Roku looks to stay at head of streaming pack
There’s more to see and it looks better than ever before
Roku is well-positioned to maintain its spot atop the streaming video device competition.
Nine years ago, the Los Gatos, Calif.-based tech company helped usher in the streaming video market with its first settop box for watching Netflix. Now, you can get more than 5,000 channels and watch 500,000 movies or TV shows on the latest Roku devices.
The Roku basics: the device connects to your TV and your home broadband network via Wi-Fi or Ethernet. With Roku’s easy-to-use menu, you can choose from a variety of channels including Amazon Video, HBO Now, Netflix, and Showtime, as well as live subscription TV services such as DirecTV Now, Hulu, Sling TV and Sony’s PlayStation Vue. Once you select them, they are downloaded and stick on your Home menu like apps on your smartphone.
Roku now offers five streaming devices, including the entry-level Roku Express ($29.99), which connects via Wi-Fi to deliver HD content to your TV.
With more consumers buying 4K TVs, Roku now has three devices that support 4K video, with even more detailed images than HD. The Ultra ($99.99) handles HD video, standard 4K video and 4K video in high dynamic range (HDR) with improved contrast and a wider range of richer colors. (The $69.99 Streaming Stick+ also supports 4K HDR, while the $49.99 Streaming Stick handles standard 4K.)
I used HDMI and Ethernet cables to connect the Roku Ultra to a Samsung 4K Ultra HD TV and my Verizon Fios router (you can connect wirelessly, too.)
Roku makes it super simple to find something to watch. From the Home screen, you can see icons for channels such as Amazon, HBO Now, Hulu and Netflix. (Many have a free trial period.)
Some channels have free videos. Click on News from the Home menu and you will find clips — some with ads — from Bloomberg, CNN, E! News, NBC and Newsy. A new Roku Channel is stocked with free movies and TV episodes with about half the ads you would get watching adsupported broadcast TV.
Under Streaming Channels, Roku has a 4K section that directs you to the growing number of channels with content in the higher resolution format (often referred to as Ultra HD and 4K Ultra HD). You can head to Netflix and quickly find its 4K shows, including Stranger Things, Narcos and Orange Is the New Black.
In Amazon Video, the 4K offerings include TV series such as
Transparent and Tin Star.
Roku quickly launched each service with crisp 4K video streaming in seconds. (For 4K video, Amazon and Netflix recommend broadband speeds of at least 25 Megabits per second.)
Another 4K source on Roku is Walmart-owned streaming service Vudu, which has free movies and shows, as well as movies for rent or purchase.
If you ever get lost you can hit the back or home button on the Roku remote. You also can use hold the microphone button to use your voice to search for comedies, movies with Clint Eastwood, or to launch a specific channel. The remote has buttons that take you straight to Hulu, HBO Now, Netflix and Sling TV.
That ease of use is likely to serve Roku well in keeping its category-leading market share.