











Sam Machkovech





Regular Ars Technica readers probably have no use for a new Roku device—or, at least, not in 2016. If you haven't already watched media-streaming apps on your television using a game console, an HTPC computer, or the TV's pre-installed software, then chances are you're using a first-, second-, or third-generation Roku already (or one of its rivals, including Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV).

But the cord-cutting revolution continues apace, and Roku still has plenty of potential customers to lure away from cable-TV subscriptions and toward its streaming ecosystem. The company clearly doesn't believe that a one-size-fits-all approach will attract enough fourth-gen customers, so it recently introduced a whopping six new models. The cheapest of those, the Roku Express, was the first to land at Ars Technica HQ.

And, yes, it's cheap. As in, $30—a Big Mac cheaper than the current industry cheapo, the $35 Chromecast. Google keeps its prices low, in part, by removing the remote control from its box. Roku has done well to position itself as a cheap, functional streaming device—not to mention one that includes a simple, easy-to-use remote. The Roku Express maintains this reputation.

Adhesion for the Roku legion

Yet the Roku Express includes a compromise that should give pause to anyone who has blindly recommended Roku boxes to fresh cord-cutters. The new, super-cheap Roku Express comes with a remote, yes—but like cheaper Rokus from years past, it's an infrared (IR) remote that requires line-of-sight with the player to work.

Perhaps to accommodate this IR requirement, the Roku Express has a different form factor than its boxier and stickier siblings. It's more like a pager, as if someone melted and remolded last year's box model to be thinner, longer, and just as wide. The Express is small enough to vanish into your entertainment center, but a warning sticker on the unit reminds you that you not to do that. "Point remote here," it reads (in three languages!).

















If balancing an older, IR-only Roku atop your TV didn't do the trick, this year's Roku Express offers a first from the company (and a feature that we've never seen in a streaming box, honestly): an adhesive strip. Roku wants you to stick this thing to the top, side, or bottom of your preferred television. Before picking a position, be mindful that you'll still have to power the unit, either by plugging it into your TV set's open USB port or by using an included AC power adapter. The included USB cable is about six feet long, which is the exact same length as the Chromecast's USB cable. The included HDMI cable, however, is a scant two feet long.

The adhesive strip doesn't come pre-attached to the Roku Express, so you'll have to peel one half, align the strip to the slight indention on the hardware's bottom, and press firmly. After that, peel the other half, then press the hardware onto your preferred TV position for 30 seconds. As this is an impressions article, I tested the adhesive strip for only 24 hours. I can't speak to this strip's ability to last for months or years.

What I can speak to is the Express's ability to stick again should you choose to remove it for any reason: about 50-50. The adhesive strip includes a purple tab—kind of like the purple fabric tab found on every Roku remote—that you can tug on to loosen the strip, which makes peeling the strip off of your TV pretty easy. The strip will also detach from the Roku Express, so you'll have to press it back onto the hardware immediately afterward. After doing this, I repositioned the hardware—which, honestly, I wanted to do because I didn't realize how short the included HDMI cable was in my first pass—and tried to restick the whole thing. Five minutes later, it fell off. I restuck again, pressing down harder. It stayed put for hours.

If that process sounds unappealing, your remaining options are to find a spot on your entertainment center where the unit faces forward, or you can install the Roku remote control app on an iOS or Android device. Running the app on the same Wi-Fi network as the Roku itself makes for easy syncing without requiring any line-of-sight. From there, the app replicates the remote's button layout (though without any app-branded shortcut buttons).

The app also includes the voice-search functionality that the Roku Express's remote lacks (other, pricier Rokus this year come with this ability). However, my voice-search function sometimes didn't connect to Roku's servers even while the remote app was otherwise working just fine. When it did function, it failed to live up to its sales-pitch promise of "we'll load every viewing option and make the free one available first." Time and time again, a film or TV series search loaded multiple apps' versions at random, usually burying the "free with a subscription" option beneath the "pay à la carte" ones. We'll attempt to test this with an actual Roku voice remote when we review the higher-end models to see if that makes a difference.

“Just get a Roku”* (yes, that's an asterisk...)

Once you've set up the Roku Express, you're in for the same Roku experience as the last generation of sets. I installed over 20 apps without any warnings about memory or storage (I only use about seven on average, anyway). I was able to switch between apps and load video content as quickly as I could on any other 1080p streaming device I had handy, excepting the lightning-fast Amazon Fire TV model from last year, which has yet to be bested in loading times. I didn't test the assortment of crapware games buried in the menus, because you should not use the Roku Express to play video games.

The Express's wireless chip only supports 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, so be warned if heavy network congestion is a problem where you live, or if you want faster speeds. Otherwise, the device loaded 1080p video on various streaming apps at what appeared to be the same quality as other 1080p streaming devices hooked to the same testing television. I didn't notice any particular color, brightness, or streaming-quality issues. And Roku still supports apps galore—the same apps as its older models—including every major American sports league and even rival video libraries from Google Play and Amazon.

I have always liked being able to tell my less tech-savvy friends and family "just get a Roku." They're cheap, they work well, and they never, ever de-sync from their included remotes, unlike paired smartphone and tablet devices. For the most part, that's still the case with the Roku Express. When I had the hardware installed at an open angle, the Roku recognized the remote pretty much whenever I pointed it toward my television (and often when I pointed it in the opposite direction, because IR signals can bounce off of walls and some other surfaces).

But the Express didn't work as well when I put in a more obscured position. I had to hold my arm at a specific angle to aim a remote—and that's a tech anachronism that better Roku models left behind years ago. It's really up to your tastes, then. If your entertainment center of choice has a nice place to position an IR-remote device, or if you trust a single adhesive strip to keep your Roku attached to one TV set, the 1080p Roku Express will suit you and yours just fine. If not, opt for the slightly slower-performing Roku Streaming Stick for $50 (or look for a refurbished Roku 3 box) to get a Wi-Fi remote.

Other fourth-gen Roku devices, by the way, still include Wi-Fi enabled remotes, and some of them include voice-search, 4K, and HDR functionality. We will have our impressions of them as soon as they arrive at Ars HQ.

The good:

Roku's no-fuss interface is still tops for easy access to your favorite streaming apps

$30 gets you a solid piece of 1080p-caliber hardware

The bad:

If you hate IR remotes, this one's not for you

Voice search on the smartphone app isn't as sharp as advertised

The ugly:

Hopefully you won't have to unstick and restick the included adhesive strip

Bottom line: If you don't mind an IR remote, this is a solid bargain.

Listing image by Sam Machkovech