Roku

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Joe Fedewa Staff Writer Joe Fedewa is a Staff Writer at How-To Geek. He has been covering consumer technology for over a decade and previously worked as Managing Editor at XDA-Developers. Joe loves all things technology and is also an avid DIYer at heart. He has written thousands of articles, hundreds of tutorials, and dozens of reviews. A Brief History of Roku Roku was founded in 2002 by Anthony Wood. However, not much happened with the company for several years. Before the company had released any products, it started working with Netflix in 2007. The idea was to create a device to allow people to stream Netflix on their TVs. However, CEO Reed Hastings decided to drop the project and Netflix spun off Roku as its own company. The first Roku was released in 2008, still developed in collaboration with Netflix. What Is a Roku? Roku “What is Roku?” and “What is a Roku?” are two different questions. Roku is the name of a company, but it’s also the name of the devices it makes: All of these devices serve the same purpose—to give you access to streaming services, apps, and games on your TV. The Roku device—whichever type it is—plugs into your TV (or is built into the TV) and displays the Roku software. $168.47 How Does a Roku Work? Roku Let’s talk about the Roku software, the secret sauce to Roku’s popularity. At its core, Roku devices are intended to be easy to use. That starts right at the “home screen,” the main screen you see when your turn on your Roku device. The Roku home...

Rokus continue to remain There are five Updated April 2023: Roku's lineup is the same, but we've updated prices and links throughout. Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you'd like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day. • If you can spend around $70, Roku's Streaming Sticks are the ones we recommend most. This 4K Plus version allows you to stream in Dolby Vision, and is 30 percent faster with a longer-range wireless receiver (for what it's worth, I've never found any Rokus to be slow). Like the other sticks, it plugs directly into your TV's HDMI port, and another cable plugs into a USB port for power, or into the wall. The most obvious difference is the new voice remote. Others have a mic button you can press and hold for speech, but this has a hands-free option. So while lounging on the couch, just say “Hey Roku, play You on Netflix.” You can even ask where a lost remote is to activate a beep. If you don't want Roku listening, there's a slider button on the side. There are also two buttons that you can program to whatever shortcuts work best for you. ★ More Streaming Sticks: The Roku's posh Ultra has the strongest dual-band Wi-Fi of the bunch plus an Ethernet port for wired connections if necessary. It can stream in Dolby Vision, and this 2022 version supports HDR10+, a feature we noted was lacking in its predecessor. The voice remote is the...