Saturday, June 13, 2015

Roku UK Channel Store - Weekly RoundUp #118





Hi, everyone !!



If you've been wondering why the itemised listings for each of the channel store categories haven't been updated for a couple of weeks, it's because there's been a dozen new genres (i.e. categories) added to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store at various points in the last few weeks. Once it became clear that Roku were simply making gradual changes to bring the selection of genres from the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store in-line with those from the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store, I decided to refrain from updating my listings until the process had been completed. Having more than doubled the number of genres in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store in such a short space of time, I believe we have now achieved parity, save for UK devices still showing "Most Popular" channels as opposed to the "Most Watched" category found in the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store. Consequently, you can expect a completely new set of listings to be posted here shortly, with my aim being to have them all updated over the course of the next week or two. Needless to say... it's been a tough job trying to keep track of all these changes, while still having to find the time to handle all of the work involved in putting my regular 'Weekly RoundUp' posts together - never mind trying to play "catch-up" on what is still "missing" from some of my previous posts - seemingly, it's a never-ending story!


Anyway, if you've been following the goings-on around these parts over the past few months, you'll be all too aware of the unusual publishing method I've adopted for several of my blog posts during that time. For everyone else, it means I (basically) didn't have enough time to publish those posts in their entirety on a Saturday (as per my self-imposed deadline each week) and had to resort to doing both an "early edition" and a "late edition" for each of the articles. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to repeat that "slow-drip" method of publishing for the current 'Weekly RoundUp' post as well. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you, but (again) it was entirely due to factors beyond my control. You can expect several items of Roku-related news to be added to this post over the coming weeks so, all being well, if you visit this blog again sometime in the near future... you should find that the "late edition" of this article has been published to bring you all up to speed with recent Roku happenings. :-)


Meanwhile... as with four weeks ago, we have (once again) been blessed with an above average crop of new channel additions - as you'll soon discover when you continue reading below - but, as a direct consequence of that, I had no time to leave you with details for any "private" channels on this occasion.  Whenever I do find the time, I'll be sure to add some details (including access codes) for several more private channels. In the meantime, should you find yourself "jones-ing" for more Roku content, then I suggest you look back over my tweets from recent weeks on the companion Twitter Feed to this blog: @ukrokuchannels where you will find a few of the "private" channels I intend to add to this blog, which you may (or may not) have come across before. If you don't mind waiting, and/or have no desire to go "trawling" through my ramblings on Twitter, you can expect to find the info for these "private", "hidden" or "secret" channels added to this blog at a later date, to "reward" you for your patience! ;-)


Anyway, before I proceed with listing the current crop of new channels (plus providing links to their associated reviews) for this particular 'Weekly RoundUp'... a brief reminder that, whilst I had hoped I'd be able to catch-up on the missing Roku-related news from this blog in recent weeks, all the extra work I've been burdened with of late means it remains unlikely that I'll be fully caught-up anytime soon. Until I do find the time... my one saving grace is that (as mentioned previously) I have somehow managed to remain up-to-date with all the latest additions to the "New" category of the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store and will endeavour to flesh-out what's missing ASAP! Admittedly, there are quite a few articles that I need to catch up on but, rather than post links for individual weeks, I'll simply refer you back to my "Roku UK Channel Store - Weekly RoundUp #78", which contains all of the pertinent information you might need when researching back over the items in question. Again, I'm sorry this has dragged-on (far) longer than anticipated, and apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused you, but (all being well) things will be back up to speed soon!


For now... all I can offer you is a brief summary of the latest additions to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store from the past seven days. As with my other recent posts, you can expect any additional Roku-related news from the past week, along with details of any changes to the channel selection found on NowTV Boxes, to be added at some point in the near future. As for "mending" all of the "broken" links from previous 'Weekly RoundUp' posts, I still can't put a time-scale on how long that is going to take but (like I said before) if you "copy" the existing link(s) and change the "http" prefix to "https", as well as removing the "forward slash" between 'channels' and '#!details', so that "channels#/!details" becomes "channels#!details" in each weblink, you should find that they will all work for you and redirect to the new-look version of each individual channel description. As with the last thirty-one 'Weekly RoundUp' posts, every link from this week (plus all future posts) will use the new format, so it's only those from 'Weekly RoundUp #1' up as far as 'Weekly RoundUp #86' which you'll have to amend... at least, until I can edit/repair the links for you !!


