ROKU, HBO GO

WHAT do you mean "play well"?  Does that mean you got it to play at ALL?

So, in the meantime, my Roku is useless? All I want is my Netflix. (AND fx and spike, and a few others) I really don't understand their setup....totally confused.

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@ladyhobbit wrote:

All I want is my Netflix. (AND fx and spike, and a few others)

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Then you are in luck! Comcast has no power to prevent you from adding these third party channels to your roku.  This forum is specifically about HBOgo on roku, which they do have power to prevent.

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@ladyhobbit wrote:

So, in the meantime, my Roku is useless? All I want is my Netflix. (AND fx and spike, and a few others) I really don't understand their setup....totally confused.

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Netflix and most other channels on Roku do not require Comcast authentication, those authenticate based on your account with that particular provider. i.e. To use Netflix on Roku, you must have a Netfilx streaming account and login wit that. . I don't know how you would get FX and Spike on Roku.

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@DMilnerJax wrote:

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@ladyhobbit wrote:

So, in the meantime, my Roku is useless? All I want is my Netflix. (AND fx and spike, and a few others) I really don't understand their setup....totally confused.

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Netflix and most other channels on Roku do not require Comcast authentication, those authenticate based on your account with that particular provider. i.e. To use Netflix on Roku, you must have a Netfilx streaming account and login wit that. . I don't know how you would get FX and Spike on Roku.

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This is the start of a sort of ALA-Cart system networks offer service outside of the MSO's when contracts permit. Thats why I like the Blaze TV they were online streaming first and got popular and are now on some of the big MSO's but they have to accept that folks stream it and cant limit it and also can only offer it as part of a package OR allow people to pay separatly for the channel like 5 bucks a month.

Cable COs know if people could pay for exactly what they wanted side stepping them they would be hurting bad. They will say with out packages the small networks wont get any airtime I say if they have good programming and market themselves well they dont need to be part of any package.

What is likely to happen is that the content providers will charge ala carte with the high demand channels like hbo and espn costing a ton, with lesser channels getting tossed in. For the cable companies, I don't think we should cry so much for them, since they still control the pipe that delivers all of the content. Likely internet access fees go up a lot as they charge less for content (with the content providers charging as well). Probably ends up costing about the same, but hopefully with much better flexibility. That is my hope anyway...

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@rwspears wrote:

This is the start of a sort of ALA-Cart system networks offer service outside of the MSO's when contracts permit. Thats why I like the Blaze TV they were online streaming first and got popular and are now on some of the big MSO's but they have to accept that folks stream it and cant limit it and also can only offer it as part of a package OR allow people to pay separatly for the channel like 5 bucks a month.

 

Cable COs know if people could pay for exactly what they wanted side stepping them they would be hurting bad. They will say with out packages the small networks wont get any airtime I say if they have good programming and market themselves well they dont need to be part of any package.

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Oh, I understand how it works...my point was that neither FX or Spike offer a Roku channel at this time.

The problem with On Demand, is that it does NOT mirror program availability the way HBO Go does.

 HBO Go offers so much more than On Demand. Xfinity/Comcast subscribers should be able to attest to this.

I'm not going to buy an XBox to have that feature.  Granted I can hook up my laptop via HDMI and watch anything, having said that, laptops don't always display the format correctly on an HDTV set. If I fiddle with the settings on the laptop and tv, I can get it close to On Demand, but not precisely. 

The simplicity of a small Roku box and remote just make it easier...Take NetFlix for example, it is almost always flawless.

In addition Comcast/Xfinity's Cable Box OS platform is getting really old.  With On Demand, if you pause a program, it only holds the stream for a few minutes, not to mention the single speed fast forward/rewind issue, If I want to get to a specific scene, I have to wait forever!!

I am aware that they have a new OS and DVR with cloud storage, however swapping boxes results in a loss of everything I recorded over the past few years.

Sorry to carry on, but for the money Comcast/Xfinity can do better, since they make so much money on us.

Does anyone else feel this way?? Just curious

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@BrianUbee wrote:

The problem with On Demand, is that it does NOT mirror program availability the way HBO Go does.

 HBO Go offers so much more than On Demand. Xfinity/Comcast subscribers should be able to attest to this.

 

I'm not going to buy an XBox to have that feature.  Granted I can hook up my laptop via HDMI and watch anything, having said that, laptops don't always display the format correctly on an HDTV set. If I fiddle with the settings on the laptop and tv, I can get it close to On Demand, but not precisely. 

 

The simplicity of a small Roku box and remote just make it easier...Take NetFlix for example, it is almost always flawless.

 

In addition Comcast/Xfinity's Cable Box OS platform is getting really old.  With On Demand, if you pause a program, it only holds the stream for a few minutes, not to mention the single speed fast forward/rewind issue, If I want to get to a specific scene, I have to wait forever!!

 

I am aware that they have a new OS and DVR with cloud storage, however swapping boxes results in a loss of everything I recorded over the past few years.

 

Sorry to carry on, but for the money Comcast/Xfinity can do better, since they make so much money on us.

 

Does anyone else feel this way?? Just curious

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I know it doesn't help, but you could buy an Apple TV to watch HBO-Go -- the only problem is that the Apple TV doesnt support Amazon Instant Video -- I had hoped the Roku would be the perfect solution, Netflix, Amazon & HBO Go -- and it is, as long as Comcast are not your Cable company...

I agree that Comcast can do better -- I just don't think they care - they are a huge company pulling in god knows how much each month -- If I could replace them, I would.  Can't get UVerse or FIOS in my area, and Dish/DirectTV wont work for me -- effectively, Comcast are a monopoly and as such act like one.

(Oh, and the new box is awful -- had it set to record Hart's War -- for some reason, it split the recording and I missed 8 minutes in the middle.  Of course I could have watched Hart's War with HBO Go, but that's another story).

Yes. Interesting to note that some other major cable companies have supported playback on Roku devices, but Comcast and Time Warner are absent from the list. But this removes a dependency on Comcast equipment.

It seems Comcast would acknowledge there would be fewer issues supporting the (standalone, homogenous) Roku device than a broad range of PCs and configurations, but then, why should Comcast enable a potential disrupting competitor?