Gadget Ogling

Gadget Ogling: Streaming Merrily, Snapping Happily, and Listening My Way

Rally round, one and all, for another edition of Gadget Dreams and Nightmares, the column that takes potshots at the latest gadget announcements in the hopes of landing a giant prize.

In our cavalcade of fun this time around are refreshed Rokus, Snapchat's wearable camera, and headphones with programmable controls.

As ever, reviews these are not; the ratings indicate only my level of interest in trying each item.

4K Everywhere

Roku has refreshed its lineup of media players with lower prices, so bringing streaming video to every screen in your home just got a little more accessible.

At the lower end, the Roku Express costs US$30 -- $20 lower than the Roku 1 and the most recent addition, the Streaming Stick.

The Roku Express+, at $40, has composite cable inputs. Both the Express and the Express+ are larger than the Streaming Stick, and they use infrared for remotes, so you'll need to keep them in the line of sight, which might get annoying if you like a clutter-free home entertainment system.

Further up the ladder are the Roku Premiere and Premiere+, which retail for $80 and $100 respectively. They can handle 4K footage at up to 60 frames per second. The Premiere+ also offers HDR, a microSD card slot, an Ethernet port, and a radio frequency remote, so you can tuck it behind your TV. That's pretty good value for someone who wants to start watching 4K video but doesn't have a smart TV.

Meanwhile, the Roku Ultra ($130, pictured above) has an optical audio port for connecting to soundbars, USB port, voice search via the remote, and a button on the Roku to help you find the remote -- which is a welcome addition.

Roku does a great job with its media players, and any of these would be a welcome addition to my home. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to figure out a way to hook up a TV in my bathroom.