Exploring your new Roku Select or Plus Series TV

Congratulations on your new TV! Whether you chose a Select Series or Plus Series TV, we’re sure you’re going to love it. Now, before you grab the popcorn and get all comfy, let’s take you through some pro tips on how to get the most out of your new TV. 

Picture & Sound

Fine-tune your picture & sound 

Everything about your TV is designed for ease, and the settings menu is no exception. You don’t have to be a guru or study the manual to adjust your settings. Just press the * button while you’re watching something. You’ll see menu options for “Picture” and “Sound” settings. Let’s start with Picture. 

Picture settings 

Once you click into “Picture Settings” you’ll see quick preset options to adjust the brightness, size, dynamic contrast, color temperature, and more in a click.  

If you’re a pro and want even more detailed options, click into “Fine tune picture”. There, you’ll see slider adjustments for brightness, contrast, color, and more. These sliders let you adjust each setting to a specific number so the picture looks just the way you want. 

Sound settings 

In the main settings menu you’ll see two options for adjusting the sound settings on your TV. “Sound Mode” has handy presets like “Speech”, “Theater”, and “Music” to perfect the sound based on what you’re watching.  

If you’re watching at night or trying not to disturb others in your home, check out the “Volume Mode” presets. “Leveling” keeps the volume consistent (and puts the lid on those loud commercials) while “Night” keeps the sound clear while making sure it doesn’t get too loud.

Home Screen

Customize your TV 

One of the best parts of having a TV is getting to make it your own with the customizable home screen. We’ll show you how to move channels around, change the wallpaper and screensaver, and more.  

Re-arrange your home screen 

Move your favorite streaming channels to the top of your list, organize them by color, or however you like. From your home screen, highlight the channel you want to move and press the * button, then choose “Move channel”. When you’ve moved it to your preferred spot, just click OK and you’re all set!  

You can also move your input tiles around, rename them, change the icon, or even delete them! They work the same way as channel tiles. Just highlight the one you want to edit and press the * button while highlighting an input tile to see these options.  

Change your wallpaper & screensaver 

The easiest way to change both your screensaver and wallpaper at the same time is to use a “Theme Pack”. Explore fun, interactive options like Western, Space, and Jungle that even have their own sounds! Just go to Settings > Theme > Theme Packs to choose your favorite.   

Want to mix it up? Scroll down in the Theme Settings menu to Wallpapers and Screensavers and choose your own! From the classic Roku City to a virtual fish tank, there’s millions (ok not that many but still a lot) of options to choose from.  

You can even create your own screensaver using your favorite photos with Photo Streams. Let your friends and family share in the fun and add photos of their own and enjoy it on their Roku devices too.

Fast TV

Start watching even faster 

Fast TV Start is a handy feature if your TV is in a room that gets used often, like your living room. You may want your TV to turn on much faster when you press the power button or be able to turn on with voice commands. To do this, you’ll need to enable Fast TV Start.  

To enable this feature, go into Settings > System Settings > Power. There you’ll see the option to enable or disable Fast TV Start.

Free TV

Stream free TV 

There’s so much free TV available with Roku streaming, you’ll always have something great to watch without needing a subscription. Even with so many options, you can access them all right from your home screen. We’ll show you where to start.   

The Roku Channel 

What better place to start than the home for free, live, and premium TV? From your home screen, click into The Roku Channel to discover an ever-changing selection of free hit movies, shows, and kids’ TV. Be sure to check out exclusive, award-winning Roku® Originals with some of Hollywood’s biggest names.  

Live TV channel guide  

Speaking of The Roku Channel, it’s also great for watching live TV (free, of course). Check out the Live TV channel guide from your TV home screen or inside The Roku Channel to enjoy 350+ live stations with news, sports, cooking, lifestyle entertainment, and more.  

Featured Free 

For a wider range of free streaming options, be sure to check out Featured Free on your home screen menu. It’s loaded with the best available free movies and TV from the most popular streaming channels. Enjoy the latest episodes and even full seasons of must-watch TV from networks like ABC, NBC, HGTV, and Food Network. Who says the good stuff has to cost money? 

Voice Remote

Use your voice remote 

Whether you chose a Select Series or Plus Series TV, you’ve got a shiny new voice remote to help you search for entertainment and control your streaming in a snap. We’ll walk you through how to use all the features your remote has to offer.  

Voice search & control 

This one’s really easy, just press and hold the voice button on your remote and say what you’re looking for. You can search for shows, movies, music, and even genres like “action movies”. In addition to search, you can use your voice to save you a few clicks while streaming. Try saying “Turn subtitles on” or “Go back 30 seconds” to make things a little easier. 

If you have a Voice Remote Pro (included with Plus Series TVs), you can use hands-free voice commands from across the couch! Make sure the hands-free voice slider on the side is turned on and showing green. Then, just say “Hey Roku” before giving a command.  

Private listening 

If you have an Enhanced Voice Remote or Voice Remote Pro (included with Select 4K and Plus Series TVs), you can hook up a pair of wired headphones into your remote to listen to your TV at any volume without disturbing the house. Just plug headphones into the jack on the side of your remote. Your TV will mute automatically.  

Personal shortcuts 

Wondering what those 1 and 2 buttons on your remote? You can easily program them to launch your favorite streaming channels! Just give one a press and you’ll see instructions on your TV of how to set it.  

These handy little buttons can do even more than launch channels. Pretty much any voice command can be programmed as a personal shortcut. This means you can do things like launch the next episode of your favorite show, turn captions on/off, and more. Give it a try! 

Lost remote finder 

And here it is, arguably the coolest remote feature ever. Even the deepest couch cushions are no match for the lost remote finder. If you have a Roku Voice Remote Pro (included with Plus Series TVs), just say “Hey Roku, where’s my remote?” Yea, it’s that easy. 

If you have an Enhanced Voice Remote (included with Select 4K TVs) you can still use the lost remote finder feature. Just press the power button on your TV to bring up a menu where you’ll see an option to trigger the lost remote finder. You can also use the Roku mobile app to ping your remote. You’ll hear a tone from the remote that’ll help you find it.

Looking for more tips on your TV? Check out how to stream local channels for free.