If you’re looking for a TV to mount on your wall and don’t want to mess around with plugging in a bunch of different boxes, a Roku TV is a great option since it packs all of the features of the company’s streaming boxes into the TV itself. If you’ve found yourself wishing that your sound setup could be that easy, too, it seems Roku has been listening to your wishes, as today the company introduced the Roku TV Wireless Speakers, which take the same simple approach and apply it to your speakers.
There is one major caveat here, so let’s get it out of the way first: As the name implies, these speakers only work with Roku TVs, so if you have any other TV, you’ll want to look for another solution. Fortunately, there are tons of options from soundbars to A/V receivers, so you won’t find yourself starved for choice if you use a different TV.
Because Roku can count on you using a Roku TV, it makes setup much easier. Since Roku controls the hardware and software of both the TV and the speakers, Roku is able to easily pair the wireless speakers — the only wired connection you’ll need is to plug in the power cable for the speakers. This also means that the Roku software can adjust audio and video for perfect syncing, which is something you might have noticed can be a problem if you try to watch TV with Bluetooth headphones, for example.
It’s not all about ease of use, though. Roku has packed some unique and very useful features into these speakers. Not only do they ship with a Roku Voice Remote, but they also include the Roku Touch, a battery-powered tabletop voice remote that is meant to let you control your TV, including voice control, from another room in your home, like the kitchen. The speakers also feature Automatic Volume Leveling, which can boost the volume in quiet scenes and lower it in loud ones, which is great if you like to watch movies while the rest of your family is asleep.
The Roku TV Wireless Speakers will eventually retail for $200 but the company wants to make them more enticing for early buyers. From July 16 to July 23, the speakers are available for just $150, while from July 24 to October 15 they will be on sale for $180. After this, the price will rise to $200, so if these sound like they’d be perfect for your living room, you might want to act quickly.