Roku Streaming Stick 4K 2021 | Streaming Device 4K/HDR/Dolby Vision with Roku Voice Remote and TV Controls

Almost all my electronics are apple, so for years i’ve limped along with a combination of an dumb tv, a yamaha soundbar, a 3rd generation apple tv, a roku 3 for streaming services like disney+ & prime video which aren’t on the apple 3, and an auvio hdmi device switcher, each of which has its own remote. Then the roku 3 decided it didn’t like my wifi network and i just wasn’t up to a long round of debugging the system, so i started shopping.

The newer 4th generation apple tv has everything i need at a premium price, but the roku 4k does something i hadn’t considered: it powers up the tv, so after weighing pros and cons and my pro-apple inclinations i ended up going for the roku. As it turns out, the new roku powers up my soundbar along with the tv. The interface is almost the same as the roku 3 but somehow it’s a lot less clunky.

I thought i wouldn’t use voice controls because i don’t use alexa, but the voice remote will search for channels and for programs within the channels without using a digital assistant that’s smarter than i am. I like that the stick is out of sight even though its shape, the location of the usb power cord, and the tv’s hdmi plug configuration means it sticks straight out of the back of the tv, so i’ll have to come up with a way to connect it that takes less space. I’m holding on to the apple tv in case its compatibility with my ecosystem makes it useful in the future, but for now the only things on my tv stand are the tv and the sound bar, and the only remotes i need are for the roku and the ir soundbar remote for the times when i forget to point the roku at it when turning the system on.

The bottom line is that for ease of use and variety of functions, the roku is well worth the cost, and makes me feel like a smart consumer without having had to working out how to put together something that actually works. The only downside is that now that i’m actually watching on my tv again, i’ve realized how badly i need new glasses, but hey, that’s not the roku’s fault.

I got this for my projector to use out doors. I didn’t want to have to lug an appletv box around and be careful with it so i tried the firestick by amazon first, which…sucked! This was painless, has a decent interface and a lot of features i like. The best part is there is an ios app that works great so i don’t have to use the remote it came with. I wish it had a applewatch remote, but you can’t have everything, but they make up for it with the fact that there is an appletv app on it, so i you have access to your appletv library.

I have an older samsung tv that does not have wifi. This stick plugs into the usb on my tv and has all of the apps i want to use. Especially important to me is the xfinity app. This allows me to log in to my home wifi and get all the channels i already pay for with my service on this tv without having to rent a box from xfinity. I did have to buy an extension cord because my tv is set on a tall table and the cord provided is too short to plug into the outlet near the ground.

I had to buy this because paramount plus stopped working on my samsung tv after 4 months. Seems this is a common problem with samsung tv’s and paramount plus is to incompetent to fix this issue. I installed this within 15 minutes and paramount plus is now streaming again. The only thing i hate about this is the fact you have to give them a credit card number which is flat out bs !

The roku stick works better than i thought it would. I thought i would have to use 2 remotes: my tv’s original remote to control the power and volume, and the roku remote to control the roku menu (like you have to do with cable box remotes combined with tv remotes). But the roku remote controls everything. Only issue is the eyesore of it sticking out of the side of the tv, and having a long cord wind down to the power outlet. My tv doesn’t have the small usb outlet that the roku device can plug into without the cord trail. And the instructions say plugging directly into wall is better anyway (stronger connection). So i just try to ignore the dangling cord.

I worried and worried about the correct streaming device. Researched and researched and worried some more. Finally settled on this one. We have a travel camper that we are using adjacent to a family member’s home while we are providing caregiving services for him. The tv in the brand new camper is not a ‘smart’ tv (which was a heck of a surprise to me!) the signal from my relative’s home is really weak by the time it get’s to the camper outside. But, this roku is able to detect the signal and connect. Set up is easy even if you have no technology skills. It’s pretty much plug and play. You plug it into the usb port on your tv and a plethora of apps are available. If you already have a disney or netflix account, all you have to do is log in, enter your password, and boom, you’re up and running. You can select a number of apps to stream tv, movies, local programming, sports, etc. Bear in mind that you have to pay for the subscription. You don’t get showtime or hbo for free just because you bought a roku, but the offerings are very diverse. Everything you read indicates that the apps are acquired at less expense than through your tv provider. I haven’t sniffed that out yet, but plan to. This was a great purchase, serves the exact purpose i needed and was really really easy to set up.

Got my elderly parents internet for the first time. Hooked up one of our existing roku sticks to their tv, and bought this one to replace it back into one of our tvs. I was concerned that the new roku stick would not have youtube tv loaded on it, but after plugging it in all of our apps popped right up including youtube tv. So easy to install these, and they bring so much free programming into our homes. Perfect

Smart tv issues loading amazon prime video streaming resolved with this roku. It was so easy to install and i haven’t had a single issue with it. I watch netflix, amazon prime, bbc and acorn. Installed on older samsung smart tv. Samsung and amazon technical support were useless. I was ready to cancel amazon prime it was so bad.

All i had to do was plug it into the hdmi port, then it had me go through some setup from my mobile phone, and bam it was done. We have an express in the living room, but we wanted one in the bedroom as well because the playstation 3 just isn’t really functioning well anymore. I love the voice recognition software and there are virtually no load times.

