By Jonathan Easton
Roku has announced the launch of two new premium devices – the Roku Streambar and a redesigned Roku Ultra.
The Roku Ultra, a mainstay in the Roku product portfolio, promises “offers the best performance of any Roku player for less than US$100.” The company said that it was designed for ‘avid streamers’ and cord cutters with a faster quad core processor, improved Bluetooth support, along with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos sound.
The US$99.99 device sits atop to Roku streaming stick product line, with a handful of devices ranging from it down to the US$29.99 Roku Express.
The streaming stick market is seeing a resurgence, with Amazon also launching refreshed Fire Sticks late last week and Google set to release an as-yet unannounced new US$50 Chromecast in the near future.
The other new Roku device to be launched is the Roku Streambar, the US$129.99 soundbar which integrates the Roku operating system – which itself is being updated to include Apple AirPlay 2 – with a sound system.
At a much cheaper price than comparable products from the likes of Sonos, Roku Streambar presents an entry-level home sound system which should prove to be a hit with users to enhance their viewing experience without breaking the bank. Unsurprisingly it does not support Dolby Atmos and seems relatively low-frills, but it should give users an improved experience over their TV audio.
It also supports Spotify connect, and has Bluetooth support for audio streaming.
Both devices come with a handful of promotional offers for new purchasers, including a free year of Apple TV+ (an extension of a partnership announced last October), 30 days of Showtime, Starz and Epix, and a 3-month free trial of music streamer Pandora in the US.
VP of retail product strategy at Roku, Mark Ely said: “We are focused on delivering a variety of innovative, top-performing products at an incredible value to our customers so they can get to the content they care about quickly.
“Our new streaming player lineup now includes reimagined streaming devices in the Roku Ultra and Roku Streambar – we continue to offer a great device no matter the use case our customers are looking for whether they are new to streaming or looking to add great sound and streaming to their home entertainment centre.” https://www.digitaltveurope.com
