byRoku
Price:$83.99+ Free shipping with Amazon Prime
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on June 4, 2017
Roku Premier Plus - purchased May 2017: Please be aware that of all the promoted channels, many are available only if you have a cable subscription or are willing to pay. After verifying with an activation code, the PBS channel videos won't load - I get a "Sorry! This video is unavailable. Try again later.", but only the commercial prior to the video will ever load. From the forums, this seems to be a common problem. I like that YouTube is available - it no longer was on my Sony Blu Ray Player. Netflix and Amazon (I have prime) are the same as the Blu Ray player, although the picture may be sharper. I guess I was hoping to be more excited, but I'm not unhappy with the Roku Premiere Plus.
on June 28, 2017
I bought the Roku Premiere + for my main TV (Samsung UN65KS9000) when I re-purposed my Roku 3 to another room. Both Rokus are great products. Here are my thoughts:
The Roku Premier + is faster than the Roku 3. If you're a speed freak who simply can't stand waiting, the Roku Premiere + is for you.
UHD 4K is harder than it should be and isn't worth it when you get there.
When first installing the Roku Premiere +, the Roku tests your HDMI connection and asks if you want to use the resolution it detects. The Roku detected 4K UHD, HDR, and HDCP 2.2 support. Great! I said OK. However, on the next screen, my TV flashed back and forth between visible and a black screen. I rebooted the Roku and selected 1080P, then was able to successfully use the Roku.
It turns out that my TV needed to have "HDMI UHD Color" turned on in settings. With HDMI UHD Color turned off, there was a definite miscommunication between the Roku and my TV. It was like the early days of HD HDMI when different manufactures interpreted the standard differently.
With my TV set correctly, I set the Roku to use 4K UHD. I tried several channels: YouTube, Amazon, and 4K Universe. None of them had better video quality than 1080P. I watched the channel from my normal viewing distance of 12 feet and from 2 feet away. Also, the 4K UHD channels would periodically freeze as though they were buffering. I have 50mb/s internet so that shouldn't have happened.
I don't really need 4K UHD.
I switched back to 1080P and am loving my Roku Premiere +.
Edit: Two things I noticed since my earlier review. The Roku frequently displays a message about not being able to use HDCP and to visit go.roku.com/hdcp. I did that. The site suggests using 1080P as a work around, but I already am. The message is short, but distracting.
Also, I use an IR remote instead of the factory remote. It frequently behaves as though I've pushed the button twice. For instance, I'll hit pause and the Roku pauses then immediately unpauses. This is the same remote I used on the Roku 3.
I'm going to banish the Roku Premiere + from my main TV and start using my Roku 3 again. I've downgraded the Roku Premiere + to 3 stars.
The Roku Premier + is faster than the Roku 3. If you're a speed freak who simply can't stand waiting, the Roku Premiere + is for you.
UHD 4K is harder than it should be and isn't worth it when you get there.
When first installing the Roku Premiere +, the Roku tests your HDMI connection and asks if you want to use the resolution it detects. The Roku detected 4K UHD, HDR, and HDCP 2.2 support. Great! I said OK. However, on the next screen, my TV flashed back and forth between visible and a black screen. I rebooted the Roku and selected 1080P, then was able to successfully use the Roku.
It turns out that my TV needed to have "HDMI UHD Color" turned on in settings. With HDMI UHD Color turned off, there was a definite miscommunication between the Roku and my TV. It was like the early days of HD HDMI when different manufactures interpreted the standard differently.
With my TV set correctly, I set the Roku to use 4K UHD. I tried several channels: YouTube, Amazon, and 4K Universe. None of them had better video quality than 1080P. I watched the channel from my normal viewing distance of 12 feet and from 2 feet away. Also, the 4K UHD channels would periodically freeze as though they were buffering. I have 50mb/s internet so that shouldn't have happened.
I don't really need 4K UHD.
I switched back to 1080P and am loving my Roku Premiere +.
Edit: Two things I noticed since my earlier review. The Roku frequently displays a message about not being able to use HDCP and to visit go.roku.com/hdcp. I did that. The site suggests using 1080P as a work around, but I already am. The message is short, but distracting.
Also, I use an IR remote instead of the factory remote. It frequently behaves as though I've pushed the button twice. For instance, I'll hit pause and the Roku pauses then immediately unpauses. This is the same remote I used on the Roku 3.
I'm going to banish the Roku Premiere + from my main TV and start using my Roku 3 again. I've downgraded the Roku Premiere + to 3 stars.
on June 13, 2017
Not sure if it is this series of Rokus or the two that I received. These things are horrible, I have to reset it every few hours because it freezes. Also some times I get this weird color loss(I've attached a photo!) I'll admit the picture is great on my Samsung when it is working. Also the handshake issue is a problem as well for the UHD... I wish I would have purchased from Roku that way I could keep getting them to send me a new one until I got some that worked properly!!
on May 5, 2017
I am a huge fan of Roku devices and have one connected to every TV in my home. From the Express+ (connected to a tube TV) to this item, Roku has allowed us to cut the cord and save thousands over the years. The Premiere+ is the crown jewel of my Roku setup for a few reasons. First, and foremost, it can be hard wired with a network cable. While my Roku sticks and the Express+ have not had many issues with WiFi drops, I wanted my "feature TV" to have the most reliable connection. Secondly, the device is fast yet quiet. Its hard to believe that these devices have multiple processing cores and are still nearly silent while operating. Moving around the menu, opening channels, and downloads are all super fast. Lastly, while I haven't yet bought a 4K TV, this is the realistic entry point for customers who want to stream 4K content on Roku. It was reassuring to know that my setup was a little bit future proof (for me anyway). Those in need of optical out for sound or anyone who occasionally loses their remote might want to opt for the Ultra (its got a remote finder). I feel, however, that this is the sweet-spot for the current Roku generation. Affordable price with premium features and everything that we have come to expect from Roku.
