Facebook Photos & Videos

RokuGuide Review: You can't post or read news feeds, but Roku's Facebook channel will let you view your Facebook friends' photos and watch their videos, including videos that were posted from other sources like YouTube. To get started, you will need to log into your Facebook account through the Roku channel.

Customize the channel from the Settings option by selecting whether to show the News Feed slideshow photos full screen or as a mosaic, select how long to show each photo, select background music for the slideshow, and specify whether the channel should launch with the home screen, with news feed photos, or with news feed videos. Also note that you can add multiple Facebook accounts and switch between them.

Now that you've connected the Roku Facebook Photos & Videos channel to your Facebook account, you can view photos and videos by selecting between six options:

• My Photos - Photos are categorized in the same way as in your Facebook account. Albums are names as such, and there is also a Wall Photos category that displays photos you've posted on other people's walls. Select a photo using the directional arrows on your remote, then press the OK button to show the photo full screen. Along with the photo, you will see everyone's comments on the left side of the screen and your caption on the bottom of the screen. Click the down arrow on your remote and you can hide comments or "like" a photo. Use your remote's arrow buttons to scroll through all of the photos in that category, or press the play button to watch the photos as a slideshow with your preselected background music playing.
• My Videos - Shows only videos that you have uploaded to Facebook. If you've posted videos by linking to them, such as linking to a YouTube video, you will have to access through the News Feed Videos option (see below).
• News Feed Photos - Unlike the My Photos category, this category launches with the slideshow and background music already playing. Also, whereas My Photos shows all photos in full-screen mode, News Feed Photos will show multiple photos per screen if you selected "mosaic" from the slideshow option in Settings. In that case, the number of "likes" is shown for each photo in the mosaic. To see photo captions and comments, you will have to hit pause on your remote, use the arrow buttons to highlight the photo of interest, and press OK to show the photo full screen. Use the back button to return to the mosaic slideshow. Under this category, photos are shown in timeline fashion - newest to oldest.
• News Feed Videos - This category contains all of the videos that appeared in your news feed - that is, all videos posted by you and your Facebook friends - over the past week. Neither captions nor comments are displayed, and neither or the number of likes.
• Friends Photos - Under this category, you can select with Facebook friends' photos you want to view. Select a friend, and you'll find that photos are arranged as they are under My Photos, in the same manner as they're arranged within that person's Facebook page. You'll find Wall Photos, Profile Pictures, and individual albums as your friend set them up. Photos display only full screen, and with comments and captions, and slideshow operation is the same as with My Photos. The mosaic options appears to work only under News Feed Photos.
• Friends Videos - While News Feed Videos allows viewing of only the last week's videos, your friends' videos are all available here, sorted under "this week", "last week", and "older".

You can also use Roku Facebook Photos & Videos as a screensaver. To set that up, you will have to exit the Facebook channel and go to the Settings option on the main Roku screen. Select the Screensavers option, then select Facebook as the screensaver. Click on Custom Settings and select from News Feed Photos, Friends Profile Photos, and My Photos.

Developer's Channel Description: Facebook Photos for Roku makes it easy to stay connected with friends. Use Roku to check your friends' latest photos. Watch slideshows of your own and your friends albums in your living room on your TV.

CHANNEL STORE CATEGORY: Photos & Videos

DEVELOPER: ROKU, INC.

FEES: None (Facebook account required)

RELATED LINKS:
Facebook Website
Facebook on Facebook
Facebook (@facebook) on Twitter