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Cara-M
Newbie
‎09-19-2022 05:05 PM

Help with old Roku HD that won't play

I realize this is an older device, but I'm trying to figure out if I want to drop cable and switch to Roku for all my TV viewing - and I had this older Roku HD (2500X) sitting around that has really never been used.  Wanted to see if it would help me decide about dropping cable, but I don't seem to be able to watch anything!

I can see all the menu/home screen stuff but, if I select a channel (Boston 25 NOW) and then try to stream live news from them - the screen just goes black.  If I pick something under that channel that does NOT say "streaming" - I get "Content unavailable."

Tried a different channel (CBS News) and I just get the logo screen, wait...wait...wait... "CBSN Live video Retrieving..." and I wait... wait... wait...  finally get some play, but then it buffers, then comes back so pixelated and fuzzy that it's unviewable.  It plays, but I wouldn't rely on it as my sole source of TV.  I have an impatient spouse who will NOT wait for stuff to load, like this.

Is this because I'm on an old Roku, or is it a network issue?  My wireless connection shows as "excellent," and my download speed as "good (3 Mbps)."  (My Comcast download speed is supposed to be 300 Mbps, so I'm not sure why this is so low.)

I'm totally new to streaming devices and, though I'm not a luddite, my tech experience is mostly in OLD/corporate tech, so I'm out of touch.  Please advise!

 

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Strega
Roku Guru
‎09-20-2022 07:31 AM

Re: Help with old Roku HD that won't play

That’s an early model from 2012 that is no longer supported.  Just like the corporate tech, it’s best to start using tech as soon as you get it, because it does tend to become obsolete whether you make use of it or not.

3Mbps is somewhat slow.  Maybe 10 years ago it was “good”.  The 2500 was 2.4GHz only, and throughput was probably limited by both the Wi-Fi implementation and CPU speed. (Likewise, while it says “HD”, in this case that only means 720p, whereas today I think most people would assume HD to be 1080p.)

Consider getting a current lowish end model like an Express 4K+ for your experiment.

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remaker
Roku Guru
‎10-02-2022 08:03 AM

Re: Help with old Roku HD that won't play

The Roku HD is no longer supported, and not representative of what Roku can do.

The low speed may be due to a poor Wi-Fi connection, which also my be a function of the unit’s age.

You may qualify for a discounted upgraded unit for as little as $9.99, check https://my.roku.com/upgrade/ with your Roku login. 

 

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