Vudu Roku Issues

[Dom2984]

Hey everyone, I am new to Vudu and obviously new to these forums. I have some issues with using Vudu on my Roku device. I did a search but didn't really find the exact issues I had so made a new thread, I apologize if these problems are located somewhere else.

I used the $5.99 Roku credit to rent The Dark Knight Rises. The video began playing in a small window in the upper left hand corner of my screen instead of the width of the screen as normal. I then quickly ran into the buffering/network error issues many others have mentioned.

My main issue is that I was given a 48 hour rental for the movie yet due to the constant "network errors" I could not get through much more than 15 minutes of the film after renting it Friday night (about 8pm or so). On Saturday I was able to work my way through most of the film, despite constant network error drops and buffering issues. Eventually, with about 30 minutes of the film left another network error occurred which forced me to stop watching for a bit of time yet when I returned, about 24 hours after initially renting the film, it said my rental time expired and I would have to pay the rental fee again to watch the film. I thought I had a 48 hour limit not a 24 hour limit? So needless to say, I didn't get to finish the film.

I still have to attempt using the web site so can't comment on that as of yet. During the buffering/network error issues I would use my Roku to stream Netflix, Hulu, and even Amazon Prime and had no network or buffering issues on any of those, and based on the Vudu forums it seems to be on their end. Is there any way I can get my Roku credit back? I would like to at least finish watching The Dark Knight Rises.

[Guest]

Re: Vudu Roku Issues

Hey everyone, I am new to Vudu and obviously new to these forums. I have some issues with using Vudu on my Roku device. I did a search but didn't really find the exact issues I had so made a new thread, I apologize if these problems are located somewhere else.

I used the $5.99 Roku credit to rent The Dark Knight Rises. The video began playing in a small window in the upper left hand corner of my screen instead of the width of the screen as normal. I then quickly ran into the buffering/network error issues many others have mentioned.

My main issue is that I was given a 48 hour rental for the movie yet due to the constant "network errors" I could not get through much more than 15 minutes of the film after renting it Friday night (about 8pm or so). On Saturday I was able to work my way through most of the film, despite constant network error drops and buffering issues. Eventually, with about 30 minutes of the film left another network error occurred which forced me to stop watching for a bit of time yet when I returned, about 24 hours after initially renting the film, it said my rental time expired and I would have to pay the rental fee again to watch the film. I thought I had a 48 hour limit not a 24 hour limit? So needless to say, I didn't get to finish the film.

I still have to attempt using the web site so can't comment on that as of yet. During the buffering/network error issues I would use my Roku to stream Netflix, Hulu, and even Amazon Prime and had no network or buffering issues on any of those, and based on the Vudu forums it seems to be on their end. Is there any way I can get my Roku credit back? I would like to at least finish watching The Dark Knight Rises.

Dom,

Please send me a private message with the email address you used to create your VUDU account. I would be happy to get a case started for you.

[VolkerS]

Re: Vudu Roku Issues

Hi Dom,
besides giving you credit for the bad experience I would like us to have a technical discussion with you.

Can you please provide Dan with your device ID so that we can look at logs.
You reported 2 issues in your email below:
1. Video playback in small window: I have seen something similar in the Roku forums. Back then I forwarded this to the Roku engineering team. They had never heard of this before and indicated that this might be bad hardware. Do you still experience this or was this a one-time thing?

2. Buffering issues:
- which quality did you try (SD, HD, HDX, all of them)?
- wired or wireless?
- if wireless, do you have a bluetooth remote?
- do you use stereo mode or surround sound mode?


Thanks,
Volker

[BJC612]

Re: Vudu Roku Issues

I am having the same issues with VUDU and the constant buffering (every 15 seconds or so) I Have absolutely NO problems with any other Roku channels. Netflix, Amazon, etc. all work fine in HD. We did the required speed test and it said we could watch in HDX. It kept downgrading, first to HD then to SD...still buffering!!!! Since I was unable to watch the movie that I paid $6.00 for, I would really like to talk to someone about receiving a credit.
Apparently this is a widespread issue that needs to be addressed.

[Guest]

Re: Vudu Roku Issues

I am having the same issues with VUDU and the constant buffering (every 15 seconds or so) I Have absolutely NO problems with any other Roku channels. Netflix, Amazon, etc. all work fine in HD. We did the required speed test and it said we could watch in HDX. It kept downgrading, first to HD then to SD...still buffering!!!! Since I was unable to watch the movie that I paid $6.00 for, I would really like to talk to someone about receiving a credit.
Apparently this is a widespread issue that needs to be addressed.

Hi BJC,

Sometimes a reboot of the Roku can solve a lot of buffering problems.

If you've already done that, could you list some details about your internet connection? Is the Roku wired or wireless?

Please send me a PM including the email address you used to create your account.

