Roku Streaming Stick+ | HD/4K/HDR Streaming Device with Long-range Wireless and Voice Remote with TV Controls (Renewed)

I bought this because the built in WebOS Smart TV function on my LG TV has very few apps, and it's pretty laggy. I tried to live with it for a while, but I just got sick of it. We are Sling customers and the Sling app on LG is horribly buggy with the cloud DVR function. One day I'd just finally had enough so I bought this Roku stick on a whim. I hesitated a little because of the middling reviews on the Streaming Stick + but I finally just said "oh what the heck" and pressed the buy button. Out of the box did have some initial problems with pairing the remote, it didn't want to join the Roku stick. Rebooting the stick cured it, the remote immediately joined upon reboot. Once it was paired everything was golden. The stick immediately upgraded the firmware upon connecting to WiFi, I would personally recommend not skipping this step considering some of the bugs that people have reported that could have been fixed already with a later firmware. The response in the menus is very fast compared to some of my older Roku sticks on my other TVs. All the apps work as expected/normal. The picture quality is an improvement over the built in LG smart TV function, we actually get HDR content on YouTube now, for example. The remote does struggle to turn the TV on at times, I have to hold it down for a few seconds sometimes, or make a 2nd attempt. I guess this is due to a weak IR function, maybe. It always works eventually though and I'm getting more used to this quirk so I'm able to get it to turn on faster now that I know what to expect. I make sure to hold down the power button and point it right at the TV's IR receiver and it comes on. The device has a strong 5G 802.11AC WiFi connection, shows connection rate of 172Mbit in my network management software. This rate should be strong enough to stream anything out there at max quality. I have 300Mbit AT&T Fiber internet connection. I use ceiling mounted business class access points in my house, Ubitquiti AP-AC-Pro(s). I suspect that people who have problems with the connection, probably have crappy WiFi routers, but they don't know any better. Get something decent if this describes you. If you don't want to get into the business class gear get an Orbi or Google WiFi, or one of the other whole-home WiFi setups. I tried the voice recognition, it took a couple of tries to understand me correctly but then I was able to get the correct phrase on the screen. I don't know how often I would use this feature but I'll try it again another time when I'm looking for content. None of my other Roku devices have it so I will need to get used to using it. Overall I would recommend this device. I'm happy that you can get 4K HDR in stick form, I did not want to purchase one of the devices that would not be completely hidden from view like the Ultra or Premiere. My wife has a no-cord edict that I have to comply with, the TV is mounted in native stone above the fireplace in the living room. I did pick up the extended warranty because of it being a refresh/refurb/return/whatever. I don't remember what that cost but it didn't seem very expensive. I have some other Roku sticks that are more than 5 years old so I do tend to keep them for a while.

The Roku Streaming Stick+ is fantastic. I'm surprised I didn't get one sooner. I am a loyal Chromecast user, and that's a fine device for sharing your Chrome browser contents on the TV, or playing a YouTube or Google Music playlist. But it lacks the ability to stream on its own. Roku has the edge by providing a stand-alone streaming device, paired with a simple, physical remote control, and the ability to download apps and channels. You can install the major apps like HBO Go, FX Now, NBC Sports Gold, YouTube, Amazon Video and Netflix. But you also get some wild Roku exclusives like B-Movie TV (movies so bad they're good - a great channel for horror and sleaze fans). If you only have room to add one streaming player, and you're deciding between a Chromecast, a Roku or an Apple TV, the choice can be made fairly simply. The Apple TV is for those who are committed to the Apple platform. If you get your music and movies from Apple, then stick with Apple. But if your choice is between a Chromecast and a Roku, go with the Roku. It can do more. The Stick+ has newer Wi-Fi compatibility for superior speed and streaming stability. And the physical remote control is just better than using your phone or laptop as the controller. And you can "cast" YouTube videos to it using a Chrome browser. And starting in November 2018, you can link it to the 'Google Home' app, and manage it via the Home app, or via voice commands through Google Assistant. The Stick+ is the one to get for a few reasons. First, the Wi-Fi antenna and compatibility (802.11ac) is the best Roku makes at the moment. Second, the stick can plug into your HDMI receiver or directly into a TV HDMI port (and that method will control the volume of the TV if you have a newer model with HDMI control). And third, the remote control connects via bluetooth, so there's no need to set up any line-of-sight between the remote and the stick. The Stick+ runs a little hot, but that's OK so long as it's in a cool spot. Simply get the Amazon Basics HDMI extension cable, and the stick will keep cool away from your other heat-generating devices. Roku has always been the best value in streaming players. And now it provides more HD content, with a faster network connection, in a tiny form factor.

