RSSAll the right moves: Roku's Netflix streamer branches out
By Tim Conneally | Published October 27, 2009, 12:06 PM
One of the major attractions of the Netflix Instant streaming service is its low cost of entry. For $9 a month, subscribers have access to a substantial and ever-growing library of content on their PC, available whenever they have a connection and some time to spare. And if a subscriber wanted to view that content on his HDTV, he can do so through game consoles, DVRs, connected optical media players, and of course, through the branded Netflix player by Roku which debuted in spring 2008.
The $99 streaming device certainly proved to be a breakout hit for Roku, providing the simplest, cheapest, and most elegant way to access Netflix Instant in the living room.
However, time is running its course. As Netflix Instant streaming finds its way onto more devices, and the prices of components drops, Roku is facing stronger competition from other manufacturers in the sector. Just last week, for example, Best Buy announced the connected Blu-ray players from its budget electronics brand Insignia would be getting Neflix Instant streaming. For Roku to stay competitive, it has to get cheaper, or pile on some new features.
The company is doing both.
Today, Roku announced it is branching out its line of streaming media players to include a cheaper model that only has standard definition output (Roku SD -- $79) and a more expensive player that has dual-band 802.11n compatible wireless (Roku HD-XR -- $129.)
On the content side of things, Roku said it will be launching the "Roku Channel Store" later this fall, which will let users select new content channels for their device, from providers such as Revision3 (which its CEO Jim Louderback announced earlier this month), Mediafly, Pandora, and Flickr. At Blogworld earlier this month, Brian Jacquet of Roku said there were "about half a dozen" other Roku development partners which will be announced in the coming weeks.
There was discussion of YouTube integration before Amazon on Demand launched earlier this year, but it is not known whether there will be a YouTube channel available for installation when the Roku Channel arrives in the coming weeks.
There is a good amount of 720p content in the Netflix Instant selections. I've been using the Roku DVP for over a year now and it is by far the best device for the money for streaming to the TV. They already have Netflix, Amazon On Demand, and Major League Baseball available, and with the projected new channels coming up like those mentioned in the article (and more I would imagine), the Roku DVP should continue to be a great choice for the foreseaable future.
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|Any word on Hulu? There were rumors this summer.
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|Actually playing ones own content is also high on the list. Otherwise one needs another device to do so and chances are it also does flix etc...
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|Why Roku even bothered to include an HD output is beyond me. Netflix doesn't offer HD streaming content and has not even announced plans to do so. Roku should be selling their SD unit with a built in wifi adapter for $99. Broadband access will not have enough bandwith for real HD content (1080p) for a very long time considering bandwith of 20-40mbps is required just for the video portion alone.
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|What? do some research...
1) Netflix has been offering 720P HD content for awhile now.
2) The Roku SD for $79 includes wifi-b/g.
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|Yah hate to burst your bubble, but Netflix has been streaming a large number of their content in HD for a while now.
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|I've yet to come across any. I have a 15mbps Verizon FiOS internet connection and every single streaming movie I've watched no matter how new is in near DVD quality. According to this article the SD Roku player does not have wifi, only the $129 version does.
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|All three models of the RoKu Player offers WiFi.
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|Awesome device. Engineering beauty. Simple, does the job and doesn't need a Phd to operate.
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