Roku Ultra | Streaming Media Player 4K/HD/HDR with Premium JBL Headphones 2019 (Renewed)

Originally, I bought my first Roku Streaming Media box because it had a USB connection allowing me to play media I had. I found that I had much better wifi reception with it, and it was faster to playing streaming media and less likely to pause or stop.It's both larger and more expensive than the Amazon streaming sticks, but the performance is well worth it.Additionally, it plays 265 media which I download.For both streaming and playing downloaded media, this device works like a champ.

So far, I discovered one built-in function does not work, the lost remote finder. To my surprise, this is a problem with all Roku remotes, not just the one in this "renewed" set. The finder functionality works as long as the remote is active, having been pressed within the last 10 seconds or so. I suspect the finder functionality was added, not realizing how negatively it would affect battery life. Then, the battery-drain problem was fixed by putting the remote to sleep after 10 seconds, which disables the finder function. I don't see a way to keep the finder working without draining batteries in only a few days. See the feedback on the Roku website where this problem first appeared last year: https://community.roku.com/t5/Remotes-Accessories/Remote-Finder-on-Ultra/td-p/574916I also noticed the Roku overcomplicates being able to get some streams to play correctly at the best quality. When first setting-up the Roku, you have to pick a quality to limit streams to, based on what your TV can handle. It detected that my TV could handle 4K, 60hz, and HDR mode, but not all three at the same time. I found I could override the detection, allowing all three anyway, and most streams would play fine. But, I did encounter a movie that began flickering and strobing, like when you have a bad video cable connection. Since Roku doesn't have a way to automatically adjust the quality and I don't want to manually adjust it every time I play a movie, I sacrificed the least noticeable of the three, the standard 60Hz refresh rate. So, my new Roku is stuck playing all media at 30Hz/fps.With those glaring problems aside, everything else about the Roku set seems good and easy to use. Just keep in mind the lost remote finder is useless, action movies will be blurry, and the non-intuitive asterisk-key ("*") on the remote is for active-selection options.

Have owned and used a Roku Ultra for years then it began acting strange. Restarts and finally a Factory reset fixed it off and on for a few weeks then bought this 'Renewed' Ultra. Look of device and packaging like new. Set up took a while but doing the factory reset on the old one had everything fresh in my mind. A good device at a great price.Update: Had to lower to 4 stars due to excessive battery usage of remote control. Eating a set of AA batteries every other week. Suspect the units 'voice mode' was continually listening for commands while in same room with TV playing - went through LOTS of batteries (and I don't use the voice mode ever but couldn't turn it off). My work around was to put the 'voice mode' remote in the guest room (usually empty/quiet) with our old Roku 2 and bring the old Roku 2 remote (which uses AAA batteries) and has no 'voice mode' out for use with this Roku Ultra - both work fine and no apparent battery drains (so far). (The Remote Control from my old dead Roku Ultra and one from a Roku 3 also worked fine with this unit without any reprogramming or changes.)

Many reviewers write that this most expensive of Roku devices is not worth the extra money for most customers, but I prefer something more substantial than a "USB stck," plus having a wired Ethernet connection is essential for our household (We only turn on our wireless routers when needed for tablets, etc.).The Roku menuing system is well designed. Frequent OS/Firmware updates is great as well. Of course, they try to sell you more (subscription) services but we can put up with that. From what I've read in reviews, Roku is "neutral" concerning streaming services while Amazon Fire and similar products make a hard sell of Amazon Prime Video at every turn. (We use Amazon Prime Video, but am happy there are no constant ads for it on Roku.)The main negative is the batteries in the remote (a very minor problem, all in all, of course). The 2 AA batteries only lasted 8 months, which indicates to me either that they were defective and or used (i.e., it is a "renewed" device that we purchased). Amazon states that for renewed devices, any batteries will be at least 80% of new; possilby that's true here as well, but disappointing nonetheless.

I used this to replace the Roku 1 when it started to have issues / planned obsolescence.The Ultra was easy to set up, the wireless connected easily to my DSL (yes, I plan to upgrade at long last to fiber), and maintains streaming without problems. Roku remotes are the best in the biz, most remotes have far too many buttons and all the way down where the hand goes, need glasses and a flashlight to see the ****ed things, not so with the Roku.I'm not someone who'd be interested in using voice controlled anything. Too creepy, and too lazy even for me.Just get the product and shut up. The YouTube and A-Prime apps on my Roku TV (which is also less than a year old) have blown up and that's just a giant pile of BS. But this isn't a review of the Roku TV, because A) I like the TV in all other ways and B) I got it at the warehouse club.(2022 update)Keeps popping into Hulu at random to which I don't and won't subscribe, not a bumped button issue. Overall, the product is fine, but I will never, ever, buy another renewed item of any kind on here.