The rapidly changing digital entertainment environment has seen Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) emerge as a strong alternative to the usual cable and satellite services. Creating an account and accessing the channels offered through Roku makes using IPTV easier than ever. This article examines the many benefits IPTV has over traditional pay television. It also investigates the apparent phenomenon of using IPTV through a Roku device in order to understand better what IPTV is and how to use it, as well as to appreciate its many advantages over standard cable and satellite offerings. IPTV is, in essence, a pay service that allows you to watch live channels, on-demand content, and even archived content, which is sometimes referred to as “catch-up TV.” The service is not available in the way that many pay television services are available; that is, you cannot get a standard set of channels that you can watch using a standard television set and which can be used by anyone in your household.
Roku ranks among the top streaming platforms—reigning supreme, in many respects—due to its unrivaled user-friendliness and sheer number of available channels. Besides offering a number of services itself, like The Roku Channel, which is loaded up with ad-supported movies and TV shows, Roku is a gateway to a cornucopia of content from other providers. On an average day, I’m sure, there are Legion of Doom levels of supervillainy afoot in my neighborhood, for instance. Yet if I want to see a window into that world with my own two eyes, the best I can do is tune into something like “America’s Most Wanted.” Or so I thought until I discovered that channel 196 on my friend’s Roku was a live feed from the Lisbon, Portugal, police department. International IPTV is just about the only superhero TV with a potentially global reach.
Though it is serviceably simple, getting IPTV to work on a Roku device is not quite as easy as just flipping a switch. First, a user must select an IPTV provider. There are many to choose from, some offering a great variety of channels, others focusing on niche content. Get the setup instructions wrong, and you might as well have saved your money and just watched what was included in the free version of the app you used to sign up for the service. Next, the user must install that same app on the Roku device. While Roku does not have a dedicated IPTV app available in its channel store, a user can utilize third-party applications such as “IPTV Smarters” or “Tivimate.” After installing the app, the user must input the details of their provider. Once all those steps are completed, the user can begin streaming actual content.
Despite the many benefits offered by Internet Protocol television, there are a few issues that demand attention. The legality of some of the services is a concern. Not all providers operate within the law, and research is necessary to ensure a service is legitimate. Poor Internet connection quality is another challenge with IPTV. The technology runs on a stable, fast Internet connection; anything less and you’re looking at buffering, lag, and a video image that may demur in favor of a Picasso painting. Recommended is a broadband connection with sufficient bandwidth to support streaming; 6-10 Mbps is a common rule of thumb.
Roku users now have an exciting new option available to them in the form of IPTV, which allows them to view a steady stream of television programming. That isn’t, however, an opportunity that all IPTV providers are providing legally. Thus, when one considers the use of IPTV on the Roku device, doing so legally must take precedent over any potential use that could be in violation of the law. Fortunately for IPTV enthusiasts, Roku device owners are at present afforded a number of effectively legal IPTV viewing options.