Roku 3 - Will it work in Ireland?

devildriver

I'm considering investing in my first media player and the Roku 3 seems to be getting a lot of positive reviews.

The catch is that it's currently only on sale in the US with no confirmed plans to release it in Europe.

Some chap in the UK reckons it works fine there:

http://forums.roku.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=55018

But apart from tha post I can find very little about it working outside the US.

Amazon US will ship it to Ireland, but what issues am I likely to encounter in terms of available channels etc? Is it worth doing?

Thanks

Gordon West

Hi Devildriver.
I purchased a Roku 2XS from Amazon.co.uk yesterday and I am very pleased with it's capabilities. Ok a lot of the U.S. content will not work here, but there is enough there to keep you occupied. A huge plus for me was that it breathed life into an old first gen 8 year old 42" Plasma that I had in a sitting room. I have the Roku connected to that and have Plex software installed on my main PC in another part of the house. The Roku 'sees' the Plex server and will play all my movies and music from the main pc, which acts as a server. Also with the Roku app installed on my smartphone, I am able to view my photos and play any music from the phone on the TV. The permutations are endless. Peats quote €139 for the Roku 2XS but Amazon.co.uk will deliver it for €108 post paid. As far as I can see there is very little difference between the Roku2 and 3.
Roku 2XS 5 out of 5!

devildriver

Thanks for that Gordon.

I'll probably hold off for now as I don't really want to jump through all those hoops required to get around the regional restrictions. The Roku 2 looks good as well but the 3 is meant to be significantly faster - that's of course if the thing is ever released out side the US!

Zilog

devildriver wrote: »

Thanks for that Gordon.
... I don't really want to jump through all those hoops required to get around the regional restrictions.

The hoops are easily jumped through, dont be put off!
Free solution:
Tunlr.net

Paid solution (I'm currently using):
UnoDNS

I just enter the supplied DNS into my machines (using Google TV [Revue] and Pi with XBMC) and it just works! Beauty about UnoDNS is that you can change your 'region' in some cases (e.g. I can switch between US and UK Netflix) with their control panel.
Worth a twist!

devildriver

Thanks Zilog.

Is there not a catch with Roku, as you have to register for their channels using a credit card, so an Irish credit card will stop you from getting the US channels even if you use a VPN or DNS service?

How does UnoDNS stack up against Unblock US (which is the service I saw most referenced in my research)?

Zilog

devildriver wrote: »

Thanks Zilog.

Is there not a catch with Roku, as you have to register for their channels using a credit card, so an Irish credit card will stop you from getting the US channels even if you use a VPN or DNS service?

How does UnoDNS stack up against Unblock US (which is the service I saw most referenced in my research)?

Have not used Roku myself, but I use Wirecard to watch movies on Vudu, which requires a US credit card. For address I use a random US post office address!

Unblock-us and UnoDNS look very similar. Even pricing is identical! When I set up, UnoDNS was clearer in how to set different regions for different services. For example both Netflix US and BBC iPlayer work, but I can quickly change to Negroid UK no problem.

One thing is that it appears you have to change DNS on router for Roku to work; I prefer to change DNS just on my media devices and leave 'normal' DNS on router.

HTH

unklerosco

I'm just back from the US and picked up the Roku 3 and can confirm it works here.. Havent tinkered with it much but netflix, 3 player etc. work fine on it..

Cobraverde

Just an FYI: you can't change the DNS settings on the Roku. You need to do it on your router. Note: if you use UPC for your broadband and have a Thompson router, you can't change the DNS settings on that either. Which is a bit of a bummer.

unklerosco

Cobraverde wrote: »

Just an FYI: you can't change the DNS settings on the Roku. You need to do it on your router. Note: if you use UPC for your broadband and have a Thompson router, you can't change the DNS settings on that either. Which is a bit of a bummer.

Yep, noticed that last night... setup the dns setting on my router. Also, the adapter that comes with it says 110v on it but it's working fine, my guess is it's a 110-240v they just didn't stick it on the label as it looks the exact same as the Roku 2 adapter which is 110-240v (I bought both)

devildriver

unklerosco wrote: »

I'm just back from the US and picked up the Roku 3 and can confirm it works here.. Havent tinkered with it much but netflix, 3 player etc. work fine on it..

