New Roku feed tells you when you can stream movies

NEW YORK — Unless you are paying super close attention, it can be hard to figure out when a box office hit you want to watch will be available for streaming.

Few consumers can tell you off the top of their heads when the rental or for-purchase "window" opens up for a favorite Hollywood flick.

On Monday, Roku starts rolling out a feature designed to address the problem on its popular streaming players.

The feature is called Movies Coming Soon and it arrives as part of a new "Roku Feed" viewers can peek at under the My Feed tab on the TV's home screen.

Here's how it works: You "follow" a movie you are interested in, and you'll receive a notification when the film is available to watch on one or more of Roku's myriad channels.

You'll be informed whether the movie is available to rent, buy or stream for free. You'll also get a notification as part of the feed if the price of the movie you follow changes or if the movie becomes available on other channels.

For now, the feature is limited. You can only follow a movie title itself, not an actor. Of course, there's no reason to think Roku couldn't add this or other related features down the road.

Separately, Roku is updating its top of the line $99.99 Roku 3 player with voice search — which can be accessed via a dedicated button on a new remote control. Roku is also making its $69.99 Roku 2 player faster, though it won't get the new voice-capable remote control.

Roku is beefing up its search capabilities overall as well, and upgrading the free mobile app that lets you control Roku players through an iOS or Android device.

Email: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow @edbaig on Twitter