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REVIEW: Roku Express 4K review and Roku Originals
In the world of streaming TV, Roku is a venerable veteran at 13 years old.
It began as a hardware collaborator with Netflix and has continued to make great streaming boxes over the last decade or so – and its latest, the Express 4K, is on test this week.
But that test also coincides with another first for Roku – the launch of Originals. For the first time, Roku will not just be a way to get other people’s content on your screen, it will be providing content of its own.
Well, not exactly its own – the 30 shows were made by Quibi, a TV streaming service launched last year amid grand fanfare, only to promptly die a death due to a lack of subscribers.
Roku bought the shows and they’ve re-emerged as Roku Originals.
Roku says it fully intends to follow up these shows, which include Die Hart, featuring Kevin Hart and John Travolta, Chrissy’s Court, featuring Chrissy Teigen and Cup of Joe, with Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner.
Which brings us to the Express 4K – one of the best ways to watch all the stuff Roku TV has to offer, plus just about everything else from every other streaming service.
There are all the usual suspects – subscription services like Netflix, Disney+, NowTV, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+, as well as the free services from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel Five that you would expect to find.
The Express 4K is a very solid way to get all that stuff on your 4K TV… and is a bargain at £39.99.
The set-up is simple, and the adding of channels and services even simpler. The quality of the video and audio is as good as it gets.
The device is small and comes with a simple remote that gets you to what you want easily.
Neat features have been added like support for HDR10+ for those with compatible TVs, as well as Apple Airplay 2 and HomeKit integration, which adds Siri control. You can, of course, use Amazon’s Alexa or the Google Assistant to control your TV, too.
It’s a very compelling package at a very compelling price.
Find out more at roku.com