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The Roku OS 12.5 update that will start rolling out in the coming weeks and months will bring more sports and music in addition to making easier to find what to you want to watch.

In a move sure to delight video enthusiasts, advanced picture settings like gamma correction, noise reduction, and white balance that are now available for Roku 4K TVs via the mobile app will appear right on the TV under an Expert Picture Settings tab when the update hits. But that’s just one of the many useful changes that are coming.

It may take several weeks for the update to download to your Roku TV or device (it’s automatic) but you can get it sooner by going into Settings and choosing System and then Software Update.

More Sports-Related Content
The update will appeal to sports enthusiasts who want quick, easy access to more sports-related content. Roku is adding sports highlights, including clips and analysis, in the Roku Sports Zone, which can be accessed using Roku’s search feature. It will also be easier to find teams and peg them as favorites. To “favorite” a team all you have to do is search for one of its sporting events and click on the detail page and the team will appear in a row with your other favorite teams.

The Max streaming service available through Roku is also offering a live sports tier called Bleacher Report Sports. The service is an add-on for current Max subscribers but is being made available to current Max subscribers for free through February 29th, 2024. The add-on will cost $10 per month starting in March.

Bleacher Report Sports will feature live games from Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Hockey League (NHL), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and US Soccer. The games will be available in the Roku Sports Zone along with "select" live international sporting events, video-on-demand movies, and sports documentaries. Roku announced that it will add motorsports in early 2024.

More Music
The Roku update will also expand Music Zone offerings to include more than 250 curated music video playlists from Vevo, Stingray, and the Warner Music Group. Each playlist will have a details page where you can preview videos in the list, pick one to play, create a favorite playlist, or shuffle the list to randomize playback. Favorite playlists will appear in the Continue Watching row for fast access and can be added to the Save List that includes movies and TV Shows.

As part of its renewed focus on music, Roku is collaborating with Warner Music (WMX) to celebrate Atlantic Records' 75th Anniversary by assembling 75 playlists on The Roku Channel. Artists featured in the playlists will include Paul Rodgers, Jim "Soni" Sonefeld of Hootie & the Blowfish, Debbie Gibson, Kathy Sledge, and Nile Rodgers.

Personalized Live TV Channel Guide
With more than 400 free live-TV streaming channels, it's easy to go cross-eyed trying to find something to watch. With the OS 12.5 update you will be able to personalize the Live TV guide by removing channels you don't watch and organizing the remaining ones as you see fit.

In another change, Roku Live TV will display only channel logos in the guide, though local broadcast numbers will still be displayed for Roku owners who use an antenna to receive channels broadcast over the air. Subscribers to Fubo, DirecTV, and Sling will also see separate rows of content in the Live TV Zone.

When the update kicks in, Roku Photo Streams will support Google Photos, allowing you to use a favorite image in a Google Photos album as a screensaver. And, as with other Roku Photos Streams, you will be able to share Google Photo albums with family and friends.

Other Nifty Changes
Roku’s What to Watch tab will also get a remake with the update. Rows will be organized by key categories such as Movies, TV Shows, New and Popular, etc. and each row will be further broken down into genres such as Action, Comedy, and Crime.

And for instances when you need to add a credit card, you will be able to use the Roku Voice remote to add card information and spell out your username and password.

Roku prides itself on being easy to use and says the OS 12.5 update will make it a little easier to quickly find and play what you want to watch on Roku TVs and standalone devices.