My Ultra 4800 is the only Roku I've ever had that seems to have reported my Ethernet speed accurately. Most have always reported far lower than my actual connection. Since my Internet speed is only 108 Mbps, I can't accurately test my WiFi speed with public speed tests. There have been a few users that have reported connecting via WiFi fast enough to play a ripped UHD movie, but I cannot. My UHD rips average 70-90 Mbps, with peaks of over 150 Mbps. Fast Ethernet cannot handle that, and even though my home network is Gigabit I cannot play them with a Roku device.
I have a number of test videos at various video bitrates, and have tested them in my 4800 from a USB drive. Using RMP as the player, I can play up to about 150 Mbps without buffering, but that's about it. So for home media, viewing UHD content, Roku players are not the best fit. Add to that they don't support lossless audio bitstreaming, and they aren't the first choice for such watching.
But as already mentioned, there's almost nothing available for streaming from the Internet that is higher than around 20 Mbps. That is most likely the driving reason for Roku not including Gigabit Ethernet on any of their players. The original and still primary purpose for Roku devices is Internet streaming, so why equip the devices with unnecessary hardware that drives up the price for no benefit?
Dan
Roku Community Streaming Expert
Help others find this answer and click "Accept as Solution."
If you appreciate my answer, maybe give me a Kudo.
I am not a Roku employee, just another user.
