Go Red Sox

16 de febrero de 2021

Fabulous product that gave new life to my ‘older’ but excellent Sony 1080p TV

After buying a couple of Roku TVs, and realizing how great they are, I finally decided to cut her cable and convert my two ‘older’ TVs.My first was a Sony that we’ve hade for a long time and I used this product because I have an Ethernet connection inside the cabinet under the TV. I prefer to have TVs connected using Ethernet so as to reduce the traffic on my WiFi. This product has both WiFi and Ethernet so a big plus there.Installing the Roku was easy, my HDMI cables were already in place. I really enjoyed replacing the huge, heavy and very warm cable box (good riddance ). With the Ethernet connection, the install is rather boring. I plugged it in and was left to complete the installation using the remote.The next part of the install was to set up the TVs 1080p screen and the remote. My TV is 1080p and the device discovered that and set it automatically. I was very pleased that Roku remote can power and set the sound natively without having to use the TV’s remote. After years of using multiple remotes and the kludgy CableTV remote, it all works as one! I’m particularly pleased that since AppleTV and AirPlay are supported, that knocks another remote to the curb.Going through the device setup is easy and Roku will ask questions about your preferences in order to tailor some of the apps/channels it puts on your Home Screen. It takes a few minutes and is very straightforward.One thing that I really love about this Roku is the remote. It has the voice control (works great to turn on and off subtitles or switch channels, for example) and a headphone jack for private listening. Honestly, the most satisfying part of the remote is it’s feel. It is a bit weightier than the Roku remotes I got with my Roku TVs and just feels great in my hand. I wish Roku made the TV manufacturers using the Roku OS also use the nicer remote. I just love the remote, even if first timers always ask how to change the volume!Finally, using this as a reason to get deep into the TV cabinet and behind the TV, I was amazed how heavy (and dusty) that TV is. The newer TVs are so light and thin! This Sony is a helluva workhorse tho, and the picture is flawless albeit 1080p. I think it will be a while before there is enough 4K or 8k programming out there to make a difference.This Roku device is a fabulous product that gave new life to my ‘older’ TV.Thanks for reading!Ver más

34 personas la encontraron útil

Cabby

29 de noviembre de 2020

Its good

I upgraded from Roku Premium to this rendition and so far am impressed. My main reason was to be able to use the wired ethernet and indeed it's noticeably faster than Wifi ( getting twice the speed ). I'm no expert in 4K or what not, but the following is my experience. The Roku Premium broadcasted in HDR10 mode on select sources only ( few Amazon Prime shows and Youtube videos that were in HDR ) and my TV would automatically toggle between "normal" to "HDR10" mode depending on the source. With the Premium, everything is upscaled to where my TV only operates under HDR10 mode. I do believe the picture quality is a better vs Premium, especially viewing native HDR sources. My 4 year old TV has never looked better.I do not know what Dolby Vision is or if my "system" is capable of it, so can not comment on that.The Premium was prone to overheating and sometimes there would be random blank screens. Can't confirm if this was due to Roku or my TV or from the source itself. No random weirdness yet with the Ultra.One significant improvement I've noticed is the sound quality. There appears to be a slight increase in gain overall, but the overall quality is better vs Premium ( couldn't tell you why as I haven't studied any of the specs). I have a fairly decent 2.1 system using a separate power amp and able to tell this improvement more easily than if I were using TV speakers. However, ymmv.One awesome bonus is the volume control + mute on the remote. This is sooooo sweet since most everything can be done with just the Roku remote.Ver más

8 personas la encontraron útil

Fuzzbucket

17 de mayo de 2021

Ultra Impressed

I bought a Roku Ultra a few years ago for my folks and all it did was buffer nonstop when I tried to watch any streaming service on it. It drove me mad and I ended up just giving it to a sibling, who actually has no problems with it working for them, haha.Still, I’ve owned Roku devices since they first launched and have always really liked and appreciated their simplicity for the most part and how well they worked for be in the past. So, reading the specs on this latest model, specifically the “50% better WiFi connectivity” that this ultra claimed, well, I thought I’d chance buying it even though it was pricey. And, after having set up this Ultra and after I tried out all my streaming services that I subscribe to on it. I have to say that I couldn’t be happier and couldn’t be more impressed with how wonderfully this latest model functions for me.I completely expect to have buffering issues at some point just because any streaming service will give you them eventually in my opinion. Yet, as far as the actual Roku being able to properly connect to my home’s WiFi network. Well, this model just works flawlessly I believe. I totally am convinced of and believe the advertised, increased, 50% better WiFi connectivity. To me it’s awesome when a product that I buy actually lives up the manufacturers claims :). Woohoo!Plus, I haven’t used a newer Roku in a while and I really am digging all the new features and functions. I haven’t tried the Voice Assist stuff yet but I’d be surprised if it didn’t work flawlessly as well.I also want to say just how grateful I am that Roku has continued to keep the overall aesthetics of the device to be very simplistic, clean looking, not cluttered and just super easy to understand, especially for both my folks. I set everything up for my parents but they were able to learn to how use this Roku very quickly with not too much instruction. They are both almost 70. Which isn’t really that old in my opinion and they are both sharp as heck. It’s just that they didn’t grow up using tech stuff like I did so it can be more confusing for them to learn these devices sometimes I’ve done. That’s one of the reasons I’ve always adored Rokus, though, because pretty much anybody can get up to speed in using the device efficiently in no time at all in my opinion.Also, when initially downloading all my streaming service apps and looking at the sign in functions. I was at the start concerned that I might have issues signing into services such as HBO Max, STARZ and Showtime Anytime with my DirectTV credentials. But, that worry was all for nothing I gladly found out :P. It didn’t look like that I would be able to access a “cable/satellite provider” option from within the respective apps on the Roku itself and sign in that way. But once I just clicked LOG IN I was able to use my phone from there, input the given codes and sign up on the internet at the service’s websites and from there they each offered the cable/satellite provider feature I needed. I’m super happy and thankful it all worked out well for me with that potential issue.I should also say that if you’ve never used a Roku before. That, the fact they use such an infinitesimal small amount of electricity to stay always on (the Roku doesn’t have a shut off function.) That I just forgot how awesome it is to have everything you might use already loaded up and ready to go because the device is always on and there is seriously very little wait time to load any applications on the Roku. That feature will never get old as far as I’m concerned.So, I, of course, cannot speak to how well this new Roku Ultra will work for everyone else who buys and uses one. But as far my use has gone and as I said in my review title, I’m ultra impressed with this latest model. So much so that I believe I will purchase a second one for myself pretty soon. I hope my review was helpful to other shoppers and thanks for reading :D.

