Tim Elliott

My Top 5 Roku Private Channels

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 18:16:00 -0600

Like a lot of people, yesterday I received a Roku 2 XD as a gift. This is my second Roku after picking up the first generation SD device last year on eBay. Roku is like Apple TV on steroids with over 350 channels of content in their Channel Store. Most of these are free with a few pay services like Netflix, Hulu Plus and EPIX also available. But there are gaps in the channels, particularly if you are not subscribed to cable, such as sports and live news. And while there are some of these services available in the Roku vetted Channel Store right on the device, private channels opens up an entire world of new choices.

Adding a Roku private channel is easy, you just need to know the developers code for the channel and have a Roku account which you create when you connect your player. Just log into your Roku account online and click on the “My Account” link on the top right and then “Add a Private Channel” that is half way down the page (or just log into your Roku account and click on the code links below). The best directory of all the Roku Private Channels is on the StreamFREE.tv site but you will find them elsewhere if you do a Google search.

The following list are my top 5 Roku Private Channels after testing out about 20 over the past year. All of these are used here at least weekly and really extend the value of the Roku device.

5) CNN - You will find another CNN private channel (code: CNNI) but I prefer this one as it includes CNN podcast clips along with the CNN International live stream. This is a reverse engineered stream from their iPad app so the picture quality is not the best and the audio is also over modulated compared to the other live news streams. But if you want to get live CNN coverage on your Roku, this is the channel to get. The code to enter is “RBFA1”. Then open the Channel Store on your Roku and find the channel in the list to install the first time.

4) Al Jazeera English - This Middle Eastern news channel broadcasts some of the best news coverage that is more objective than most other news channels. This stream is slightly pixelated on a large screen but the sound is very good making this one of my most watched news channels. Just enter code “ALJZ” to add and then open your Channel Store on Roku to install.

3) iTunes Podcasts - This might not be everyone’s cup of tea but I listen and watch a lot of podcasts so use this app often. It aggregates the best of the iTunes Podcast library and streams them to your Roku. The video podcasts look great on the large screen as most of them are in HD. Enter code “ITPC” to add and then open your Channel Store on Roku to install.

2) BBC - This is the news channel we turn to most often for world news. Like Al Jazeera the video might be a bit soft but the sound is good. Enter code “BBCN” to add and then open your Channel Store on Roku to install.

1) Nowhere TV - This is the mother of all private channels collecting live streams and podcasts in a curated grid. If you install just one channel from this list this one is it as it includes BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera from above along with many of the podcasts found in the iTunes Podcasts channel. I find the navigation to be a bit of an issue if I just want to get some news streaming so have the dedicated channels above for convenience. But I often dive into Nowhere TV to channel surf for gems I might have missed elsewhere. Enter code “H9DWC” to add and then open your Channel Store on Roku to install.

Worth watching…

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:03:56 -0600

Worth watching…

"What the professor has determined with a complex computer algorithm for consumer electronics, others..."

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:30:05 -0600

“What the professor has determined with a complex computer algorithm for consumer electronics, others have found through less scientifically rigorous means for other products, including clothing and toys: despite all the ads that suggest otherwise, the lowest prices tend to come at other times of the year.”

- Forecasting the Best Deals (via New York Times)

Steve Jobs talks PC vs. TV

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:31:06 -0600

Steve Jobs talks PC vs. TV:

Not even Steve Jobs could get everything right. Or did he?

via Observatory

Google 's secret weapon against Twitter and Facebook

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:20:06 -0600

Google 's secret weapon against Twitter and Facebook:

So Google+ is the new MySpace?

"People come to the Apple Store for the experience — and they’re willing to pay a premium for..."

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:10:05 -0600

“People come to the Apple Store for the experience — and they’re willing to pay a premium for that. There are lots of components to that experience, but maybe the most important — and this is something that can translate to any retailer — is that the staff isn’t focused on selling stuff, it’s focused on building relationships and trying to make people’s lives better.”

- What I Learned Building the Apple Store - Ron Johnson - Harvard Business Review

67% Of Small Business Owners Won’t Invest In Social Media In 2012 [INFOGRAPHIC]

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:37:05 -0600

67% Of Small Business Owners Won’t Invest In Social Media In 2012 [INFOGRAPHIC]:

via AllTwitter

Financial Times Hits 1M Users On HTML5 Site That Dodges Apple’s Tax (via TechCrunch)

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:57:06 -0600

Financial Times Hits 1M Users On HTML5 Site That Dodges Apple’s Tax (via TechCrunch):

The economics of closed app stores will probably force content producers away from native apps to web apps like FT has pioneered. This is somewhat ironic since web apps were exactly what Steve Jobs wanted when he launched the iPhone in 2007.

Daring Fireball: Getting Steve Jobs Wrong

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:22:06 -0600

Daring Fireball: Getting Steve Jobs Wrong:

Thoughtful analysis of a flawed, but fascinating, biography.

A human review of the Kindle Fire – Marco.org

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:47:05 -0600

A human review of the Kindle Fire – Marco.org:

I guess we will not be seeing an Instapaper app in the Amazon App Store anytime soon…

Awesome! (I’m sure everyone on Facebook will also...

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:18:22 -0600

Awesome!

(I’m sure everyone on Facebook will also appreciate the sarcasm… or is it irony?)

Steve Jobs Secret Meeting to Explore an iPod Phone is Revealing - Patently Apple

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:19:06 -0600

Steve Jobs Secret Meeting to Explore an iPod Phone is Revealing - Patently Apple:

Fascinating…

Protect The Internet

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:34:06 -0600

Protect The Internet

Amazon Releases Kindle Fire Source Code

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:44:05 -0600

Amazon Releases Kindle Fire Source Code:

Can’t wait to see what the folks at SlateDroid and XDA Developers cook up with this code…

Darth Vader as The World’s Greatest Dad

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 13:55:00 -0600

Darth Vader as The World’s Greatest Dad:

I always thought Lord Vader to be a pancake man, but I stand corrected ;-)

"Building a solid, but inexpensive tablet that does a few desirable things very well may be the..."

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:51:34 -0500

“Building a solid, but inexpensive tablet that does a few desirable things very well may be the better strategy for selling a tablet that isn’t called the iPad.”

- Here’s the secret to Amazon’s, B&N’s tablet strategy — Mobile Technology News

The timing and gravitas of these words is awesome. (via Letters...

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:15:11 -0500

The timing and gravitas of these words is awesome. (via Letters of Note: The price for ridding society of bad is always high)

"We all — in the end — die in medias res. In the middle of a story. Of many stories."

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 18:45:11 -0500

“We all — in the end — die in medias res. In the middle of a story. Of many stories.”

- A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs - NYTimes.com

"The simple advice was to build what you love and focus on the folks who actually use the product."

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:57:20 -0500

“The simple advice was to build what you love and focus on the folks who actually use the product.”

- Steve Jobs’ Final Lesson to Me, Microsoft, Google and Obama - Forbes

"So Jobs made an arrangement with the leasing company; he would always change cars during the sixth..."

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:50:16 -0500

“So Jobs made an arrangement with the leasing company; he would always change cars during the sixth month of the lease, exchanging one silver Mercedes SL55 AMG for another identical one. At no time would he ever be in a car as old as six months; and thus there was no legal requirement to have the number plates fitted.”

- iTWire - The truth about Steve Jobs’ number plate