LOS GATOS, Calif. – January 29, 2020 – Roku, Inc. (Nasdaq: ROKU) today announced a Roku OS software update that will enable surround sound expansion of its Roku Smart Soundbars, making it easy for its customers to use Roku TV Wireless Speakers to expand their systems with room-filling multichannel sound for TV, movies and music. Walmart will also be expanding their onn.™ ∙ Roku surround system with the addition of onn.™ ∙ Roku Wireless Surround Speakers, expected on Walmart shelves and Walmart.com in February.
“We want to simplify home theater the same way we simplified streaming and we’re taking a big step towards that vision by expanding our Roku Smart Soundbars to support surround sound capabilities,” said Mark Ely, Vice President, Retail Product Strategy at Roku. “We want customers to be able to expand their system over time without having to spend a lot of money or run wires throughout the home. The Roku Smart Soundbar is an incredible two-in one device that adds exceptional sound and powerful streaming to a TV and when Roku TV Wireless Speakers and a Roku Wireless Subwoofer are paired with the Smart Soundbar you get truly enveloping surround sound without breaking the bank.”
“Customers are responding well to our onn. brand, which includes a Roku Smart Soundbar and subwoofer, because they love the quality and value of onn. products,” says Ryan Peterson, vice president of consumer electronics for Walmart. “Roku is known for their quality and affordability as well, and we’re looking forward to offering our customers a premium surround sound experience with the new onn. Roku Wireless Surround Speakers to add to their onn. ∙ Roku Smart Soundbar.”
Roku Surround Sound
The Roku Smart Soundbar offers premium sound quality with crisp dialogue and dynamic bass, an easy-to-use 4K and HDR Roku streaming player built in, simple set up and a remote with TV power and volume buttons. With the Roku Wireless Subwoofer, adding heartpounding bass to entertainment is easy and now Roku TV Wireless Speakers, or the new onn.™ ∙ Roku Wireless Surround Speakers, can be placed behind the sofa or in the back of a room to provide consumers with immersive multi-directional sound. In addition, stereo content will sound better when adding rear speakers as the Roku Smart Soundbar sends sound to all speakers.
Roku Smart Soundbars support Dolby Audio™, which delivers an enhanced surround sound experience when streaming content from compatible platforms such as Netflix, the Apple TV app, Disney+ and more, as well as any input source.
Roku audio devices are built with expandability in mind so consumers can add to their home entertainment system over time. The devices can be set up in a matter of minutes by simply plugging them into power, pairing them to each other via simple menus and completing a quick sound check. Traditionally home theater can be hard to set up, but Roku aims to simplify home theater for consumers by making high quality products that provide access to endless entertainment, offer premium audio, connect to each other wirelessly and are all controlled by one remote.
Availability
Roku Surround Sound capability will be available as a Roku OS software update for all Roku Smart Soundbars and will begin rolling out to devices in February.
The onn.™ ∙ Roku Wireless Surround Speakers will be available for $149 in Walmart stores and online at Walmart.com mid-February to pair to the onn. ™ ∙ Roku Smart Soundbar and onn.™ ∙ Roku Wireless Subwoofer.
About Roku, Inc.
Roku pioneered streaming to the TV. We connect users to the streaming content they love, enable content publishers to build and monetize large audiences, and provide advertisers with unique capabilities to engage consumers. RokuTV™ models and Roku streaming players are available in select countries around the world through direct retail sales and licensing arrangements with TV brands and service operators. Roku audio products are available in the U.S. through direct retail sales. Roku is headquartered in Los Gatos, Calif. U.S.A.
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements that are based on our beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us on the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements include but are not limited to the availability, benefits, features, and capabilities of the Roku operating system update, Roku’s audio products, and the onn. ∙ Roku Wireless Surround Speakers. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially are detailed from time to time in the reports Roku, Inc. files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2019. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on Roku’s website and are available from Roku without charge.
Roku and the Roku logo are registered trademarks and Roku TV is a trademark of Roku, Inc. in the US and other countries. Trade names, trademarks and service marks of other companies appearing in this press release are the property of their respective holders.
Todd Erwin has been a reviewer at Home Theater Forum since 2008. His love of movies began as a young child, first showing Super 8 movies in his backyard during the summer to friends and neighbors at age 10. He also received his first movie camera that year, a hand-crank Wollensak 8mm with three fixed lenses. In 1980, he graduated to "talkies" with his award-winning short The Ape-Man, followed by the cult favorite The Adventures of Terrific Man two years later. Other films include Myth or Fact: The Talbert Terror and Warren's Revenge (which is currently being restored). In addition to movie reviews, Todd has written many articles for Home Theater Forum centering mostly on streaming as well as an occasional hardware review, is the host of his own video podcast Streaming News & Views on YouTube and is a frequent guest on the Home Theater United podcast.
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