Roku - Streambar Powerful 4K Streaming Media Player, Premium Audio, All in One, Voice Remote and TV controls - Black

The bottom line: If you are looking for a way to turn a computer monitor into a smart TV, the Roku Streambar may be the right solution for you. The Streambar provides sound AND the Roku interface all in one device. The Roku Streambar was the perfect solution to turn my computer monitor into a Roku smart tv AND to provide speakers for the monitor. The monitor I am using is a 27 inch Odyssey Gaming CRG5 Series LED Curved Monitor which I also purchased at Best Buy. The setup was simple. I plugged the HDMI cable from the Roku Streambar to the computer monitor. Then, I plugged the Roku power cable to the wall. Next, I setup the Roku using the Roku remote (included with the Streambar). Finally, the Streambar fits perfectly under my computer monitor (see picture). The Roku interface is very easy to use. So far Roku has most of the apps I need including: Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Spectrum Cable, Netflix, YouTube, & Disney +. One big glaring omission is that the Roku does not have an Apple Music app. Hopefully this can be resolved in the future. The video quality is fine and the Roku speakers provide good sound. You can control the Streambar speaker volume with the included Roku Remote. One downside for my setup is that the monitor I have isn’t compatible with with the Roku Remote (or maybe any remote). So I have to manually turn on and off the computer monitor or setup the monitor to turn off after non-use for a certain period. This is a small inconvenience and certainly isn’t a dealbreaker for me.

Sounds very good. It’s very small. It’s 16 inches easy to connect and install. Very convenient and for $130 you’re getting every pennies worth

SUMMARY: If you need a solid 4K HDR streaming content experience with the greatest range of support along with sound reinforcement over TV speakers, this is a must have. Recently purchased the Roku Streambar. Wish that I had purchased this a while ago as it completely resolves the problems I was trying to fix. I've owned a Samsung 65" NU8000 Smart TV for a few years now. While the picture quality was great, applications stability was not. Without another TV update from Samsung for quiet awhile now, I was frustrated with the idea of having to purchase a newer TV just to have stable apps and no dropouts while watching TV. Believing it was possibly the Wi-Fi that was causing the Samsung to constantly drop video from Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV, Disney+ and more, I'd recently gone through a very expensive Wi-Fi upgrade. Even with the new Wi-Fi plus 1Gpbs Fiber to the home, I'd continue to have stalls, drops and generally poor experience with the Samsung Smart TV. The other problem is that I was using a Vizio soundbar connected by optical connection, so turning on the TV and then messing with the controls long enough for the speaker to startup was also a frustration. That's been completely eliminated with the addition of the Roku Streambar. Using the HDMI ARC connection on the TV, I have rock solid steaming applications from the Roku at 4K and HDR. In fact, in addition to not having the programs we are watching drop out, I'd say the picture is actually better! Sound is actually very good and quite amazing for it's size. You can see in the picture how it's much smaller than the former Vizio sound bar. It's still very loud when needed and quite clear. It is lacking in the bass, so if you are one who really needs the bass punch, you'll need to Roku Wireless Subwoofer. I'd also purchased that and it was extremely easy to pair it and place it in the room. I'll do a separate review of the subwoofer, but the combination of these two eliminates any wish the Vizio had worked better. Samsung NU8000 also supports Anyconnect+ CEC, so with that enabled, I'm able to turn on the TV as well as the Streambar with just the Roku remote. There are some features the Roku cannot control by CEC, so I do still need to keep my Samsung remote handy if I need to make display settings adjustments or select another input on the TV, but I certainly do not need to have it handy for day to day operation. With the HDMI ARC, the game console or any other sources we may select have their audio go to the Roku Streambar. Strongly recommend, especially if you need to both improve the sound of your TV and you are wishing better support than Samsung or other manufacturers smaller and less stable selection of apps.