Roku streaming media player setup11/5/2023 ![]() If you haven't, I'm of the opinion that it's the most straightforward and easy-to-configure media streamer - at least in most respects. Long story short: if you've ever set up a Roku streaming, you know what to expect here. Bluetooth has also been added to round out the Ultra's music streaming capabilities, and the chassis sports a slightly different aesthetic than what we're used to, with more sculpted edges and a matte finish. ![]() Roku says that the 802.11ac dual-band, MIMO wireless antennas of the new Roku Ultra also have been optimized to deliver range improvements of up to 50 percent. Keen-eyed observers may notice the lack of a microSD card above the HDMI port in this year's model, but that is reportedly offset by an increase in internal storage, as well as the addition of a USB 3.0 port. The model 4800R Roku Ultra features a 10/100 Ethernet port, and an HDMI 2.0b port with HDCP 2.2 support. In terms of connectivity, things have been tweaked somewhat, but remain largely familiar. Netflix is already using AV1 on Android mobile devices now, and although the service is unlikely to abandon HEVC for set-top boxes and smart TVs anytime soon, other services might. This may not be a huge deal right now, but it will become much more important as streaming services start to move beyond hybrid block-based video encoding. One thing that's getting lost in all the brouhaha surrounding this new hardware refresh is that Roku has also added support for the open-source AV1 video codec. AC-4 supports Dolby Atmos at up to 22.2 channels (although, the odds of any streaming servicer rolling out 22.2-channel Atmos anytime are probably slim to "whatever") and is capable of matching the fidelity of DD+ while using 50 percent less bandwidth, so you can probably expect it to permeate the streaming landscape relatively quickly. The most noteworthy changes from 2019 include support for Dolby Vision video and Dolby AC-4 audio, the latter being a newer, highly efficient audio codec that represents a substantial improvement over its predecessor, Dolby Digital+. Thankfully, the company has rectified that booboo by turning around and introducing a new Roku Ultra (Model 4800R, $99.99 at Amazon and Crutchfield) just one year later, a year sooner than many of us expected based on Roku's previous update cycles. I thought, for example, that launching a new flagship media streamer in 2019 without Dolby Vision support was a monumental mistake, and one that ceded a bit of ground to Roku's rivals. But while it's true that the Roku Ultra in particular has been my favorite video source device for a few years now, it's not as if I haven't been critical of the company's efforts. If I had a nickel for every time I've been accused of being a Roku shill, I could probably afford to buy that shiny new GAN 11 M Pro speed cube I've been drooling over and still have enough coins left to pay my Netflix subscription for the next six months.
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