[BJC612]

Re: Vudu Roku Issues

Thank you. Rebooting seems to have taken care of the problem.

[kareem]

Re: Vudu Roku Issues

I am having similar issues as well on my Roku 2. No problems with other channels. Funny thing is I have upgraded my Internet package to 25mb, upgraded the modem and the router (faster more robust Asus RT-56U) and sometimes it seems worse than when I had 10mb internet and a Linksys E1200 router.

I lost $5 for the movie Looper as I could not watch the movie straight through. I racked it up as a lost. Now launching Vudu causes an error and it says it cannot connect and I have to try several times. It only allows me to view trailers/movies in SD. Something must have changed on their end because I have watched a couple of movies problem free and in HD!!

Right now there is no added value in having Vudu when I can only watch a movie on my laptop (they say we can watch on Android, but sadly I have yet to succeed on my Nexus 7).

I don't know what else I need to do to get this working, sigh!!!

[Daryll]

Re: Vudu Roku Issues

Having issues with the Roku also. Rented a movie Sat 3/9 and kept getting an error message saying network problem try again later. Tried for a half hour to get it to play but the movie wouldn't even start. I checked the speed test and it was at the top of the bar for HDX, and I only rented the SD version. So I went on my computer and tried to watch it. It would play but would stop about every 5 minutes and we would have to close the video window and restart it again every time. we got through the movie but it was very frustrating. This afternoon 3/10 we tried to watch it again on the Roku and got the same error and it wouldn't play at all. I did unplug the Roku this morning to cycle it and there was no difference. I am running cox cable internet. I have rented movies previously and never had a problem.

Thanks, Daryll

[fadetonite]

Re: Vudu Roku Issues

Im having issues as well. I thought it was my router and I changed from a linsksys E4200 to an Asus RT-N66U since it was supposed to have better range and stable connections. We have 4 roku's in the house and today I watched 3 movies, all different times of the day on two different roku's (roku 2xd and HD) and encountered buffering issues. Roku network tests on both the roku's show the signal strength as excellent but Vudu shows it at 1 bar. When I run the test on Roku I get varied results from no signal to it being maxed out during the whole test. Now like others on the forums I run Amazon and Netflix HD without a hitch. Speedtest.net:



Now the above is of course my wired speed, and both roku's are running wireless so there will be a speed difference ont he roku's but plenty of bandwidth to stream HDX. I usually unplug my rokus when not in use as I have heard this "fixes" some buffering issues but this seems not to be the case. Does anyone know if there is a setting I need to look for in my router's settings or something that could be causing my buffering issues.

Here's what I watched them on:
Roku 2XD
Roku HD

on Comcast 50mb/s service through an Asus RT-N66U router.

[floweracres]

Re: Vudu Roku Issues

I returned my expensive 3D blu-ray/ Apple TV combo player gift to get a ROKU XS so that I could access VUDU, where I have over 200 movies stored now (thanks to Walmart and a huge investment in new releases!) All was well and good for nearly 2 months, then I purchased "The Invisible" in SD. That is when I first noticed a problem with Roku/Vudu's relationship. No matter what I did - the movie simply would not work. It showed video for literally 1 second and then just sound w/frozen video. I fast forwarded - I rewound - I restarted - Same thing, over and over again. So, I am simply stuck with a flick I cannot access. I did contact customer service and thought they were going to fix it, or give me a credit - but no dice. They said I would have to contact tech support because it was playing on the computer but not Roku. Hmmmm, I would NEVER sit in front of my 19" computer screen to watch a movie when my 40" HDTV is 5 feet away. It simply does not make sense!! If I had known about this issue I would have purchased The Invisible on Amazon in the first place and avoided throwing away $10 (which I finally did and it works great). Thankfully the other films have been ok so far with this dreadful exception...about 2 weeks ago it first began, the dreaded 'error messages'. At first it was just now and then - but it has grown into a huge problem and happens every time I try to watch any content. Wanting me to change my resolution to SD, Buffering/Network errors wanting me to 'try again later'. Sound familiar? This is very frustrating because I AM invested and want this to work! Netflix, HBO, Amazon, and every other channel I can think of, work flawlessly! I was renting a ton of movies on VUDU but am so reluctant now because of this issue. I rented one the other day and it just turned off in the middle of the movie. I restarted it after 10 attempts and it reset to 30 minutes prior to my stopping point!! I attempted to Fast-forward and lost the whole thing. This went on for over an hour until I finally gave up. Now, the rental is expired and I may never know how it ended!! ARRRRGGGGGG!!! That, coupled with my 'unwatchable' copy of The Invisible and my Buffering/Network issues is just too much! If there is a fix or update that is coming out I would love to hear about it. PLEASE HELP! (running ROKU XS - 3 months old, ATT Wireless router top speed available - (we did use Ethernet to connect thinking it would fix this and it did not)

[SoCalTom]

Re: Vudu Roku Issues

I recently signed up for Vudu. Here's my problem. I wanted to watch "Red Dawn." The trailer played perfectly; however, when I rented the movie, I had no audio. I tried restarting the movie to no avail. What's going on?

