What could make a streaming stick better? We’ve seen them get smaller, and faster. What if your streaming stick was also a sound bar? That’s the premise behind the all new 4K Roku Streambar.
What is Roku Streambar?
The first hybrid device of its kind, Roku Streambar combines the 4K streaming capabilities of a streaming stick, box or smart TV, all wrapped up in a sound bar package. That makes the Streambar a great option for older TVs without streaming smarts, but the ultra compact size of the Streambar also means it’s a great solution for smaller spaces.
This two-in-one unit is meant to be an affordable way to add better sound to a TV without taking up a lot of space. It’s actually quite surprising how small and light it is, (measuring just 14 x4 x2) so it’ll be interesting to see how it sounds. You can use either the included Roku remote control or your smartphone as a remote, or both.
Roku Streambar connects to your TV, and using one of the HDMI inputs, will create a streaming entertainment portal where you can navigate to channels like Roku Channel, Netflix, YouTube, Apple TV and lots more. That same connection also links up with your TV and amplifies sound for better audio quality.
Some of you will have hear my schpiel on sound bars already, but for the new folks (hello and welcome!) here goes: Over the years TVs have gotten thinner, meaning there’s physically no space for a quality speaker that can deliver all the audio characteristics we expect like clear dialogue and bass, particularly if you’ve upgraded to a 4K TV. This means the sound off the TV’s internal speakers is sub par. That’s made sound bars more important now than ever.
Setting up Roku Streambar
Getting this stream bar set up was really easy. Connect it to your TV using either the HDMI cable or optical audio cable. I hooked it up to my new Hisense Roku TV. If you’re using it on a Roku TV the set up is easy, but this sound bar is smart enough to work with almost any brand of TV. Once you get it connected, navigate to the HDMI input you’ve connected it to and follow the on-TV prompts. The Streambar will walk you through everything you need to do. Mine was ready to go in seconds.
One note here: since I was connecting it to a smart Roku TV already, in this case, the streaming capabilities would be redundant, but I do need a sound bar on my TV so that’s what I’ll focus the bulk of this review on. If you own an Android TV or another smart TV but you dislike the interface or your channel options, you could easily use your Streambar’s Roku TV capabilities to take over the smarts of your TV.
In the box you get:
- Roku Streambar
- Voice remote with TV controls
- Premium High Speed HDMI® Cable
- Optical digital audio cable
- Two AAA batteries
- Power cable and adapter
Audio quality of Roku Streambar
You might be wondering how a sound bar this size sounds. I was too, so let’s get to it. From the moment I turned this on, I was surprised at how big it sounds. It fills my living room space surprisingly well. For me it gets plenty loud enough. Four 1.9” full range speakers fill the room with Dolby Audio compatible sound. The centre channel is designed to kick out crisp, clean audio that makes dialogue easier to hear while its angled side speakers are designed to spread sound out across the room. The dialogue sounds great, there’s plenty of detail and it sounds super overall.
I need to talk about the bass. I was all set to say this sound bar was lacking bass. But I put on a couple of bass tests and some bass heavy content and I was absolutely blown away by the depth, resonance and the overall kaboom in this box.
The Roku Streambar sounds amazing for its size and it does exactly what it says it will; it amplifies the sound and improved the audio from my TV, while also providing a bunch of different additional features, which I’ll get to. I also really liked its small size.
How to get smart TV streaming using your sound bar
Roku Streambar’s built in streaming system gives you access to hundreds if not thousands of channels and programs. I really like the Roku system and user interface; it’s easy to understand and navigate and it’s well organized and simple. With Roku streaming power you can also Search using your Roku remote, your Roku smartphone app or you can also ask Alexa or Google to search using your voice.
Roku’s smart streaming inside the Streambar lets you cast, share or send video, music, photos, and more to your TV. Later this year, Roku is also adding Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit capabilities on select 4K Roku devices. With AirPlay 2, Roku customers can stream, control, and share their favourite content directly from their iPhone, iPad, or Mac to their supported Roku device and bring the experience to the big screen. HomeKit allows customers to easily and securely control their Roku device using the Home app and Siri on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, or HomePod.
Other features of Roku Streambar
Night listening
This setting lets you quiet ultra loud scenes if you’re watching TV while other are sleeping. It just brings the audio or those crashes or explosions down to a less disruptive level.
Quiet loud commercials
The Roku Streambar can also quiet loud commercials automatically using the Automatic Volume Leveling setting.
Voice control with Google & Alexa
You can control the Roku Streambar by speaking to Amazon Alexa and/or Google Assistant devices.
To get this set up you just need to link your preferred digital assistant in the Google Home or Amazon Alexa app to the Roku Streambar. Then you can control your TV power, sound, and streaming.
