How the new Roku models perform vs. their rivals
Roku is well positioned to maintain its spot atop the streaming video device competition.
The Los Gatos, Calif.-based tech company helped usher in the streaming video market in 2008 with its first set-top 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 WiFi or Ethernet. With Roku’s easyto-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 this month refreshed its lineup and now offers five different streaming devices including the entry-level Roku Express ($29.99), which connects via WiFi to deliver HD content to your TV.
4K OPTIONS
With more consumers buying 4K TVs, Roku now has two devices that support 4K video, with even more detailed images than HD. The Ultra ($99.99), about the size of a coaster and 0.85 inch thick, 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; the $49.99 Streaming Stick handles standard HD.
Under Streaming Channels, Roku has a 4K section that directs you to the growing number of channels with content in the higher resolution format (it is often referred to also as Ultra HD and 4K Ultra HD). You can head to Netflix and quickly find its 4K shows including Stranger Things and Narcos. 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. I bought the 4K UHD version of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales for $24.99. The opening scene’s dark shadows and watery reflections were rendered precisely, and the Dolby Atmos soundtrack sounded ominous.
Even if you don’t have a 4K TV now or don’t plan to have one in the future, the Roku Ultra is still a good model to consider if you want to use Ethernet as your broadband connection (the rest of Roku’s lineup uses Wi-Fi).
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).
If you ever get lost finding something to watch, you can hit the back or home button on the Roku remote. You can also use hold the microphone button to use your voice to search for comedies, movies with Clint Eastwood or to launch a specific channel such as DirecTV Now. The new remote also has buttons that take you straight to Hulu, HBO Now, Netflix and Sling TV.
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Despite Roku’s strengths, its one weakness might be wooing diehard Apple fans. That’s because Apple’s own Apple TV streaming device ($179 and up for 4K) is the easiest way to get your iTunes TV and movie rentals and purchases on a big TV — although you could also use an HDMI cable to connect, say, a Macbook, directly to your TV.
Apple TV has a clean menu but won’t be as intuitive for less technologically savvy users. And its sleek, minimalistic motion-sensitive remote requires some getting used to. The good news is you can ask Siri to help you find apps and content.
A TV section collects your most frequently accessed apps and shows, as well as suggests new movies and TV shows and where to find them. Apple TV has all the major apps and an Ama- zon Video app is in the works, too. However, only true Apple devotees should bypass considering Roku.
AMAZON USERS: FIRE TV
Amazon advocates would certainly want to consider its Fire TV devices — a new $69.99 Fire TV model is out Wednesday with 4K HDR support and an Alexa-powered voice remote.
You don’t have to be an Amazon Prime member to consider Fire TV, but if you do pay $99 annually for the service you’ll find thousands of movies and TV episodes for free here including Star Trek Beyond and TV series such as Mr. Robot. Others can be rented or bought. (Amazon Prime also gets you free shipping on purchases and other perks.)
The Amazon Video home page makes sense, conveniently collecting your favorite apps such as Netflix, DirecTV Now or Hulu, as well as Amazon Music and Amazon Photos. And like Roku, you can always hit the Home button. Or you can let Alexa open DirecTV Now.
Yes, Alexa will also tell you the weather and bring up a seven-day forecast on screen.
GOOGLE CHROMECAST
Google’s Chromecast 2, which costs $69.99 and streams 4K, is a nifty way to send video to your TV, too. But I wouldn’t recommend it for newcomers as it’s a bit harder to use and requires using your smartphone or computer to “cast” the video to your TV.
The Roku Ultra may be the best combination of price and functionality, but the competition is pressing the issue. That should mean a constant stream of innovation for the growing broadband-TV audience.