Features, settings & updates

[Grellman]

Bought Roku TV 4 weeks ago. Very good mostly, but favorites on Roku channel have disappeared twice. Total PITA to scroll through the large list to add favorites, not only that, if you wait too long previewing content, it takes you out of the selection process, have to go back again. More PITA. Ditched Amazon Fire because of this same BS (among other issues). can't this be fixed?

[RokuEmmanuel-D]

Welcome to the Roku Community, @Grellman.

We understand that you're experiencing an issue with your Roku channel favorites feature, which has made streaming inconvenient for you, and we'd like to help you delve into this matter more deeply. 

Could you let us know if you're experiencing this while streaming through the Live TV guide or inside the Roku Channel App? 

This will provide us with more insight into your concern. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Thanks,
Emman

[Grellman]

Thanks for responding. Upon further reflection, it seems that the disappearances have occurred after antenna input rescan (more on this later). Why Roku channel favorites have any connection to antenna input is a mystery, looks like a terrible software shortcoming. What is disheartening is the totally unfriendly interface of the favorites option to change Roku channel favorites list. In theory, you should be shown a preview of the channel (hard to decide sometimes based on the cryptic names). This sometimes happens, but doesn't last long, after a short time display reverts to either the LiveTV menu screen or actually switches to the channel being previewed. When going back you have to select the channel guide again, then navigate to favorites, then add, and back to the same BS. Re: Antenna rescan - first, I request clarification on rescan vs. start from fresh (not addressed in user manual...). On rescan, are all existing channels kept, but only updated? This was a major flaw in the FireTV interface. Even my old "dumb" TV had an option to add but not erase channels, but Amazon would delete everything, making it nearly impossible to compile a complete list. I am midway between two major markets, and depending on the weather, the antenna may need to be rotated. The last TV forced me to install a booster, not necessarily a bad thing, which is more convenient now (less adjustment) since the sources are about 180 apart and backwards reception, though not ideal, is usually usable. On the theme "we can put a man on the moon, but...", how is it possible that listings and channel ID's are so inadequate? I have many channels that have no icon, are incorrectly identified, or have conflicting or inaccurate program listings. BTW, FireTV was mush worse... Back to why I did the rescans that lunched my favorites. For some reason, there are two channel 21 in my area. Milwaukee, WI has a low power station that cannot be received here, Madison has a PBS station that comes in well. Had to fart around with ZIP codes for a long time to finally get the TV to acknowledge the desired channel. Thanks for listening.

[Grellman]

Don't know where you went - you replied to my initial inquiry in less than a day. After my reply with several substantial issues, no reply for over 4 weeks. You seemed to want to help, if you cannot, can this be forwarded to someone who can help? Thanks.

[RokuEmmanuel-D]

Thanks for keeping us posted, @Grellman!

We apologize for not getting back to you shortly. Since the issue persists, we understand that it needs addressing, and we'd like to take a closer look at your concern. 

To help us understand the issue better, could you provide the following information below?

• Roku device model, serial number, device ID, and Software Version. (these can all be found in Settings > System > About)
• Tracker ID (when you see this issue occur, press the Home button five times, followed by the Back button five times, and provide us with this ID)

We are eager to get you back on streaming. Please get back to us soon. 

Best,
The Roku Community Team

[Grellman]

Device Model: 43R4AX  S.N.: XO12OOE9G9PK  Device ID: SONR4479G9PK  Software Version: 14.1

FYI, alpha O and numeric 0 are indistinguishable - bad font choice IMHO.

Regarding the channel info, after changes by the local broadcasters, some have been resolved after a week or two, others not. It seems that one station in particular here is the very worst - don't know if they're not following the rules or everyone is choking on 12 sub-channels (had the same problems on 3 different sets). Still, many problems remain with the channel info landscape, seems like its out of your control.

Several other issues with OTA viewing:

Live TV pause is problematic. Thought it maybe was my old drives, bought new USB 3.0 drives with specs far above your recommendations, no change. Don't use it much, might scrap it until it gets fixed. One recurring scenario is the repeat of about 2-3 seconds of content, followed by a short period of rapid speed up to catch up. This occurs even on very strong signals 4-5 bars. Don't know if there's local interference triggering this, but quality of OTA is always very good. The second scenario is mismatch of audio and video, sometimes up to 5 seconds. Cured by changing channels, then back, but of course lose the stored content. Sigh...

Used to get video resolution (480I, 720P, etc.) on the info display. Been missing for weeks now.

Aspect ratio difficulties. One channel, GET TV, has been the standout on this forever. All the old 4:3 shows that should be letterboxed show up wide. Saw this a lot with earlier TV sets, maybe default setting was everything wide, or they couldn't figure it out. Definitely not your problem (showed up on 3 sets), but what's the matter with these people? All other channels work fine, except about a week ago another channel developed the same problem, except it's stretching vertically, losing the edges in the process, along with incredible weight loss results!

Streaming works well, haven't lost the favorites, afraid to mess with rescans until the issues are clarified. BTW, my old "dumb" TV used to automatically add channels.

Thanks.

[RokuEmmanuel-D]

Thanks for keeping us posted, @Grellman!

Could you also provide a video or photo of it so the team can understand the issue better? We will be able to take a closer look at it if you could provide one. 

Thanks for your cooperation,
The Roku Community Team

[Grellman]

I don't believe any of these issues are amenable to visual capture. I have tried to succinctly describe the issues encountered. If there are uncertainties, I can elaborate on any questions.

OTA is probably a diminishing portion of Roku users, but if I'm having these problems, many others most certainly are as well. Being curious as a professional engineer, been trained to ask when something is unknown. (Please forgive...) However, despite long experience with tech and gadgets, had an extremely difficult time setting up OTA. Out of the box, antenna input is labeled as "Live TV", as also is streaming on Roku channel. Resulted in massive confusion, including the setting to include streaming channels. Lack of explanation in the manual contributed. What should have been 5-10 minutes turned into more than an hour of learn by doing/mistakes. Just wonder what Grandma would do...

Regards. 

[RokuEmmanuel-D]

@Grellman Thanks for keeping us in the loop!

For us to proceed with the process, could you send us your Tracker ID instead for more visibility? You can find that by referring to the post above. 

Best,
The Roku Community Team

[Grellman]

PK-025-925