Roku TV continues to emerge as one of the most popular smart TV operating systems with its growing list of customization options. From a popularSave Listfeature to its voice command feature on its latest remotes, Roku really wants to make watching TV easy and convenient. And then there is Roku City, which exists as a colorful diversion, albeit one with an increasing number ofads.
Still, the Roku TVoperating systemand the various Roku remotes boast a few helpful personalization features, including personal button shortcuts. Here’s how to find out if you have them, and how to make them work for you.
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What is a Roku Personal Shortcut?
Customizable buttons to fit how you watch TV
Most smart TV remotes today have a variety of shortcut buttons designed to get you to the settings, features, or streaming services you frequently use. The buttons, however, cannot be changed, so hopefully you’ll find them useful. Roku’s latest remote has a pair of buttons that can be programmed so that you may more conveniently use your remote, adding in shortcuts that suit your viewing habits.
With the Roku personal shortcuts, you can program a button to do a few different things. It can open up your favorite streaming service or channel, go to the Live TV guide, open a sleep timer, or program a specific voice command.
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Where can I find the Roku Personal Shortcut?
The convenient buttons are only available on some remote models
Roku Voice Remote Pro 2nd Gen
The Roku Voice Remote Pro includes a pair of personal shortcut buttons, but the updated Gen 2 version unfortunately does not. According to Roku, it’s latest streaming device, Roku Ultra, also includes a remote with personal shortcut buttons. If you’re not entirely sure which remote you have, look for a pair of numbered buttons on your remote. If you see a ‘1’ and a ‘2,’ then these are your shortcut buttons.
They are located above the quick launch buttons that are programmed for specific streaming services. These buttons seem to change frequently, with direct services popping up depending on the model and maybe even the year in which you bought the remote. These buttons cannot be changed, but if there is a service you want to have quick access to, you can add it using the personal shortcut buttons.
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How to create or edit a personal shortcut
The simple process takes less than a minute
The process for assigning or modifying a personal shortcut is fairly simple. Here’s what you do if you want to set a shortcut for anything other than a voice command.
Setting up a voice command is just as simple, but requires a little more preparation. You will follow the same steps to program the shortcut; one of the available options will be Voice Command. However, it will be your most recent voice command issued. So, before you go to program the button, make sure you activate a voice command to search for something you want to use regularly.
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What’s the difference between Personal Shortcuts and Quick Launch button?
Similar options exist on different remotes
Nothing about smart TVs and operating systems and remote is as simple as it could be. The 2nd Gen Roku Voice Remote, which comes with the latest Roku Ultra streaming device, does not include the same pair of customizable shortcut buttons that its previous iteration did, but it does include a customizable menu that almost does the same thing.
Where those personal shortcut buttons were located on the first gen remote are now a button for your Roku TV Guide and another button with what appears to be a rocket ship on it. The latter icon will direct you to a customizable menu on screen, in which you can rearrange preferred settings and services in a convenient fashion. It’s not quite the same as having a specific button to take you where you want to go, but a quick menu does allow you to have more options close at hand.
As this feature is included in the latest gen remote, which in turn is included in Roku’s latest streaming service, it indicates this version of quick shortcuts will stick around into the immediate future. It’s unlikely Roku will return to have a couple buttons available that you’re able to program; with so many shortcut options available, it’s hard to conceive of an easy way to pare down to just two. It does also seem like there isn’t really a need to program a button to go to a specific voice command. That use seems far too specific and talking to the remote is meant to be a convenient feature in its own right.
Companies like Roku are striving to make a smart TV remote as modern and simple as possible, with as few buttons included as needed on a device that’s small and easy to use.
Q: What are some common Roku TV voice commands?
Like any spoken interaction with a smart device, TV voice commands needs to be familiar and specific in order to obtain the desired result. In general, when looking for something to watch, you want to use as few words as possible, talking at a normal pace at a regular volume. It helps to pause a moment after pressing the voice button on the remote, too.
If you know the specific title you’re looking for, you can just say the name to find it. Viewers often search for specific genres, which is helpful if you’re interested in a certain vibe but don’t have anything in particular in mind. If there is an actor or director you’re looking for, you can also just say their name to find an available filmography.
