The Faster Roku 4 – 4k Ultra HD Box Examined
Well, it looks like Roku is adding a new streaming box to their lineup. The Roku 4 has a faster quad-core processor and will stream in 4K ultra HD. The box is a tad bigger than the Roku 3. The Roku 4 boasts in adapting to the best streaming quality that your TV can display. Let’s look at the features and specifications of this new streaming box.
Roku 4
4k Ultra HD
With the demands for higher quality streaming and playback, many of the media manufacturers are offering 4k Ultra HD technology. What is 4k? It generally offers four times the resolution of standard 1080p. It is currently the highest resolution available. There is still limited content that will stream in 4k, but that will change as devices get faster and internet speeds increase. The Roku 4 will still stream standard resolution content. So you can continue to enjoy all of your current online TV shows and movies.
4k Comparison
Let’s look at a comparison with similar boxes in their market. The Roku 4 provides an HDMI 2.0 output with 60 and 30 frame-per-second 4K streaming. The new Amazon Fire TV 4K box only supports HDMI 1.4 with 4K at 30 and 24 fps. Compared to the Nvidia Shield at the high end that also has HDMI 2.0 and the ability to output 4K at 60, 30, and 24 fps. Not a bad performance for its price point.
Check out our review of the Nvidia Shield here
Features
The Roku 4 has a few new features to offer. It has a cool feature that will help you find the remote if lost. Just press a button on the Roku box and the remote will beep so you can find it. It is also rolling out its new operating system OS 7 that will make itself available to all of the Roku boxes this month.
Hotel and Dorm Connect
The Hotel and Dorm Connect is a new feature that allows consumers to connect their Roku 4 to Wi-Fi networks that require sign-in through a web browser. Just use your smartphone, tablet, or computer to connect and enter your credentials. You can take your streaming where ever you want to go from the hotel or dorm room. It will also be rolled out to all of the Roku devices in October 2015.
Specifications
- 2,500+ streaming channels
- 300,000+ movies and TV episodes
- Search across more than 20 top streaming channels to find the best price and option
- The biggest selection of streaming entertainment
- Brilliant picture quality for 4K Ultra HD TVs
- Advanced up-scaling of 720p for HD TVs and 1080p HD streams to brilliant 4K Ultra HD on 4K TVs
- Voice search
- Lost remote finder
- Remote with headphone jack & voice search
- Cast video to other devices
- Mirror your entire screen to compatible devices
- Ethernet jack
- 802.11ac Wi-Fi
- USB and Micro SD card slot
- Optical digital audio port
Where to Buy:
The Roku 4 is available from these retailers:
eBay:
Roku:
Amazon:
Conclusion
The Roku 4 seemingly offers a nice step up from the previous Roku boxes with a faster processor and higher resolution. This box is scheduled to be available sometime this month. This box will keep you up to date with the latest streaming technology for the foreseeable future.
See our review of the other Roku boxes here
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