I am looking at picking up either a Roku or Boxee (haven't heard about these as much though) partly for watching GB streams on a TV. I remember seeing the GB Roku channel a while back and the interface looked really ugly/slow. Has it improved with the 3? Does it work fine and does it support subscriber content or live channels/Twitch streams?
How is the GB app/channel on the Roku?
I dont know too much about Boxee but if you want to watch live streams while they are airing live, you cant use Roku. The Roku app can only be used to view archived videos (a huge disappointment for me when I first got my Roku). There use to be unofficial twitch stream on the roku you could use to view free live streams, but I'm not sure if there new live player works on twitch or not. Sorry duder.
Yeah, the interface is unchanged. There is no search and you're limited to a few of the latest videos (I would guess around 30-40 per category.) My only other nag is that I sometimes have to quit to the home screen and re-open the app if I back out of a video and then try to resume play.
Streaming quality is good, and you have access to archived subscriber content. No access to live subsciber content though, as stated above.
I used to use the unofficial Justin.tv app for the free live shows, but that stopped working recently. I'll have to try the unofficial Twitch app to see if it makes a difference.
The GB Roku channel works fine for archived shows. There is a private roku channel called "Unofficial Twitch" that you can use to watch live Twitch streams, and it works fine. I don't think there is currently a solution for watching live shows on Roku that aren't also broadcast via Twitch, though.
I think it is pretty good. The lack of a way to watch the live shows is a bummer, but for watching the archives it is great. I can watch a couple of the live shows using the twitch channel people have mentioned, but I can't watch any of the subscriber streams. So whoever is in charge of the app if you could add that feature I'd be rather grateful.
The Giant Bomb app gets the job done. Plays in HD if you are a subsciber but looking at the app right now, im not sure how to get a code to put in to GiantBomb.com/roku
The roku app gets the job done. It's my main way of consuming video content on this site.
I just wish there was a search function, or any way to get to really old stuff. It's a bummer I can't get to the P4 ER anymore, for instance.
Thanks for the input everyone. It doesn't sound like this is the ideal way of watching GB streams, mainly due to the lack of search... My computer isn't too far away from the TV I had wanted to connect the Roku to so I think I might just end up running an HDMI cable to it.
I still use it all the time. I agree - it needs a search function. Or, at least, a way to load past the initial 30-40 videos (page 2, page 3, etc?). @strohfist I used it last night, it worked fine. May try rebooting your Roku (hit the home button five times, up once, rewind twice, fast forward twice). Yes, it's a crazy combination of buttons - just imagine you're playing Mortal Kombat on your Roku or something.
Hmm. I just bought a Roku, and it appears that the GB channel never makes it past the initial loading screen. I've reset it and reinstalled the channel to no avail. Quite frustrating, as I saw the channel had good reviews, and Giant Bomb even has the /roku page on the website. I'm on a Roku 3, anyone with this issue ever figure out how to fix it?
Is there any way to get live premium streams onto a TV short of running HDMI from a computer? I see that Chromecast has a Chrome plugin that supposedly just streams whatever's in your browser, so I thought about trying that.
That's what I do and depending on how good your Wi-Fi signal is to the Chromecast, it works great. The biggest problem with the Chromecast right now is the Wi-Fi is soso, but especially when tab casting. It can get a bit choppy as well, this mainly depending on how well your computer can run it.
Aside from those minor things, it works extremely well. I would still recommend running an HDMI cord from your computer because you're cutting the questionable part out of the process, but if you're not able to for some reason, the Chromecast tab casting is a great alternative, plus it's only $35.
Roku also supports a "chrome-cast style" push this video to my TV feature. I've been using this app https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rocket-video-cast-for-roku/id357555848?mt=8 to push the live streams over to my Roku. It works great. The same app works for all of the GB video content.
@chadj: whoa this is awesome!! I didn't think I'd be able to do live streams with the Roku app. I'd mainly use it to watch non-live videos but now I'll have this as an option for when I get home and UPF starts up.
I do wish that the Roku app remembered where I had stopped on a video like the site does. It's a pain to pull up the site on my laptop, let it tell me where I stopped on a video, then open the app, fast forward to that point, and play the video.
@kojak: Live steams are a no go, but premium videos are there. I don't think it ever did live streams, but if they use something like Twitch or YouTube you can obviously get the live streams though those apps.
Considering a Roku and just want to confirm that livestreams and premium content are still available in the Roku app. Thanks y'all, I'll email GB if no one knows for certain.
It can definitely do Premium content in-app. I haven't ever used my Roku for Livestreams, but I assume the methods described above would still work.
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