Will Roku Ultra Come to the UK?

The Roku Ultra is an incredibly fast and powerful player in a crowded market. With features like 4K HDR, Cinematic Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos sound, it is one of the best players available and at an affordable price. But what if you are in the UK and want to try out all the Roku goodness? Are you out of luck?

There is no word currently about the Roku Ultra being offered in the UK. However, there are some ways to get your hands on one.

We searched the internet high and low to find the best options you have available for a Roku Ultra or an alternative. Keep reading to learn more!

What is the Roku Ultra

The Roku Ultra is a player that is meant to compete with the likes of Apple, Google, and Amazon by offering flagship specifications at an affordable price. Put simply, the Roku Ultra offers almost every streaming service you can imagine without some of the restrictions of other players.

Some improvements to the latest Roku Ultra include a better Wi-Fi antenna for better reach and speeds, as well as improvements to the speed and responsiveness for streaming users. Like all the other Roku players, you have access to plenty of free streaming channels, movies, and television series as well.

Is the Roku Ultra the Best Player for You?

If you think the Roku Ultra is the player you want most, make sure and do research to find out if you will be able to get the full power of the player. Here are a few questions to answer to make sure the Roku Ultra is the best fit for you.

1. Do you have a 4K TV that supports Dolby Vision and also HDCP 2.2 and HDR10 at 60 frames per second? If your TV is missing any of those capabilities, a different player may be able to give you similar results without having to find workarounds.
2. Do you have subscriptions to Netflix and/or Amazon Prime Video? If you do not have subscriptions to those streaming services, you will not be getting the magic of 4K HDR10 with Dolby Vision that you want. Other streaming services will still look good on the Ultra, but part of the whole idea of buying the player is to experience the best available pictures, sound, and quality.
3. Do you want your player to upscale video content? Some players take 1080p video, for example, and upscale it to 4K to give you a little better picture quality. The Ultra does not upscale video, so you will be viewing normal HD video content only in its native resolution.

After thinking about these three issues, it is time to make sure the Roku Ultra is the best player for you.

How Can You Get Your Hands on a Roku Ultra in the UK?

The Roku Ultra is not officially offered in the UK, but you have decided that it is the player that would most suit your needs for speed and quality streaming. Even though the Roku Express and Streaming Stick+ are on shelves in the UK, you really want the features of an Ultra. How are you going to get one hooked up to your television, then?

Really, your best bet is to go onto eBay and purchase a Roku Ultra and have an international shipment to the UK. This will get a US or Canadian Roku Ultra shipped right to you for a little more than the typical North American buyer can find in a store. You will also have to source a plug adapter as well, though, since the player will not have a UK-style plug.

The big question pops up about being able to stream UK channels and services on your new North American Roku Ultra. After research, it looks like almost all of the typical streaming services you might use will be available to you on your Ultra. The main exception to that is BBC iPlayer; you cannot install iPlayer on any non-UK player.

What Are Your Other Options?

If the Ultra just is not going to give you the experience, you need or you do not want to have to import one to the UK, there are plenty of other options available to you.

If Roku is your favorite brand of player, the Roku Express and Streaming Stick+ are good options that do not require any importing or plug adapters. If 4K content is not a major deciding factor, then the Express is a very inexpensive option for streaming. The Streaming Stick+ is a bit more expensive but will hook you up with that 4K goodness.

Amazon sells five different players in the UK. These are:

• The Amazon Fire TV 4K Max
• Amazon Fire TV 4K Stick
• Amazon Fire TV Stick (up to 1080p)
• Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite (up to 1080p)
• Amazon Fire TV Cube.

Google offers the Chromecast which is now in its third generation. It will stream up to 1080p.

Virgin Media and Sky also offer streaming players. Both stream in up to 4K.

Conclusion

Since there is no word about the Roku Ultra officially coming to the UK, you can work around the availability, pay a little more, get a plug converter, and pay a little more. You can also skip the Ultra and go for an alternative. Check to make sure you will get the most out of an Ultra before taking the dive.