When I turn my TV on [Panasonic Viera] the Roku home-screen appears after a few seconds without being summoned by the remote. I then have to remove it by pressing the 'TV' button on my TV remote. Is there a way to stop this happening every time I turn on the TV?
Many thanks for the responses to my enquiry/issue.
I have plugged the USB lead directly into the power supply, although it worked perfectly well when plugged into the TV. This didn't immediately solve the problem, so the ROKU home-screen still appeared after a short time.
I noticed that I had one unused HDMI input so, on the offchance, I changed the ROKU input into this socket. This, mysteriously, has solved the problem - no idea why. It was in HDMI 1 and it's now in HDMI 3 (of four). 'Tis mystery all but.
Thanks again.
@baz41- This sounds to me like something the tv is doing on its own. I don't have a Viera to check. Is there a setting that defines what input is shown on startup? My TCL Roku tv has such a setting. My other two sets just start up with the input they were showing when they were shut down.
Thanks for the suggestion. My TV, like yours, starts up with whatever channel was on when it was last switched off. The Roku home-screen appears after about five seconds. I can't find anything relevant in the settings menu.
Puzzling over this, I can think of one possible explanation.
If your Roku is being powered via a USB port on the TV, and if the port is one that shuts down when you turn off the TV, then the Roku must boot up each time you turn on the TV. If the TV startss up faster than the Roku, at boot up when it checks the HDMI to which the Roku is attached the Roku may not yet be ready to respond so the TV doesn't register that anything is connected to that HDMI.
Now, when the Roku finishes its bootup a few seconds later, the TV recognizes a new connection and switches to it, thanks to having the TV's CEC (Consumer Electronic Control) feature which automatically switches to the appropriate input port when a peripheral device is turned on.
If this is what's happening, what can you do about it? Several things come to mind:
1) Plug the Roku into your house power instead of the TV's USB port, using the USB power adapter that came with it, or another you may have handy from another device - just be sure the fine print on it rates its output as at least 1 amp. (Alternatively, some TVs may have a setting that allows the USB port to stay powered when the TV is off.) The Roku is on whenever powered and will already be running when the TV starts up, so this should not not trigger the "new connection" CEC response. This also allows the Roku to do its automatic update checks at all hours. The power used when not streaming is tiny.
If you do this, get in the habit of returning your Roku to the home screen when done viewing to prevent it from continuing to stream unwatched. Another safeguard is to turn on the Roku's "Bandwidth saver" which pops up after 4 hours with no user input and asks if you're still watching. If you don't respond it shuts down the stream and returns to the home screen. Roku menu path: Settings > Network > Bandwidth saver.
2) Disable the Roku's CEC feature (what Roku calls "1-touch play"). Settings > System > Control other devices > 1-touch play (uncheck). As a result, you'll have to manually switch the TV to the Roku's HDMI port when you want to watch Roku.
3) Disable the TV's CEC feature. This also means you'll have to manually switch the TV to the Roku's HDMI port when you want to watch Roku. Some manufacturers call this by their own proprietary names instead of CEC. Panasonic has used these names: VIERA Link, HDAVI Control, EZ-Sync.
Many thanks for this very detailed response - it's much appreciated.
It had already occurred to me that the Roku/USB connection directly into the TV might be a factor so I shall try charging directly from a separate socket as soon as I have the necessary plug with a USB output.
If that doesn't work I shall try your other suggestions. (I have checked with a friend who also uses Roku and his USB connection is from a separate socket and the problem doesn't occur on his TV.)
Thanks again.
I think you'll find powering from house power will cure the problem.
You're lucky your Roku is working okay powered thru the tv. Many tv USB ports, especially on older sets, only provide the minimum 0.5 amp current required by the initial USB specs, and this is not sufficient to reliably run a Roku.
Many thanks for the responses to my enquiry/issue.
I have plugged the USB lead directly into the power supply, although it worked perfectly well when plugged into the TV. This didn't immediately solve the problem, so the ROKU home-screen still appeared after a short time.
I noticed that I had one unused HDMI input so, on the offchance, I changed the ROKU input into this socket. This, mysteriously, has solved the problem - no idea why. It was in HDMI 1 and it's now in HDMI 3 (of four). 'Tis mystery all but.
Thanks again.