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Roku is adding a Local News Hub to its Live TV menu
Roku wants you to rediscover local news. The company’s upcoming OS 12 update will add a Local News hub, which lets you watch live news channels near you or in major US cities.
Roku reveals a new subwoofer and a revamped Roku Express
The company also previewed more discovery features and other useful Roku OS updates.
Roku OS 11 adds new audio options, photo screensavers and more
Roku has just detailed its first major platform update since it came out with OS 10.5 late last year.
Roku OS 10.5 adds better voice support, 5.1 Roku speaker configurations
The Roku OS 10.5 update, which will roll out to players and TVs in the next few weeks, will be jam-packed with features to make your streaming life easier.
Roku jailbreak gives users control over what channels they install
Now you can get root access on Roku devices and install your own software.
Roku adds voice command support for Spanish in the US and Mexico
For all their many strengths, Roku devices have not had the best voice control features. If that's important to you, your best bet has frequently been Amazon's Fire TV devices. However, with its latest software update, Roku is trying to change that with more robust voice features across the board.
Roku saves you from signing into accounts on a new device
Roku is about to make life much easier if you're tired of signing into all your accounts when you get a new media player. It's releasing a Roku OS 9.1 update that, among other things, adds automatic account linking. So long as you've previously logged into a supporting service on Roku-based hardware, you won't have to do that again when setting up a new Roku device. It's not comprehensive when there are "nearly 10" services that work with the feature today (including Sling TV and Pandora), but more are expected in the future.
Roku-powered TVs now let you skip the set-top box
With scads of set-top boxes and sticks on the market, you could just choose a basic TV and play the field. But if you like Roku enough to shack-up, HDTVs from TCL and Hisense powered by the Roku OS are finally available. You can access the usual array of Roku content, including 1,500 channels like YouTube, Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon. The company's iOS and Android apps also work on the TVs to stream and control your content, just as they do with Roku streaming devices. Rather than Roku's standard remotes, however, you'll get custom TCL and Hisense models with prominent buttons for Netflix, Amazon, Rdio and Vudu (no headphone jacks though). TCL has four models from 32- to 55-inches, with the top-end 1080p model running $649, while the Hisense lineup has 40- to 55-inch 1080p models and pricing to be set by retailers. You'll be able to grab them starting next month.
