Inside there’s the Streambar, voice IR remote control with AAA batteries, HDMI cable, digital optical cable, power supply (with both UK and European plugs).Ĭontinuing in tradition, the Streambar follows the usual pattern of Roku setup with a couple of tweaks to accommodate the audio requirements. The Streambar follows Roku’s long tradition of including everything in the box: there’s no need to nip out for batteries at the last minute. If the Streambar needs to be wall-mounted, there are a pair of screw sockets. Round the back of the Streambar, there are connections for power, digital audio (S/PDIF), HDMI and a USB port, along with a reset button. There’s a discreet LED just above the Roku logo that’s white in use and red when in standby. Inside the Streambar are four 1.9″ speakers, two facing forwards and two to the left and the right, providing much-improved audio. The Roku Streambar isn’t as long as some of the soundbars on the market, measuring around 35.6 cm wide, 6.1 cm high and 10.7 cm deep, and at this size, it fits neatly in front or below the TV. As an alternative, soundbars have become popular in the last few years, providing significant audio improvement without all the cables.

While A/V setups have been popular, they’re typically expensive and require wires all around the room to speakers in the corners. Thinness and narrow bezels aren’t friends to speakers and sound quality suffered.

While the transition from bulky CRTs to LCD flat screens led to 4K and HDR, it didn’t help audio presentation at all. Is this the best of both worlds or a Jack of all trades? Let’s take a look…and a listen. Unlike the other devices in the range, Express, Premiere and Streaming Stick+, which simply stream channels and programmes to the TV, the Streambar looks to address the problem of poor sound from flatscreen TVs by combining a Roku streamer with a compact soundbar. The new Streambar is the latest addition to Roku‘s range of media streamers in the UK.

Roku media player no sound