Roku - Ultra 4K Streaming Media Player with JBL Headphones and Enhanced Voice Remote - Black

I have used Roku for years,including several different models.The best recent thing of note is Roku has recently released The Roku Channel,which has hundreds of free movies.It is ad supported.And now Locast.org app gives you free local broadcast stations CBS,NBC,FOX,ABC and PBS.Locast now offers local TV network broadcasts for New York,Boston,Chicago,Houston,Dallas,Denver areas and plans to add many more cities.This means many folks will no longer need antennas to watch local networks for free. Roku has just about every app you can imagine (YouTube/Pandora/Netflix/Amazon/Hulu/HBO Now) plus tons of more apps in many different categories.Roku Ultra is their top of the line device,and has many unique features that the other models do not have.Here are some points to consider when deciding on which model of Roku to buy: 1)If you need to connect by WiFi in a room far away from your WiFi router,I would recommend the Roku Streaming Stick PLUS or Roku Ultra. 2)If you have a 4K TV,I would recommend the Roku Ultra or Roku Streaming Stick PLUS. 3)To search for content using your voice,go with either the Streaming Stick,Streaming Stick PLUS or Ultra.All 3 of these models also have a remote that can control the power and volume on a TV.There is also a Roku app for Android & iPhone/iPad that lets you use your smartphone/tablet to control any Roku device and use your phone/tablet on-screen keyboard or voice for searches. 4)If you want a wired ethernet connection,go with the Roku Ultra. 5)If you want to connect to an old TV with RCA/Composite audio/video jacks,you will need the Express PLUS 6)The Express models have a remote where it has to be pointed at the device,unlike the other Roku models. 7)If you are only going to buy one Roku device,I would recommend the Roku Ultra.The Ultra has many unique features that the other Roku models don't such as: -Gaming buttons to play video games -Remote finder to find a lost remote control -Ethernet port for a wired connection -Micro SD card slot -USB Port -Night listening mode (this lowers the volume of loud,explosive sounds and raises the volume of soft sounds like whispers.Bravo!) -Headphone jack on the remote for listening without disturbing others For those who have not used a Roku before,here are some tips that might be helpful: 1)There is no monthly fee to use a Roku.There are many free channels/apps with free movies,music and TV programs and some people use Roku only for the free channels and do not pay any fees. You do NOT have to enter credit card info if you only wish to view free content and you can always add credit card info to your account later for paid channels/apps.If you plan on viewing free content only,I suggest setting up a Roku account before you activate the device.When you reach the page to enter credit card info,some browsers will show a "Skip,I'll add later" option at the bottom.If you do not see this option,simply log out of your account,then log back in.You may have to then enter a different activation code for your device if you skip entering credit card info during device set up,but you do NOT have to enter credit card info if you only want to view free content. 2)Some of the most popular free channels/apps are: YouTube,Pandora radio,The Roku Channel,Pluto TV,Tubi TV,Crackle,CBS News,NBC News,ABC,PBS, PBS KIds and many more.You can also find a free live stream of FOX News on YouTube by searching "Fox News Live" on YouTube. 3)Some of the most popular paid channels/apps are Netflix,Hulu,Amazon video,HBO Now,Vudu,Sling TV,Spectrum TV and Direct TV Now. 4)If you are looking for a bundle of channels of live TV to replace cable TV,check out Sling TV,YouTube TV,Spectrum TV,Direct TV Now,Hulu,Pluto TV and Playstation Vue.All of these are paid services except for Pluto TV,which is free. 5)To find and add new channels on Roku,just press the Home button on the remote control,scroll down and select "Streaming Channels".There you will find thousands of channels/apps in many different categories and many of them are free. My one gripe about Roku (and other streaming devices) is the lack of a fully functional web browser and I hope Roku will include web browsing on models in the near future.I have been surfing the web on the big screen for years and find it ridiculous when an internet connected TV device does not allow you to surf the internet and forces one to switch to yet another internet connected device to do so. I am aware of the screen mirroring function from a smartphone/PC/tablet but find that a poor excuse to not include a web browser.Many people who type a lot of messages and/or emails like myself prefer typing on a wireless keyboard rather than a phone/tablet/remote control.

