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

FINALLY!
I have had a couple of Fire Stick for a few years now. I hardly ever use them except for watching videos on YouTube sometimes.I built a media server and installed Plex. I installed the Plex app on my phone, computers, and Fire Sticks.Plex works great on my phone and computers but it really seemed to struggle on the Fire Sticks. Buffering and the spinning circle thing and then it was still buggy. I started looking for an alternative to the Fire Sticks.I went shopping on Amazon. Roku devices seem to get very good reviews so I bought one. Then I bought an Android TV box at the same time, for about the same price, 30 bucks.The Roku showed up first so I installed it and installed the apps that I use. YouTube, Plex, Paramount Plus, Peacock, and Amazon Prime. The Spectrum app was already installed.OMG! What a difference between the Fire Sticks and the Roku! It is a night and day difference. Compared to the Fire Sticks the Roku Express is very fast and snappy. It does have to buffer my Plex videos right at the very beginning for about 2 seconds, then it is off and running and no more buffering.I could never even install the Spectrum app into a Fire Stick. I had to side load it, then it wanted to update itself, then it became incompatible with the Fire Stick. A very frustrating experience. This Roku came with the Spectrum app pre-installed and it works great. Almost as good as a cable box. I will get rid of one of my cable boxes now and use the Roku instead.The Android box showed up a little while later and I was already sold on the Roku, but I gave it a shot anyway. I tried to be objective and honest. Well that was a waste of time. The Android box took forever just to boot! I had already made up my mind but it sure wasn’t helping itself. After a few minutes of watching it try to boot then try to download updates unsuccessfully, I packed it back up and put it back in the box. I didn’t get very far with it. It’s going back to Amazon.The bottom line is this tiny little Roku Express packs more features and it just works better, exceeding all of my expectations. FINALLY, a product that does what it says, no excuses, and it just works. I can’t say enough good things about it. 5 stars in my book. Right now anyway. Lol I’ve had it for a day so we’ll see how long it stays snappy but so far so good. Well worth the investment IMHO, a lot of bang for the buck, and it impressed me so much that I bought a second one.UPDATE: After a week I still think they are very fast and snappy. I am very happy with them. The Roku Express does seem to be the cheap version with minimal features, but they work great. They don’t seem to turn off so I take it back to the home screen then shut off the tv. When I come back I turn on the tv then hit the home button on the Roku remote to wake it up. It wakes up fast! And it is so tiny! About half the size of the remote. Amazing! 10 stars!

Works Great, but get a USB splitter also if you want to turn it off.
The device is kind of fiddly, but once you get your Wi-Fi and your streaming service credentials input, it updates itself and is very user friendly. The device setup has a lot of nice features like content casting from your phone and automating your TV power and source functions, and custom themes.If you want a wired connection, you can buy a USB Ethernet Adapter for Roku Express. Make sure it has the right style mini USB male input to match your Roku’s mini USB female input (A or C).The only thing that puzzled me is that it does not turn off. Where the power button normally is on the Remote, you have a “back arrow” that takes you back to the last menu in most of the apps and the Roku menus.According to the instructions, you can unplug it to turn it off.Or, you can plug the Roku USB cable into your TV’s USB, then it will turn on/off with the TV.You can buy a USB splitter if you are already using the USB (for media in my case).I don’t want the Roku drawing power, however little it uses, when I’m not watching it.Once you power on the TV, select the source button HDMI you set the Roku to, and your streaming services are a button push away. There are even 4 buttons on the remote for Netflix, Max, Paramount and AppleTV.The Roku OS and the Apps work smoothly.I have managed to upset one of the Apps. It froze while I was endlessly perusing titles. All of the buttons were inactive, but I kept pushing the Return Arrow on the upper left and it finally closed the app and went home. On another streaming device, I had to unplug it. There are YouTube guides for a stuck Roku.There is a reset button on the rear, BUT I Only Use It When You Want to Clear Settings. Unplug It First.The instructions state:”Certain Roku models come with a physical reset button on the back or bottom of the device. This button is either a tactile button or a pinhole button. You can reset these devices to factory settings by pressing and holding this button until you see a flashing light”.There are of course FREE shows and movies. And there are links to Premium Streaming Services have many Free Trials and Free Episodes you can access. So, you get instant gratification with just your Roku Express and an internet connection.The device setup Seems to Require a Credit Card during your online (PC Browser) account population. But, it is not needed (scroll to the bottom) if you already have your Credit Card Payment info setup with your Bank to pay your streaming fees.Of course you can put your card in to buy screen savers and other stuff if you want. But, if it is there, it is easy for anyone watching your TV to spend your loot.The Roku comes with a 3 Foot HDMI cable. One of my two Roku Express had 2 USB cables,. It had a Mini USB and a Mini USB C. The other device just had the correct USB cable that fit it’s device.There is a sticky strip to attach the small Roku to your TV. I put mine close the TV remote sensor (left side of my TV) so I am in the habit of pointing my remote at the right spot.Prior this purchase, I was using my BluRay player to stream 2 of my services and I used my HTPC Chrome browser to access the other 2 services.So this Roku device is a time saving, energy saving WIN!

👍👌جميل 🌟✨

It works well except it doesn’t support Prime in Singapore. Imagine Prime selling a product that doesn’t support Prime nor Disney +. Returning this since we watch only Netflix, Prime and Disney +. It does come with some free channels such as horror and food though. However, you need to watch these extra channels with ads.