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Roku says it may lose YouTube TV app after Google made anti-competitive demands

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Re: Roku says it may lose YouTube TV app after Google made anti-competitive demands

#271

Post by novok »

randallsquared wrote: post #269
novok wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The new chromecast is pretty good and $50, and until very recently the ATV was pretty out of date and overpriced. The chromecast stutters sometimes in the main screen, but actually playing videos is just fine. You can also side load unofficial youtube apps, which are much better than the actual youtube app on the chromecast. The LG OLED tv os was missing some services, like HBO, but it stutters less. The only thing m…

> The new chromecast is pretty good and $50, and until very recently the ATV was pretty out of date and overpriced. The chromecast stutters sometimes in the main screen, but actually playing videos is just fine. I can understand "overpriced", but on the other hand, the apparently-not-out-of-date chromecast stutters? WTF.

$50 price point i'm guessing

Re: Roku says it may lose YouTube TV app after Google made anti-competitive demands

#272

Post by limeblack »

rurp wrote: post #215
etempleton wrote: post #142

HBO Max was delayed in appearing on Roku because of negotiation breakdowns. In the case HBO it was Roku that seemed to have the demands. They are looking at revenue anywhere they can, but if their position weakens look for Google, ATT, and others to simply forgo working with them. I think Roku is in a perilous position in general. They generated a lot of buzz on Wallstreet with their high user counts. They also purch…

I have both a Roku and a Chromecast and the Roku works _much_ better. The Chromecast used to be fine, but a few years ago they refactored it in the Home app and now it constantly needs to be reconnected to the wifi. That would be annoying enough but the setup process also fails regularly. No other device in my house has this problem.

The Chromebook sticks used to work really well until they to my knowledge were discontinued.[1]

[1] https://www.amazon.com/CHROMEBIT-Stick-Desktop-RockChip-3288...

Re: Roku says it may lose YouTube TV app after Google made anti-competitive demands

#274

Post by limeblack »

ohazi wrote: post #273

Roku should just drop them. The YouTube experience on Google's Roku app is hot garbage compared to a web browser with an ad blocker.

My parents(grandparents also) don't mind working a Roku. The same can not be said for a web browser on the TV.

Re: Roku says it may lose YouTube TV app after Google made anti-competitive demands

#275

Post by BlueTemplar »

Cd00d wrote: post #230
dyingkneepad wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, there are also Roku TVs now.

I recently bought a TCL TV with a Roku OS. I think it's great. It was cheap. I'm a fan of Roku (been with them since 2008 or so). I'm disappointed to see these tiffs with content companies. Remember the time when every video you wanted to play on your computer required a different software player? Are these companies planning on re-doing all that with hardware ? "Oh, I have a Roku for most things, then plug in Apple…

Well, I'm already forced to use my Raspberry Pi for H265 (which it cannot play fullscreen for some reason), because my TV doesn't support it.

Re: Roku says it may lose YouTube TV app after Google made anti-competitive demands

#276

Post by lsiebert »

techrat wrote: post #243
cdiddy2 wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use roku simply because its not connected to a big tech company. Same reason I use spotify. I wonder how many others there are like me

The big problem with Spotify is that they're primarily controlled by the labels with their licensing agreements. All of the majors also own portions of shares within the service. People also don't realise that I heart Radio is Clearchannel rebranded. The closest thing to an actual independent streaming service I'd say we have right now is Beatport or Bandcamp. The situation that Spotify finds itself in, along with Ro…

There is in fact a Roku channel, where they've picked up some licensing of content, but they aren't making their own unique stuff atm.

Re: Roku says it may lose YouTube TV app after Google made anti-competitive demands

#277

Post by mdoms »

etempleton wrote: post #142

HBO Max was delayed in appearing on Roku because of negotiation breakdowns. In the case HBO it was Roku that seemed to have the demands. They are looking at revenue anywhere they can, but if their position weakens look for Google, ATT, and others to simply forgo working with them. I think Roku is in a perilous position in general. They generated a lot of buzz on Wallstreet with their high user counts. They also purch…

After all this time Roku still does not sell units in my country and I suspect they barely have a presence outside North America. Not really a surprise that companies who refuse to sell products to diverse markets fail to keep their revenue safe.

Re: Roku says it may lose YouTube TV app after Google made anti-competitive demands

#278

Post by Larrikin »

mdoms wrote: post #277
etempleton wrote: post #142

HBO Max was delayed in appearing on Roku because of negotiation breakdowns. In the case HBO it was Roku that seemed to have the demands. They are looking at revenue anywhere they can, but if their position weakens look for Google, ATT, and others to simply forgo working with them. I think Roku is in a perilous position in general. They generated a lot of buzz on Wallstreet with their high user counts. They also purch…

After all this time Roku still does not sell units in my country and I suspect they barely have a presence outside North America. Not really a surprise that companies who refuse to sell products to diverse markets fail to keep their revenue safe.

This is a big short coming for Roku, they not only have three or four European language options only, but developers have to actually spend time coding UTF8 support.

So far the only apps that I use that don't show Japanese as squares or worse blanks is the Apple airplay app (which shipped initially without support) and the YouTube app. It's a frustrating experience using Plex with properly named shows, but atleast burning in subtitles gives support while watching.

Re: Roku says it may lose YouTube TV app after Google made anti-competitive demands

#279

Post by indymike »

I've had Roku, Chromecasts, a couple different LG and Samsung smartTVs, and the best, far and away was the cheap TCL Roku TV. Why? Because everyone in the family could use it, and there were hundreds of streaming providers available. Chromecasts are easy, but require another device to work. The Roku TV? You could operate it from the buttons on the TV if you lost the remote (a regular occurrence with 7 people in the house)... and it was fine. So... what about the YouTube app? It was great on Roku.

Re: Roku says it may lose YouTube TV app after Google made anti-competitive demands

#280

Post by girvo »

rocqua wrote: post #244
hnra wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a lot of people use the phrase "big tech" to refer to the giants whom use lobbying, monopoly power, etc. to stay disproportionately big.

Spotify is starting to do this with podcasts.

Though their UI really needs some work in my opinion for it to be worth it. I subscribed specifically to listen to their exclusive podcasts, but bounced off and cancelled a month later due to it being a honestly not great experience.

It's possible that my expectations don't match the wider worlds though: my girlfriend loves Spotify and uses it for podcasts as well as music.

For me, music requires album-focused UI, and I honestly prefer having Podcasts broken out into it's own app or interface. Mixing the two just didn't feel right.

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