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How to use private listening or listen to your tv with headphones: • Meet the Genius Behind...
What could make a streaming TV stick better? We’ve seen them get smaller, and faster. But What if your streaming stick was also a sound bar? That’s the premise behind the all new 4K Roku Streambar. I had a chance to spend a couple weeks with the brand new Roku Streambar. I’ll tell you all about it but early heads up if you like & SUB
So, What exacly is Roku Streambar?
The first hybrid device of its kind, Roku Streambar combines the 4K streaming capabilities of a streaming stick, box or smart TV, all wrapped up in a sound bar package.
That makes the Streambar a great option for older TVs without streaming smarts, but the ultra compact size of the Streambar also means it’s a great sound bar solution for smaller spaces.
This two-in-one unit is meant to be an affordable way to add better sound to a TV without taking up a lot of space. It’s actually quite surprising how small and light it is, (measuring just 14 x4 x2) so it’ll be interesting to see how it sounds.
You can use either the included Roku remote control or your smartphone as a remote, or both.
Roku Streambar connects to your TV, and using one of the HDMI inputs or Optical Digital Audio and it creates a streaming entertainment portal where you can navigate to channels like Roku Channel, Netflix, KZfaq, Apple TV)) and lots more.
That same connection also amplifies the sound from your TV for better audio quality.
Some of you will have hear my schpiel on sound bars already, but for the new folks (hello and welcome!) here goes: Over the years TVs have gotten thinner, meaning there’s physically no space for a quality speaker that can deliver all the audio characteristics we expect like clear dialogue and bass, particularly if you’ve upgraded to a 4K TV . This means the sound off the TV’s internal speakers is sub par. That’s made sound bars more important now than ever.
You might be wondering how a sound bar this size sounds. I was too, so let’s get to it. From the moment I turned this on, I was surprised at how big it sounds. It fills my living room space surprisingly well. For me it gets plenty loud enough.
I need to talk about the bass. I was all set to say this sound bar was lacking bass. But I put on a couple of bass tests and some bass heavy content and I was absolutely blown away by the depth, resonance and the overall kaboom in this box.
There’s Night Listening:
This setting lets you quiet ultra loud scenes if you’re watching TV while other are sleeping. It just brings the audio or those crashes or explosions down to a less disruptive level. You can turn this on of off in Audio settings.
The Roku Streambar can also quiet loud commercials automatically using the Automatic Volume Leveling setting.
Voice Control with Google & Alexa
You can control the Roku Streambar by speaking to Amazon Alexa and/or Google Assistant devices.
To get this set up you just need to link your preferred digital assistant in the Google Home or Amazon Alexa app to the Roku Streambar. Then you can control your TV power, sound, and streaming.
As I noted you can use the included Roku remote or your smartphone as a remote. The physical remote is super handy for fast adjustments, and the built in voice search button is convenient. Using the Roku Remote app gives you a few additional features: one of the best is Private Listening.
Only on compatible Apple and Android devices, the Roku mobile app lets you use headphones connected to your phone or tablet, to listen to streaming TV programs. This feature means you can listen to the TV without disturbing others in the room, or avoid waking the kids if you’re watching late night movies. Or the kids can not bother YOU.
I have a full video on how to do this here and I’ll make sure it’s linkled up.
This feature works really well and provides a reliable way to listen to the TV with headphones, which also makes it good for seniors or those with hearing troubles.
Overall the new Roku Streambar is a pretty versatile device.It’s got a lot of power and great sound quality for such a small sound bar, and that bass was shockingly great. This Streambar is a great addition to my living room TV set up. The fact that it’s a two in one device makes it very versatile.
Downsides? It doesn’t have a convenient wall mount: the Roku Streambar uses M6 mounting sockets so you need to go buy a separate mounting kit if you do want to put it up on the wall.
The price is pretty sweet though. Coming in at just $189CAD, it’s probably the most wallet friendly way to get proper audio for your flatscreen TV.