What is Roku and what is it for?

The Roku is a very interesting device, with which you can transform your common TV into a Smart TV, it is a cheaper way to have functions of the most expensive and recent televisions on the market, you can have access to watch movies, play music , applications, and transmit different channels live or streaming, such as Netflix, HBO GO, Fox Sport, PBS services, among others.

With the Roku you can even enjoy a wide variety of games, you can manage the channels you want to view from a huge list that you will find in the Roku Channel Store , among other functions that we will mention in this post. If you want to learn how to configure this equipment and know a little more about its benefits, follow us.

Uses and benefits of the Roku

This brand has its origin in 2008, focusing on offering an updated and intelligent platform, which can be adapted to any conventional TV.

Roku devices, beyond their different models on the market, and which will be discussed later, offers the possibility of providing any TV with Smart functions, for a fairly affordable price.

The advantage it has over other similar devices is its adaptability, since it can be connected through an HDMI cable, or on the contrary with a component cable (video + audio). The only thing you will need is a stable internet connection, with which you can navigate through the different channels and benefits. In addition, some of its models add a remote control to control the device, without the need to connect it to the mobile phone, without an intermediary of applications.

Whether you want to stream channels on your TV, listen to music, watch movies, or play games on the big screen, with Roku you can.

Roku types

Having mentioned the different uses and benefits that Roku has, it is convenient to talk about the different models that have been launched on the current market:

• Roku Ultra: it should start by talking about the top, it offers 4K and HDR resolution to play high definition movies. It includes an Ethernet port for wired connection, a 3.5 headphone jack on the controller, and an SD slot, to load applications faster and extend memory.

• Roku Express and its newest model, the Express Plus: The new plus version has a higher performance, with a faster processor to navigate through the different transmission channels. Its value is below the Chromecast, being one of the best alternatives. The Plus model includes a component video cable to connect it to even older TVs.

• Streaming Stick: unlike previous models, it includes a new remote control function, with recognition of different voice commands. Includes buttons to control the volume from the remote, without the need to control the TV.

• Streaming Stick Plus: Its design looks different thanks to its glossy finish. This model incorporates a more powerful and advanced wireless receiver, to improve wi fi reception. It adds 4K and HDR playback functions, being similar to the older Premiere Plus model.

What are the differences with Chromecast Tv and with Apple Tv?

• Chromecast allows you to connect a mobile device, be it Android, IOS, and even the PC (through the Chrome extension) to the TV, in order to share information. It is worth noting that it is only compatible with certain applications or services, such as YouTube, Netflix, among others.

• Apple tv works without the need to have an iPhone, iPad mobile connected and has a special remote control and a limited number of applications.
• On the other hand, Roku, in its different presentations, offers many more portability options and the possibility of adapting to better quality of resolutions, adding to this its different functions that go beyond sharing the screen of your mobile with the TV.

How to set up Roku?

It is very easy to configure so you have to follow three simple steps and you are done:

• You must turn on the device.
• Connect the device to wireless internet or Wifi.
• When you do the first two steps on the television, you must create an account, and thus activate the device, then you will be able to enjoy the channels and tv series that only Roku offers you and the best thing is all video games.

Why do I need an internet connection?

The players need to have an internet connection either wireless or wired to be able to reproduce the content online, the device has an rj45 ethernet port.

What is a Roku account?

It is very important to have an account to activate the device and be able to enjoy all the entertainment, to enter thousands of streaming channels, no monthly fee is charged for the equipment.

Tricks to have a good operation with the Roku device

Use your phone as the Roku keyboard

Something to keep in mind is that it is very slow to use a remote control to try to communicate with the keyboard of the TV screen, as well as registering to the Netflix account is somewhat exhausting or having to search for the movies by name or actor, But there is a very simple solution “use the phone”, look for the app (Android, iOS) and configure your mobile device as a remote control for Roku and have a keyboard that will allow you to enter and search all the information in an easy and fast way .

Voice search

Some of its versions incorporate voice search, to facilitate the task of finding the content you are looking for. Forget about keyboards or remote controls that can be really tedious, you only need to install the app to perform voice search. To do this you must press the option “search” then “voice” and search for the movie or actor.

Play content from phone or tablet

We know how important it is to share digitally captured memories with our loved ones, whether of a wedding celebration, soccer game or birth, however, the phone or tablet screen is very small and it becomes a tedious and tedious task. uncomfortable, it is better to gather them around the TV and use your Roku device, since it allows you to show all the content including photos, videos and music that you have on the mobile device, cards or memory units.

Just open the app and give the option Play On Roku choose the type of format with which you want to show the photos or videos to your family or friends and that’s it.

Organize your channels

When watching TV with the Roku device, you usually go up and down looking for channels, the more you add to the library, the more everything becomes disorganized, so it brings a practical way to reorganize all the channels and it works like this: first you must find the channel you want rearrange and mark it with the remote control (don’t select it, just move the cursor over it to mark it), then hit the option button (it looks like an asterisk) and there you choose Move Channel, use the direction button to move the icon to where you want to place it.

Pick a new topic

The program already comes with a fairly simple interface and with an established color that is purple, which for many is not very liked, but the good thing is that you can change it, you just have to enter the setting menu and choose “themes” for other options. The best ones select “Get More Themes”, it will open you to the collection of themes on the Roku Channel Store and you will have many themes available to choose from from cartoons, sports, among others. Not all are free, some will have to pay for them.

Install screen protector

Also with the screen saver, enter the setting menu and choose a Screensaver or protector and from there to the Channel Store option and choose the amounts of screen saver, some that are in the menu are free, others are not, among the most popular are They find that of chimneys and that of fish or aquariums.

Other names to your Rokus

If you have more than one Roku device, it is advisable to name it and thus differentiate each one of them, so one way to identify them when you use the app is by placing names such as “roku room”, “roku of the living room” or “roku 1” and “Roku 2” and so on.

However, from the app you cannot do this, so you must enter the page and log in to my.roku.com and go to My Account, there you can see the list of connected channels and click on “rename” to be able to change the name of each device.

conclusion

To conclude, we can say that Roku is one of the best alternatives to convert a conventional TV into a Smart TV. Being compatible with all televisions by including not only an HDMI cable, but also offering the possibility of connecting via analog cable. In addition, its different models are adjusted to the pocket of each person, since its price ranges from $ 30 in its most basic model to approximately $ 70.

If you want to start in this world and enjoy your best series, movies, and even games on the big screen, don’t miss out on doing it with this device. Until next time!