RokuExpress | HD Streaming Media Player

We all ready have a few Roku Devices, and they are good at what they do.The search all compatable streaming services feature is great as you can find a film or series across prime and Disney plus as well as now TV I think Netflix as well but been a while details on there website of compatable services.Roku are a cheep way to standardise all the different brand TVs in your home or business so you have one clean simple user interface for all your users.They give sky a run for their money on an all in one user interface and you can add voice recognition on some models.You can also link to Alexa and Google home.Compatable Miracast and apple project to the device from supported Apple and Android devices.As far as I can find they support nearly every streaming services you can think of all the big main ones are there.The units are tiny and come with double sided tape to place on the bottom or top, side of your TVOnly complaint if your TV dose not have usb ports you will need to source a USB power supply, they do come with the correct lead but it's only long enough to find a usb port on the TV or very close by.Most TVs I have plugged the unit in and it's been fine on the built in usb port.Devices are 2.4ghz WiFi only would have loved an ethernet port.

I'm very impressed with the design of this little unit. It comes with everything you need to stick it properly to the top, sides or bottom on your TV. It doesn't look out of place.So easy to add BBC iplayer, Amazon prime etc to it with your light in details, which it remembers.The remote control is small and simple, yet well designed and made. Very easy to use.All round this is a well thought out add on device for your TV.The picture quality is excellent, but if course relies on the quality of the TV its connected too.The menu system is simple and elegant.Once paired to a stable wifi connection you should have seamless streaming of content.I've added two to standard TVs around the house and they work really well.There is no subscription fees to worry about. Just use it free for free services, but of course it comes into it's own when using services like Amazon prime.

Having used different products to watch Netflix, Now TV and Amazon Prime, I have always been left wanting more. My TV has these services available, but they either crash or are clunky to use. That is where this comes in.This product is small and when set up, you would not notice under the TV. It is USB powered, so I have it connected to the USB port on the TV. The great thing about that is that it does not take up a plug socket (One is supplied in the box), and it always turns on with the TV.The software is a breeze to use. Set up over the internet was clear and I got it finished in no time.The apps for each service load very fast, better than on my xbox, and I can be watching stuff in no time at all from boot.The remote control is high quality and the button presses are responsive. It is small I will warn, so keep it safe but there is a smartphone app, which you can use a a remote as well.In the box you get:Roku ExpressRemote Control2x AAA Batteries1x USB Cable1x USB Plug adaptorHDMI CableI am very please with the product, it works well and I would recommend to anyone that wants to add Smart TV functions, or make an improvement to your smart TV.

I bought the Roku as a replacement for a failed 30 month old Amazon Fire box, though I also use the Fire sticks in other places, so that's my primary standard of comparison.The good thing about the Roku over the Fire is the extra range of services you can access out of the box without having to try to break the OS - things like NowTV are available and Google Video works fine but so still does Amazon's Prime Video and video quality is comparable with no obvious problems.Set against that are a variety of minor niggles, not enough for me to reject it but sufficient to take the extra star off the rating. In use, it feels slightly more sluggish to respond than the Amazon sticks even though it's a newer design, though actual playback seems fine. The remote control is an infra-red unit unlike the Fire's controller, so if you prefer to use the dedicated handset to the mobile app, you have to physically stick the Roku unit somewhere with line of sight, typically on the TV frame. Additionally, the remote's layout, although broadly similar isn't quite as well thought out as the Fire's, something which arguably is also true of the on-screen menus, though they are generally clean and uncluttered. I was also surprised (and slightly uncomfortable) to find that Roku require you to provide a credit card or PayPal account as part of your registration even if you only wanted to use free streaming services, or ones which you register and pay for separately.In summary, it's simple to set up, works and supports a wider range of services, but it's not as polished as the Amazon product and does require you to create a Roku account for payment authorisation whether you need that service or not.