Took the plunge yesterday and installed a "Roku Ultra" device (Model 4800R) to my 2013 Samsung "Smart" tv.
Up to now as I posted elsewhere, I've been using "screen mirroring" to simply transfer what was on my computer screen and web browser to my tv set. Nice to be able skip commercials on all the various online video channels, but I was seldom getting resolution beyond 720p if at all.
Truth is, in using screen mirroring, while my computer's video card reads HD video, I don't think it translates well when processed to another device wirelessly. My tv is so old it only uses the 2.4 Ghz band. The last time I tried a lesser and older Roku device, it was one dedicated only to 2.4Ghz. Didn't stream well at all.
I'm using the Roku Ultra making use of its Ethernet port, so I get rock-steady streaming, plus striking 1080p image quality. No concerns of wifi signal dropoffs or buffering in the middle of a show. Sweet. Turned out to be a great investment, especially with a premature "Black Friday" sale price. For me it's a good tradeoff- having to see commercials but with a much better and steadier picture.
Now I have access to hundreds of free channels, rather than the mere 70 I pay for through cable televi$ion. This device also has a USB 3.0 port, and is supposed to play MP3s on a flash drive. Hopefully that works too given I can run the audio through my Sony/Dolby 5.1 audio system. The 3.5mm minijack on the remote is great as well, so I can plug in my headphones rather than use the earbuds that came with the Roku Ultra. (No minijack or USB port on my audio system.)
Something that actually lives up to the advertising. I'm stoked!
Interesting tidbit I picked up directly from Roku's site. They claim that 100 megabits per second is adequate to drive even a 4K video source. A basic reason why they see no reason to increase their Ethernet capability to the gigabit range (1000 rather than 100 mbps). Though personally I'm fine with a clear and steady 1080p picture.
Up to now as I posted elsewhere, I've been using "screen mirroring" to simply transfer what was on my computer screen and web browser to my tv set. Nice to be able skip commercials on all the various online video channels, but I was seldom getting resolution beyond 720p if at all.
Truth is, in using screen mirroring, while my computer's video card reads HD video, I don't think it translates well when processed to another device wirelessly. My tv is so old it only uses the 2.4 Ghz band. The last time I tried a lesser and older Roku device, it was one dedicated only to 2.4Ghz. Didn't stream well at all.
I'm using the Roku Ultra making use of its Ethernet port, so I get rock-steady streaming, plus striking 1080p image quality. No concerns of wifi signal dropoffs or buffering in the middle of a show. Sweet. Turned out to be a great investment, especially with a premature "Black Friday" sale price. For me it's a good tradeoff- having to see commercials but with a much better and steadier picture.
Now I have access to hundreds of free channels, rather than the mere 70 I pay for through cable televi$ion. This device also has a USB 3.0 port, and is supposed to play MP3s on a flash drive. Hopefully that works too given I can run the audio through my Sony/Dolby 5.1 audio system. The 3.5mm minijack on the remote is great as well, so I can plug in my headphones rather than use the earbuds that came with the Roku Ultra. (No minijack or USB port on my audio system.)
Something that actually lives up to the advertising. I'm stoked!
Interesting tidbit I picked up directly from Roku's site. They claim that 100 megabits per second is adequate to drive even a 4K video source. A basic reason why they see no reason to increase their Ethernet capability to the gigabit range (1000 rather than 100 mbps). Though personally I'm fine with a clear and steady 1080p picture.
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