Roku Unveils Customizable Remote

Along with a minor refresh of the Roku Express and Roku Ultra this week, the streaming powerhouse also unveiled a new customizable remote. While it doesn’t do away with the “spam buttons,” as Roku is primarily an advertising delivery company (and Netflix requires it), the enhanced remote control adds two new numbered personalized shortcut buttons … Read more

Roku Channel Subscriptions Improved

Roku has streamlined access to Roku Channel video subscriptions with virtual app icons that deep link premium content. The Roku Channel originally launched with ad-supported TV shows and movies, but was recently updated to resell premium libraries like HBO… as device manufacturers Amazon (Fire TV) and Roku continue generating the bulk of their revenue via … Read more

Roku Wants To Sell You HBO

As we’re seeing from Apple and Amazon, Roku intends to generate incremental revenue and streamline the end-user experience by offering premium video subscriptions directly within their interface. Although, Roku’s not quite there yet and is directing folks into The Roku Channel app to seek out Premium Subscriptions… now featuring HBO, just in time for Game … Read more

Reflecting On 20 Years Of DVR

As TiVo reflects upon 20 years of DVR, and pitches it continued relevance, we too shall do the same. While there’s some debate as to whether it was TiVo or Replay TV that “invented” DVR, they essentially launched at the same time in television history (and the underlying concept of a hard-drive recorder to advance … Read more

Roku Gets An Alexa Skill. Hopefully Better Than Google.

My Twitter followers likely encountered some snark in regards to Roku’s initial Google Assistant integration — with the two primary complaints being that I could only link up a single Roku device, despite a household of several, and Google’s frequent target device confusion, given the nonsensical responses that I don’t posses a Chromecast. TRYING to control Roku … Read more

New Roku Audio Products & Expanded Voice Control On The Way

While Roku freely admits their primary business is advertising, given several significant job openings around the world, the company continues to see audio as viable hardware category with a continued emphasis on platform voice control. The TCL-branded Roku soundbar announced at CES 2018 has reportedly been killed and Roku has taken matters into their own … Read more

Roku Stops Charging For Themes

Roku has announced they’ll no longer charge for themes. Over the years, many have been free, including a small but random sampling to get started and some to commemorate the periodic holiday. While others have been sponsorships, such as my preferred Subaru National Parks presentation. But a few were Roku Store purchases. And I so wish … Read more