I've had Roku devices in my house for years, going all the way back to when it was just a little box sitting next to the TV. At this point, I've got several Roku TVs and a few sticks spread across different rooms, and for the most part, I've always used them the same way. Open an app, pick something to watch, and move on. It works, so I never really thought much about what else was there.
That changed recently when I replaced my living room TV with a $400 75-inch 4K Roku TV that I got on sale at my local wholesale club. While setting everything up, I spent more time digging through the menus and features I'd mostly ignored before. There are quite a few built-in tools that actually make Roku easier to use, more flexible, and in some cases, a lot more useful than just a streaming box. These are the ones I think most people overlook.
Use private listening so you can watch without disturbing anyone
It's one of Roku's most useful features, but it's easy to overlook
I'd heard of private listening on Roku before, but I never really gave it a shot until recently. It's surprisingly simple. You open the Roku mobile app, make sure you're connected to the right TV if you have more than one in the house, tap the headphones icon, and your TV audio gets routed straight to your phone. From there, you can use wired or Bluetooth headphones, and your TV speakers go silent. It feels like a small thing, but it completely changes how and when you can watch.
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This is especially useful at night. If your partner is asleep next to you, you don't have to ride the volume button or rely on subtitles. You can watch at a normal volume through headphones while the room stays quiet. It's also great in smaller spaces where sound carries more than you'd like. In my experience, the audio has been perfectly in sync, but some people do report a slight delay depending on their Wi-Fi. It's also worth mentioning that while it works great with installed apps, it doesn't always work…