I bought the cheaper unit and was disappointed. It worked well as a streaming device, but did not control the tv. This 4k streaming stick does both. Setup was quick. It found the wifi easily, and activating it with both roku and my cable service went smoothly. It identified my tv brand, and automatically set itself up as a voice-activated remote for the tv. I now only need the roku remote to turn the tv on & off, and control access to my cable and streaming sources. Pay the extra $10. You will not regret it.

One warning before i go into the review.. If you use over the air free tv, make sure you keep the charging cord away from the tv antenna cord.. When i first installed this, i had the 2 wires close together, and found that my tv reception kept going out.. I first thought it was a loose wire or something, but as soon as i unplugged the power for the roku at the wall outlet, and power was stopped, suddenly my reception was good again.. It turned out that with them using the usb power cord for the wireless for the remote, that it was crossing into my coax line for the tv. All i had to do was move or separate them farther apart to fix this issue.

Now for the good.. Tons of apps.. The main selling point on this for me was this.. I use vudu for streaming free movies, and ones that i have bought.. The interface for the vudu app on the firestick that i was using was probably about the worst setup that i have ever seen.. So i gave the roku stick a try.. And the interface for the vudu app is awesome.. Unlike the fire stick, which has a limited number of apps.. And from what i have seen, is limited a lot by the fact that they do not like to put apps on theirs that offer free stuff?? Stations, movies, etc??, the roku on the other hand, has tons of apps that offer free movies, shows, etc.. Yea, you get commercials with them, but who cares.. They have to make money to keep them up somehow.

So the good.. Tons of apps.. A good vudu interface.. Lots of free tv apps.. And even support for things like funimation / crunchyroll so you can stream their stuff too. Etc.. Overall, just a nicely setup, easy to use device..

The bad.. With the sensor for the remote on the power cord, if something happens to the power cord, you can not just buy a universal power cord to replace it. You have to have a specialized cord.. And the fact that because of this, if you get it too close to the coax for your tv, you will start having tv problems.. These are the things that made me drop the rating by one star..

Our firestick died after a couple of years, but i didn’t shed a single tear because it was horribly slow, hard to navigate, and always trying to get me to buy something else. Finding and downloading an app was a pain in the backside too. Did i mention slow? Horribly so.

After a lot of reading and dithering we went with this roku stick and i am amazed at how fast it is. There is no comparison. By the time the fire could load pluto i could be on my second episode of gunsmoke with this.

The apps/channels are easy to select and you can arrange them however you want. The fire doesn’t like allowing you to choose (don’t get me started on alexa and her constant ‘by the way…’).

The remote is okay, but all of the streaming devices seem to want to give you as little detail on what the buttons do as possible. Is that a back button or reverse? What’s the difference? What’s the asterisk mean? How the heck do i exit this show without leaving the app? How do i exit the channel? Ok, a lot of the problem is a lack of consistency from the apps, not the streaming devices.

Anyway, once you use it regularly you kind of get used to what button does what but there is a period of frustration before you reach that point.

Bottom line: we love it. Thanks, roku!

For about $40, this really opened up our viewing options. Of course, roku gives you quick access to various streaming services. We only subscribe to amazon prime right now which is included with our amazon shopping benefits. There are enough choices on the roku channels and the other apps that give you free services so that it really opened up our viewing options. We pay almost $200 a month for bundled cable phone internet. This is a great $40 edition. This version has voice recognition which is a huge improvement because typing on that little keyboard one letter at a time on the old roku is very painful. Still not a perfect item but every iteration of roku seems to get a little better and for the price, it’s a great deal.

The only complain i have about this product is that from the very first day the remote control was missbehaving. It would get frozen from time to time ,then i got from roku a hdmi extender which helps you with connectivity and it seems to solve the problem…i would wait a lit longer to see if the problem its totally solved.other than that, its a very good product.

Works great most of the time. Sometimes i get a playback error for a show. Sometimes it’s a show i haven’t watched and sometimes it will be a show that i didn’t finish watching earlier. I can switch to a different show on the same service (i.e., tubi) just fine and may be able to try the show that wouldn’t play again the next and it works fine. Anyway, works great most of the time. Would buy again.

I have not learned how to put my local channels on them. When i think i have it figured out i don’t so the videos don’t help as well that’s why it’s only a three for me. Also i tried to get my spectrum on there but unfortunately it won’t let me put that on there either so i’m not quite sure what i’ve done wrong or how i have set it up. Just seems very straightforward and easy to do but it’s not at all. Thanks for everything appreciate it have a wonderful time with your roku. I do love the street now

I had some trouble getting the roku to work initially setting it up on my tv. It’s an older tv but did some playing around and research and now it’s all good to go and don’t know why i waited so long to purchase!

I got this for my vizio smart tv (because vizio has their own streaming system and it is absolute garbage) and it’s a major improvement, no more glitching, no more having to restart my tv every single time i want to go from netflix to hulu or switch from any other app, much clearer picture and sound. Literally the only complaint i have is the remote. Sometimes it’ll take multiple button presses to pause a show as if the remote fell asleep, most times if a show is paused more than 5 minutes it takes pressing the button multiple times for it to remember how to be a remote. You can fix this by unplugging the device or your tv, restarting and repairing the remote but that’s still pretty annoying. I just really wish roku would put a little more work into the remotes, it really wouldn’t even take much.

Aside from needing work on the audio interface, (to a sound bar,) it works well. As others have mentioned, hbo for example, will not interface with the sound bar where netflix and other apps will; which is very odd. It is for this reason i’m giving it a 4-star.

I got this as a gift for my mom. I haven’t heard any complaints, so she must like it.