Roku: Which streaming player should you buy?

so what's the best roku to buy this year well today i'm gonna help you figure it out i'll be covering all your choices from the roku ultra to the least expensive model the roku express and i'm gonna be talking about the new voice remote pro that you can buy as a replacement remote and that's also included in two of the roku models covered today hi i'm jim kimball editor of cordcuttingreport.com where tv viewers come to get the most out of their streaming services and hardware let's jump right in with what i think is the best roku for your money right now that's the roku express 4k plus the roku express 4k plus is priced usually around 40 dollars it's small and compact it fits right under your television and it supports 4k in hdr the software is generally the same across the board with roku and roku tvs so the express 4k plus is the best roku for an older smart tv especially one that supports 4k that needs a refresh but even if you're looking to add some new life into an older 1080p television i still think the express 4k plus is a better buy for a couple of reasons it has a better remote control that includes voice search a power button for your tv and a volume rocker so essentially you're getting a universal remote that you can pair with just about any tv getting a 4k capable roku is also a good idea because even if you're using a tv that only has high definition picture resolution chances are your next tv is going to be capable of 4k i think it's always a good idea to future proof whatever streaming device you're gonna buy the express 4k plus has dual band connectivity over wi-fi the private listening feature is not on the express 4k plus but if you use the mobile app on roku you can connect with some bluetooth headphones and use it that way the express 4k plus also supports apple airplay and home kit so if you want to stream some photos or videos from your iphone or another apple device to your roku you can do that the express 4k plus does not support dolby atmos or dolby vision picture resolution but i think that's kind of a minor issue considering the price point the roku express is the entry level budget model that has hd picture resolution and is priced at about 30 dollars as i just mentioned the picture resolution is high definition so that's 1080p or 720p so it's suitable for an older tv that has an hdmi port in the back the remote control with the roku express has no voice commands no power button for the tv or volume control so it's a very bare bones model but still you can stream any streaming service that you typically would with more expensive roku or a roku tv in the box you get all the cords you need and a very good remote control so when you get it you can just take it out of the box plug it in and start streaming pretty much right away also now with the roku channel you're essentially getting a free ad supported streaming service that has lots of movies and even roku originals to watch so right out of the box you're getting a lot of free programming roku ultra is the company's flagship streaming player usually retails for about 99 it supports all available picture formats including 4k hdr10 dolby vision on the audio side it supports dolby atmos the latest refresh of this model includes the voice remote pro which i'll get into a little bit later in the video like with all other roku models all your cords that you need are included in the box including the charger for the voice remote pro to me one of the most underrated perks of the roku ultra is the ethernet port in the back having a hardwired internet connection instead of using wi-fi can greatly reduce the chance of picture buffering that's something you really want to consider if you're using an older router or you're streaming in these higher picture resolutions like dolby vision that require more bandwidth the remote control controls tv power volume guilt also supports apple airplay and homekit so you can easily share photos and videos from your iphone so the roku ultra is what i bought my parents when they were ready to cut the cord and one of the reasons why is because they had an older 55-inch television in their living room and even though it was 1080p i wanted to give them a roku that was going to support their next tv which i figured would be in 4k and i really wanted to hardwire their roku box that way i knew they wouldn't have any wi-fi issues with their older router that they were using roku still has a couple of streaming sticks in their lineup one is called roku streaming stick 4k the other one is called roku streaming stick 4k plus 4k streaming stick 4k is a follow-up to the streaming stick plus which debuted in 2017. streaming stick 4k supports dolby vision hdr 4k and dolby atmos roku says that it also has longer range wi-fi capabilities i haven't personally tested that out the streaming stick 4k retails for about 50 dollars the streaming stick 4k plus supports all the same picture resolutions but the difference is you get the voice remote pro included in the box so just to quickly recap i think the top two roku devices in my mind is the express 4k plus because it just gives you a lot of value for the money especially with that remote control that has voice commands and control over your television and i like the roku ultra a lot i think that's great for a living room tv and the ability to hardwire your roku box can really ensure you have a solid internet connection one other thing i almost forgot to mention about the roku ultra is that it has a usb port and if you wanted to access your media whether it's on a flash drive or external hard drive you can plug it right in and go to the roku media player icon and access both photo and video files by the way if you like these kinds of hands-on reviews or how-to videos i hope you'll click the like and subscribe button and help me grow this channel so let's get into the roku voice remote pro it was released earlier this year the remote pro has a rechargeable battery and a lost remote control finder feature that is super useful the button layout looks pretty much the same as other roku remotes you have the volume rocker on the side a mute button tv power button up top navigation button in the middle voice search button right below that the dimensions of the remote feel slightly thinner and smaller than the older roku remotes that i have now as i mentioned the voice remote pro is included with two models that's the roku ultra and the roku streaming stick 4k plus but you can buy this separately and it will pair with most roku players and roku tvs so probably the biggest difference with the voice remote pro is that you don't need batteries anymore if you want to recharge it there's a little charging port on the bottom there's a usb cord that comes with the remote there's a little green light on the bottom of the remote control when it's charged up it becomes a solid green the other big change is this remote has hands-free voice commands so you don't need to press the microphone button all the time to issue voice commands you can initiate voice commands by saying hey roku so you can say hey roku find my remote control so if the remote is lost in the couch cushion somewhere the remote will give off this loud unbroken beep that won't shut off until you pick up the remote and just press any button there's some other premium features such as private listening and there's two programmable shortcut buttons so if you're a fan of a streaming service that isn't featured on one of the four down below you can program that in one of these two buttons there's one button on this that i noticed while i was using it there's a switch on the side of the remote control where you can turn off hands-free voice commands and i imagine this is for people who don't feel so comfortable with having an always-on microphone in their house the problem is if you shut this off and you lose the remote you can't turn around say hey roku where's my remote because you've basically shut off that feature so thanks so much for watching i really appreciate it i hope i gave you some clarity on which roku device might be the best one for you of course you can always leave me questions in the comments below i do my best to answer as many as i can i've also written a comprehensive guide on the cord cutting report website on the best roku models to buy i hope you go check that out if you're interested in other hands-on reviews like this one not only can you subscribe to the youtube channel but you can also follow the website on google news i'm starting to establish a pretty good following there and i hope you'll join us you can also sign up for my monthly newsletter where i cover a lot of new products and services so thanks again and i'll see you next time

Channel: Cord Cutting Report

Views: 56,792

Keywords: roku, best roku, roku streaming, roku review, which roku to buy, roku device, which roku has 4k, roku buying guide, whats the best roku, which roku should i buy, best roku to buy, roku streaming media player, cord cutting, roku stick, roku express, roku express 4K plus, roku streaming stick 4k, roku ultra

Id: -68H0N-DhNU

Length: 10min 16sec (616 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 20 2022