the Roku is a stupidly designed device

[Zeno Marx]

Picked up a Roku cheap to try. Yet another device that you need your phone to fully control and set it up. Who the F thinks of this?

The Roku remote has a power button, but it only controls the TV power and TV volume. The Roku is designed to never shut off.* Which then means that your TV can't sense that the Roku is off, so it doesn't instinctively go back to cable TV or your other HDMI outputs when you are finished with the Roku. You have to have your TV remote to then switch back to the HDMI input to go back to your cable TV or blu-ray or game console. If you hit one of the buttons on the Roku remote, your TV does recognize that and goes back to the Roku device. It just can't instinctively leave the Roku. So, so stupid. I haven't used my main TV remote for maybe a year. Thankfully, because it is huge, so I keep it in a cabinet. Not any longer. If I plan to use the Roku, it has to sit on the table next to the cable remote and now the Roku remote. The Roku didn't just add its remote to the table decor. It also demands another remote be in common use.

*:
1) if you don't want the Roku remote to control your TV, you have to tell it is the wrong company. They say it right on their forum. So if you have a Sony TV and don't want it to screw with your TV, you have to tell it is a Samsung TV etc. It'll still control the Roku device, just not your TV. Why in the hell would I want the Roku remote to shut off/on the TV? How many people are going to want to hit that power button, thinking they are controlling the Roku, only to have to turn the TV back on with another remote (because if you turn the TV back on with the Roku, you're right back at being within the Roku system that you were trying to shut off in the first place).

2) If you want to change the power settings, you have to use your phone to access your account to see the entire settings menu. Only part of the menu is accessible directly through the Roku device and remote.

3) if you use your phone, the device is told (?) you're using your phone, and it then makes the phone take precedent over the remote. I haven't quite figured out what the hell is happening between the phone, remote, and device. You have to shut off the phone in order for it to want to listen to the remote. I think. I only know the phone gets in the way of the interface.

I borrowed an older Apple TV model from a friend a couple years ago, and the interface was very intuitive and simple. You hit the power button on the little remote, and the TV switched to Apple TV. When you were finished with the Apple TV, the remote shut it down, and it instinctively went back to cable. The remote didn't affect the TV. It worked like its own little unit, like I would guess people would want from each device. If you're thinking of either a Roku or an Apple TV, buy the Apple TV (unless they've changed things to behave this stupidly too).

 

[Idlefellow]

Seems like most of this stuff anymore requires your phone for setup or use, even the live streaming networks! I'm not married to my phone like some folks so every time there's a glitch I have to go get my phone (if I can find it) to set it right. Same with Alexa. What ever happened to a phone is a phone, a TV is a TV, etc. etc.? And while we're on the subject, what moron decided that the remote for my LG smart TV didn't need the ability to light up?

 

[D.L.Ruth]

I guess I have an older version of the Roku, my phone and roku remote work just fine together. I really only use the phone with it when the wife tells me to put my headphones on. I also have s roku TV so the roku device overpowering the TV isn't really an issue since we really only use the roku and have never noticed if it switched when a roku remote button is pushed.

 

[Blackhorse]

I have one that can be voice controlled. Works very, very well. No problems that a soft re-set won’t fix. Very pleased with it.

 

[DWSmith]

What ever happened to a phone is a phone, a TV is a TV, etc. etc.?

Amen brother!!!

I walk into COSTCO and the Dish, or whoever they are, representatives come up to me and ask if I have their service. When I say, "No." they ask which provider I have. I say, "Over the air." They haven't a clue then I explain that I get 44 channels on the antenna in the attic over my garage. I really don't think they believe me.

At time I miss analog TV signals that don't pixelate into oblivion whenever there's a storm between us and the broadcast towers. But analog had snow during bad weather so, as always, everything has its pros and cons.

As long as there's a mute button on my TV's remote control I'll remain happy with it!

As far as a phone goes here lately I've been considering getting my landline back in service ... seriously. These smartphones are nothing but a data gathering, advertising tool. I long for a dumb, old, flip phone. Even on my last flip phone I could watch youtube videos and listen to the FM radio or whatever music I had copied onto my SD card.

 

[Zeno Marx]

I have one that can be voice controlled. Works very, very well. No problems that a soft re-set won’t fix. Very pleased with it.

Does the Roku voice respond to changing to another HDMI outlet, like your cable TV, blu-ray player, or whatever?

 

[Blackhorse]

Not sure what you’re asking.

Do you mean can I switch from the ROKU to my DISH feed using vocal commands? No. It allows search and selection of any and all channels fed via the ROKU…like YouTube, HULU, Nat Geo, Prime Video, Disney+, IMDb TV, NETFLIX, PBS, etc.

And obviously you can only search channels on which the ROKU has a database…like the above.

It might also allow me to do more/other things that I haven’t discovered yet…like I find every once in a while on my iPhone XR or iPad Pro.

 

[Zeno Marx]

Not sure what you’re asking.

Do you mean can I switch from the ROKU to my DISH feed using vocal commands? No. It allows search and selection of any and all channels fed via the ROKU…like YouTube, HULU, Nat Geo, Prime Video, Disney+, IMDb TV, NETFLIX, PBS, etc.

OK. Right. That's what I meant. I have this Roku now (HDMI 3) and regular cable box (HDMI 2). I thought you might have a way you're going from the Roku to the other HDMI inputs (where my cable box is located) via Roku voice commands. For instance, "Go to HDMI 2." That's what I'd like it to do. Maybe I wasn't doing something right or have the settings not right.