In today’s era of Netflix, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime subscriptions, there are still a reasonable number of people who prefer to stream and watch digital media content through Roku. Though the 2008 launched platform’s streaming is as easy as opening the application, browsing via the platform has its notable downsides.
Unfortunately, there is no default in-built web browser provided for the platform, so it can be a little hectic to browse. Even if you install a browser extension separately, the features are constrained to some extent. Don’t worry. We researched for you and have found the best web browsers out there to smoothen your browsing experience.
In this article, you’ll find top web browsers to access through your Roku device.
Is there an internet browser for Roku?
To straight up answer this question, there is no internet browser specifically designed and programmed for Roku devices. While the whole world is evolving with advanced technology and top-notch inventions, Roku has remained the same repeatedly and has not introduced any browsers.
The platform offers few internet browsers in their official Roku channel store. Still, even they are limited and have only basic features enabled for the sake of browsing via Roku. Fun fact, even those web browsers are third-party browsers developed by other platform owners.
Top 5 Web Browsers For Roku (The Updated List)
The following are the top 5 best web browsers available on the internet.
- Xfinity
- Web Video Caster
- Web Browser X
- Media Browser
- POPRISM
Let’s dive in.
1. Xfinity:
Videos, songs, websites, or any online content you’d like to browse, you name it, they have it. Xfinity has a modernized interface making it easier for the users to adapt themselves to the platform. The entertainment service has regularly updated music set up with various genres to explore.
Though it promises to cover all sorts of usage, in an ironic way, the platform is quite complicated as it offers everything in a single place bringing confusion in the minds of the users.
Although it is a paid service, the pricing starts at $49.99/ month and increases up to $89.49/ month depending on the number of channels added, but the costs per channel are low.
2. Web Video Caster:
Web Video Caster is the most easily accessible browser available in the market today. You can watch any TV shows, join live streams, browse the website with the help of this web browser. The main thing that makes it stand out is a seamless connection to the Roku Tv while the service is available for free.
It also has a premium version offering benefits like a customized homepage, showing video history, a feature of bookmarking, and most importantly, has removed all the ads.
The premium edition costs around $4.99/ month, but it is a one-time payment and is recommended.
3. Web Browser X:
The most preferred web browser by all Roku users for its remote navigation is Web Browser X. The browser has a very basic and old-fashioned interface which might not be attractive to all its users. Although it performs well in browsing, it is sometimes slow in rendering high-quality content.
The disliked part about this browser is that it cannot play videos and cannot fill fields of username, password, and web forms. (can you believe it?)
It is a free browser already available in the official Roku channel store.
4. Media Browser:
A simplified interface with a small set of valuable features, Media Browser, comes as the savior. There are no lagging or unnecessary strikes. The browsing experience is smooth and enables viewing high-quality content in all pixel sizes.
Although the browser promises to cover up most of the crucial aspects of a web browser, it fails to deliver video playing features.
It is available for free so grab it before it goes premium.
5. POPRISM:
Another moderately popular web browser for Roku users is Poprism. The browser promises to deliver all text-based content and delivers only that. It could be a total thumbs down because it does not support the already existing graphics in the website and shows the texts in a very clumsy unformatted manner.
There are many other things that the web browser certainly does not support, which include CSS, JavaScript, GUI, and even the images shown in a particular website. It has remote navigation enabled. If you are a very light internet user, it will work for you, but mostly not for others.
Lacking most of the basic features, it is evident that it cannot be sold as a premium; hence, it is free. It is also one of the two web browsers already existing in the official Roku channel store.
An Alternative to Web Browsers: Screen Casting/ Screen-Mirroring
Most of these web browsers are good, but some of them lack the bare minimum of features, so to make sure you get the best browsing experience on all your Roku devices, screen-mirroring can be a great option to try. In this part of the article, we’ll show how to screencast or screen-mirror a web browser to your Roku device through Windows in a step-by-step guide.
Step 1: On Windows, click on the browsing in the bottom right corner of the screen and open “action center.”
Step 2: There should be an option called “connect.” Click on the option to connect.
Step 3: Make sure to allow Windows to scan to connect it to your Roku device.
Step 4: After 30 seconds, your Roku device’s name might pop up in the list of scanned devices. Click on the scanned Roku device so the connection can complete successfully.
Step 5: Once the connection is complete, you can open any web browser in Windows, and it will automatically reflect on your Roku device.
You can almost view, browse and explore anything and everything on the internet on your Roku device via screencasting or screen-mirroring as it becomes the extended version of Windows.
NOTE: To disconnect the connection, simply select “stop video” on your Roku device, and to disable through Windows, select “disconnect.”
Frequently Asked Questions
With this article’s recommendations, you can most probably browse on Roku.
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Final Thoughts
On a suggestive note, we’d recommend getting a subscription type of streaming service with a web browser-enabled. We cannot be sure when platforms like Roku will fade away as its competitors are already far ahead and forward in adapting to the current technology.
If you are still planning to use Roku, you need a web browser to browse through your Roku device. Tell us which one you preferred in the comment section below, and let us know if you have any other better recommendations for Roku devices apart from the list we have come down to.
