Now that you are starting to take a look at your new stuff we thought we would give you a few tips about your new Roku. If you have had one for a while you may find that you never knew about some of the things we talk about here. So check out our list of things to do with your Roku right away.
Get a cool screen saver
Your TV is probably a prominent piece part of whatever room it is in, especially if it is 50 inches or more. You may as well use it to help set the mood of the room. That is why you should explore the hundreds of screen savers available on the Roku. To get to the screen savers navigate to the theme section by clicking the home button (the one that looks like a house), toggle to settings and press ok, toggle to Theme, and press ok, then toggle to screen savers. you will find hundreds of them from pretty flowing colors to fun scrolling cityscapes.
Personalize the background
Also found in the Theme section is Wallpaper. This gives you a chance to choose a new background for your Roku. This is not any different from a computer or smartphone. There are wallpapers based on TV shows, themes, and more. If you dive in with full theme packs it will even change the sounds the menus make.
Sign up for or sign in with a YouTube Profile
YouTube is the most well-known streaming app in the world. And its Roku channel is one of the most popular on the platform. Millions of things are uploaded every day but when you set up a profile on the service you can start to see the dozens of things that are relevant to your tastes whether it is music videos, news clips, independent sketch performers or out of their mind conspiracy theorists, YouTube uses your habits to make suggestions. Users can also sign up for their favorite creators and set up watch lists. YouTube works without all that, but it really becomes powerful when you take the next steps.
Explore Streaming Channels
Roku devices don’t have a heading called “The app store” or “The Channel Store”. Roku’s thousands of streaming options ar found in the section called Streaming channels. There are tons of well-curated groups of channels broken down by subject and type. If you can’t find 5-10 channels with your interests you may need to find some new interests.
Gather Your Passwords and a connected device
If you have been using streaming to watch TV you probably have a few passwords that need to be set up on the Roku. If you are new to streaming you may even have some excited friends or relatives who want to set up services on your device for you. Either way, in order to do so you will need either a smartphone, tablet or computer (they are really all computers). This way you can link Amazon Prime, YouTube, Netflix and all the other streaming magic to your new device. Unfortunately, a device is often needed to set up these apps.
Press all the buttons
Roku remotes are famously low on buttons. This allows them to be simple to use because users will not be stuck trying to find the right thing to press while trying to watch or listen to things. Some are obvious. Play and pause, rewind and fast forward have been with us since VCRs and cassette tapes. But users should get used to other commands like the Home button. It is at the top right-hand corner and will always bring you back to the menu and app screen. The Back arrow will bring you to the last screen you were in. The little recycling-looking arrow will back up about 15 seconds and replay the last thing said on a video but the most important button is the *. This button is sort of a do-all for Roku. Think of it as the options button. When watching video content it will often open the captions menu. When used on a Roku soundbar it will also open volume and sound settings. On the regular Roku app menu, clicking it will let users remove channels, update them and move them. And if you tap it 4 times it turns on a screen reader for visually impaired users. Getting used to the buttons will make using the system much more fun later.
Play with search
Roku has the best search feature in the streaming world. Think of anything you ever loved to watch and see if you can find it somewhere on a Roku channel. You might discover free services nobody ever mentioned to you or a can’t miss subscription service that solves all your needs. You may even discover things you had forgotten all about and fall in love again.
Explore zones
Sometimes a tittle is part of something bigger and deserves its own zone on Roku. Zones are like little libraries of specific types of programming. Looking for something Mystery shows may pull up an entire menu of mystery shows found on multiple apps. And more so it may recommend other things staring the actors in a given show. You might find that if you liked Sherlock, you might also like The Imitation Game. You can stumble across zones by chance but you can also go in search of them by typing zones into Roku search.
Check out free services
There are some free services that streamers swear by that are regularly recommended because of the diverse selections they offer. They include Pluto TV, Xumo, Tubi TV and Crackle.
For Users with Roku Powered TV’s
Get an antenna and set it up
Look, if you have a Roku-powered TV and do not have an antenna you are just asking to miss out. People without cable should definitely have an antenna. You may be very surprised at what shows up when you scan for channels. I recommend at least an amplified antenna. Later if you find that there are channels that don’t come in as strong as you like, investing in a rooftop or attic antenna could be worth your time. They provide access to the local network affiliates and more depending on where you live. You might not think that is a big deal today but just let one big show come up when you don’t have access and you will wish you had one.
There is a lot to enjoy about streaming with a Roku device or Roku powered TV. Jump in and see.
