Customer Ratings & Reviews

I bought this to replace an old Roku 2. In addition to adding 4K HDR, it extends surround sound options to include Dolby Atmos, for the few streaming sources that include those capabilities. The Ultra is significantly faster and more responsive, with fewer crashes, which can be a problem in the Roku ecosystem. It is now the only Roku device that supports a direct, wired Ethernet connection. Living in a high-rise building with dozens of WiFi signals competing for bandwidth, this is the only Roku device for which I don't have to make a choice between watching TV and using the microwave. The Roku ecosystem is by far the most versatile, comprehensive system for streaming, and it's fully customizable. In contrast to the Amazon Fire system, the interface is consistent and free of distractions such as advertising. Unfortunately, it only supports DLNA, AirPlay and Chromecast via third-party plug-ins, whereas competing devices do so out of the box. Unfortunately, the lack of support for Android plug-ins leaves out several major streaming sources, although very few. The addition of a minimum 32GB micro-SD card is recommended for storage of video channels. Although these cards are inexpensive, one is left wondering why sufficient storage isn't included in such a premium device as it is in the competition. The remote includes four buttons for major streaming services, but these are not at all customizable. They're great if you subscribe to Sling, Netflix, Hulu and Disney+. If you don't have one of those services, the button for it is a waste. The remote can be programmed to control power and volume for most TV sets, but not for any surround sound receivers, which is rather shocking for a premium device. The inclusion of cheap JBL earbuds that plug into the remote is a nice touch, but not in the same league as a decent set of Bluetooth headphones. Pros: Excellent picture quality and sound, fast and responsive, built-in Ethernet, fully customizable home screen. Cons: Must purchase separate micro-SD card, no built-in support for AirPlay, DLNA, Chromecast, remote is not customizable, cannot control surround sound receivers, no support for some Android streaming plug-ins.

Details: I never give 5 stars because nothing is perfect, so 4 stars is my top mark. The ROKU Ultra 4K is an upgrade from my old ROKU, (called ROKU 2, about 8 years old). I was already familiar with the ROKU system, and have a couple of subscriptions via ROKU, so I wanted to stay within that framework so there was no real decision to make about that. This player has the full list of channels, and the remote works better than the old one, because it "pairs" easily with the ROKU player and scrolls more smoothly too. and the remote with plug-in headphones is a good upgrade for me (because my TV soundbar isn't very good). If you have trouble hearing sometimes, you can benefit from the headphones that are included with the Ultra 4K. Their tech support is good, but you usually have to be patient and wait quite a while for them to get to you, but when you do they have the stuff figured out and have been helpful to me, (I wasn't sure how the transfer my existing channel subscriptions to the new player). I've had it for about a month now and been very satisfied, but if you use the headphones, they run off the batteries in the remote so be sure to have spare AA batteries around, I'm on my second set of batteries.

Runs super fast with no lag. Easy to setup, just takes some time to get signed into all of the apps. This is my favorite streaming player, even more so than Appletv, especially for the price. Got it on Black Friday week for a great price. You do have to add a payment method but can delete it right after the setup. Roku is free unless you purchase extra content or subscribe to pay channels. I haven’t tried it on my main 4K tv yet but it looks great on the HD tv I hooked it up to. I did have a problem with the remote. The remote would stop working after sitting for a few minutes. I would pop the batteries out and put them back in and it was fine but would act up again a few minutes later. I exchanged it in the store and have had no problems whatsoever with the second one. Also, the batteries it comes with are super cheap. They look like Duracell’s but are not. They will give you tons of static through the headphones when the charge gets low. Put new batteries in and problem solved.

The system was very easy to install, although it does not come with an HDMI cable. I am not very tech savvy, but didn't have any trouble. The picture is clear and navigating the remote has been fine. I am still learning how to save my favorite shows to the home screen. The only downside for me, and it is probably because my TV is older, is that neither the Roku remote or the cable provider remote will allow me to switch from HDMI for regular cable to HDM2 for the Roku on the remotes. I have to go to the TV and push input on the actual TV to switch back and forth. That is a bit of a hassle.

