When it comes to streaming devices, Chromecast and FireStick are two popular names in this domain. In the same vein, Roku has also established itself as a worthy contender. With a wide variety of channels and streaming services to choose from, users are usually spoiled for choice.
However, there is one region where the shortcomings are completely evident – and that is the browser segment. First of all, there is no native built-in browser for Roku. In addition, you could only get a couple of web browsers from the official store.
The existing ones aren’t fully optimized either, they’re just equipped with the basic features that would serve their purpose. If you want to try browsers outside of the store, they need to be loaded by third parties.
The irony is that those that are not officially available turn out to be a much better alternative than their counterpart. With all of these points in mind, this guide will point out seven of the best browsers for your Roku platform. Without further ado, let’s get started.
contents
- Web browser X
- Web videocaster
- Media browser
- Xfinity
- The Roku Canal
- POPRISM
- Screencast over Android
- Conclusion: web browser for Roku
Web browser X
If you have a Roku machine at home, you probably know this offer. As one of the only two browsers officially available on the Roku Store, it has its own perks.
The biggest of these is the fact that it is fully compatible with the Roku remote control. Therefore, you can easily navigate between different websites right from your remote control.
It also includes some of its other practical functions :
- Clean, simple and easy to navigate user interface.
- There are also some pre-saved news and sports websites that you can access right away with the press of a button.
- In the same way, you also have the option to bookmark your favorite websites.
However, the main disadvantage of this browser is its inability to handle media content. Not to mention the videos embedded in websites, it can’t even be played YouTube Videos.
Web videocaster
It set it apart from its competitors by integrating tons of TV shows and movies. Well, in some cases, even Roku himself seems to have stiff competition!
Seriously, Web Video Caster is more than just your everyday browser. The ability to watch series, watch live TV shows, and movies is just the tip of the iceberg.
Some of its other notable functions include :
- It supports all popular video formats.
- It can automatically retrieve the subtitle file of the corresponding movie being played.
- If that’s not enough, there is also the option of downloading the subtitles of your choice from the integrated OpenSubtitles website.
- You can also bookmark your favorite pages, view your watch history, create a home screen shortcut for easy access, etc.
- Well, you could even transfer your videos stored on your Android device to this browser.
So what’s the catch? Well, everything good has its price, and that’s the case here too. You’d have to spend a few dollars to try out most of the features.
Media browser
In our tests, the Media Browser with Browser X was at the forefront when it came to dealing with large and resource-intensive websites.
Then, to justify its nameplate, it completely does it justice to media files. Be it audio, video, or images, it is able to handle all of them with ease.
Likewise, most of its features are geared towards providing a media-enriched browsing experience. This includes such as
- A photo slideshow function to relive all of your memories.
- Live TV streaming functionality
- The ability to remotely control the media browser with other apps from the same publisher.
- And recently it found its way into the Roku Store. So you can download it straight from the store without having to search for a trusted third-party website.
Before you can use this browser, however, you need to install the Media Browser Server on your network [ download link ]. This could prove to be a little tricky, especially for non-tech-savvy users.
Xfinity
Xfinity offers a powerful set of features whose eyes are primarily on the entertainment industry.
Aside from being a decent web browser, it also has a ton of other features including, but not limited to:
- The option to stream videos, songs and movies of your choice spread across different genres.
- Likewise, you could add more channels to your collection by spending a few dollars.
However, it has added so many features that it could even be mistaken for a media streaming service at first, and later a browser. If it had just focused more on its browsing interface, it probably could have ranked higher on this list.
The Roku Canal
Time will tell whether recording the device name directly as your own branding works or not. In his favor, however, the involvement of various media services seems to have paid off.
Be it news, sports, music, or live TV, you can view them all under a single root. Some of the other features that might come in handy are:
- The ability to stream all of your favorite shows with ease.
- The content comes directly from Yahoo, which is updated regularly.
- As a result, you can expect timely delivery of its services.
Most of its offerings, however, are behind a paywall. So you would have to empty your pockets to enjoy the full potential of this service.
POPRISM
Aside from Web Browser X and Media Browser, it’s the only browser you can get straight from the Roku store.
As a result, POPRISM automatically translates into a few goodies, such as:
- Easily navigable pages that can be browsed directly from the remote control.
- Plus, the browser is among the most minimalist and barebones, so you can expect an impressive performance rating.
- What’s more, it’s entirely text-based, so it turns out to be one of the fastest browsers for your Roku device.
Unfortunately, it is precisely this function that leads to its demise. It’s without GUIs / CSS / JavaScript and so you can’t expect much from it. A few google searches and browsing the RSS feeds is the best it can handle.
All in all, the downsides of the lack of such critical browser components seem to have outweighed the benefits of being available in the Roku store.
Screencast over Android
As you may have noticed, unlike smartphones, Roku doesn’t offer high quality browsers. Most of them could only do a few basic tasks. That is why we decided to share this method with you.
This workaround of casting your smartphone’s screen directly has a few advantages, such as:
- You can try any of your favorite browsers on Roku, be it Chrome, Firefox, or Edge.
- In addition, you don’t have to worry about the tedious installation process.
- Pairing is also pretty easy. Just pick up your Android device and go to settings > Connected devices > Pair new device and choose year from the list. That’s it.
The biggest downside, however, is the fact that you could only stream an Android device and not an iPhone. This is because Roku uses Miracast, which is only supported by Google’s operating system. Additionally, the casting requires a strong internet connection or you would experience delays and pairing issues.
Conclusion: web browser for Roku
That brings us to the end of this list of the best internet browsers for Roku. We’ve shared seven different browsers in this article, each with their own USP and drawbacks.
If we’re only focusing on the browsers you can get from the Roku Store, then Web Browser X should be your first choice. This is because POPRISM is only text based and doesn’t support most websites today.
Then, if we talk about sideloading from a third party site, the Web Video Caster app should be enough for a decent browsing experience.
What are your views on this? Let us know which of the browsers mentioned above met your requirements.
Finally, here are the recommended web browsers for your computer and mobile phone that you should try.
window | Mac OS | iOS | Android | Linux |
---|---|---|---|---|
Chrome window | Chrome Mac | Chrome iOS | Chrome Android | Firefox Linux |
Firefox window | Safari Mac | Safari iOS | Edge Android | Chrome Linux |
Edge window | Firefox Mac | Edge iOS | Samsung internet | Edge Linux |
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