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Streaming stick 4K vs Roku Ultra
Alright so I have both of these and I’m just going to give my opinion between the two….
The Ultra is definitely faster but it’s not a super huge difference compared to the streaming stick 4K. It’s not a “how did I ever live before I had the Ultra” thing. The remote is a different story.
The Voice Remote Pro 2 is a huge upgrade compared to the regular voice remote. The remote lights up when you pick it up. It has USB-C charging. It also has the shortcut, and guide button. In addition, it has a lost remote finder, and you don’t need to hold down a button for the voice function. You can just say “hey Roku,”. I’m unsure of the battery life, but seeing as it’s rechargeable, it shouldn’t be much of a concern.
The OS, under audio has a pass through option for the ultra. The streaming stick doesn’t have a pass through option for audio.
![RokuEmmanuel-D RokuEmmanuel-D](https://emoji.slack-edge.com/T05KD8SM03X/working/1f49d1a42c44a111.gif)
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Re: Streaming stick 4K vs Roku Ultra
Glad to have you here in the Roku Community, @ketus!
Thank you for your feedback about the Roku Ultra and Roku Streaming Stick. We appreciate your opinion and will gladly inform the team about it.
If there's anything else we can do to assist you further, please let us know, we'd be more than willing to help.
Cheers,
Emman
Roku Community Moderator
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Re: Streaming stick 4K vs Roku Ultra
I disconnected my circa 2018 Ultra shortly after a warranty replacement by Roku in 2019. It seemed that my 65" LG 4K OLED TV and the Roku Ultra didn't want to play nice together.
I would get 2 or more "purple screens" and / or a "HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) error" an evening. Correcting it required unplugging both ends of the HDMI cable between the TV and Roku for 30 seconds or so. There was no guarantee that it wouldn't happen again a few minutes later, either. As you can imagine, that got old REAL quick! I was told by Roku tech support to replace the HDMI cable with a "high quality HDI cable" which I had fished in the wall space. I did this twice with zero improvement. The purple screens and errors continued. I complained to tech support each time it happened and asked on a new Ultra to be provided. They reluctantly gave in after a week of calling. I installed the New Roku Ultra and within an hour, the same errors appeared again!
I was disgusted with the Roku Ultra. I thought about how to get around the issue. I liked the Roku platform more than the Amazon FireTV stick and the Chromecast device (I had each on other TVs) and wasn't ready to give up on Roku just yet.
I quickly realized that the Roku always complained about the HDMI cable - even though I used 3 different ones ranging in price from $10 to $50 (and no difference in performance). I decided that bypassing the HDMI cable would be possible with a Streaming Stick - plugged -directly- into the HDMI jack on my TV.
I went out and bought a Roku 4K Streaming Stick and NEVER saw a purple screen or HDCP Error message again! I used the included 120V adapter to ensure there was enough power for the stick.
Now, if Roku could figure out a way to KEEP the audio and video in sync! There is a tool included in the Roku App (for Android anyway) that uses your phone's camera and microphone to see and hear synchronized flashes on the TV screen with sound that automatically re-synchronizes the TV audio and video. Brilliant!