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posted by martyb on Wednesday October 04 2017, @10:40AM   Printer-friendly
from the sticking-to-what-they-are-good-at dept.

Roku has refreshed its lineup of TV streaming sticks and boxes, shortly after Apple and Amazon released similar products. Roku now has a device that supports 2160p resolution and high dynamic range:

Roku just announced updates to five of its TV streaming products, as well as a new operating system that marries access to over-the-air TV with video streaming services. The announcements from Roku come after both Apple and Amazon have revealed updates to their own video streaming boxes in recent weeks, with all three companies pushing further into the home with things like 4K, voice control, and improved search functionality.

Roku's low-cost streaming sticks are getting the most interesting updates. The basic Roku streaming stick, which at $49.99 is priced the same as last year's model, is getting a processor update that Roku claims is 50 percent faster. The remote is also getting voice control functionality, along with power and volume buttons to control those functions on your TV set.

Then there's the Roku Streaming Stick Plus, which now supports HDR and 4K Ultra HD. It also has four times the wireless range of the basic stick, which is partly enabled by the wireless module being built directly into the cable, rather than the stick itself. The idea is that moving it away from the television reduces interference. This one, which effectively replaces last year's Roku Premiere 4K box, will cost $69.99.

Also at Ars Technica and Roku.

Previously: Roku OS 7: Developer Highlights
Roku Media Player Maker Seeking IPO

Related: MPAA Chief Focuses Attention on the Kodi Platform
Kodi Panic in the UK and Popularity in North America
Kodi Add-on Library "TVAddons" Disappears After Lawsuit
Apple Investing $1 Billion in Acquiring and Producing TV Shows


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  • (Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Wednesday October 04 2017, @12:41PM (6 children)

    by LoRdTAW (3755) on Wednesday October 04 2017, @12:41PM (#576989) Journal

    with all three companies pushing further into the home with things like 4K, voice control, and improved search functionality.

    As the owner of two fire TV sticks all I care about is a UI that doesn't randomly freeze and better stability. 4k is frivolous bullshit along with voice control.

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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday October 04 2017, @01:32PM (2 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday October 04 2017, @01:32PM (#577011) Journal

    The newer versions are faster, which directly addresses freezing and stability...

    The basic Roku streaming stick, which at $49.99 is priced the same as last year's model, is getting a processor update that Roku claims is 50 percent faster.

    Shockingly, the 4K versions have even better performance.

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  • (Score: 1) by LT218 on Wednesday October 04 2017, @07:16PM (1 child)

    by LT218 (5345) on Wednesday October 04 2017, @07:16PM (#577138)

    I pre-ordered two of the first gen Amazon Fire Sticks. They were terrible. Amazon's UI was (is?) slow and very laggy. Amazon essentially puked ads hyping their own services all over the first section of the home screen instead of letting you put what you use most frequently up front, like Hulu, Netflix, etc.

    I heard that the second generation of the stick hardware helped a bit with the poor performance of the UI, but the user experience would still be terrible unless the only thing you ever used was Amazon's in-house services.

    Compare that to the interface of a Roku and it looks even worse. Roku has one of the better interfaces and the performance of their devices since the Roku 3 has been solid.

    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday October 04 2017, @07:33PM

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday October 04 2017, @07:33PM (#577145) Journal

      I used Kodi on one of the Amazon Fire sticks (probably gen 1). It was usable, but definitely had weird crash/freeze/caching issues. I'm sure a newer version with double the RAM would be better, although the processor of the gen 3 box seems to be worse than gen 2, from just looking at the specs.

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  • (Score: 2) by Wootery on Thursday October 05 2017, @10:16AM

    by Wootery (2341) on Thursday October 05 2017, @10:16AM (#577386)

    4k is frivolous bullshit

    Yes, but not for the reason you're implying.

    All 4K TVs are smart TVs, with built-in apps capable of streaming 4K. The whole point of Roku/Fire TV/Chromecast/Apple TV is to convert a non-smart display into a smart display. So what's the point of a 4K Roku?