Channels & viewing

[StevenCee]

This is so incredibly frustrating... I was watching a TV series on the Roku Live Channel, called "Rogue". I turn off my TV, went into a different room, turned my computer on, and went to the Roku  website. I looked at the "Continue Watching" line, and it wasn't there. So I put it into the Search window, and it brought up about 20 shows with the word Rogue or something similar, most being on pay channels. No Rogue to be found anywhere!   I searched through categories of live TV shows, here & there, tried another search, and nothing!

Why is something this ridiculous happening? It's obviously a show on Roku, so it should've been in my "Currently Watching" list, but no. Certainly when I do a search it'll show up, no!

Of course, I could go back to my bedroom, turn the TV back on, go back to the station it was on, but then I'd have to watch it there, which I don't want to do. Why it can't be found in on your website makes no sense....

[RokuTakashi]

Hi, @StevenCee 

Thanks for the post.

We understand your concern regarding your viewing of a TV series under the Roku Live Channel. 

Kindly be informed that viewing a content under the Live TV cannot be manually searched since most live TV services primarily provide access to currently airing programs on channels, not a searchable library of movies. This means you can only find a movie if it happens to be playing live on a channel at that exact moment.

Additionally, to view your recently watched or "Continue Watching" content, make sure to log in with your credentials on The Roku Channel associated with your Roku account.

We hope this information helps, and let us know if you have further concerns or inquries.

Thanks,
The Roku Community Team. 

[AvsGunnar]

@StevenCee 

I think you may have been watching Rogue on Roku Channel LiveTV (EbonyTV by Lionsgate ch.378).

It is also available for free on Sling (Freestream) on their EbonyTV live channel as well.

If you go to the online Roku Channel just type in Ebony in the Search field to bring up this channel.  Here is the direct link. 

https://therokuchannel.roku.com/search/ebony 

https://therokuchannel.roku.com/watch/d0c6ac240cb8529992ee3340e5b7f102/ebony

You are correct in that the online Roku Channel is not showing Rogue in the Search results, but it did show up on my device. (probably because it is currently playing live/on-now).

Currently seasons 2-4 are available for free on-demand on Freevee in interested.  It does not seem to be on demand on the Roku Channel currently.

[StevenCee]

Thanks @AvsGunnar , but I did eventually find it, and yes, it's the one on Ebony TV. It's just weird that it couldn't even be found when searched directly. And that I remembered the name of the show, was an accomplishment, also recalling what exact channel it was on, not so often.
Since I would always see it in the Live Guide, I didn't notice what channel it was. And since I wanted to continue viewing on my desktop, since there is no Live Guide, I assumed, as most of the time it will, show me what shows I'm currently viewing, or find by entering the title in the Search. But neither feature was working as they should... I've never had an issue with a show I'm watching in real time, not showing up on my computer, in the currently watching category

[AvsGunnar]

@StevenCee 

Yeah, it can be a bit confusing at times when these features either don't work or they have a change in their previous behavior.

Basically though, if you are watching something on LiveTV that has a dedicated channel (ie. According to Jim ch. 827) then you can perform a Search for it both on the device and online Roku Channel and it will appear in the Results. (as well as under your Continue Watching).

If you are watching a show on a LiveTV channel that plays different series on it (not a dedicated channel to a particular show), then it will only show up on the device Search results when it is actually playing/airing.  It is a bit confusing why it also wouldn't have similar behavior similar for the online Roku Channel but that is Roku for you.  Just have to roll with the punches and be grateful they even provide a Search feature for their users. 🙂

They really need to get going with providing an EPG guide for their online Roku Channel as well since many of the other free channels like Pluto, Plex, and Xumo already do.  This would certainly help with the ability to find content quickly and keep people on the Roku Channel rather than leaving frustrated with a sub-par experience.  

Online Roku Channel is great if you already know what you want to watch.  But browsing for content is really lacking in the user experience department.