The Roku Ultra is easy to use. It controls your TV volume, power and can mute the volume. It comes with headphones for private listening. When you plug in the headphones to the remote it mutes the sound from the TV. I would like the headphones to be used with the TV sound on and adjust the volume of the headphones but it doesn't work that way. That is the only negative I have about the Roku Ultra.

We already had a Roku premium, which was working great, and we would have been satisfied with just the one. However, our brand new smart TV did not provide access to one of the streaming services we subscribed to, so we decided to add another Roku. This time, we went with the Ultra, and the added features are well worthwhile. All functionality on this one is a bit quicker than the previous model, and there is a slot for a micro-SD card for storage of additional channels. The only issue we have encountered is a difficulty in getting the device to stream anything other than PCM sound to our receiver. Even after setting it to Bitstream/DTS (as opposed to "Auto"), the audio feed is still PCM. Research tells me this is a firmware issue that was introduced a few months ago, and just hasn't been rectified yet. So, a fix will come eventually, and it is more of an annoyance than an actual problem. Everything else is outstanding!

I upgraded from a Roku 3! I see a lot of benefits from my upgrade! The greatest of them is a big speed boost! The CPU in this bad boy is much better and faster. The increased storage means I also never have caching issues like I used to. I love the new remote, and the ability to control my TV with it and to use voice commands. My only complaint is that the quick buttons are not re-programmable. The buttons are Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and Sling. We don't have Sling, so that button is basically a waste to us! I wish that we could re-program it to a service we use. Or even better, just give us 6 programmable buttons instead of 2 programmable and 4 static. Then we can use them all for whatever we want. Still, even with this complaint I'm very happy with the device and would highly recommend it!

I have owned these for 6-months. I bought 3 units to replace 2 older model Rokus and one for an additional TV. Full disclosure: I have owned other Roku devices since 2011-2012 time frame. I have tried all but one of their models. I have also bought and returned the Firestick and other competitors when it was time to upgrade or add. I caught this Roku Ultra at a great deal ($49.99 during Xmas sales) and am glad I did. I recommend them. Why 4 stars instead of 5? Here's why... I am beyond irritated with Roku for implementing the HDCP nonsense. I have had quite a few issues with the erroring (falsely I might add) and there seems to be no rhyme or reason to the trigger. NO loose or low-quality HDMI cables, NO illegal content or streaming, NOTHING that should trigger this error. I replaced my Mercedes-level-HDMI cables with Bentley level HDMI cables in order to avoid this erratic erroring. AND it still occasionally requires a 90's/OO's-styled-Microsoft-Windows-Reboot-Solution for the Roku to clear it. No answer from ROKU with regard to ACTUAL cause such that it can be resolved. Just the kick the can down the road nonsense. DRIVES ME NUTS!!! Come on Roku... you are better than this. Pin in that. That out of the way.... The interface is significantly faster and more responsive than older model units. I LOVE their search feature by title, artist, etc. that lets you see which service offers the option and at which prices. It lets you identify free or lower cost options for rentals from a-la-carte services that are cheaper than renting from membership services like Amazon or Netflix for the same title. LOVE that I can control the VOLUME, MUTE and PAUSE functions for a TV, even with a sound system attached, via the ROKU remote rather than needing more than one remote. Not true for earlier Roku models. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation: * They get warm when they are left plugged in whereas the older units didn't do that. Heat is the enemy of electronics in terms of longevity so I unplug them when they are not in use.

We have cable tv at home, so had no need for "streaming." However, on a short term work contract, while we needed high speed internet, we weren't going to pay for more cable tv. We got the local stations with an antenna (go figure!) but I couldn't get the sports I wanted. So, we experimented with Roku. Well, WOW! We got tons of movies, other channels, and SPORTS! Also, courtesy of the headphones (my wife LOVES the JBLs that come with this) she can watch tv in bed, or watch tv while I read. The holiday price of virtually half off let us get a couple for our various tv's. I don't know if other streaming services are any better, or how they compare, but this got us where we wanted to be, and more, at a great price.

