Just ordered a Roku 4

[IndyColtsFan]

Anyone received their Roku 4 yet? I went ahead and ordered one today with the goal to replace my Roku 3 in my entertainment center. That Roku 3 will go into our master bedroom to replace a Roku 2, which will rotate into my office to replace a POS FireTV stick that replaced another Roku 2 that died.

I've got a couple of concerns with the Roku 4 after reading reviews:

1. The size - it looks considerably larger than a Roku 3.
2. It apparently has a fan - I'm a little concerned with potential noise.

 

[slag]

No, just have a 2 and a 3. Do you have a 4k tv?

 

[CraKaJaX]

I've got a Roku 3 on my main TV in the living room. I didn't see the point in getting a Roku 4 unless you've got a 4K TV. There really wasn't much more than that in the Roku 4 compared to the 3 as far as I could tell..??

According to the Roku site, the Roku 4 is:

Size

6.5 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches

 

[IndyColtsFan]

No, just have a 2 and a 3. Do you have a 4k tv?

Not yet but I think I might buy one next year. I wanted to cycle through some upgrades as I outlined in my OP and it didn't make sense for me to buy another Roku 3. I just bought a new 4K receiver a couple of months ago and now I'll have this, so the only thing I need is the TV.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I've got a Roku 3 on my main TV in the living room. I didn't see the point in getting a Roku 4 unless you've got a 4K TV. There really wasn't much more than that in the Roku 4 compared to the 3 as far as I could tell..??

According to the Roku site, the Roku 4 is:

Size

6.5 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches

I'm perfectly happy with my Roku 3, but I had a Roku 2 die in my office and am using a FireTV stick in its place and it REALLY pisses me off. So rather than buy another Roku 3, I wanted to wait for the 4 and then put it in the entertainment center and rotate the older models down as I mentioned in my OP.

 

[gus6464]

Did Roku say that the 4 is getting HDR upgrade via software or no? I have a 4K TV but would rather wait to jump on the 4 until it gets HDR support.

 

[Childs]

I was thinking about picking one up a Best Buy today. No 4K TV, but I tend to buy all the streaming boxes anyway so why not. I might just wait though, since I'm definitely getting the new AppleTV. I'll decide over lunch.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I was thinking about picking one up a Best Buy today. No 4K TV, but I tend to buy all the streaming boxes anyway so why not. I might just wait though, since I'm definitely getting the new AppleTV. I'll decide over lunch.

Yeah, I've been thinking it over and maybe I should cancel the order and wait a few weeks to make sure there are no issues.

 

[Childs]

Yeah, I've been thinking it over and maybe I should cancel the order and wait a few weeks to make sure there are no issues.

So I drove by BB and stopped in to check it out. They only had one left, so I got it. To be honest there seems to be nothing different about it at all in use vs a Roku 3. You could probably save yourself some money and just get a refurb Roku 3 if you need another Roku.

As for your questions, its almost twice as big as a Roku 3 width wise. I don't think there is a fan. There are some ventilation holes on the sides on the bottom. There appears to be no noise coming from it at all when playing 1080p video, and I held it up to my hear while it was playing. I couldn't imagine hearing anything from a normal viewing distance and at a low to moderate volume.

Another disappointing thing to discover was that there is no Kodi app for Roku. I don't necessarily need it, but it would have been nice. Also, most of the apps feel really out of date. Its like the interface never changed. I usually only see the Roku when I visit my mom, and she always has in it Netflix, so I kinda thought all the apps looked like that. It basically looks like what I remember from the Roku 2 I have laying around somewhere. And its strange, but it doesn't even feel faster than a Roku 3 when navigating the UI. I think for most people, if you didn't tell them it was a Roku 4, they would never know.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

So I drove by BB and stopped in to check it out. They only had one left, so I got it. To be honest there seems to be nothing different about it at all in use vs a Roku 3. You could probably save yourself some money and just get a refurb Roku 3 if you need another Roku.

As for your questions, its almost twice as big as a Roku 3 width wise. I don't think there is a fan. There are some ventilation holes on the sides on the bottom. There appears to be no noise coming from it at all when playing 1080p video, and I held it up to my hear while it was playing. I couldn't imagine hearing anything from a normal viewing distance and at a low to moderate volume.

Another disappointing thing to discover was that there is no Kodi app for Roku. I don't necessarily need it, but it would have been nice. Also, most of the apps feel really out of date. Its like the interface never changed. I usually only see the Roku when I visit my mom, and she always has in it Netflix, so I kinda thought all the apps looked like that. It basically looks like what I remember from the Roku 2 I have laying around somewhere. And its strange, but it doesn't even feel faster than a Roku 3 when navigating the UI. I think for most people, if you didn't tell them it was a Roku 4, they would never know.

Thanks for the info. There is conflicting info in the Amazon reviews about it having a fan, with some claiming it does and it can be loud. I think I'll just hold out a little longer.

 

[slag]

So I drove by BB and stopped in to check it out. They only had one left, so I got it. To be honest there seems to be nothing different about it at all in use vs a Roku 3. You could probably save yourself some money and just get a refurb Roku 3 if you need another Roku.

As for your questions, its almost twice as big as a Roku 3 width wise. I don't think there is a fan. There are some ventilation holes on the sides on the bottom. There appears to be no noise coming from it at all when playing 1080p video, and I held it up to my hear while it was playing. I couldn't imagine hearing anything from a normal viewing distance and at a low to moderate volume.

