Black Friday is a fantastic time to grab a new TV at a discount, but be careful. A few years ago, I bought a 65-inch TV for a great price only to discover that the audio and streaming features were much worse than I expected.
After a few months, I already had major issues with the TV: The speakers were poor, the smart TV interface was lagging, and many apps were missing from the built-in app store. I knew it would have some compromises, but I didn't think the truth would hit this hard and quick.
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The TV felt almost unusable, and I considered getting a new one, but I was still pretty happy with the size and resolution, so instead I thought it might just be better to update the aspects I felt were lacking.
And that's where the Roku Streambar comes in. It's on sale for Black Friday for $118, or $12 off.
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How the Roku Streambar made my mediocre TV so much better
Unlike your regular streaming player, the Roku Streambar is both a streaming device and a high-quality soundbar. The Streambar features Roku's streaming player, which offers 4K HDR streaming for your TV, along with a library of applications like Max, Disney Plus and Netflix, and you can get live and local TV channels, as well as live sports. The Roku streaming interface doesn't lag like the one on my TV, and it also has many of the apps that were missing, so that's two upgrades right there.
And on the audio side, you have a four-speaker soundbar with Dolby Audio. I placed the Roku Streambar right in front of my TV, and the difference in sound is stark: the dialogue is crisper; sound effects are louder and clearer. I feel much more immersed in the shows and movies I watch than when using the built-in speakers.
The Roku Wireless Bass is a subwoofer designed to improve the sound of Roku speakers and soundbars.
The Roku Streambar does lack a bit of the bass I wanted, so I paired it with a Roku Wireless Bass ($130) for the low tones. You can even add multiple Roku Wireless Speakers ($149) for a full surround sound experience, but that's overkill for my apartment, so I'm happy with just the Streambar and Wireless Bass, which have both upgraded my watching experience -- and I didn't even have to get a new TV.
Not yet, at least.
Why this deal on the Roku Streambar matters
The Roku Streambar is at nearly the lowest price of the past six months on Amazon -- it was $115 earlier this summer. The current sale gives you a decent 8% discount or $12 off a very popular product that was priced at $133 ($15 more) just a week ago.
Technical specs for the Roku Streambar
- Dimensions: 14 x 4.2 x 2.4 inches
- Weight: 2.4 pounds
- Connector types: Micro USB, HDMI
- Video resolution: 4K
- Supported services: Netflix, Prime Video, Pandora, Hulu, Vudu, YouTube