Based on my experience so far the Roku Ultra seems to be the highest priority platform for the developers of streaming apps. It consistently has streaming apps before other platforms and it seems to be among the first platforms to receive new features for those apps. The device itself is very responsive. There is no lag or stutter when moving around the UI. Applications load fast and buffering time is almost nonexistent. The interface is uncluttered with a simple menu interface down the left, your applications in the middle, and advertisements on the right. All applications can be sorted or removed as desired which is a significant benefit over Android TV. The remote is simple but it provides everything you need to control your streaming apps. Keeping the remote simple lends itself to consistent behavior across apps which stands in contrast to Apple TV which can be great in some apps and verging on unusable in others. When I want to watch television without disturbing those around me I choose to use wireless headphones connected to the television. The ability to connect a pair of headphones to the remote works in a pinch though and it allows users to eliminate the sound without buying additional devices. The mobile app provides an alternative remote with the same ability to divert the sound to the mobile device. The inclusion of a built-in ethernet port means you don't need any dongles or adapters if you want to connect the device to your wired network. The Roku isn't perfect. The ethernet port is only 100mbit instead of gigabit. This doesn't affect the ability of the device to stream 4k content but it does mean that the max wired speed is actually slower than the max supported wireless speed. In addition, I understand that they don't provide a way to turn off the device because they want the user to be able to immediately interact with the interface when they return to it without delay. At a minimum it should have a standby mode. Due to the lack of standby I have accidentally left the device streaming when I didn't intend to. The other thing that I would like to see improved is the ability to customize the interface. There are a few free themes and a number of themes for sell. I don't think the themes are worth buying. I would like the ability to categorize the applications and to quickly jump between those categories. Overall I think the Roku Ultra is a great streaming device that provides the best features of the competing devices.

I have an Apple TV box and a Chromecast box in a drawer somewhere. Apple is too limited and Chromecast is too irritating to try to use. Roku never had those issues. They offer apps for more than all other boxes combined, and many apps that are totally free (movies, tv, etc.). You would have a hard time exhausting all the free channels before you would ever had to purchase any subscriptions if you chose. I already had Amazon Prime. I bought into that for the two day shipping and generally cheaper prices. Didn’t bother with movies and videos for a while, and now find we use it more than half the time. Prime video app works great. We also have a Tablo DVR (for our 20+ antenna channels). Tablo app works great. With Roku, we “cut the cord” with cable tv. For a fraction of that cost I added a streaming service, philo. Philo offers two packages: 44 Chanel’s for $15.99 or 57 channels for $19.99, along with a good guide and free unlimited cloud dvr. And these are almost all the “good” channels you would chose, not mostly fillers! Roku gives us the ability to collect all these programs in one place and send them to our tv. We no longer have to change inputs on tv and keep up with different remotes. Add a Roku to each tv and you are set. Yes you do need Internet service and a home router. Your TVs don’t have to be “smart TVs.” They just need to have an hdmi input. Any Roku will work. We chose the ultra units because they offer total control they will eliminate the need to also use the tv remote. The ultra will turn your tv on and off and control the volume as well. They also come with ear buds that can be plugged into the Roku remote. It will automatically turn off tv sound and you can listen without disturbing others. Best of the best! Totally independent review!

The Roku Ultra 4K exceeded my expectations in some respects but disappoints in others. I am pleased that it's performance is first rate, it changes apps quickly. At first several of the streaming channels were of poor quality, but after clicking in the Roku App, these improved soon afterward. I purchased the Ultra because of the headphone jack. But that is somewhat unpleasant in use. When the television connects or disconnects to the Roku there is a loud blast of noise through the headphones. On screen the volume indicator hits 100 before settling down to the memorized setting. The headphones included are extremely sensitive to ambient static electricity. There is a lot of crackling when I move around while watching tv (I have a Sony pair that are not as bad). The worst lack is that there is no mute button on the remote control. Operation is simple and organization is logical, but there are too many key clicks. Many of the apps available repeat the same availability as others and are of very low quality. A huge number of the programs shown exhibit mpeg compression artifacting largely because they are highly compressed low quality recordings from old tape or film. Soon after loading some apps I was advised by a message on screen that the Roku could benefit from the addition of a Micro SD memory card so that it could store all the menu information on board rather than having to constantly download it. I added this memory and it does improve performance. The unit could benefit from having more memory to start with. The Roku remote control powers the headphones and supports voice control. The voice control rarely finds anything and is nearly useless. The control also devours batteries at a very fast rate. This appears to be the highest level of function for streaming at this time, but there is room for improvement.

