Nowadays, streaming services have already surprised the world. People hardly ever watch regular cable TV anymore, where sometimes it seems that there are more ads than any other content. Instead, people have come to the conclusion that it’s more convenient and cost-effective to watch specifically what they want than to wait for a particular movie or series to show up on the schedule for a day or a week.
Roku is one of the first companies to actually create streaming TV. Using this platform is quite easy, and in terms of functionality, there’s almost no difference from its counterparts.
The most basic thing you need to do is connect your device to your Smart TV, connect it to the Internet, and then create a Roku account. Nothing else is needed, once everything is done, you can start streaming your favorite shows as soon as possible.
You can also use the Internet on Roku, but it isn’t built-in, it’s only available as a third-party channel. Roku doesn’t give you the privilege to browse the Internet directly, but it does allow you to use some channels that will function as web browsers.
However, you shouldn’t expect to get all the functionality that a normal web browser has. The fact is that, until now, there has been no decent web browser that you can use with Roku.
If you want to install a web browser on Roku, you will have slightly fewer features. Nevertheless, here’s what you can do.
What web browsers can you use on Roku
There are only two web browsers available in the Roku channel store. These are Web Browser X and Poprism Web Browser. You can also use Chrome via Screencast, but about that a bit later.
Let’s take a closer look at both of these browsers, as well as Screencast.
Web Browser X
Web Browser X is the way to browse the web for Roku. However, on the other hand, there is a monthly cost to using it. As it costs $4.99 per month. Many also feel that it isn’t worth their money. After all, everyone already has smartphones, tablets, laptops, or PCs to go online in 2022. And it will be a lot easier. So it’s unlikely that anyone will pay a monthly fee for this web browser.
Nevertheless, it could be considered an option. Roku doesn’t have its own browser, since they have not implemented one despite its long existence. Perhaps that is why Web Browser X doesn’t have a modern design.
There are also a few problems when using it. While it works quite well, it can have trouble displaying and formatting more complex pages. This is something that Roku could fix if it decided to make its own browser.
You can get some minor pre-saved favorites sites like CNN, ABC News, and Google News, so that’s something. The best thing about this browser is that you can visit any site on the Internet simply by using the URL. You also have the ability to add frequently visited sites to your favorites. Just like on a PC.
Of course, the drawback is that you can’t play videos or fill out online forms such as password and username fields, so you’re out of luck if you try to log in to Facebook or Twitter.
Poprism Web Browser
If you look in the Roku channel store, the only other web browser option is Poprism. While you might hope that it will work better than Web Browser X, it won’t, it will work worse.
That’s because it will only let you read text. There are no images, no CSS, no JavaScript, no GUIs, nothing, just text.
This means that this browser isn’t suitable for the vast majority of websites, and it may be your only option if you like text-based forums, RSS feeds, and all other text-based forms of content.
To be honest, hardly anyone would want to use such a browser, even though it’s completely free.
Chrome via Screencast
Unfortunately, there’s no Google Chrome app for Roku. However, you can always use a screencast option on your Smart TV to see your smartphone and browser screen. You can use the Roku app for this. However, this app doesn’t allow you to mirror your browser screen on your smartphone.
Alternatively, you can try the third-party app on your Android device. This app is called Cast to TV & Screen Mirroring. Just download this app from Google Play Store and open it.
You can tap on the “Screencast” icon and follow the instructions to mirror your smartphone screen to your Roku device.
The only disadvantage of this app is the huge amount of ads. However, you can buy a premium subscription and get rid of ads.
This seems to me to be the best option if you want to use the browser on your TV. It won’t cost you anything and yet you get a nice browser that can be fully functional.