on January 1, 2017
Purchased for my father for X-Mas as he likes my Roku Stick. By using my account, all channels I had installed on my stick were installed on this device on its own. A definite plus for Roku in general. Having both ethernet and wireless is great. Same with a microSD card so that pictures can be easily shown through the device. 4k was never tested as we only have 1080p TVs. The biggest reason I went this route was for the remote since my dad uses his phone to listen to regular tv through headphones and this has it built into the remote. This feature works great. If I had one complaint about this (and the Roku's in general), is that they mute the audio signal going to the TV when you go the headphone route.
on January 20, 2017
Works well for most things, 4k looks great... However, the recent update (that you can no longer downgrade from) 7.5.1 introduced massive (460ms) audio sync issues with Plex - the primary use for this device in my household. I had been downgrading the Roku's software whenever it would update via the Secret Screen (Home button x5, Ffwd x3, Rewind x2) and the previous version worked fine.
After talking with Roku support, they said to switch the audio output on the Roku to Stereo (this is their fix for a known issue)... Yes, that resolves the voice sync issue but misses the point entirely. I explained I have this unit hooked up to a 6.1 home theater system and surround sound is a requirement for media playback. If I cannot have the Roku output sound in DTS or Dolby Digital, what is the point? I asked them how I could downgrade or receive a version of the software that didn't have audio sync issues and they said there was no way to do that.
I had tried everything - reset to factory, reinstall Plex app, reinstall my Plex media server app, downgrade the media server, hook up the Roku to the receiver differently, try media that is encoded differently (non-MKVs), etc... Nothing made a bit of difference.
Now, I did correct the issue on my own.... sort of. I returned the Premiere+ and hooked up the very old Roku 3 it was going to replace. Sound is in perfect sync now... this proves that the Premiere+ has the issue and it is not my setup or media. I lose 4k with this "solution", but for now, to have proper audio synchronization, it is totally worth it. I am going to purchase an nVidia Shield TV device instead for 4k content. Most reviews indicate it works great for Plex and has an active app development scene.
So for now, I cannot recommend the Premiere+ if you intend to use it to playback media via Plex with DTS or Dolby Digital audio.
After talking with Roku support, they said to switch the audio output on the Roku to Stereo (this is their fix for a known issue)... Yes, that resolves the voice sync issue but misses the point entirely. I explained I have this unit hooked up to a 6.1 home theater system and surround sound is a requirement for media playback. If I cannot have the Roku output sound in DTS or Dolby Digital, what is the point? I asked them how I could downgrade or receive a version of the software that didn't have audio sync issues and they said there was no way to do that.
I had tried everything - reset to factory, reinstall Plex app, reinstall my Plex media server app, downgrade the media server, hook up the Roku to the receiver differently, try media that is encoded differently (non-MKVs), etc... Nothing made a bit of difference.
Now, I did correct the issue on my own.... sort of. I returned the Premiere+ and hooked up the very old Roku 3 it was going to replace. Sound is in perfect sync now... this proves that the Premiere+ has the issue and it is not my setup or media. I lose 4k with this "solution", but for now, to have proper audio synchronization, it is totally worth it. I am going to purchase an nVidia Shield TV device instead for 4k content. Most reviews indicate it works great for Plex and has an active app development scene.
So for now, I cannot recommend the Premiere+ if you intend to use it to playback media via Plex with DTS or Dolby Digital audio.
on June 8, 2017
Audio cuts out every 4-6 minutes. No "fix" has worked on my unit, even rebooting before watching. The issue is not with the rest of my hardware. Many others have this issue yet it is still not patched out. My first and last Roku product. Buy a Shield over this junk.
on June 29, 2017
seller delivered fast and followed up to make sure we received the product and that it was working well for us.
This is my first streaming box and so far I find it very easy to use. I got a brand new Vizio 4K smart TV and my Tivo Romio does not support 4K and the cast apps built in the TV are dificult to use via the Tablet that works a sremote control, so the most economic way to get 4k programing is with this device. The menus are great and with netflix is very easy to navigate and forward or reward if needed as opose to using theVizio tablet to cast to the TV.
I upgraded the HDMI cables to 2.0 and yet I dont seem to notice huge difference from the HD content to the ultraHD content, perhaps is because the upscaling on the TV is working so well that I dont notice that huge difference in quality. All in all and after my research the Roku premiere+ is the best option my needs.
This is my first streaming box and so far I find it very easy to use. I got a brand new Vizio 4K smart TV and my Tivo Romio does not support 4K and the cast apps built in the TV are dificult to use via the Tablet that works a sremote control, so the most economic way to get 4k programing is with this device. The menus are great and with netflix is very easy to navigate and forward or reward if needed as opose to using theVizio tablet to cast to the TV.
I upgraded the HDMI cables to 2.0 and yet I dont seem to notice huge difference from the HD content to the ultraHD content, perhaps is because the upscaling on the TV is working so well that I dont notice that huge difference in quality. All in all and after my research the Roku premiere+ is the best option my needs.
on April 17, 2017
I had audio/video sync issues with this on multiple channels. I spent two weeks trying to get help from Roku support, they told me that version 7.6 of the firmware was out and would at some point get installed on my unit, but couldn't tell me when that would happen. As I didn't have any guarantee that 7.6 would definitely fix the problem I decided to cut my losses and return this.