I can't imagine a better media streamer, although I have to admit that this is my first dedicated streaming device. Plugged it into the back of my reciever, connected to my wifi, signed into my Netflix account and Spectrum's streaming app, and set a up a Roku account. All super simple. Everything is intuitive, from the interface to the remote functions. The remote works great and it was simple to pair to my TV. Now I just press the power button and on comes the TV and streamer. When it powers on, it looks just like my mother-in-law's Roku TV. Not a bad way to upgrade a really high quality TV that isn't "Smart." Although my TV is not 4K, I've noticed much better picture and audio quality from Netflix and my external hard drive. You can play your digital movie collection from your hard drive through the Roku streamer. It's super simple and comes out looking and sounding much better than when connected directly to my TV's USB connection. I have to mention again that the remote is fantastic. All-in-all, I'm really happy that I bought one. It's worth way more than what you pay simply because everything just works perfectly. I'm sick of buying products with flaws that I only wish were perfect. This one is.

Roku Ultra: Used mostly for Hulu currently:Use ethernet connection. HDMI connected to TV. Video via Roku displays a more HD quality than Hulu streamed from my Mac. I can tell the difference in the picture quality: 3 times in the last month the picture has stopped, then buffering displays, then after about a minute displays a blue screen with "Connection error." Roku won't respond. Unplug it and plug it back in then it works. Don't know what the cause of that behavior is. The remote is light and small, comfortable shape to hold, but the volume button on the right side is a bad spot, because when turning the unit on or off with the right hand the 3rd finger contacts the volume button simultaneously and interfers. Must press the volume button repeatedly to increase or decrease volume, does not change volume smoothly if you hold the button down like tv remote does. A little annoying if you want to change volume dramatically. Roku remote has no mute button. It needs one. Buttons are not back lit which would be helpful in a dark room. The 4 buttons labled Netflix, Sling, Hulu etc. Those buttons should be programmable for what ever service you are using and be able to assign what you want to those buttons or turn them off, because I frequently accidentally hit the netflix or sling button and the app launches to sign up for those, this interupts what I am watching. Roku Ultra Provides a better hd picture quality than video streamed from my mac. Occassional unusual device behavior. I can avoid the apps on my sony tv which are not as good. The remote could be improved in several ways.

The Roku Ultra 4k Streaming media player is an excellent choice for any tv in your house. Roku Ultra includes an Ethernet connection. I highly recommend running ethernet cables throughout the house for a faster superior and more secure connection. RokuUltra also has an excellent wireless connection especially for big distances between the Roku device and the router or mobile hot spot. Roku Ultra is the flagship Roku device with a quad core processor, ethernet connection and usb connection for photos and video. Made for 4k UHD streaming but works just as wonderfully on 1080p tvs. Roku Ultra upscales image quality making any picture much better regardless of the type of tv. The interface is super easy to navigate and has popular apps like Netflix, Vudu, Prime Video, Hulu, HBO, Showtime, Starz, Funimation and much more! The biggest reason to purchase Roku Ultra is because Smart tvs do a very poor job of keeping up with apps and have a limited selection of apps to choose. Other streaming media devices are also limited on available apps on purpose. Roku Ultra is a very powerful Android device that updates apps and its own software frequently to provide the latest versions so apps work well. The Roku Ultra remote controls all tvs, tv volume and has a built in microphone to make searching for shows and movies across all platforms easy. Best of all, you can take Roku Ultra anywhere you go with internet access and plug into any tv. It is very easy to reprogram Roku Ultra when you insert it into another tv.

I have owned several rokus since there inception each was a upgrade over the last but this one going from a Premier + to the lattest Ultra seems more like a downgrade! The reason I say this is 1. The remote goes into a sleep mode and sometimes takes forever to wake up I wind up using a third party remote because off this! The second issue is CEC control was removed by roku my 2 year old P+ could control the volume of my Polk Soundbar with CEC thru the HDMI cable but the ultra only supports IR control I built my home theatre in a way that makes this very inconvenient and forced me to keep several remotes handy to control everything! I don’t know what Roku was thinking when the removed important features from what’s supposed to the the latest and greatest roku? IMHO products should improve on features by adding more and improvements on existing but companies seem to think removing and replacing them is the way to go? Maybe this is why I was able to buy this device on a deal they had for $49.00 yes I said $49.00 new! If I paid any more I would have returned it! I took it out of my Home theatre and put it in the bedroom so I could put the P+ back in the HT room! The thing most people hate is having to fumble with multiple remotes in a dim theater! Roku if you read this shame on you for stepping back on this device!