Noel Scott Puleio

8 de mayo de 2026

Good buy

Great streamer box!

Brelje

16 de febrero de 2024

No need to suffer with a Firestick

I've been enduring the pain of Firestick for years and am thrilled to have made the change.Works like expected. The remote feels good in the hand and key layout is good. As with the Firestick, it can only control power and volume of the TV and not my AV receiver. There is an interesting feature of a 3.5mm headphone jack to reroute audio to headphones instead of the TV/receiver.What I love about this product is the responsiveness. Apps load almost instantly as does the home screen. Navigation within apps is snappy. These basic functions have been historically quite slow on all my Firesticks.I've also had no buffering issues since making the switch whereas this was a common issue before. Perhaps it's the hard-wired network connection to the Roku instead of Wi-Fi. I think it's because the Firestick runs very poorly whereas the Roku seems to run like a top.I took off a star from my overall review due to the difficulties in setting up the device. It was a simple process overall, but very tricky to complete without providing them a credit card to keep on file in case I want to make a future purchase. I was eventually able to get it done, but it took some time and wasn't exactly as described in Roku support.Ver más

6 personas la encontraron útil

Tiger

Highly Competent Streaming Player with All the Options

Its everything I could have expected, a highly competent streaming player with all the options. We're definitely power users at my house. This has an extra powerful Wi-Fi if you are going to stay wireless, and also supports wired ethernet without an extra dongle (FireTV), if you've wired your house with CAT 6 ethernet like me :) . I already have a 4K TV with LG OS, a FireTV stick, and even a Tivo Romio Pro that streams. When my LG TV, FireTV, & Tivo use Wi-Fi they spend noticeably more time opening apps and opening shows than when connected via wired. With this Roku, the Wi-Fi seems nearly no different. I still connected it via Ethernet in the end, but was surprised how equivalent Wi-Fi seemed compared to my past experiences. Its hardware is fast and reliable, such that I've never perceived a delay induced by the hardware. Easy to configure out of the box too. The menus and channels are really easy to navigate, and easy on my eyes. And it supports seemingly all relevant audio and video formats like Dolby Vision & Dolby Atmos, which it audio-detects level of HDR support in your TV.The remote is probably is probably its most multi-faceted and yet simple and intuitive solution. It has volume buttons or mute on the right side by your thumb. it has a headphone jack on the left for silent watching if you don't want to disturb others. It is an RF remote meaning you can tuck the Roku away in a cabinet or behind a TV and it will still work without line-of-sight. But the Roku does have an IR sensor if you have another IR remote too. And most of the buttons are what you'd expect on a modern streamer, but feels simple, easy, and intuitive to use. The skip-back button (like my Tivo button) is something I use a lot, such as if I missed something or didn't hear them quite right. Surprisingly by default it displays closed captioning (subtitle) on the replay so you can see what they said if you were backing it up. But you can turn that off CC on rewind if you rewind often and don't want the distraction of text. And the voice-command button and subsequent command processing is surprisingly good. You can even say things like "skip forward 2 minutes" or whatever. And you can even save your last voice command in one of the two numbered buttons by holding one after, and then repeats that command if you touch it again. I actually use that a lot to skip for ward 30 seconds :) .However, some possible minor negatives are:(1) There is no 30-second instant skip-forward button on the remote. But you can use a voice command to skip any amount of time you want, including 30-seconds, and can store that in one of the configurable buttons. It just isn't exactly instant skip while it processes the command, but close enough.(2) Pausing and resuming leave the screen darkened and showing the progress bar and controls and takes a few seconds to resume normal brightness of the show or movie. That irks me compared to my LG TV that the back button can hide the bar so I can instantly be back into my show in its full picture.(3) Streaming apps may vary by platform, so don't expect them to be identical. For example, I REALLY like the Netflix app on my LG TV for #2 and for fast forwarding that can click right or left through easy picture snapshots rather than a traditional fast forward or rewind that appears in the Roku version of the same app.(4) The volume buttons on the right-side of the remote are easy to accidentally press if you aren't careful, but doesn't really get in the way.(5) If it doesn't detect Dolby Vision, double check that the device it is directly connected to supports it on that HDMI input. Definitely not the fault of this device, but it puzzled me for a while why it didn't detect Dolby Vision at first when my TV supports it (the TV did, but the HDMI input on my Blu-ray player didn't).Roku supports the widest channel library that I am aware of, and is the reason I bought this, for HBO Max. I use this when I want the best sound support to go through my sound system and it delivers a noticeable sound improvement in my home compared to my TV connected back to my A/V receiver. I actually have this plugged into the HDMI In port on my Oppo 4K Blu-ray player.