2020 was a fantastic year for streaming. With cinemas closed, it has been the best way for new content to be distributed to the masses. There is no shortage of ways to transmit, whether you have a streaming device or one of best TVs with integrated intelligence.
Despite all the competition, Roku still makes my favorite streaming devices, and with the amount of streaming I did this year, my taste for them has only grown.
Roku is not a small company at all, but compared to companies like Amazon, Apple and Google, they are still relatively unknown to the masses. Which doesn’t really make sense, because Roku has a lot of things going for him – to the point where I can’t see myself going back to another company’s devices.
In fact, I just bought my third Roku device and now I have more of them than TVs.
Access all the content you want
There are many reasons why I like Roku, and one of the main reasons is that they don’t fit the lines of one of the other big tech companies. Many other streaming gadgets are produced by major rivals, and they refuse to allow competitors to access their devices. Like the longstanding discussion of Amazon and Google that prevented YouTube from appearing on Fire TV sticks and Prime Video on Chromecast until last year.
Roku himself claimed to be an impartial partner, with no incentive to prioritize one service or another. In other words, Roku devices typically have access to all major streaming services. There are exceptions, such as the long-running stalemate that prevented Roku users from accessing HBO Max, but historically it is rare for a service to be absent. AND Roku and HBO Max recently struck a deal.
A clean interface (that doesn’t sell things to you)
Although Roku operates its own free streaming channels, this “impartial partner” status means that the interface itself avoids pushing you to any service. There are static ads in a small number of places (one of my colleagues says it is still very), but most of the time the content allows you to watch what you want.
Roku is not like Amazon’s Fire OS, which is constantly trying to push it to Prime Video and other Amazon services. Some Fire TV devices may offer more advanced features than Rokus at comparable prices, such as built-in Alexa integration, but for me this is not worth it.
For me, the clean interface is the real selling point. The Roku operating system puts your content in the foreground on the home page as soon as you turn on the TV. There is no way to navigate to the middle of the page or hunt for your streaming apps, nor is you forced to broadcast anything from your phone or tolerate any other nonsense between you and the programs you want to watch.
What about Chromecast and Apple TV?
Roku is not the only company that does this. Google TV, being Android, allows you to customize your home screen to your own tastes. Likewise, Apple TV allows you to customize the way application icons appear on the home page. But Apple TV boxes are very expensive in comparison, and the Chromecast with Google TV has a home screen with lots of suggested and promoted content.
Apple TV also has that horrible touchpad remote that I was never able to support. It has improved over the years, from what I have experienced, but it still sucks. For a company that prides itself on its design, Apple makes some spectacularly stupid decisions by over-engineering things that don’t need it. Roku did not do this on the remote, but this is not really a selling point, considering that all other streaming devices do the same.
I could do without those annoying buttons for services I never use, however. Roku is not alone in doing this, as remote media owners Nvidia Shield TV and PS5 know. It would still be good to end them or let us personalize what they do.
The value factor
All of this is useless if a device is not accessible. Apple TV has a lot going for it, but the cheapest one still costs $ 149 and doesn’t even support 4K. If you want you will have to pay at least $ 179. Roku’s cheapest device is $ 30 (Roku Express) and 4K support costs $ 40 (Roku Premiere), and the most expensive all-inclusive device costs only $ 100 Roku (Roku Ultra) This is assuming that none of these devices are for sale, and Rokus often is. Especially at this time of year.
This is almost the same as Amazon’s Fire TV devices, whether we’re talking about the Fire TV Stick Lite, Fire TV Stick 4K or Fire TV Cube. The features are not identical, but the point is that Rokus doesn’t cost much.
Roku has some disadvantages
But Rokus does not have everything. For example, they’ve spent years stubbornly ignoring Dolby Vision, and now they’ve just included that standard on their most expensive device: the Roku Ultra. Meanwhile, Amazon’s 4K Fire TV Stick included HDR10 and Dolby Vision from day one. And at half the price to boot.
If you have a Dolby Vision TV, it will definitely discourage you and Roku’s next set of 4K streaming devices should include support for HDR10 + and Dolby Vision. Especially if Roku has plans to release more soundbars. If you take the trouble to buy a soundbar to update your living room configuration, it would be helpful to have the best resources possible.
Result
The truth is, I am willing to ignore some of Roku’s little shortcomings if I get something green in return. In my opinion, a clean and easy to use interface is worth the fact that I don’t have an HDR feature that I can’t even use right now. But come back to me in a few years, after upgrading my TV to something better than a basic 4K set, and see if I feel the same way.