If you’re a Roku user, there are a few features you should be using more of. Here are seven of them:
- Roku Channel Indexing: This feature lets you see all the channels that are available on your Roku. This is especially helpful if you have a lot of channels and want to find them quickly.
- Roku Voice Remote: This is a great feature for controlling your TV with voice commands. You can use it to change the channel, turn off or on the lights, and even change the sound level.
- Roku Media Player: This player lets you watch movies and TV shows on your computer or phone without having to leave your living room. It also has built-in speakers so you can hear what’s happening on your TV without having to listen through headphones or an audio jack.
- Plex: Plex is a great way to keep all your media in one place so you can access it anywhere at any time. It’s also free and easy to use, making it an ideal choice for anyone who wants to keep their media library organized and accessible from anywhere in the world.
- Amazon Fire Stick: The Amazon Fire Stick is perfect for streaming content from Netflix, Hulu, and other online services onto your television without having to leave your living room or home office. It also has built-in speakers so you can hear what’s happening on your television without having to listen through headphones or an audio jack.
Change the Theme
The default theme on Roku devices is very plain and purple. You don’t have to live with that if you don’t want to. Roku devices offer a number of themes you can use to jazz up the look.
Roku devices come preloaded with a few different “official” themes to choose from. You can also get more themes from people who have submitted their own to the Channel Store. It’s a great way to personalize your Roku.
RELATED: How to Change Your Roku Device’s Home Screen Theme
Turn Off Menu Sounds
Out of the box, Roku devices make a lot of noise. Every time you move around the screen and press a button, a little audible confirmation can be heard. If you find that annoying, it can be turned off. It’s a simple thing to do, but it will make the entire Roku experience a little less grating.
RELATED: How to Turn Off Sounds on a Roku
Search All Streaming Sites at Once
You probably have a Roku so you can enjoy your favorite streaming services on your TV. Roku’s search functionality is great for finding which service has what you want to watch.
A search can be done from the “Search” tab on the home screen or with the voice search feature on compatible remotes. All you have to do is enter or say the name of the TV show or movie you’d like to watch, and you’ll see where it can be found.
RELATED: How to Search Every Streaming Site at Once With Roku Search
Use Google Assistant with Roku
Google Assistant can be linked to Roku devices for some nifty hands-free commands. That means you can control the Roku from your phone, smart speaker, smart display, and smartwatch.
After you’ve connected Roku to Google Assistant, there are a bunch of commands you can use. Things like “pause kitchen Roku,” “launch YouTube on Roku,” and “turn on Living Room Roku.” It’s pretty nifty.
RELATED: How to Use Google Assistant With Your Roku
Keep Up With Your Favorite Shows
With so many great shows available to watch these days, it can be hard to keep up. Roku’s “My Feed” keeps track of your favorite shows, and you can see when new episodes are released. When a new episode is out, it appears in your feed, and you can jump right into the episode, no jumping through apps.
RELATED: How to Use Roku Feed to Keep Up with New Episodes of Your Shows
Get Rid of Home Screen Clutter
The Roku home screen is infamously simple. You’ve got two main sections—the menu sidebar and the channel grid. The menu sidebar includes some things you may not care about. Thankfully, those things can probably be turned off.
In the “Home Screen” section of the Settings you can remove certain things from the sidebar. That includes shortcuts to the movie and TV store, “Featured Free,” “Live TV,” and more. It’s worth a look.
RELATED: How to Remove the Fandango Movie and TV Stores From the Roku Home Screen
Disable Some Ads and Tracking
You’ve probably noticed that Roku devices have ads in certain places. Roku actually makes much more money from ads than it does from selling devices. So while there’s no way to turn off ads entirely, you do have some options.
There are a couple of things you can do. First, you can disable ad tracking so Roku can’t personalize the ads for you. Second, you can stop the pop-up ads that appear over commercials during live TV. It’s better than nothing.
RELATED: How to Disable Custom Ads and Tracking on Your Roku
