Review on Roku Premiere - High-Quality Streaming with HDR in HD and 4K UHD by Jeff Westra

I bought this Roku Premiere+ for a number of reasons. We have a Sony Blu-ray player with Smart TV capabilities that we've used for years to watch Netflix, Revain, Hulu, etc. The experience was good, although the apps weren't updated very often to support new features (but the damn thing was connecting to Sony to see updated versions of the app EVERY TIME you launch the app, a lot aggravating). The device is getting old and had to be restarted every few weeks. It got slower and slower. Still great for watching Blu-ray or DVD but felt like we needed an upgrade. I've looked at cheaper Roku devices (I'd rather buy a streaming stick than a hockey puck device). The main reason for choosing this Roku device over others was the built-in Ethernet connectivity. The wi-fi is great, but I didn't want to use up our wi-fi's bandwidth when our router is literally 1 foot from the TV. I wanted to connect directly to the router. First the pros: this is a fantastic device. It's fast and the UI looks fresh and modern. Watching video content is incredibly smooth, and videos start almost instantly. Especially at the beginning of playback, you don't get the feeling that the device is buffering content. Some devices I've seen start with a greatly reduced resolution and then upscale the resolution after a short while. With Roku, every frame is HD from start to finish. Great app for iOS remote control. I love that the app switches to the keyboard when you're searching for a movie or show, making it much faster to type than using the arrow keys to select individual letters. Now for the cons: The Roku device is a great device, but it falls short in a few small areas that would make it perfect if fixed. First, the Bluetooth remote control is excellent, but it also requires an IR emitter so you can control the TV's power, volume, and input. I hate grabbing a second remote just to change the volume. Second, pressing "Home" to wake the device from sleep should send a signal to the TV to switch to the input for the device. Other devices I have connected to the TV do (DirecTV, Bluray, Xbox). You have to take another remote control and switch the input manually. Third, the "public watchlist" feature doesn't seem to be there. It may have been my misunderstanding, but I thought Roku had a watchlist where you can add content and then just choose a source (Netflix, Prime, Hulu, etc.) to watch. I've added a few shows to my watchlist (from the Roku search menu), but I can't see where that watchlist actually is in the UI. All in all it was a great purchase and I love my Roku. !