With more than 2,000 channels, finding content on Roku can be difficult. To help, Roku has a search feature that is accessible from the Roku home screen. With Roku's search engine you can search on the name of a movie or TV show, or that of an actor or director. You can also search for a specific Roku channel.
The primary drawback to Roku's built-in search is that it returns results for only 15 channels, all but three of which require you to pay a subscription fee, video rental fees, or subscribe to a participating cable or satellite TV service. The channels searched are:
- Acorn TV (Subscription)
- Amazon Instant Video (Subscription or rental)
- Blockbuster On Demand (Rental)
- CinemaNow (Rental)
- Crackle (Free)
- FXNOW (Cable/satellite service required)
- FOX NOW(Cable/satellite service required)
- HBO GO(Cable/satellite service required)
- Hulu Plus (Subscription)
- M-GO (Rental)
- Netflix (Subscription)
- Popcornflix (Free, or rent ad-free)
- Snagfilms (Free)
- Time Warner Cable (Cable/satellite service required)
- Vudu (Subscription)
Just select "Search" from the main menu, then enter the movie, TV show, actor, director, or Roku channel. If you're searching for a movie or TV show that's available on one of the above channels, you'll be presented with a list of suggestions based on your search. Select a title, and you'll see a list of the channels (limited to those above) that offer that video, along with the price (if any) on each service. Select the channel you want to watch on, and you'll be taken directly to that channel.
If you searched for an actor or director, the search results will return a complete filmography for the person you select from the suggestion list. Select a title from that list of films and TV shows, and you'll find film information (director, leading actors, year of release, run time, and a story synopsis) along with a list of channels (again, limited to those above) that offer that title.
Another useful function of Roku's search is that it will also return channel names from the complete list of those in the Roku Channel Store. Click on the result, and you will be taken to that channel, or given the opportunity to install it if you haven't done so already. Channels are searched on exact name only, so this won't help you if you're looking for channels on a specific topic. However, if you know the name of a channel and don't want to browse through the entire channel store or your My Channels list, this feature will help you get to that channel.
But what to do if you want to find videos on a specific topic, or find a specific movie title on a channel other than the 15 above? Currently, there is no cross-channel search function that will find content across all Roku channels. You can start by searching RokuGuide.com using the search box near the top of the right hand column on all RokuGuide.com pages. Our channel reviews include only a few video titles, so you'll have better luck searching on a subject. For example, if you're looking for children's sing-along videos, a search on "sing-along" returns six channels, including private channels, with this subject matter.
If you still can't find what you're looking for, send us a message using the Contact Us page. Due to the volume of mail received, we cannot answer every request or try to find obscure titles, but we will try our best to offer suggestions.
