US streaming pioneer Roku will offer its devices in Germany from September 28, 2021.
The first products will the Roku Express streaming player for €29.99 and the Roku Streambar soundbar for €149.99, as the company announced at an online press briefing. The Roku Express 4K player (€39.99) and the Roku Streaming Stick 4K (€59.99, pictured below), which offers Dolby Vision and optimised Wi-Fi, are to follow in the first half of October 2021.
The devices, which bring streaming services to the TV set, will be available through electronics stores and online shops including Media Markt, Saturn, Euronics, Expert, Amazon and Otto.de.
The apps available through the Roku devices include international and national services such as Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Spotify, Apple TV, DAZN, StarzPlay, Pluto TV, Rakuten TV, Sky Ticket and the catch-up services from ARD, ZDF, KiKA, RTL (TVNow, from November 3 RTL+), Sat.1, ProSieben and kabel eins as well as other offers such as Tagesschau, Bild TV, Netzkino, Motorvision.TV and Bloomberg.
The user interface, which is suitable for voice control, offers a cross-app search function with the order of results depending on the user’s subscription: at the top is the option to watch the desired content, such as a film, on a streaming service where it is included in the subscription, followed by paid options, starting with the lowest price.
Smartphones and tablets can be connected via the free Roku Mobile app (iOS/Android). With the mobile devices, users can control their Roku player via the virtual remote control, transfer media content to the TV set and use the search function via voice control.