Still, with all the "missing" Roku-related news (and links) yet to follow, let's now press on with the current 'Weekly RoundUp' of NEW ADDITIONS to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store. This time there are TWENTY-SIX NEW CHANNELS which have been added during the preceding seven day period. These latest additions to the channel line-up provided FRESH CONTENT in the Film & TV, Games, Fitness, Kids & Family, plus News & Weather genres as well as the Music, Religion & Spirituality, Screensavers, Special Interest, plus Sports, Themes and Travel categories. Specifically... this means that there have been SEVEN EXTRA CHANNELS added to the "Screensavers" category, plus FIVE EXTRA CHANNELS in the "Travel" genre, as well as THREE EXTRA CHANNELS in the "Sports" category, TWO EXTRA CHANNELS in the "Kids & Family" genre, and ONE EXTRA CHANNEL in each of the "Film & TV", "Games" and "Fitness" plus "News & Weather" in addition to "Music" as well as the "Religion & Spirituality" and "Special Interest" categories... not forgetting there were also TWO NEW THEMES for UK Roku devices among the new channel choices which were added to the channel selection during this past week. 


In keeping with previous installments from the 'Weekly RoundUp' series, details of these new channels have been listed below, together with links to obtain further information {by clicking on the channel name(s) beneath the respective channel icon(s) as pictured} and to read a 'Roku Guide' review with an independent (slightly more expansive) assessment of each one:-








RAZZLE ONLINE..................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]






ADVENTURE TRAVEL [by TripSmart.TV]........................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]






KIDS LEARNING VIDEOS..................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]






SELF DEFENSE [by Fawesome.TV].....................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]






TRAVEL YOURSELF...........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]






1M1M....................................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]






TRAVEL TIPS [by TripSmart.TV].........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]






FCB NETWORK.....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]






THE SINGING WALRUS......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]






ABS FITNESS [by Fawesome.TV].........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]






HOTELS [by TripSmart.TV]...................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]






ARIZONA TRAVEL [by TripSmart.TV]...............................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]






TAEKWONDO KICKBOXING ACADEMY......................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]






UPBEAT TV...........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]






ICW ON DEMAND..........COST: FREE-TO-ADD + $5.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

PLEASE NOTE:- That, while this "ICW On Demand" channel is FREE-TO-ADD to your Roku device(s) and does grant you FREE ACCESS TO SHORT PROMO CLIPS for every single one of the 58 videos (currently) on offer, it REQUIRES AN SUBSCRIPTION OF $5.99 PER MONTH to view the content in full. For UK Roku users, this equates to paying-out around £1.00 GBP (British Pounds) per week FOR FULL ACCESS TO 115+ HOURS OF WRESTLING ACTION which is already pretty good value for money and becomes even more so when you factor-in the promise of further content being added as & when any new videos are available. Those who choose to subscribe to the "ICW On Demand" channel will first be required to CREATE AN ACCOUNT by registering their payment details with the ICW website, FOUND HERE, and then ACTIVATE YOUR ROKU device, VIA THIS LINK, using the unique code from within the "ICW On Demand" channel which will be displayed on your TV when you first attempt to access the content. Further information is available in the 'Roku Guide' review (see link above) and I would recommend that you take some time to read the review and (ideally) check out some of the additional links therein to gain a better insight as to what "Insane Championship Wrestling" is all about. Do bear in mind the content is aimed at those aged 18+ and is SUITABLE FOR ADULTS ONLY - meaning VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!







LETTERPRESS THEME................COST £0.69 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]






HANGMAN GEO [Roku 3 ONLY].......................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

PLEASE NOTE:- That, at the time of it's initial release on the Roku streaming media player platform, THIS GAME IS COMPATIBLE WITH 'Roku 3' DEVICES ONLY so owners of other Roku models may have to wait & see if it becomes available for their chosen Roku UK product.







