You just got a brand new Roku streaming stick. Congrats!
Now what are you supposed to do?
There are tons of undiscovered features that the Roku stick is able to offer, but you may not know how to find them.
Take a look and see if you can learn something new about this device!
1. Get It Ready to Go
The first thing that you have to do is set up the streaming stick. But how do you even do that?
Connect your device to your TV by putting it into the HDMI port. You will then have to go through a short tutorial that helps you learn about your new device. Be sure to remember which input the streaming stick is working on because this will be how you need to set the TV each time you want to use it.
The guided setup is going to help you with everything you need, including creating an account and connecting to the Internet.
2. Use Those Free Channels
Roku offers tons of free channels that offer great content. Although there are also channels you can pay to subscribe to, you can find plenty of stuff to watch on channels that won’t cost you any extra money.
Some of these channels offer TV shows, movies, local and other types of news, and kids shows that can really keep you entertained for hours. Be sure to check out those options and see if anything stands out!
3. Screensavers
This is a nice little feature that lets you select what you want to come back to if you leave the room for a while or stop watching for a period of time.
There is a wide variety of options that you are able to choose between, such as looking at the weather, a nice landscape theme, or even pieces of art.
4. Control Your Roku Streaming Stick via Smartphone
Although using a remote control may be easy, some people just simply don’t like it. It can be hard to keep track of, may make annoying clicking sounds, or simply is too much clutter.
By downloading an app on your smartphone, you are able to control your streaming device without having to worry about where your remote is at any time.
Make sure that your internet connection is strong in order for this to work. No matter where you live, you can get a good signal if you know what to do.
5. Change the Volume Level
Sometimes watching our shows at night can be irritating when we are suddenly startled by a loud noise that seems to have come out of nowhere.
You may have experienced this before. It is common for some to doze off and have an explosion or music suddenly blast through the speakers. This can be quite unnerving.
A feature of this device is being able to level the volume so that all of the sounds are around the same volume no matter what. Another feature is putting it into night mode and this allows the device to soften the effects to make watching more relaxing.
6. Display The Channels How You Want
Most of the time, the Roku app is going to just assume you want all of the channels in the order that you add them. Some people just don’t like that!
If you want to change the order of the channels, this is a really simple thing to do with your Roku stick. You can go to your options button on the home page and choose how you would like the channels displayed instead.
7. Instant Replay
If you like to watch with captions on, it can be irritating if you miss a couple of lines that the Roku displayed because you had to look away. Maybe you just want to catch up because you missed a really big moment in your show!
You can go into the captions section of the setting and choose Instant Replay to rewatch what you just missed. This is a great way to catch back up right to where you want to be.
8. Stay in the Loop
One aspect that needs to be remembered about the Roku stick is that sometimes it will need updates. With all technology, there may be small (or large) tweaks to the system that make it better overall. You don’t want to miss out!
In order to update regularly, you may have to check in the system updates section of your Roku and see if there are updates available. If you have a brand new streaming stick, there may be more updates more often than if you own one that is old.
9. Do More Than One Thing at Once
Roku is great for people that like to multitask. Not only are you able to watch quality content, but you can also use your streaming stick to play games, listen to music, and watch online videos.
It is as simple as setting up the device to open with apps you want and using them whenever it strikes you! There are plenty of games that are free to download that you may want to look into.
10. Set Up Private Listening
Although you may love the sounds of the shows and movies you watch, the other people in your house may not. If you spend hours binge-watching a new show until the early hours of the morning, it can be hard to keep the volume down.
A great way to solve this problem is by using private listening. You can use headphones that will allow you to listen to your shows without having to worry about disturbing anyone else.
This is also great for families. Sometimes we just don’t want to hear our kids’ favorite show every day!
Find Something Good to Watch!
There is a lot that you can do with your Roku streaming stick. Some of this may be new to you and there is even more left to discover!
As you continue to use your new device, you will find out that it really has a lot to offer. The features of this device are great and can help make the entire streaming experience much more positive.
