Recently it was loud about new streaming players from Amazon – new Amazon Fire TV. As it turns out, this is not the only news on the market, and so Amazon has a strong competition in the Roku company, and exactly in their new five streaming players: Roku Express, Roku Express+, Roku Streaming Stick, Roku Streaming Stick+ and Roku Ultra. That’s right, the company has significantly expanded its portfolio of devices.

“Our new streaming player line up provides performance, price and features to meet our users needs so they can sit back, relax and enjoy their TV viewing experience even more,” said Chas Smith, general manager of Roku TVs and players. “Consumers will love our new sleek Roku Streaming Stick+ with an innovative advanced wireless receiver that gives up to four times the wireless range and a remote that controls TV volume and power.  It makes 4K and HDR streaming simple.”  So let’s take a look at what each new Roku’s streaming player offers.

Roku Express and Roku Express+

The second-generation Roku Express and Roku Express+ are five times more powerful than their predecessors and start at only $29.99 MSRP. Roku Express and Roku Express+ supports 1080p HD video, WiFi 802.11b/g/n. The Roku Express+ offers the same streaming experience, with options to connect via HDMI® or composite A/V ports (red/yellow/white jacks –  for older TVs). $39.99 MSRP, exclusively at Walmart.

Roku Streaming Stick and Roku Streaming Stick+

Roku Streaming Stick and Roku Streaming Stick+ have a typical HDMI Stick format and features quad-core processor and 802.11 AC dual-band MIMO wireless. Now comes with a voice remote that includes TV power and volume buttons that can control compatible TV models and the Roku Streaming Stick together. The Roku Streaming Stick offers exceptional 1080p HD streaming ( $49.99 MSRP).

Roku Streaming Stick+ boasts exceptional wireless performance with its advanced wireless receiver that is innovatively built into the power cord. This new model offers up to four times the wireless range than the 2016 Roku Streaming Stick to minimize buffering. It combines brilliant 4K Ultra HD and HDR picture quality (4K video via HDCP 2.2 HDMI®) with the portability of the popular stick form factor. Great for HD, 4K and 4K HDR up to 60 frames per second (fps) streaming. Channels launch quickly to get to favorite shows fast ($69.99 MSRP)

Roku Ultra

Roku Ultra looks like a typical TV Box and offers best wireless performance and can stream HD, 4K and 4K HDR with up to 60 fps (4K video via HDCP 2.2 HDMI). The Roku Ultra features an ethernet port for wired connectivity and a micro SD slot to help speed up streaming channel load times. With new voice remote, consumers can power up and change volume on the TV, plus use voice to find favorite shows. There’s also a headphone jack for private listening and a remote finder button that helps locate lost remotes. New lower $99.99 MSRP.

All Roku’s streaming players have access to 500,000 movies and TV episodes plus more than 5,000 channels. The Roku Channel, which launched just weeks ago, features hundreds of Hollywood hits and more with no fees, subscriptions or logins required. All the new Roku devices are available for pre-order on Roku.com, Walmart, Best Buy and Amazon, and will hit retail stores around October 8th. (The Roku Express+ is a Walmart exclusive though). Customers who purchase a new Roku player will receive a $10 Vudu credit towards a rental or purchase. Offer expires 10/31/17.

In addition to new devices, Roku team has also prepared a new Roku OS 8. The new Roku OS will now let users turn on the TV just by using voice commands. You can say things like “Launch Vudu,” or “Tune to ABC” for example, while pressing the voice button on the remote. There’s no keyword or phrase you have to use first, as with Siri or Alexa – the trigger is the button push. Roku OS 8 also lets you switch input sources via voice, use single sign-on (SSO) with around 30 TV providers, access Roku’s private listening mode with your broadcast channels, and includes a new “Smart Guide” that integrates streaming content in addition to linear TV programming in one interface. That way, you can see if something on TV is also available on-demand, or for rent or purchase. Roku OS 8 roll out to streaming players in October and to TV’s in November

Source: Roku and TechCrunch