[Blurayfan]

Re: Vudu Roku Issues

I recently signed up for Vudu. Here's my problem. I wanted to watch "Red Dawn." The trailer played perfectly; however, when I rented the movie, I had no audio. I tried restarting the movie to no avail. What's going on?

Red Dawn is Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 to hear the audio you need to be connected by HDMI and have an Audio/Video receiver that can decode Dolby Digital Plus. If you are not connected by HDMI or don't have an Audio/Video receiver that decodes Dolby Digital Plus you need to change the audio setting on your Roku to stereo only.

[Guest]

Re: Vudu Roku Issues

I returned my expensive 3D blu-ray/ Apple TV combo player gift to get a ROKU XS so that I could access VUDU, where I have over 200 movies stored now (thanks to Walmart and a huge investment in new releases!) All was well and good for nearly 2 months, then I purchased "The Invisible" in SD. That is when I first noticed a problem with Roku/Vudu's relationship. No matter what I did - the movie simply would not work. It showed video for literally 1 second and then just sound w/frozen video. I fast forwarded - I rewound - I restarted - Same thing, over and over again. So, I am simply stuck with a flick I cannot access. I did contact customer service and thought they were going to fix it, or give me a credit - but no dice. They said I would have to contact tech support because it was playing on the computer but not Roku. Hmmmm, I would NEVER sit in front of my 19" computer screen to watch a movie when my 40" HDTV is 5 feet away. It simply does not make sense!! If I had known about this issue I would have purchased The Invisible on Amazon in the first place and avoided throwing away $10 (which I finally did and it works great). Thankfully the other films have been ok so far with this dreadful exception...about 2 weeks ago it first began, the dreaded 'error messages'. At first it was just now and then - but it has grown into a huge problem and happens every time I try to watch any content. Wanting me to change my resolution to SD, Buffering/Network errors wanting me to 'try again later'. Sound familiar? This is very frustrating because I AM invested and want this to work! Netflix, HBO, Amazon, and every other channel I can think of, work flawlessly! I was renting a ton of movies on VUDU but am so reluctant now because of this issue. I rented one the other day and it just turned off in the middle of the movie. I restarted it after 10 attempts and it reset to 30 minutes prior to my stopping point!! I attempted to Fast-forward and lost the whole thing. This went on for over an hour until I finally gave up. Now, the rental is expired and I may never know how it ended!! ARRRRGGGGGG!!! That, coupled with my 'unwatchable' copy of The Invisible and my Buffering/Network issues is just too much! If there is a fix or update that is coming out I would love to hear about it. PLEASE HELP! (running ROKU XS - 3 months old, ATT Wireless router top speed available - (we did use Ethernet to connect thinking it would fix this and it did not)

Do you have your case number handy? I'd like to see if we can reproduce that issue.

[Dennish]

Re: Vudu Roku Issues

I have a Roku 2XS and can't get into Vudu. My Roku is wired to my router and it worked when I installed my new Roku back in February. Now when I choose Vudu on Roku's channel selector it tries to access Vudu and bounces right back to the channel selector. I have tried deleting Vudu and reinstalling it and that has not worked.

I "chated" with Vudu support around March 10 and they said it's a Roku problem. I spent over an hour with Roku support and they eventually said it was a Vudu problem.

I have a LG TV with WIFI and Vudu works on it. The LG is connecting via WIFI, which is receiving a weaker signal. I would prefer to view Vudu thru my Roku 'cause it is using a wired connection and I use the Roku for other channels. I have AT&T Unverse and have the highest Internet speed available.

What can I do to make this work?

THX,
Dennish

[Michael Linder]

Re: Vudu Roku Issues

Vudu has yet to get it's hookup with Roku right. Constant buffering in all Roku modes and failed network tests turn out to be an overload in Roku's memory. Pulling the plug on Roku for ten seconds, then plugging it back in to clear the memory, and solves the issue.

I've also had the problem of no sound on Vudu movies. Turns out it's a Dolby glitch with Vudu that requires going into Roku's settings, and resetting audio to "Stereo" rather than "Dolby 5.1." It's a *****, because it means resetting Roku to Dolby 5.1 for every other service offered by the Roku box, then resetting it again to Stereo, just for Vudu.

A Vudu rep says Roku is new to them, and that a coming software update will fix the problems. It can't come soon enough. Still, it was refreshing to talk to a real human being at Vudu who solved these issues without having to endure too much telephone hell. Vudu's heart seems in the right place, even if its software isn't.