Roku Express | HD Roku Streaming Device with Simple Remote (no TV controls), Free & Live TV

Very nice streaming experience and ease of set 3

QUICK TAKE If you have a Smart TV that is disappointing you, do yourself a favor and get this. You will love it. WHAT I NEEDED Ok ok ok, I'll admit that my Samsung Smart TV is ancient, by most folks standards. It was a display model that I got about 5 years ago and I've always been a bit disappointed by the Smart TV capabilities as they have always been very slow and glitchy. I was never sure if this was the fault of the Apps or the TV, but it took me a very long time to purchase a Roku and that was a dumb decision on my part because this little device has TOTALLY changed the way I use my TV. SETUP The kit is pretty straightforward and simple. Hook up to the HDMI, stick the receiver on the TV, and initialize the setup. At first I was having issues because when I hooked everything up, the Roku setup couldn't successfully access my WiFi. Initially I was super frustrated and assumed it was the Roku's fault, but at some point I realized that my 2G wifi was down and this was the culprit. Apparently Roku and Ring doorbells and probably a bunch of other devices all can only run on 2G, not 5G, so I had to call my cable company to get that going again and once I did the Roku was able to connect and utterly stupefy me with how wonderful it is. PERFORMANCE So far I have had zero issues with any of these apps, which I used to have constant crash issues with on my Smart TV. For example, my Hulu app would always randomly close and would never allow me to go from episode to episode without an error message. No issues at all with the Roku. I also love that the Roku is always ready, whereas my Smart TV I would turn it on and then have to wait about 3 minutes while the TV "warmed up" and even then usually the first time I'd try to open Hulu it would just crash and I'd have to restart. I love that there are so many available channels, although I was disappointed to find out that my cable provider and Roku have been at an impasse and I can't use the Roku to replace my cable box (hoping that happens someday soon so I can stop wasting money on that box, too). OVERALL Absolutely 100/10 would recommend, this little thing has brought me so much happiness for such a reasonable price. Bravo, Roku, Bravo! If you are on the fence like I was for years, get off the fence and just buy!

This works pretty good. It will boot by itself every 2 weeks or so. I think this is because it is being updated.

I can't say that I’m a big fan of positive reviews of products shortly after they buy them. That’s especially true for products like the Roku. It is, after all, a very small computer. Using it is almost bound to make it run slower or maybe the processor can’t keep up and it keeps crashing. That’s why I favor reviews on items after people have had them for awhile. Since I’ve only had my Roku for a couple of weeks, I can’t say that this review is for someone who’s just looking at Roku products. This review is for someone choosing between the Roku and the Fire stick, or people who are already Fire stick victims and wonder if any of these streaming hubs are worth it at all. I was part of the latter group. I was sick of how slow and laggy my Fire stick was. I was tired of apps malfunctioning and crashing all the time, with the worst app performance being Amazon’s very own Prime app! I felt like I was taking a big gamble on buying a Roku. I can say with confidence that the Roku is a better purchase than the Fire stick. Apps that always crashed on the Fire stick work almost perfectly on the Roku. And that includes the Amazon Prime app! The home screen is relatively simple and it’s nowhere near as crowded with ads trying to sell you something. It’s also just fun to play with, setting up a wallpaper or one of the many cool screensavers that are available. I can easily cast from my IPhone. Probably the most amazing thing the Roku can do is allow me to listen through my Bluetooth headphones using an app on my phone. My 8-year-old Sony TV missed out on the Bluetooth revolution, so this is a great way to listen on my headphones. It doesn’t work quite perfectly. It sometimes needs to be reset, but it’s something that the Fire stick didn’t come close to doing! I probably could go on about my intense love I have for my Roku or the animosity I have for my Fire stick, so let’s just make the message simple. Avoid the Fire stick and get you a Roku. Save yourself some heartache. And about $30.