That's encouraging. Have you tried to access US channels on it using a DNS or VPN service?

devildriver

Just to update anybody who might be interested in the Roku3.

I did get it. It does work here with just an adapter for the US plug. Amazon page says that it's not available to ship outside US but they do actually send it. You have to pay for UPS and import duties but it still works out at about 128 euros. Predictably most of the US channels are not avaialble but there is still a good selection of content.

Wifi performance is very good considering I have bog standard 8mb broadband. But I have hooked it up to a powerline ethernet adaptor for more reliability. Netflix works very nicely, no stutters, dropouts or loading issues.

Haven't tried any workarounds for the regional restriction, UnoDNS etc, although I'm sure they won't work as the Irish credit card registered on Roku.com will determine channel availability.

Tripzy

Just wondering if this is the same gadget that you're talking about
http://www.groupon.ie/deals/national-deals/ask-electronics-ltd/23477715
As already said, might be worth getting if only to revive a redundant TV and with more options than Saorview....
Any techie enlightenment would be great..
Thanks
T

devildriver

Tripzy wrote: »

Just wondering if this is the same gadget that you're talking about
http://www.groupon.ie/deals/national-deals/ask-electronics-ltd/23477715
As already said, might be worth getting if only to revive a redundant TV and with more options than Saorview....
Any techie enlightenment would be great..
Thanks
T

Hi Tripzy,

The device that I have is a newer improved version of the LT one that you linked to on Groupon. I presume it's on Groupon as they are trying to shift older stock. They are still on sale at Amazon so if you can get it at a good price it wouldn't be a bad use of 50 quid. On the Amazon page the first commenter used it to revive and old tv so that seems like what you need.

The newer version the Roku 3 may not be suitable as it only connects via HDMI cable so it would work with older (pre-HDMI) tvs. Also it;'s a bit more expensive and needs to be purchased from the US as it's not available officially on this side of the Atlantic.

Hope this helps.

BenEadir

Hi Guys,

I'm in the market for a new Media Player and in addition to the usual features (wirelessly streaming movies form a NAS, playing lot's of file formats and apps like YouTube, NetFlix and TuneIn etc) I really want the device to have an internet browser which will facilitate online streaming of HD sports.

Will the Roku 3 do this?

Also, I have UPC broadband and would be interested in implementing the UnoDNS solution to allow streaming of US and UK content but from reading the above it seems fiddling around with your DNS isn't viable if you're on UPC?

Ben

devildriver

Hi Ben,

I don't think the Roku 3 will really suit your needs. Local media isn't it's stongest feature and it supports a very limited set of file formats.

It also doesn't have a native Youtube app although there is a good workaround for that now.

Netflix, Spotify and loads of other stuff is there though.

You alos can't directly access the DNS setting in the Roku box so you would need to do that at the router level.

Hope this helps.

BionicRasher

http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2013/09/25/roku-launches-new-tv-streaming-boxes-and-brings-roku-3-to-the-uk-and-ireland/

Launches here very soon

dceire

I've been looking at getting one of these for my parents. They're not very tech savvy and I'd only be looking at a basic model; particularly so they can watch Netflix on their TV.

Is there any chance of being able to get the RTE Player or 3 Player on it? I also read that there is no YouTube player available on it, is this correct?

devildriver

dceire wrote: »

I've been looking at getting one of these for my parents. They're not very tech savvy and I'd only be looking at a basic model; particularly so they can watch Netflix on their TV.

Is there any chance of being able to get the RTE Player or 3 Player on it? I also read that there is no YouTube player available on it, is this correct?

TV3 do have a channel on Roku but the miserable gits want you to pay money for the privilege of watching their tripe. Sorry got carried away on a rant there!

http://www.tv3.ie/roku.php

AFAIK there is no RTE player available for it right now.

As far as simplicity of operation goes it's very user-friendly. My four year old can easily navigate into and around Netflix.

