Roku Enter the smart home market several years ago with affordable devices, including security cameras and video doorbells. Now, the streaming device maker is announcing plans to make the smart home more accessible through the devices people use every day — TVs, smartphones and computers portable.
Also: Prevent tracking on your smart TV: How to turn off ACR on any TV model
Updates include a new Camera Carousel accessible from your TV, which automatically cycles through security camera live feeds to show the one camera currently recording the action. So if you have cameras around the outside of your house, you’ll have a preview of each camera in the carousel on your TV, and your screen will automatically switch to the motion detection camera.
Roku is also bringing more smart home notifications to its smart TV platform, allowing users to receive alerts right on their TV screen when motion is detected on the camera, for example. Currently, these notifications are limited to doorbell alerts only. I like this feature with the Apple TV 4K and Apple HomeKit because I can instantly see a small notification in the corner of the TV when the smart lock is unlocked or someone is at the door.
Camera carousels and instant notifications will be available for all Roku Smart Home cameras and doorbells this week on Roku TV and Roku streaming devices. The company will also add a new Roku Smart Home Web View option later this winter.
Also: Best Roku TVs of 2024: Tested by experts
Roku Smart Home Web View will allow users to monitor their camera feed from a centralized location on any computer or web device, like a smartphone or tablet. If you have any of these Roku products, you don’t need to do anything to access these new features. Updates will be rolled out automatically.
