Items tagged with (nasdaq:roku)
It's becoming harder and harder to find TVs these days that aren’t "smart" straight from the factory. Smart TVs with their integrated internet connectivity and media platforms make it easier for hardware OEMs to track your viewing habits (by default) and make additional revenue from advertising. Roku is looking to take its ad-related business to the next level with new pop-ups that are delivered to customers when commercials are playing on their Roku TVs. The folks over at Cord Cutter News noticed that Roku has recently started placing pop-up ads during commercial breaks during both cable TV and over-the-air programming on Roku TVs. (Image courtesy Cord Cutter News)...
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Are you in the market for a new streaming player? Roku just released new versions of the Roku Express and the Roku Ultra. The two streaming players are meant to provide a “device for every type of streamer”. Roku last refreshed its line of players this past autumn and the updated devices come with a number of new features. The new and improved Roku Express is reportedly 10% smaller than the original Express. The device is meant to blend in with the user’s environment and it can be powered by one’s television if an outlet is unavailable. The Roku Express features HD streaming. It also includes a power adapter, high-speed HDMI cable, and a simple remote. Roku...
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Roku just made it easy to upgrade your television's audio and add streaming capabilities in one fell swoop. The new Roku Smart Soundbar is notable because not only is it the company's first soundbar, but it also comes with a built-in Roku Ultra streamer, allowing users to stream videos in up to 4K Ultra HD with HDR support. Granted, most modern TVs come with built-in streaming capabilities, so for some it might be a redundant feature. However, for those who prefer Roku to Chromecast (the latter of which is found on many TVs), the Roku Smart Soundbar could serve as a nifty 2-in-1 upgrade, piping out better audio than a TV's speakers with 4K HDR streaming support to boot. "We’ve been very...
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If you're in the market for a new 4K television, and can't wait until Black Friday to score a stellar deal, Amazon has some pretty amazing prices right now on two TCL TVs that just might be up your alley. The TVs in question measure 43 inches and 55 inches diagonally respectively, and both feature the highly popular Roku TV interface. First up is the TCL 43S425, which features a 43-inch 4K panel. This TCL 4-Series television support HDR and features an LED-backlit panel. The television includes three HDMI 2.0 ports (HDCP 2.2 support), while one of them supports HDMI ARC. The TV also has integrates nicely with Alexa and the Google Assistant. For example, once you enable the Roku skill in...
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If you’re in the market for a big screen TV, there have been waves of great deals rolling in over the past few weeks to satisfy your buying urges. Today, we’ve got another smoking deal, this time on a 55-inch Smart TV from Sharp. In this case, we’re talking about the Sharp LC-55LBU591U, which is a 55-inch 4K HDR TV for those that are looking for more budget-minded entry. More importantly, this is a Roku TV, which means has a built-in Roku Smart TV interface giving you easy access to multiple streaming platforms including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, YouTube TV, HBO Go and numerous others. You’ll also have access to Roku’s own streaming...
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Roku has just announced a new enhancement for owners of Roku streaming devices and Roku TVs. Thanks to a new Amazon Alexa skill that is now available, you will be able to use any Alexa-enabled device to control your Roku hardware. While customers that have Roku Voice Remotes can already bark voice commands, this new Alexa tie-in opens up voice control to a broader Roku audience. In order to enable this newfound Alexa functionality, your Roku devices will need to be updated to Roku OS 8.1 or higher and you will also need to enable the new Roku skill. Amazon’s entire family of Echo devices are supported including the Echo, Echo Plus, Echo Dot and display-equipped Echo Show. Once enabled,...
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People all around the U.S. are tired of paying high prices for cable or satellite TV. High cost has led to a big movement of people cord-cutting and going to streaming services, rather than paying big cable or satellite. A recent survey showed that cord-cutting is going mainstream as more and more people move to streaming only; big cable and satellite companies see the writing on the wall and are moving to appeal to these users. Comcast recently unveiled a set-top streaming box to lure back some of the 106,000 subscribers it lost in its most recent quarter. Roku has announced new services that might push sports fans, who have been on the fence about cutting the cord, to get out the scissors....
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Earlier this year, Roku announced the Roku Connect platform for allowing devices like Roku TVs and settop boxes to wirelessly communicate with smart speakers and sounders. One of the first fruits of that new initiative is coming in the form of the new Roku TV Wireless Speakers. Roku’s primary mission is to allow users to quickly and seamlessly add high-quality wireless speakers to their Roku-powered TV. Roku says that Roku Connect allows its product to be uniquely positioned in the market as it can "optimize sound for the picture and ensure audio video sync". Rather than taking on the soundbar format, the Roku TV Wireless Speakers instead come as a pair of black towers (similar...
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When it comes to standalone media streaming hardware, Roku is the market leader with it family of affordable devices. Roku has even managed to integrate its streaming goodness into smart TVs, including popular budget brand TCL. First initiated in 2014, the Roku TV initiative has grown to include eight television brands (the recent addition of Magnavox will make it nine), and Roku claims that one out of every five smart TVs sold in the United States is running the Roku OS. Now, Roku is looking to further extend its reach by expanding its technology licensing program to include smart speakers and soundbars, which will connect to Roku TVs and Roku settop boxes using Roku Connect. Roku Connect allows...
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Over the summer, Plex Live TV arrived in beta form for all Plex Pass subscribers. Unlike services like YouTube TV or Sling TV, this isn't a streaming service from a content provider. Instead, Plex Pass subscribers have to hook up an over-the-air (OTA) antenna to a compatible digital tuner, after which you can access OTA content from within your home or anywhere in the world using the Plex App. When Plex Live TV first launched, it was made available for NVIDIA SHIELD TV, Android TV and iOS devices. In early August, availably was extended to the Android smartphones/tablets, and Apple TV. Today, that support expands again to include Roku streaming players. Roku is currently the #1 streaming hardware...
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There was a collective "meh" from the media streaming community when Apple launched its Apple TV 4K last month. Priced from $179, many felt that the streamer doesn't really offer much over its rivals besides the ability to tap into the Apple ecosystem. However, Roku, which is the market leader in streaming players, is fighting back with an updated family of products to fight the competition from Apple, Amazon and Google. The most interesting member of the family is the all-new Streaming Stick+. This powerful little device has a "dongle" form-factor, and incorporates an advanced wireless receiver that is built into the power cord. This arrangement gives the Streaming Stick+ four times the...
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