SCREENZAVER FLOWERS.........COST £1.49 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]






SCREENZAVER CASTLES..........COST £1.49 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]






SCREENZAVER KITTENS...........COST £1.49 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]






SCREENZAVER CITIES...............COST £1.49 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]






SCREENZAVER HORSES............COST £1.49 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]






SCREENZAVER ULTIMATE.........................COST £2.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]






URBAN CAMO THEME................COST £1.49 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]






QUINTESCENIC.............................COST £0.69 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]






RED STATE TALK RADIO..................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]




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Anyhow, like it or not, that is your lot for this week and, whilst it only equates to two-thirds of the thirty-nine channels which made it into the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store during the same time-frame, it's better to have these 26 NEW CHANNELS than none at all, as I'm sure you'll agree?!


Meanwhile... hopefully everyone in the UK with a Roku player managed to find something they like within the twenty-six "public" channels / themes outlined above... or else from the "private" channels, whose access codes were "gifted" to you via the companion Twitter Feed to this blog, at various points throughout the last seven days. Even so, if you didn't find anything to add to your Roku channel selection from the assortment of channels on offer this week, you'll just have to pay us a visit another time when, with any luck, there will be something more to your liking. Afterall, there's no point installing every channel because like I say... when it comes to adding new channels to your Roku, IT'S YOUR CHOICE and, as with all things Roku... THE CHOICE IS ALWAYS YOURS !!




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As mentioned earlier in this post, you can expect my usual summary of all the goings-on (or not) in the (severely restricted) Roku Channel Store that features on NowTV Boxes to follow in the near future. Meanwhile, whether you happen to own a Roku player, a NowTV Box, OR BOTH, as I do... be sure to check my previous posts (as mentioned above) for all the new additions to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store in each of the forty-five preceding weeks and then come back again in seven days' time for my next 'Weekly RoundUp'. However, if you can't wait that long, remember you can always keep up with all the UK Roku action (as it happens) throughout the coming week, by following the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels where up-to-the-minute info on all things Roku-related (here in the UK) is posted on a daily basis (well, almost).



Until the next time, then...



That's all folks !!





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2 comments:

  1. UnknownJune 16, 2015 at 12:33 AM

    Hangman isnt available in the UK (As Usual) at least not from a web signin.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Channel GuideJune 20, 2015 at 8:23 AM



      Hi, Steve !!


      Thanks for taking the time & trouble to post a comment. :-)


      It's much appreciated! ;-)


      To set the record straight, "Hangman Geo" IS available in the UK but, as with most of the recent additions to the "Games" genre, there are restrictions as to which UK Roku devices are supported. In this instance, as is usually the case, the game is AVAILABLE ON 'ROKU 3' DEVICES ONLY - at least, AFAIK - but, if owners of other devices (e.g. the new 'Roku 2' - Model 4205EU) have seen it listed, feel free to leave a comment below if you know otherwise!


      As far as adding channels from the web goes... it's not clear whether you meant by ACCESS CODE (sometimes referred to as an "VANITY CODE" or even an "INVITATION CODE" among Roku users) via the "Manage Account" section of your online Roku account... OR, by attempting to use the button marked "Add Channel" found in the channel description page(s) linked to beneath each of the channel icons in my 'Weekly RoundUp' posts.


      In the case of the latter (i.e. using the "Add Channel" button from the channel description page) this is not supported for Roku users outside USA but, if you meant via the former method (i.e. by typing an access code to add it) then it may boil down to your not having an compatible UK Roku model (e.g. 'Roku 3', as mentioned) linked to your UK Roku account.


      Basically, if it's not listed in the "Games" category of the Roku UK Channel Store on any of the devices you own, then you won't be able to add this "public" channel to your account. In my case, owning both 'Roku 3' and 'Roku 2 XS' models, the "Hangman Geo" channel can be found under "Games" in the channel store on my 'Roku 3'... BUT the same game is not listed under "Games" in the channel store on my 'Roku 2 XS' and therefore cannot be added to that particular model.


      However, were I to attempt to add the "Hangman Geo" channel using an access code, via my online Roku account, it would be possible to do so by virtue of my having an compatible Roku model (i.e. an 'Roku 3' device) linked to my account. That said, this game will still not get added to my 'Roku 2 XS' despite being able to add it to the 'Roku 3' in this way.


      If it helps... there's another "HangMan" game, by 'CE Soft LLC', which IS available on 'Roku 2 XS' as well as 'Roku 3' for only sixty-nine pence. While it's not free-to-add like "Hangman Geo", it does give you another option to play this classic word game on UK Roku devices. ;-)


      Hope that clears things up for you! :-)



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