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Roku is perhaps the biggest name in dedicated streaming hardware for several years now, but the San Jose-based company has even more to do. Roku announced on Wednesday that he was going to diversify his product line with his very first soundbar, and I have to check it out in a short demo last week.
The Roku Smart Soundbar, which is aptly named, is available for pre-order now and will be available in October. This is the second audio material produced by the streaming company, following last year's wireless TV speakers. For $ 179.99, Roku's new soundbar seems to pack a decent audio punch while offering a somewhat unique Roku touch.
Namely, it contains Roku's signature streaming technology. With support for 4K resolution, HDR display, and 60fps performance, the Smart Soundbar has the potential to be a very good streaming box that dramatically improves the sound of TV shows and movies.
The unpretentious form factor should fit perfectly under most televisions and it will do what most modern speakers can not. You must be able to hear the dialogue without having to adjust the volume permanently or use the remote control, as explained by Mark Ely, Vice President of Product Management, in our presentation.
Speaking of which, it comes with a Roku Voice compatible remote, as well as support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. You can connect via HDMI or an optical port, but the last drawback is that it only supports HDMI ARC ports at the moment. Many TVs have one, but you must make sure before you start.
By the way, you can also use it as a Bluetooth speaker and connect media servers via USB.
The Roku wireless subwoofer should deepen the bass for your Smart Soundbar or your wireless speakers.
Image: Alex Perry / Mashable
The Smart Soundbar is Roku's second audio hardware product, but they showed their third in the same demo session. Roku also launches a $ 179.99 wireless subwoofer that goes perfectly with the soundbar or wireless speakers. It should be noted that it will only be compatible with wireless speakers after a software update "in the coming months".
The subwoofers exist to enhance the bass sound, and that's what it did when Roku showed it to me. It connects wirelessly and is expected to be fairly omnidirectional to be placed anywhere near the soundbar or speakers. So you should theoretically have the flexibility to decide where to place it.
Both devices are available for pre-order on the Roku website and will be shipped in October, when Best Buy will also begin shipping them. Although Roku probably would not mind if you bought a Roku streaming device and the Smart Soundbar, Ely told me to reduce the clutter of devices, which partly explains why they have decided to include streaming technology in the soundbar.
In addition, people who buy the soundbar will benefit from the same experience whether or not they have a Roku-compatible TV.
"We wanted to be able to bring some of what we do with audio technology to TVs other than Roku," Ely told Mashable. "Any TV can be a home for a great audio experience and a great streaming experience."
This is not the first soundbar with smart features, but given Roku's reputation, you can expect high quality streaming software. If all of this works well, it could be extremely convenient for those who are fed up with lousy TV speakers and want a better streaming solution.
Who does not like to kill two birds with one stone?
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