RokuUltra | Streaming Media Player 4K/HD/HDR with Premium JBL Headphones

We have owned several TV's with built in access to various apps, from Netflix to Amazon Prime and Hulu, now we add Disney+ and Apple TV to the mix. In general, I have found these interfaces to be slow to respond, missing apps, or have poor remote control support for Play/Pause/Rewind/FF options.Roku solves these issues for us.Pros:*Easy setup, took five minutes to be up and running on our home network. A few more minutes to load usernames in passwords into all of our streaming apps. Remote control interface is responsive and easy.*All of the apps we use were available in Roku (noted above, plus Youtube TV, which we also use) plus some that we do not. Interfacing with all of the apps is quick and easy.*Remote control paired with our LG and our Samsung televisions, again very easy. I can't overstate how nice it is to have the remote be capable of turning the TV on/off simultaneously with the Roku unit AND to have the ability to control volume of TV. We had tried one of the less expensive Roku units with the more basic remote, which which we ultimately returned in favor of the Roku Ultra.*Voice control function is really nice. Here again, there just isn't much latency or lag time. The action of the voice command is prompt. Starting apps with voice is quick. Searching for content is nice, as when you do this Roku pulls up all the sources for your content (e.g. if you searched for Seinfeld, it would show you on what apps it's available, and if it is free, requires subscription, or can be purchased on a per episode basis).*Alexa integration. Alexa works well within the Roku system as well, but we don't find ourselves using it since the native voice commands on Roku's remote work so well.Cons*The only negative is the fact that we have to purchase the Roku Ultra peripheral device to manage apps because the native systems on our TV's are so inferior. This is not a con against the Roku unit, or against television manufacturers.Overall, highly recommend Roku Ultra.

Roku's 2019 Ultra makes minor revisions to the original Roku Ultra4K (2016), with a more powerful CPU under the hood, but looks virtually identical.You're wondering if you want this or the stick?Go with the stick if you have a wall-mount TV and no space to put the Ultra. Or if you're budget-constrained. Otherwise, for everyone else: the Ultra is superior for its better CPU and your ability to reposition it for optimal WiFi reception. And it has a wired ethernet port. Remember that your TV itself blocks RF transmission...Changes (from the original Ultra):* Better CPU. Channels (apps) open in 20-30% the time it took before.* Navigating inside each channel is faster.* More ergonomic remote with different button layout.* "Find my remote" feature.* Remote finally adds a mute button!* No more optical/digital audio output. HDMI is pretty universal now.* Different power connector. (you can't use that the old power adapter with the new Ultra)Problems encountered:* Remote didn't initially control external receiver volume like the old one did, using same settings... After I pushed a new "find my remote" dataset to the remote, it started working... Presumably the remote needed a software update?* HDCP 2.2 compliant connection needed for 4K display. That means any intermediate hardware (like my receiver) and cables have to be HDCP 2.2 rated.* Signing into your existing Roku account on your new device doesn't bring over ANY settings. You have to customize your app layout again, re-login to every service, and re-do any other customizations. Considering all the Roku hardware out there, not propagating settings seems like a major omission.If you're not locked into a particular brand's ecosystem (hello AppleTV) Roku is still the move-- snappy, multi-service, and designed to be effectively and continuously updated. This Ultra model is far better than the quickly obsolete, slow-performing software that ships integrated in SmartTVs.If you've already got an Ultra, it's a modest but still noticeable upgrade. Recommended.

I love Roku, I’ve tried others and go back to Roku, I have the Premier, Ultra, and Streambar. I highly recommend it to my friends, easy to use, affordable and good quality. No issues.

We already have a three year old Roku TV and Stick, so I was familiar with Roku, but the Ultra was super easy setup. Remote programmed itself to operate my TV, which was a surprise. It's much quicker than the 2nd Gen Fire TV box it's replacing. Had no problems plugging in my 2 TB portable drive into the USB port and playing videos. Private listening is, eh, okay. Need to turn the volume way up with headphones plugged into the remote. I used my own Sennheiser compact over the ear headphones, don't like buds jammed in my ears.All apps work great on the Ultra, except for YouTube. I've run into a couple of network error messages saying to stop and restart the app, and the Ultra rebooted itself once while in YouTube (reinstalled, no reboot in the last couple days). I'm connected trough the ethernet port so I haven't tested the wifi. No problems while using Netflix, Hulu+Live, Amazon Prime Video, Pluto,...ect.I got the Ultra when Amazon had a 20% off price dip the Monday before release. Amazon messed up with shipping and being out of stock, missing my expected delivery date. Over the next couple of days they gave me 6 different delivery dates, but in the end it was only 3 days late. The nice thing is when I contacted CS (which was a bit more convoluted and took longer than needed), they gave me a 30% discount for my troubles. Better than waiting for a Black Friday sale.Overall its a Roku. It's not fancy, but it's easy to setup and use, and now my 9 year old can watch Disney+ next month.