Wi-Fi & connectivity

[Rewop]

I have a recently purchased roku ultra box that is wired into the router. My previous roku ultra, about 5 years old, had a wired connection speed of about 90-93 Mbps which is exactly the same as my new roku. My current 5-year old roku TV, 43", has a wireless connection of over 200 Mbps. I thought a new roku ultra would be speedier than my old box but it's not and lags way behind my wireless TV connection. Why is that? Have I missed some setup items?

[renojim]

Roku only has 100Mbps Ethernet ports in their devices, so the maximum you'll get is around 93Mbps.  93Mbps is more than enough for any streaming provider.  What do you mean by "lags behind"?  Are you just speaking of the reported speed?  Even with a lower throughput the wired connection will probably be more reliable.

[Rewop · Accepted solution]

Thank you renojim for your response.  I did not realize that the ethernet connection was limited to 100Mbps.  Since my roku TV has a wireless connection with a speed of 200+ Mbps I set up my roku ultra with a wireless connection instead of a wired connection.  I now have a speed of 210 Mbps for my ultra box.  I'll see if it makes any difference connecting to the web and with streaming. Thanks again.

Rewop

[andyross]

Unless you plan on streaming local 4K video from a home server, it will make no real difference. 4K streaming tops out at about 25Mbit. I would take what would typically be more reliable Ethernet over WiFi for any fixed-location device.

[makaiguy]

@Rewop-

I wouldn't expect the speed increase to be evident when streaming over the internet.  It only downloads at the speed it needs to display the stream.

Where you might see a difference is when downloading and installing a new channel, or when going to a channel you haven't used in a while that has to be reloaded from the server.

[Rewop]

I think you and others are right about wired vs. wireless connection.  I can't tell a real difference between the two when using the Roku box.  I'll probably continue the wireless connection just because it frees up an ethernet connection on the router.

[ricky_b0bby]

What about if you are trying to stream 4k from a local server? Should I replace the Roku Ultra with something else?

[renojim]

@ricky_b0bby, my opinion is that if your main purpose for a streaming device is to stream your own media from your own server then there are probably better options out there.  Roku has shown little to no interest in that use case and it seems to be barely supported.  Look at the last time the Roku Media Player app was updated for an example.  Basically, it appears that if they can't find a way to monetize something (i.e., force ads on users) then they're not interested.

[ricky_b0bby]

@renojim Great points and you have valid arguments. I just recently started converting my 4k collection to a local server. I’m currently trying to consider my playback options, before jumping out and spending some more money on another component to my home theater setup. 

it’s just frustrating that if I want to hardwire my connection my speed is throttled. 

However, the speed seemed to be enough for me to stream a local 4k version of Ready Player One, so it may suffice for the short term but I should plan on upgrading. 

thanks again.