There is no native Youtube channel on Roku which is apparently due to some long-running dispute with Google/ Youtube. However there is a thrid party solution called MyVideoBuzz which is a good workaround.

Hope that helps.

johnybean

devildriver wrote: »

TV3 do have a channel on Roku but the miserable gits want you to pay money for the privilege of watching their tripe. Sorry got carried away on a rant there!

http://www.tv3.ie/roku.php

AFAIK there is no RTE player available for it right now.

As far as simplicity of operation goes it's very user-friendly. My four year old can easily navigate into and around Netflix.

There is no native Youtube channel on Roku which is apparently due to some long-running dispute with Google/ Youtube. However there is a thrid party solution called MyVideoBuzz which is a good workaround.

Hope that helps.

Devildriver,

Have you installed Plex on the Roku? If you have, whats performance like?

devildriver

johnybean wrote: »

Devildriver,

Have you installed Plex on the Roku? If you have, whats performance like?

Yes I installed it when I didn't have access to MyVideoBuzz for Youtube content. To be honest I didn't use it much as I wasn't really interested in streaming local files. It definitely owrks but can be a bit clunky - I found that it appeared to be downsampling HD video files> But that may have been because I didn't set it up properly or the limitations of my wireless setup. I have now gone "wired" but haven't used Plex since to check if the quality had improved.

As others have said in this forum if you are mainly going to be using local media files the Roku is probably not the best option. If you are mainly streaming from the web, netflix etc then it's a great bit of kit.

johnybean

devildriver wrote: »

Yes I installed it when I didn't have access to MyVideoBuzz for Youtube content. To be honest I didn't use it much as I wasn't really interested in streaming local files. It definitely owrks but can be a bit clunky - I found that it appeared to be downsampling HD video files> But that may have been because I didn't set it up properly or the limitations of my wireless setup. I have now gone "wired" but haven't used Plex since to check if the quality had improved.

As others have said in this forum if you are mainly going to be using local media files the Roku is probably not the best option. If you are mainly streaming from the web, netflix etc then it's a great bit of kit.

Thanks for the reply.

BionicRasher

this was launched in Ireland a little while back but I am struggling to find who sells them here and also cant find a list of available apps or channels in Ireland.

Anyone have any info on this?

drake70

tui0hcg wrote: »

this was launched in Ireland a little while back but I am struggling to find who sells them here and also cant find a list of available apps or channels in Ireland.

Anyone have any info on this?

I have seen them in Maplins, Jervis Street, Dublin 1. Can't remember the price though.

I just had a look at the UK site

Under some of the channels listed it says "Note: *channel name* not available in Republic of Ireland at this time."

Also if you select Ireland from the country selector at the bottom of the page, it remains on the UK site.

ChuckProphet

drake70 wrote: »

I have seen them in Maplins, Jervis Street, Dublin 1. Can't remember the price though.

I just had a look at the UK site

Under some of the channels listed it says "Note: *channel name* not available in Republic of Ireland at this time."

Also if you select Ireland from the country selector at the bottom of the page, it remains on the UK site.

Hi,
Is roku3 worth getting? Are you restricted to this list of channels?
I don't have/want a subscription to netflix et al.
Would it be of much benefit to me? Are these free channels any good?
Thank you

silvine

Hi,

I was able to get US Netflix working on my Apple TV by changing the DNS settings on my router and by buying a US iTunes gift voucher.

I'd like to try something similar with the Roku 3. I understand you need to provide a US credit card to set up the device and enable it to access US channels and content.

Is there a workaround for this? Has anyone here managed to access US Netflix or Amazon video service on their Roku 3 in Ireland?

