For those who love watching TV or those who want to get the best experience with their favorite movies or shows, owning a streaming media player is a must. Among those many products out there, Roku Premiere and Roku Express are two great options to go without digging in too deep into your pocket. If you wish to have an affordable yet dependable device, go check our article below.
In this article we are going to give you information about:
– What is Roku Premiere and Roku Express
– How Roku Premiere and Roku Express Look Like
– What Roku Premiere and Roku Express can offer to you
– Roku Premiere vs Roku Express
About Roku Premiere
Roku Premiere is your entry level 4K streaming unit. You can connect it to your 4K TV using the HDMI cable and then you can watch your favorite content from online streaming services, such as Hulu, Netflix, Amazon or many more. Many people said that the device is especially great if you have relatively inexpensive 4K TV that lacks high dynamic range, such as those with an anemic selection if built in streaming apps. You also don’t have to worry about the price since Roku Premiere is pretty affordable.
Roku Premiere Design
Roku Premiere comes in a box with its remote, 2 AAA batteries, the remote, and the power adaptor. From the outside, the unit is clearly made out of plastic material in black color and measure approximately 5 inch in square shape with the Roku logo on top and cloth tag attached on its side. You won’t find any button on the unit, but there are two ports at the back; one is full sized HDMI and the other is power jack. (See also : Roku Premiere vs Apple TV)
Roku Premiere Features
Once you connect Roku Premiere with your display, the software update will be automatically downloaded and installed. Many people love using the unit because of its quad core processor that will make navigating through the menus pretty fast. But some people also experience a drawback for its quick response because they often miss the block that they want to choose or select when scrolling through the movie and show list. If you are already used Roku stick before, the interface is exactly the same.
We know that Roku provides one of the best app support in the market. You practically able to arrange, add, and delete apps like what you can do in your phone. Since Roku offers more TV centric apps than other similar products, it is definitely a great choice if you are not a chronic Amazon or Apple buyer.
To see the actual power of Roku Premiere, you will need the 4K content and you can find those content very easy with the unit installed on your TV. You can find a 4K Spotlight channel that will links you to movies and other content. But you have to be careful for most of them come with a price or not free. Another unfortunate thing is the 4K Spotlight is even though it shows movies and shows across providers, the popular Netflix is not one of them.
To let you enjoy your favorite content better, this streaming media player have 802.11ac MIMO dual-band wireless, so the buffer will be minimized. However, since it lacks of Ethernet port like the Premiere+ or Ultra units, you will still experience that annoying buffer even when you wireless router was placed near the unit but it also depends on your connection quality.
About Roku Express
Roku Express is an HD Streaming Player is one of the best budget video streamer you can purchase in the United States. It is a great choice if you are currently don’t want to spend much on your TV since with around $50, you already able to add Netflix, Amazon Video, YouTube, Plex, and other streaming apps. The unit have originally been released since a few years ago, but the new released Roku Express is said to be better than its original version.
Roku Express Design
When you purchase Roku Express, you will get the package that contains the unit, the remote, and two AAA batteries with a charger. The unit is pretty small, measuring around 4.9 x 4.9 x 1.7 inches and look just like the bottom part of your iPhone. Some people also feels that it is like the smaller version of Nintendo Switch Joy Con controller without the joystick. One issue about the size and weight of Roku Express is you have to do something about it to make it lie flat on a surface.
Roku Express Features
One of the best thing on Roku Express besides its very affordable price is it also quite fast. The company claims that the unit is actually 5 times faster than its original version. When you done setting up the unit with your TV, you will notice it’s still have the same interface like the previous Roku devices and if you are not a first time user, you must be already familiar with easy drag and drop home screen channel icons, so you can manage your favorites easily and quickly.
You can find a setting menu in the screen and you can use this menu to hide unwanted menus, such as the AOL News Feed or Fandago Section. However, you will still be viewed with ads for programming and streaming services when you scroll through your apps. There are also advertisement on default screen saver but you can opt for digital clock screensaver to avoid them.
It depends on what version you bought, but if you compare the Roku Express with its original 2016 version, you can feel that the recent version will have smoother navigation unlike in the previous version where the cursor will took a split second to move and even clicking will caused delays. One unfortunate thing on the unit is it doesn’t have Ethernet connectivity to make it more stable or VGA cables to connect it with other TVs.
Comparison
Now, let’s compare Roku Premiere and Roku Express. The most prominent difference is Roku Premiere is 4K capable while Roku Express is not. From the port, both unit doesn’t comes with Ethernet connectivity, so you may experience some buffering when using them. However, Roku Premiere is better for it comes with dual band MIMO to make the operation smoother. From the price, it is obvious that Roku Premiere is also more expensive than Roku Express.
Roku Premiere vs Roku Express
Conclusion
All in all, the decision is all yours. In our opinion, it is better to choose which suit your TV. If you own an expensive 4K TV, we highly recommend you the Roku Express of you don’t mind about spending more.