up to the task.  the local pbs station has this old house and ask this old house which i would like to record.  i have successfully setup recording on other channels, but it won't record those two shows.  is the roku a piece of junk or is it verboten to record pbs shows for later viewing?  my vote is piece of junk.

yes, the red circles are visible for the shows when i am looking at the guide.  

---

Roku devices cannot record. They have no internal storage space for saving any recordings, and the few devices with USB ports are for media playback only. It sounds like you're referring to some sort of functionality within a specific channel. That channel provider would have to assist you with issues with their channel. 

[Anneli33]

I'm having the same problem and we're talking about the cloud dvr that is provided on some roku devices and sticks. There's a space that says "manage dvr" and buttons that say "record" on every show where it's possible so don't tell us it doesn't exist. I've had about 50% success; sometimes it saves and sometimes it doesn't-- (if you'd rather I say "save" than "record" even though the option right on the roku says "record") and there's just no way to know what it will do. I haven't been able to find a pattern at all. I know if it's something really important to me, I'll have a better chance of it actually happening if I go in and tell it to record again less than 24 hours before it's supposed to, even if it's already marked to record it-- and I also know even though it might say it's set to record something regularly, it doesn't always stick, nor does it record if you set it to too far in advance, as in more than a day or two. It's really quite annoying because you think you have this feature but you really sort of don't. It either needs to be made to work or taken off as a feature. Can someone from Roku please divulge what the secret is to using it?

[DBDukes]

---

@Anneli33 wrote:

I'm having the same problem and we're talking about the cloud dvr that is provided on some roku devices and sticks. There's a space that says "manage dvr" and buttons that say "record" on every show where it's possible so don't tell us it doesn't exist. I've had about 50% success; sometimes it saves and sometimes it doesn't-- (if you'd rather I say "save" than "record" even though the option right on the roku says "record") and there's just no way to know what it will do. I haven't been able to find a pattern at all. I know if it's something really important to me, I'll have a better chance of it actually happening if I go in and tell it to record again less than 24 hours before it's supposed to, even if it's already marked to record it-- and I also know even though it might say it's set to record something regularly, it doesn't always stick, nor does it record if you set it to too far in advance, as in more than a day or two. It's really quite annoying because you think you have this feature but you really sort of don't. It either needs to be made to work or taken off as a feature. Can someone from Roku please divulge what the secret is to using it?

---

I'm not from Roku. I'm a long-time Roku user (2010). You can ignore what I'm about to write, or you can wait for someone from Roku to come along and say the same thing with different words.

Read what I'm about to write carefully. Roku does not record anything, and it never has. Now keep reading. Read it all, and it will all make sense.

Here's what's actually happening that is causing the confusion.

Roku runs apps. Apps deliver content via services. For example, if you add the Sling TV app to your Roku, and if you subscribe to the Sling TV service, you can watch shows, and the Sling TV service (not the Roku, but the service to which you have subscribed) can record shows for storing in "the cloud."

Same applies to YouTube TV. There's an app that you use to access the YouTube TV service. The service has DVR capabilities. You can use the Roku to utilize the functionality of the service. And YouTube TV service offers DVR functionality.

Keep reading. Here's where it might all make sense.

Similar (not same) applies to Frndly.TV and its service. There is a Roku app for Frndly.TV and Frndly.TV offers three levels of service. If you subscribe to the Basic service, you cannot record anything. There is no DVR capability with the Basic service. Why? Because Roku is not a DVR.

Now, if you upgrade your Frndly.TV service to Classic or Premium, you can record content from Frndly.TV but not because Roku is a DVR. It's not, as we've been saying. It's a device that lets you access services, and services may (or may not) include DVR functionality.

Does that help clarify things?

[Anneli33]

Yes, that makes more sense; thanks for explaining it better than the first guy. I understand that you're saying the roku stick is just the messenger, really-- besides the roku channel (which you're right, there's no record-- I went and looked just to be sure I understood, ha ha!) the roku stick that I have is just a conduit for delivering services we're getting from somewhere else, and we need to go to that service to deal with their product problems. Got it. I'm kind of happy about that, because I kinda love my roku stick and I'm glad to know this is a problem I can fix by making a change somewhere else. Thanks for taking the time to respond so clearly to this highly frustrating problem; much appreciated.

[karklean]

Is it possible to attach the Roku to the back of a physical DVR and record shows?

[atc98092]

---

@karklean wrote:

Is it possible to attach the Roku to the back of a physical DVR and record shows?

---

No. The HDMI connection uses an encryption called HDCP that prohibits recording. For that reason you won't find any recording device with HDMI inputs, expect perhaps extremely expensive professional equipment.

You could use analog connections to record SD quality, but that's not going to look anywhere near as good as the HD signal. And of course, you can no longer buy a Roku with analog outputs.