Remote control options
As I noted you can use the included Roku remote or your smartphone as a remote. The physical remote is super handy for fast adjustments, and the built in voice search button is convenient. Using the Roku Remote app gives you a few additional features: one of the best is Private Listening.
Private listening on the Roku mobile app
Only on compatible Apple and Android devices, the Roku mobile app lets you use headphones connected to your phone or tablet, to listen to streaming TV programs. This feature means you can listen to the TV without disturbing others in the room, or avoid waking the kids if you’re watching late night movies. Or the kids can not bother YOU.
I have a full video on how to do this here and I’ll make sure it’s linled up. This feature works really well and provides a reliable way to listen to the TV with headphones, which also makes it good for seniors or those with hearing troubles.
Overall review of Roku Streambar
Overall the new Roku Streambar is a pretty versatile device.It’s got a lot of power and great sound quality for such a small sound bar, and that bass was shockingly great. This Streambar is a great addition to my living room TV set up. The fact that it’s a two in one device makes it very versatile.
Downsides? It doesn’t have a convenient wall mount: the Roku Streambar uses M6 mounting sockets so you need to go buy a separate mounting kit if you do want to put it up on the wall.
My favourite is the automatic volume leveling.
I like that you can Quiet loud commercials!!
We have a basic Roku for our tv that’s too “old” to update with current apps, and it has a sound bar already, but we need a sound bar for our other TV. I like to stream Spotify through the Roku so the sound bar would be perfect for that!
My husband would really love the sound bar feature
I like that it can automatically level the volume for commercials
Voice control with Google and Alexa
I like that it’s easy to set-up 🙂 Great review!
I love the audio streaming.
My favourite feature of the Roku Streambar is that it is easy to install.
My favourite feature of the Roku Streambar is that I can control my TV power, sound, and streaming with Google Home.
I really like the automatic volume levelling.
I love that it can quiet down commercials
My favourite feature is the automatic volume levelling.
I like that the Streambar works with older TVs without streaming or smartTV capabilities.
The automatic volume levelling feature sounds amazing! No more blaring loud commercials!
All the features are good , My favourite feature of the Roku Streambar is that it is a great option for older TVs without streaming/smartTV capability.
Probably the My favourite feature of the Roku Streambar is that it is a great option for older TVs without streaming/smartTV capability.
I think my My favourite feature of the Roku Streambar is that it is a great option for older TVs without streaming/smartTV capability.
My favourite feature of the Roku Streambar is that it is a great option for older TVs without streaming/smartTV capability.
My favourite feature of the Roku soundbar is to quiet loud commercials automatically using the Automatic Volume Leveling setting.
My favourite feature of the Roku Streambar is that is has a modern audio soundbar!
I love the Night listening feature! I like to stay up later that others in my house and hate it when a loud scene starts and I’m trying to grab the remote to turn it down. This setting lets you quiet ultra loud scenes if you’re watching TV while other are sleeping. It just brings the audio or those crashes or explosions down to a less disruptive level.
Automatic Volume Leveling sounds like a godsend! Finally I will quiet the noisy commercials!
I think my favorite feature of the Roku Stream Bar (after sound quality) is the abilIity to lower the level the sound on commericals.
I’d like to cast from my phone which this does.
I like the audio quality
My favorite is the volume control on commercials.
I like that it quiets commercials.
I like the Automatic Volume Leveling setting.
HDMI arc support
i love that its easy to set up!
My favourite feature of the Roku Streambar is the volume levelling of loud commercials.
My favourite feature of the Roku Streambar is the sound quality.
I like that it quiets commercials.
My favorite feature of the Roku Streambar is Private Listening through the app. It will lake enjoying music to the next level.
My favourite feature of the Roku Streambar is the superb audio quality.
Roku, not Romulus Auto Correct!
Roku, not Romulus Auto Correct
My favorite feature of the Romulus Streambar is the audio capabilities! I don’t have a sound bar, and I have an older TV, so this would be amazing!
I like that the sound bar is smart enough to work with almost any brand of TV and I can switch it around for my children.
My favourite feature is the great sound and streaming ability.
Love how easy to set up and quiets down loud commercials and it is not a huge item!
I like the smaller size of the Roku Streambar, I’ve been told it combines the 4K streaming capabilities of a streaming stick, box or smart TV, all wrapped up in a sound bar package which we don’t have right now, but I would love to try it out !! 🙂
Love that it can lower those annoyingly loud commercials
Favourite feature is that The Roku Streambar can also quiet loud commercials automatically using the Automatic Volume Leveling setting.
I love the built in streaming system.
It is finally quieter commercials, 4K, and Google Assistant. This is just amazing.
to stream great programs that we cant currently get on tv & get great sounnd also
My favorite feature is being able to lower the loud commercials.
I like that it can Automatically quiet those annoyingly loud commercials which are always louder than what you are watching.
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