Solving playback issues

[gibbonsdb]

Hello. I have a 4640X that is failing on a random basis. By 'failing' I mean that it pretty regularly fails to display the palette of apps, does not respond the the remote and basically acts 'dead.'

If I RESET it, it will go thru the normal startup sequence, including the Roku activation process and then the screen extinguishes and displays nothing.

I have another ROKU - a 4670X - and if I plug in the the 4670X and unplug the 4640X everything works great.

I use a Cat 5 ethernet cable vs wireless connectivity.

A SECOND QUESTION: does anyone know where I can get a replacement 4640X? I need the Optical port for digital audio output and I don't think there's another ROKU model that has this feature? I have been unable to find one on eBay, etc.

THANKS!!

[atc98092]

The 4640 was replaced by the 4660 in Oct 2018. You are highly unlikely to find any new stock anywhere. If you aren't seeing any on eBay, then there's probably none available. 

If an optical out is mandatory for your use, (and you're correct there's no Roku available with one any longer) I would suggest using an HDMI audio extractor. Here's one on Amazon for $20, and has a 5% off coupon. Then you could use any Roku player. Note that this specific extractor only supports 4K/30, so if you have a 4K TV you really should get an extractor that supports 4K/60 passthrough. Otherwise you might lose HDR/Dolby Vision support (assuming you have a compatible display).

[gibbonsdb]

Dan - MANY thanks for your reply.

It's prompted 2 more questions:

1) The reason I need the optical port is that the SONY receiver I use, which is 2 zone, only supports analog input for Zone 2. To take digital streaming audio from ROKU sources like Sirius or Pandora and feed them into the receiver I have to use a Toslink cable from the ROKU optical port to a digital-to-analog converter, and then into the audio input jacks of the receiver (with RCA cables). I'm not familiar with audio extractors, and whether using one would be an alternative to my current setup (which was suggested by the guys at Crutchfield when I purchased the receiver a few years ago). If so, I would look at purchasing one.

2) Does ROKU (or anyone) offer a refurbishment service for 4640X?

[atc98092]

1) the audio extractor I linked does have analog out as well as the optical port. I believe almost all extractors will do the same. So that would replace the current optical/analog converter and still only require a single box in the stream. 

2) I am unaware of any company offering refurbishment of any Roku device. They are simply too inexpensive to replace to make refurbishment a viable business plan for someone. Even if a shop only charged $40 per hour labor, you've reached the price of a new Roku after two hours and replacing even the smallest part. Right now Best Buy is selling new Ultra players for $80, which is $20 off. It would be near impossible for a shop to compete against even the full list price to refurbish an older Ultra and make any money at it.