Thanks

TheMilkyPirate

hi i recently bought the roku 3 .Im living in ireland and having trouble registering on the roku site.It only has american states in the billing address.Is their anyway around it or can you use paypal.

devildriver

Youtube is now available on Roku:

http://blog.roku.com/blog/2013/12/17/introducing-youtube-on-roku-3/

idlesloth

I got roku3 for about 2 months now. And it's brilliant at playing local media and lighting quick. I've played 1080p mkv files, mp4 files and avi files on it all run smoothly. I watch TV and movies every day on it. The only downside is that you need plex. But for a once off payment of €55 it's worth it. It turns your local media files into your own personal netflix's. I download two versions of all my TV shows 480p mp4 (archive) and 720p mkv (first time watch) plex only shows one episode on screen (no duplicates) but let's you switch between file types (mp4, avi, mkv) of the same episode with a resume functionality. Subtitles are also really good. The smallest subtitles are regular size, while extra large take up the whole TV. Perfect for nearly completely blind people. It also plays your TV shows theme music while in show's menu. The only update I would like, for the Plex UI for roku to be more the Plex UI for windows. It's a little plain.

BionicRasher

idlesloth wrote: »

But for a once off payment of €55 it's worth it.

I presume this is a once off payment for the Roku and not Plex?

Muahahaha

Lads how is Roku when using it over wifi ? I have a tv in the bedroom just used for DVDs and was thinking of getting a Roku 2 but I'm not keen on running a HDMI cable through two walls to get to the bedroom, I e got pretty decent UPC wifi which plays Yourube vids without any stopping and buffering, could I expect the same performance from the Roku ?

Also is there any decent channels in the freebies ? I presume you have to change the DNS to get BBC IPlayer ?

topcatcbr

Bought one today. Good piece of kit.

I hope they get a better selection of movie channels like amazons.

Runs as smoothe if not better than Apple TV. No stutter.

devildriver

Muahahaha wrote: »

Lads how is Roku when using it over wifi ? I have a tv in the bedroom just used for DVDs and was thinking of getting a Roku 2 but I'm not keen on running a HDMI cable through two walls to get to the bedroom, I e got pretty decent UPC wifi which plays Yourube vids without any stopping and buffering, could I expect the same performance from the Roku ?

Also is there any decent channels in the freebies ? I presume you have to change the DNS to get BBC IPlayer ?

Roku works perfectly over wifi.I originally had mine connected via ethernet using a homeplug but then switched to wifi for the Roku and used the ehternet for my Sky box.

The Roku works perfectly with wifi so much so that I couldn't really tell tyhe difference between wired and wifi performance.

Obviously as with much of the internet the vast majority of free channels are of little value but there are a few good ones. Viewster and Snag Films are good movie channels for non-mainstream indie stuff. You will find that those channels do require some buffering as they don't have the huge server / network infrastructure of Netflix etc.

copper04

Can anyone give me advice on using unblock-us. I have a Roku 3 I purchased in the US about a month ago but I a reluctant to change the DNS settings in case it knocks out my internet. ?
Will it change my download speed. ? I am more interest in UK contend like BBC Player or Amazon rather then US content.
Is it straight forward to reset the DNS if all goes wrong. I can follow the instructions on how to change the DNS on my Vodafone router. ( Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller)
Any advice gratefully received.
Thanks

degsie

copper04 wrote: »

Can anyone give me advice on using unblock-us. I have a Roku 3 I purchased in the US about a month ago but I a reluctant to change the DNS settings in case it knocks out my internet. ?
Will it change my download speed. ? I am more interest in UK contend like BBC Player or Amazon rather then US content.
Is it straight forward to reset the DNS if all goes wrong. I can follow the instructions on how to change the DNS on my Vodafone router. ( Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller)
Any advice gratefully received.
Thanks

Changing the DNS on your router is safe and is easily reversible. Just take a note of what the current DNS settings are if you need to change them back.

AlanS181824

Where can I get one of these for the cheapest?

devildriver

AlanS181824 wrote: »

Where can I get one of these for the cheapest?

Haven't seen anywhere cheaper than Amazon. Seems to be fairly standard pricing everywhere.

Roku 3 HD Streaming Player

Don't forget to also order an HDMI cable as its not included.

The Amazon Basics one does the job nicely, no need to spend a fortune on overpriced cables.

AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable 3 Feet / 0.9 m Supports Ethernet / 3D / Audio Return (Newest Standard)

veganrun

Does this have Amazon instant video and will it work in Ireland?

