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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

#401

Post by scarface74 »

pfranz wrote: post #396
scarface74 wrote: post #381

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple only gets a cut if you go through them for in app purchases. Content providers do not have to offer in app purchases and many don’t. There has always been an exception for apps that only allow you to view content.

Right, restrictions over signup. It's also a weird, ill-defined line for "viewing apps," too. As we saw with Hey last year, you can't tell them to go to the website to sign up and you can't just have an app that does nothing if you don't signup, either. Amazon chose to avoid this fight with Kindle years ago and everyone I talk to is confused why they can't buy books from their iPhone/iPad. Mostly because Amazon can't…

In the context of streaming apps, there is no inconsistency. Are people really confused by having to go to a website to sign up?

There is a huge difference between having to follow one rule and submitting your app to the store and being required to make a revenue and ad sharing deal.

The proof is in the pudding. Every streaming service has always supported iOS from day one. Then you hear “we are still waiting to make a deal with Roku”.

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

#402

Post by pbhjpbhj »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #28
908B64B197 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Roku alleges Google has asked it to favor YouTube music results from voice commands made on the Roku remote while the YouTube app is open, even if the user's music preference is set to default to another music app, like Pandora. That's the behavior I would expect from a full screen app. ie, if I issue a command in a full screen app for the command to be interpreted in the context of that app.

I find FireTV stick (from Amazon) to be applying in this respect, it doesn't appear to know command that direct them input to a specific app. When I have Google open and ask it to search for $search-string it will do it in the Amazon store context, ie offer to sell me a program rather than find the string on Google. Annoying. It relates to the lack of discoverability in voice interfaces, there may be an incantation t…

s/applying/annoying

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

#403

Post by bagacrap »

ed25519FUUU wrote: post #154
izacus wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last I checked YouTube requires VP9 support for HDR. Why is requesting that new devices support the format to avoid fragmentation a problem? Apple also demands certain format support for their video streams to work (not to mention a browser).

The keyword is “threaten”

"threaten" is such a cheap and meaningless word, mostly used to claim victimhood.

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

#404

Post by CarlosEscobedo »

sircastor wrote: post #158
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…

The reason I picked and stay with Roku is that they aren't married to a single Big Tech co. I already suffer the lack of a proper YouTube app on my Echo Show because Amazon and Google are having a tiff. I don't want to pick an ecosystem and live exclusively inside of it. As it is, I'm already in a mixed household (Me with iOS and my wife with Android) and it's a pain to deal with the lack of cross-platform playing to…

why would you use a roku over NVIDIA shield?

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

#405

Post by CarlosEscobedo »

jhallenworld wrote: post #384
wccrawford wrote: post #371

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had TVs with Android, LG's OS, Samsung's OS, etc... They all suck. I currently have a really nice Sony with Android TV, but I had so many problems with the built-in Android that I plugged an nVidia Shield box into it instead and all those problems went away. The other OS's all had their own issues, but the worst part of them was, like your Roku, the slowness. Everything is massively underpowered. Nobody wants to…

The last two AirBNBs had new TV with Roku built into the TV. I have to say they worked fairly well.. a little slow, but not bad at all. I have a Roku at home, but also an nVidia Shield. The Shield is fast, but it has a lot of problems. First is that you must install an app to disable the Netflix button. If you enter Netflix, it does not easily let you leave the app and the button makes it far to easy to accidentally…

when you are in netflix, you just click the home button and its exits.

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

#406

Post by zadkey »

indigodaddy wrote: post #339
Causality1 wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally I use Roku because it's the snappiest experience with the fewest crashes. I started with a Chromecast but its integration with Android was a little too deep: leaving wifi while casting YouTube would cause the YouTube app to hard lock into a "connecting to chromecast" error that persisted even after force-stopping the YouTube app. The second time I had to restart my phone because of that I chucked the Chrom…

I have an older Roku 3 and a (2nd gen?) Amazon FireTV box (the flat box thing not the stick), and the sound from the FireTV box is far far superior than that of the Roku 3 (did a test using the same soundbar). Not sure if Roku has improved on its sound output since then or not (the Roku 3 I have is of course pretty old).

Also having sound output issues especially with a soundbar. It's kind of sad. I've decided it's better to just not use the soundbar.

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

#407

Post by morganvachon »

Wintereise wrote: post #270
morganvachon wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Welp, I specifically bought a Roku device a few months ago just to use YouTube. We have Rokus (a 4K Ultra in the living room and a TCL Roku TV in the bedroom), as well as a 4K Chromecast, and until we got the Roku Ultra we had a Nvidia Shield TV. We keep more than one type of device specifically because it is inevitable that a provider (Roku, Amazon, Google) will drop a service we enjoy. This actually happened with…

I have a (newer) Shield TV, and it works fine with Emby. That is, assuming you're talking about the self hosted Emby.

Mine was the first gen Shield, and I never could figure out why it stopped working properly with my (self hosted, local network) Emby server. Even after a factory reset and trying a different Google account it never worked right. No issues whatsoever with the various Roku devices in our house and at my mom's and SIL's houses.

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

#408

Post by SR2Z »

efdee wrote: post #374
SR2Z wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because VP9 is much, much cheaper for: - Google, who doesn't have to pay royalties - Google and consumers, who can enjoy better compression and lower bandwidth - Consumers, who can enjoy a much more mainstream video encoding format in not just YT but pretty much every app. Google doesn't want to write off 45% of the set-top market right away, but at the same time it's 100% in the right to demand Roku support modern r…

That doesn't answer my question though. If they offer non-VP9 YouTube to some, they must offer it to all.

A goat farmer in rural Afghanistan browsing YouTube on his 2003 XP box has a legitimate excuse - Roku does not, especially going forward.

There is a balance between keeping the burden of backwards compatibility forever and making efforts to keep things accessible to those without new hardware.

Google has invested a decent amount of money in developing its Roku app. Roku is now trying to hold users hostage so that Google continues to pour resources into supporting inferior technologies.

We will see how this ends - I think if Google blocked YT/YT TV on Roku, it would annihilate Roku and barely scratch Google.

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