Roku’s new $3 ad-free streaming undercuts Netflix—with a catch

Do you want streaming without advertising without paying by the nose for Netflix or HBO Max? Roku’s new budgetary stream serves a tempting selection of movies and television programs for much less, provided you can face some warnings.

Scheduled to launch it today, Howdy costs only $ 3 per month for unlimited advertising streaming, a price that undercuits the cheapest of Netflix – and the most supported by advertising – of $ 5 per month.

This low admission cost allows you about 10,000 hours of streaming content, according to Roku, including protruding facts such as Max Max: Fury Road, Elvis, The Blind Side, Reservoir Dogs, Weeds, Southland, And Children in the room. Until now, Howdy’s content partners include Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery and filmrise, with original Roku titles “Select” also in the mix.

Roku promises a “high -quality advertising experience” of Howdy, although it is not exactly clear to what to expect in terms of video quality or audio. I assume that Howdy will serve an HD quality video (1080p) with a stereo and / or standard surround sound (which means no Dolby Atmos), but I contacted Roku for more details.

So, not too bad for $ 3 per month, but there is a socket: in addition to looking on a web browser, Howdy content must be broadcast either on a Roku device (including a Roku streaming stick or a Roku TV) or the Roku mobile application for iOS or Android. This means that if you hope to watch Howdy videos on an Apple TV, a Google TV streaming device, a firebroke or another non-Roku streaming player, you are not lucky.

The good news is that players in streaming roku are cheap. For example, you can hang the latest Roku HD streaming player (which we have just revised) for only $ 19 on Amazon, while the Roku Stick Plus compatible 4K costs only $ 30.

Although you can also broadcast Howdy content on the Roku app for iOS and Android, it is not clear if you can download titles for offline visualization. I doubt it, but I sent this question to Roku.

Howdy can be a streaming service without advertising, but if you look at it on a Roku TV or a streaming reader, you will have to face a user interface that is riddled with advertisements. (Amazon and Google Streaming Players also have compulsory advertising interfaces.)

Earlier this year, Roku was dint for having experienced an automatic ad that appeared when users first turned on their Roku televisions or their streaming devices. The advertisements had “fenced” buttons that allowed you to go to the home screen, but that did not prevent Roku users from screaming with indignation.

Roku said that Startup’s announcement was just a “test” and that the placement of the intrusive announcement quickly disappeared.