Very happy with my purchase, roku stick works great.

The main reason for getting this remote is that the Firestick I was using kept dropping connection with my Wi fi even though I have a strong signal. Another reason is that my TV doesn't have CEC and so I had to use two remotes to control the Firestick and the TV. Big pain. I got this Roku refurbished, so I got a bit of a discount. It came nicely packaged, though not in the retail box, but a generic brown box. All cables and manuals were there, including a set of Duracell batteries. The Roku set up very easily. I just plugged it into my TV (HDMI and USB) and viola, it worked. I didn't have to use the wall plug which was an added bonus. I like the Roku interface even though it is a bit dated. The ads in my opinion are much less intrusive than the Firestick's and the navigation is much snappier. The Roku remote also controls my TV's power and volume perfectly, allowing me to put the TV's remote in a drawer. The only thing I don't care for are the Quick buttons. I use two of them (Netflix and Hulu) but I don't subscribe to Sling or use Vudu, so the buttons are useless. One side bonus is that HDHomerun has a beta app for Roku now and I like it much better than the Firestick version. On reason I didn't switch to Roku earlier was that HDHomerun didn't have a Roku app. In order to get HDHomerun to work though, I did have to manually set the Roku audio to "Digital" instead of automatic. Overall, I am totally happy with the remote and would recommend it to others.

Is good, I was not expecting anything less

This is my 5th Roku product, and by far the best in every respect. It has a few extra features in the remote control to turn on an off your TV and control the TV's volume. It worked immediately after the simple set-up on my Hitachi, Vizio, and Toshiba TVs The streaming stick is small enough to fit behind all of my TVs in the HDMI slots without any issues. It comes with a short USB power cord so it can hook to your TV's USB's port if it's got one. It also comes with a longer extension and an AC power supply if your TV doesn't have a USB slot. This unit is super fast. It goes from screen to screen at least twice as fast (if not faster) than the standard Roku HDMI stream stick. It logs on to services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Now, Showtime Anytime and others in just a few short seconds. Streams start up before you have a chance to put down the remote. And for the record, this is on a 2up-15 down mbps internet connection. Not exactly a fast network connection. It's worth every penny.

Wanted a TV for the bedroom, Realized I had an old monitor/TV which has a HDMI input, So researched a lot between Roku, Firestick & ChromeCast. Handsdown roku had all the best features some i can mention here. Setup is easy. Playback is smooth. No issues i can point out at the moment except the startup load takes around 15-20 seconds. Remote works on WIFI so no need to point towards the tv everytime,. and also controls the volume and On/Off for my TV. The Roku mobile app is also great with the private listening feature where you can watch the TV without disturbing others(perfect for bedroom viewing). I love it as i can connect my bluetooth headphones. You can also control the ROKU with the mobile app so don't worry if you loose the remote in the dark while binge watching :p. You can set some images as a screensaver so works as a digital photo frame also. Buy with confidence. Thankyou team ROKU.

In my quest to cut the cable I've been through ChromeCasts, FireSticks and now the Roku Streaming Stick Plus. To be clear, I am still rocking the firestick on one TV, but in continued in depth usage while admitting it's a little apples and oranges (since streaming stick plus is for 4k and up, and firestick is pretty standard) I find more apps that I want to use on the roku, than I do the firestick. I think this is primarily because Amazon is trying to get you to buy more stuff (not that that's a bad thing) but their stuff is more or less front and center, and Roku doesn't care: You want Hulu and YouTube to always appear first? Great! Here you go! I find the remote to be responsive and it's actually been a boon to our babysitters as the millennials are inherently more familiar and comfortable with app culture than they are with cable. So as long as we highlight what we have, we've had no complaints. And in pairing this with a mesh network like Google Wifi, it just screams. I've had absolutely no lag issues, and bonus, I've now got Sling TV on every Television in the house, no real cable box to speak of. So I think this is a really solid little device to the point where I can't see why anyone is still paying for cable (we're doing this 30 day experiment and then I'm never coming back; I'll drop my cable equipment on my ISP's doorstep like an unwanted child and they'll hear my tires as I scream away into the night (queue maniacal laughter)). TL;DR: This is an awesome cord cutting option and a wirecutter top pick for forward compatibility. Got old people that just need the news and occasional movies? Get'em a roku and HD Antenna. Boom. Done.