Also, what channels are available in Ireland?

degsie

veganrun wrote: »

Does this have Amazon instant video and will it work in Ireland?

Also, what channels are available in Ireland?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0&docId=1000776221

daftdave

Ive got a roku 3 running down here in Australia, there was a bit of work getting it setup the way i want it, my main uses for it will be netflix hulu and dishworld. hulu and netflix worked straight away as soon as i modified the DNS settings on the router but i had some hassle getting dishworld to work, i needed to set my router to static routing before i could access dishworld.....but the end result is brilliant....watching BEiN sports in high definition !!

Asm

Hi,
What channels are available in Ireland?

Thanks.

devildriver

Asm wrote: »

Hi,
What channels are available in Ireland?

Thanks.

Channels and availability change so often it's very difficult to find a definitive list. Netflix, Youtube, Viewster, SnagFilms, Vanguard, PopFlix, Threshold and about 200 others are all available in Ireland.

As you might expect premium paid channels such as Hulu, HBO Go and Amazon Instant are not as that's down to licensing agreements.

New channels pop up almost every day. Most are of variable quality or very specific interest, cooking channels, religion etc.

Hope that helps.

Asm

Thanks for the reply.

SteM

This is down to £69.99 on the Today's Deals section if anyone is interested.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/deals-offers-savings/b/ref=nav_cs_top_nav_gb27?ie=UTF8&node=350613011

I've a WDTV Live box that I'm thinking of replacing so I might pick one up. I like the idea of being able to plug headphones into the the remote

RoboRat

Can you get RTE player on this and can you link your sky go account?

Hi,

I have a Roku Three and Apple Tv. Roku three is set for Irish/Uk Netflix and I change the DNS on the Apple Tv so I have American Netflix on that.

I would like to get Hulu, HBO GO etc on the Roku but I'm not very technical.

I have Eircom Zxyel modem, from what I can gleam off the web I need to change my router (Eircom Zxyel) settings unlike the Apple Tv where I just changed the DNS there. Simple and doesn't affect my other internet browsing.

Has anyone advise on the best way to do this?

Thanks

veganrun

Thinking about picking one of these up shortly myself. Will it work in Ireland? I've visions of it working when I set it up in the north but as soon as I come down to Dublin, some geo-restriction will kick in and block me from using it.

devildriver

Deleted User wrote: »

I have Eircom Zxyel modem, from what I can gleam off the web I need to change my router (Eircom Zxyel) settings unlike the Apple Tv where I just changed the DNS there. Simple and doesn't affect my other internet browsing.

Has anyone advise on the best way to do this?

Thanks

That's pretty much it. You can't change the default DNS settings on the Roku unfortunately so if you want to use Unblock.us or one of those DNS services for accessing US Netflix you will need to alter your DNS settings on the router that connects your Roku to the internet.

devildriver

veganrun wrote: »

Thinking about picking one of these up shortly myself. Will it work in Ireland? I've visions of it working when I set it up in the north but as soon as I come down to Dublin, some geo-restriction will kick in and block me from using it.

There are no restrictions on the hardware itself. Each channel that you install on the Roku may have geo-restricted content such as Netflix but there are ways around that.

The Roku I have was actually bought from the US via Amazon (they weren't available here at the time) and there have been no issues with using it here.

When you signup for an account on Roku.com that will define what channel;s that you can install - if you use an Irish credit card then you won't be able to install HBO Go, Hulu, Amazon Prime etc but then again you would need a US-based subscription for those channels anyway.

All of the channels athat are not geo-restricted work fine.

Youtube
Netflix (Ireland)
SnagFilms
Viewster

etc etc

josepie

So devildriver, is it better to set the Roku 3 up in the US "before" I take it to Ireland or wait and setup there? Or does it matter?

devildriver

josepie wrote: »

So devildriver, is it better to set the Roku 3 up in the US "before" I take it to Ireland or wait and setup there? Or does it matter?

To be honest I don't know. I think any US pay channels will require a US-based credit card to purchase anyway and then when back in Ireland you would need to use a DNS service to spoof your location as being in the US.

For the free channels I don't think it makes much difference.