Solving playback issues

[Ceplen]

Roku channel is showing Inglorious Bastards(Brad Pitt) and Captain and Commander (Russel Crowe)as free movies. When you click on IB a charge of $14.99 is requested and C & C says the movie is not available.  Any explanation?

[AvsGunnar · Accepted solution]

@Ceplen 

The Russell Crowe (Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World) seemed to play fine.  Maybe you were searching for "Captain and Commander".  Tested on Roku Ultra 4660 in U.S.

The Brad Pitt (Inglorious Basterds) is linked/provided by Vudu/Fandango.  Seems like just lack of updating within the Search menu.  Since these two companies recently merged, probably just error as reporting this movie as Free. (It may have been free w/ ads at some time, but probably expired.  Showing as 14.99 currently.)

If you install Vudu Channel on your Roku you can search for the movies they currently have for Free within their channel/app.

Hope that helps a bit.

[Ceplen]

Thanks

[KageRyu]

Roku very much needs to learn the meaning of FREE.  There are multiple movies and TV shows being advertised both under Featured Free and on the actual Roku channel that when selected lead to either a direct attempt to charge for the content or a list of "options" that all require a payment.  Several offered television shows and series lead to services that either require a direct subscription, or require you to sign in through a cable service or other service that carries the selected channel.  All of this is not free and should not be listed as free or under featured free - it is bait and switch and an underhanded attempt to pad the available content to look more enticing than it is.  It's bad enough in the last 12 months both the Roku channel and the Featured Free section of the Roku Device have gone from having 1 category of Premium Trials to having Six different Categories, meanwhile other categories and content I was interested in have vanished.

Roku has deteriorated greatly in the past 18 months with this false marketing, and without any direct way  to contact customer support it is likely only going to get worse.

[AvsGunnar]

@KageRyu 

Definitely understand the frustration.  Not sure if simple oversight, or some channels and services are deliberately doing this to become listed in the Free section.  I am sure they agree to certain rules with Roku regarding this behavior, so may be useful if you provide detailed info where you are encountering this to make Roku aware of an issue.  Direct contact with the channel developer may also prove useful as they may be unaware of a programming issue. (Still like to give people the benefit of the doubt.)