The reason I upgraded with to get better service and better performance than I had with the Roku stick.... that's not necessarily the case. Still have occasional buffering or glitches that cause a system reset. Love the 4K... Really LOVE the headphone outlet on the remote which makes it really convenient to listen silently with someone in the room or working from home. Still on the fence with what's going on with perfromance and resets, but that could be something else and I just need to Google it or get with Roku support. I recommend if you can find it on sale!! But... jury is still out for overall review. Stay tuned.

I have used the apple tv and amazon tv. overall this has been my favorite device to stream all of our shows. I really enjoy that the remote can also control the volume & power functions of the tv with the roku remote. And if you have a person in the family who often watches tv while everyone else is asleep it also has the ability for you to plug in headphones so you can still enjoy watching your shows without the worry of disturbing anyone else. & now with people having to to home they have also added a lot of 30 day free trial on alot of streaming channels. unlike the competetors apple and amazon.

This is a great device which we use on our TV daily to access all our streaming services. I appreciate how easy and intuitive is for both adults and children. If there's one complaint I have, it's that Roku does not have access to HBO Max as of this writing. For that, we have to use our Apple TV which is hooked up in another room. As for 4K, I can't judge as our Roku is not hooked up to a 4K TV. I appreciate how you can use the headphones to listen to it from the remote but I have yet to try it out because it's not needed in our home.

This Roku is great! You can easily program the remote to control your TV in addition to the Roku device, which is an amazing feature! We can watch all of our streaming services from this device, whereas the previous versions had some restrictions. The headphones that plug into the remote are an awesome additional feature, as I can go to sleep while my wife stays up to watch her shows. The only changes I would recommend for 5 stars would be a backlight remote and headphones that connect wirelessly or through Bluetooth.

Just to be clear, this is very different than having cable. Streaming can be frustrating. That being said, this product works pretty well. It was a very easy and intuitive set up ( have a G mail account ready) . It was really a breeze. The interface is pretty good. Overall it's a good streaming device. The picture has locked up on me. If you leave the same channel on for a long period of time it has just changed to home screen on its own. I stream the YouTube TV . I'm pretty happy with the product.

This is going to sound weird, but I think it's worth upgrading to from an older Roku just for the remote. My old Roku had the older style remote that use to eat up batteries. Found out that it was because of the motion sensor for games and the round back, it would get jostled and think I was trying to use it. I had to constantly remember to put it face down on my coffee table. My older Roku also wasn't compatible with Apple TV+ for some reason. This solves that problem also.

I've had my personal Roku for a few years now with no issues. Bought this one for a client. User friendly, Customizable home screen (allowed you to move the app shortcuts around) Screen saver and theme options (I like letting the Roku auto change the screen saver and theme to the seasons.) Remote will control most TVs Headphones can plug right into the remote if needed (I don't use this feature but have friends that do) Works well with different universal remote systems.

We have a Roku on each of our TVs. This is our second Ultra. It is really set up and to use. The remote is not line of site, so you don't have to point it at the unit AND, you can listen to the audio from whatever you're watching by plugging in the included earphones (really nice, as well) into the remote. Nice when your loved one is trying to sleep and you want to watch a good action flick!

works great quick to setup once you have an account only downside is that is that my TV is mounted on the wall so I had to improvise to get it on the wall so if you have no stand you may need to get some double sided sticky tape or something to stick it on the wall besides that everything else is great also like the option that you can plug the headphones into the remote

Have only had this Roku for about a month. It works great and very easy to set up. Really like the on off tv button and volume controls on the device, versus cheaper models which require the tv remote for doing those functions. Only reason giving it a 4 star is, wish one could toggle back and forth between two stations with one click. I'll be buying more for other TVs.

Roku-Ultra 4K sets up quickly and easily with very straight-forward instructions. The remote works well, and the preprogrammed speed buttons are very useful. It was somewhat unsettling to discover that Roku's free movie and show offerings are laced with commercials, so we have not used that part of the service as extensively as had been planned.