Roku shares ‘night owl’ trick that instantly improves TV watching when it’s dark – plus bonus perk that saves you time
ROKU owners need to try a clever TV mode that’s perfect for when you’re watching at night.
It’s available as a free perk and takes just a few seconds to set up.
The feature is called Private Listening and is designed to let you listen to your TV through headphones.
It means you won’t disturb other people and can enjoy a movie soundtrack or music channel to its fullest.
Roku explained, “Are you a night owl that likes to stream while others are asleep? Or maybe the noise outside is interrupting your streaming experience? No worries!
“With many Roku devices and the Roku mobile app, you can use your choice of headphones to hear all the action loud and clear.
“And the Roku mobile app even lets you share the fun with up to four connected devices!”
HOW SET UP PRIVATE LISTENING ON ROKU
Before you can use Roku’s Private Listening feature, there are some steps you need to take to prepare.
First, make sure that you have the latest version of Roku’s mobile app installed.
Then follow the instructions in the app to make sure that your mobile device is connected to your Roku.
This will involve having both devices connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
Also, note that when you activate Private Listening, no audio will come out of your TV speakers.
Once that’s all ready, you can get started.
HOW TO USE PRIVATE LISTENING ON ROKU
First, make sure that your headphones are connected.
It’ll work with wired headphones plugged in or Bluetooth headphones that are paired and connected.
Then open your Roku mobile app and tap on the Remote icon on the navigation bar.
Then tap on the Headphone icon that will activate private listening.
You can then adjust the volume before you put your headphones on.
If you want to switch it off, simply tap the Headphone icon again.
The Roku Channel – what you need to know
Here's the lowdown...
The Roku Channel is a streaming app that’s available on a range of devices.
It offers more than 400 live TV channels.
And it promises over 80,000 movies and TV shows on an on-demand basis.
Roku says that the app is available on:
- Roku streaming devices
- Compatible Samsung Smart TVs
- Compatible AMazon Fire TV devices
- TheRokuChannel.com website
- Roku mobile apps (iOS and Android)
Roku notes that the app is only available in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It’s also available in Mexico, but only on Roku devices.
It’s also possible for multiple people to connect to Private Listening at once.
In fact, four devices can be linked to your Roku simultaneously.
OTHER ROKU APP PERKS
There are two other perks that come with using the Roku mobile app.
The first is that it serves as a back-up Roku remote if you lose your physical one.
Roku explains, “Ever get settled into your couch, perfectly comfy for a night of streaming, when suddenly you realize the remote is on the other side of the room?
“With the free Roku mobile app, there’s no need to get up! It lets your phone do everything your Roku remote does and more.”
And secondly, you can use the Roku mobile app to make voice searches.
There are loads of voice commands to try, so test a few out.
Roku voice commands – the official list
Here are some voice commands to try with your Roku mobile app, as revealed by the TV giant itself...
- Find a specific movie or show
“Harry Potter”
“find Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”
“show me episodes of Silicon Valley” - Search for your favorite actors or directors
“Halle Berry”
“search for comedy movies with Will Farrell”
“find all Martin Scorsese films” - Browse popular genres
“show me comedies”
“find thriller movies” - Find content in a genre on a channel
“show documentary films on Sky Store”
- Launch a streaming channel
“go to YouTube”
“launch Prime Video”
“BBC iPlayer”
- Playback commands
“fast forward”
“rewind”
“pause”
“stop”
“resume”
“continue”
“skip”
“next”
“replay” - Closed captioning commands
“turn on closed captioning”
“hide the captions”
“show captions during replay”
“turn on captions during mute”
“what’s my captions setting?”
- Move forward a specific amount of time
“forward 15 minutes”
“skip 5 minutes”
“fast forward 3 minutes”
“go forward 10 minutes” - Move backward (or rewind) a specific amount of time
“go back half an hour”
“rewind 30 minutes” - Restart video from beginning
“start over”
- Search for content
“play Taylor Swift”
“play Daft Punk on Spotify”
“play S-Town on TuneIn” - Interact with your streaming service
“thumbs up/down”
“like/dislike”
“what song is this?”
- Switch devices
“switch the input to HDMI 3”
“switch to antenna TV”
“switch to Blu-ray player” - Change over-the-air broadcast channels
“channel up”
“channel down”
“tune to NBC”
“find channel 7.1″
“previous channel” - Launch or hide Live TV Channel Guide
“open live tv guide”
“open channel guide
“hide channel guide” - Adjust volume levels
“turn the volume up”
“volume down”
“mute”
“set volume to 50%”
“set volume to 5”
You can use it to find specific movies or shows, content from favorite actors, launch streaming channels, or control media playback.