Another disappointing thing to discover was that there is no Kodi app for Roku. I don't necessarily need it, but it would have been nice. Also, most of the apps feel really out of date. Its like the interface never changed. I usually only see the Roku when I visit my mom, and she always has in it Netflix, so I kinda thought all the apps looked like that. It basically looks like what I remember from the Roku 2 I have laying around somewhere. And its strange, but it doesn't even feel faster than a Roku 3 when navigating the UI. I think for most people, if you didn't tell them it was a Roku 4, they would never know.

I just put plex media server on the same machine as my main kodi install. I find plex streams better and has more options to stream content than kodi does and does a better job of it. There is a plex app for roku that is easy to use and is free.

As for the UI, its very minimal and works great. I have about 7 apps that I regularly use and they are laid out much like android or ios. Just tiles you can navigate over and hit the OK button. Very simple, very light weight and quick, and it just plain works. What would you like to see change on the interface? For a change of scenery, I sometimes go all out and change the background. I like how for Halloween its all spooky and in season.

 

[007ELmO]

We can watch Andy Luck in 4K now, lol.

 

[Childs]

I just put plex media server on the same machine as my main kodi install. I find plex streams better and has more options to stream content than kodi does and does a better job of it. There is a plex app for roku that is easy to use and is free.

As for the UI, its very minimal and works great. I have about 7 apps that I regularly use and they are laid out much like android or ios. Just tiles you can navigate over and hit the OK button. Very simple, very light weight and quick, and it just plain works. What would you like to see change on the interface? For a change of scenery, I sometimes go all out and change the background. I like how for Halloween its all spooky and in season.

I'm actually moving away from Plex. I already have the Plex Classic client and PMS. Actually, I was nickel and dimed for Plex on FireTV and Android too! It does some things well, but I just dont like they way they are trying to force people to create accounts. And I dont stream to mobile devices or anything like that, I just use it in front of my TV. Plex does look better than any of the Kodi themes, but otherwise I dont miss Plex at all.

As far as the interface, its not the home screen I'm complaining about, its the app interfaces. Most of them have had the same interface that they had when the Roku first came out. If they were all modern like Netflix or Hulu it would be fine, but it just seems dated and an inefficient use to screen real estate.

 

[shortylickens]

I still use the Roku 2 XS I got from a secret santa many years ago. Theres nothing wrong with it and I dont see the need to upgrade yet.

If I ever get a 4K television then I will probably want something new. But by the time that happens I am betting it will either have integrated streaming, or there will be something much better than a Roku 4 on the market.

Please let us know how this one works out, we're curious.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I still use the Roku 2 XS I got from a secret santa many years ago. Theres nothing wrong with it and I dont see the need to upgrade yet.

If I ever get a 4K television then I will probably want something new. But by the time that happens I am betting it will either have integrated streaming, or there will be something much better than a Roku 4 on the market.

Please let us know how this one works out, we're curious.

I cancelled my order. I wanted to wait a couple of months to read reviews, complaints, etc.

I have a Roku 3 and a Roku 2 currently in service. My second Roku 2 died and I replaced it with a FireTV stick I got cheap. I will say that the Roku 3 was a noticeable improvement over a Roku 2 - much faster menu navigation was probably the most obvious improvement.

IMO, the FireTV stick is a piece of junk - I have a ton of issues with the Netflix app. I previously had a FireTV on a trial basis and returned it because it did not pass 5.1 sound from Plex. This has STILL not been fixed in the new generation of FireTV. Amazon is really missing the boat and complaints litter the Plex forums.

 

[slag]

I'm actually moving away from Plex. I already have the Plex Classic client and PMS. Actually, I was nickel and dimed for Plex on FireTV and Android too! It does some things well, but I just dont like they way they are trying to force people to create accounts. And I dont stream to mobile devices or anything like that, I just use it in front of my TV. Plex does look better than any of the Kodi themes, but otherwise I dont miss Plex at all.

As far as the interface, its not the home screen I'm complaining about, its the app interfaces. Most of them have had the same interface that they had when the Roku first came out. If they were all modern like Netflix or Hulu it would be fine, but it just seems dated and an inefficient use to screen real estate.

I understand. I only use plex to stream to other televisions in my house. I don't stream to mobile or anything, just from my media center pc (intel nuc), to two different roku boxes and a smart blu ray player. I have one account.

I don't understand your issue with the app interfaces, but I don't have anything to compare to either. The netflix interface looks the same on a browser as it does on the plex app. Same with amazon prime's interface.
I assume on a fire stick or other device its different?

 

[Childs]

I understand. I only use plex to stream to other televisions in my house. I don't stream to mobile or anything, just from my media center pc (intel nuc), to two different roku boxes and a smart blu ray player. I have one account.

I don't understand your issue with the app interfaces, but I don't have anything to compare to either. The netflix interface looks the same on a browser as it does on the plex app. Same with amazon prime's interface.
I assume on a fire stick or other device its different?

Netflix looks pretty good on all major streaming devices (ATV, Roku, FireTV, Nexus Player). Most of the apps in Roku have a really simplistic UI compared to their counterparts on other devices. Flat gray background with small thumbnails, stiff animations, rudimentary buttons and text, and lots of empty screen. I returned the Roku 4 yesterday, or else I would post screenshots, since its hard to explain without a visual reference. If I have time tonight I'll dig up my Roku 2.

 

[slag]

Netflix looks pretty good on all major streaming devices (ATV, Roku, FireTV, Nexus Player). Most of the apps in Roku have a really simplistic UI compared to their counterparts on other devices. Flat gray background with small thumbnails, stiff animations, rudimentary buttons and text, and lots of empty screen. I returned the Roku 4 yesterday, or else I would post screenshots, since its hard to explain without a visual reference. If I have time tonight I'll dig up my Roku 2.

You've explained it, I guess it just doesn't bother me. I normally don't focus on the interface, just on the content I want to watch, but I can see how it might affect some people.