Roku To Go Open Source

ruphus13 writes "Time-shifting via Tivo changed the way we consume television programming. Now, Open Source enters the fray. Roku, the streaming-media set-top box has decided to Open Source its software. Roku had received praise for its streaming solution, and was in the press recently for its deal with Netflix, allowing users to stream Netflix movies directly to the box. From the article, 'Roku will release an open source version of its software by the end of the year. The CEO says he's looking for deals with content providers to stream their products through his device, and hopes to sell a bunch of them as a result.'"

Comments

If only all companies had this vision

[gladbach]

I dream of the day that I don't need to pay for cable, and can go strictly on demand for a reasonable price point.

Re:If only all companies had this vision

[electrosoccertux]

That's exactly what they're trying to prevent, with things like the 250GB cap. They'll let you get all the internets you want, but when it infringes on their space (content), they don't want any of that kind of competition.

Otherwise people could just download all the HD movies and shows they want through a subscription service like Netflix (or hopefully through a cheaper, bittorrent backed solution), and get rid of the cable TV.

Re:If only all companies had this vision

[MightyYar]

I agree about price, but...

SIX HOURS A DAY!!!! OH MY GOD!!! The price of iTunes is the least of your worries! Even a whole movie a day only gets you in the 2 hours a day ballpark.

I mean, yeah, I watch a few shows... The Office, Weeds, South Park, Family Guy... but holy shit, 6 hours? Even if you're disabled that's a lot of time on your ass!

Re:If only all companies had this vision

[lysergic.acid]

TV is already becoming an anachronism when almost everyone has broadband internet access through which they can receive on-demand content uncontrolled by the major television networks. now all that needs to be done is for a legal and user-friendly solutions to be developed.

Miro (formerly known as Democracy Player) is one service that directly connects content-producers with end users without going through traditional distribution channels. thus television networks are no longer the gatekeepers of media distribution.

Re:If only all companies had this vision

[juiceboxfan]

...but at an average of 6 hours of viewing a day...

Apparently you are off by about 50%. But Four hours a day is still a lot.

In the US only old people watch TV anyway.;-)

Re:If only all companies had this vision

[characterZer0]

Man, too bad my kid is missing out on all this packaged education while she is reading books, playing with blocks, playing outside, and "helping" her parents.

Re:If only all companies had this vision

[edmicman]

In my experience trying to get web-based video like Hulu and the respective network sites hooked up to a TV for a true TV-like experience is a PITA. Sure, you can s-video out, or have something like Media Center or MythTV....but ultimately I've found you still have a computer hooked up to a TV, with the same interface pitfalls.

Watching your shows on a computer monitor may work in the dorms, but for relaxing on the couch with the wife, it doesn't cut it.

Re:If only all companies had this vision

[Anonymous Coward]

Stacking blocks will be good practice for her future career as a late night stocker at Wal-Mart.

Re:If only all companies had this vision

[Abreu]

No need to get all holier-than-thou on this.

My kids (ages 4 and 1), also get the full-parenting experience: playing with blocks, reading/crayoning books, learning english...

However, BabyFirstTV/DiscoveryKids/NickJR are absolute lifesavers when we need them to stay in their room for an hour or so.

BabyFirstTV also has THE BEST sleep-inducing programming after 9pm

Re:If only all companies had this vision

[Firehed]

8 DVDs at a time? Jesus. They might as well just give you sftp access to their ~/Movies folder and save you the trouble of re-ripping everything.

Re:content?

[Neon Spiral Injector]

I have a feeling they'll provide the source to their UI and networking stuff. But the WMV DRM decoding will remain proprietary.

This way other content providers can customize the Roku to work with their service (and plug in their own DRM module).

Hopefully the device can be improved greatly. I had one for a week. Maybe it was just too simple, but I wasn't impressed. I sold it to a friend. I'll just get an Xbox 360 for my Netflix streaming.

Re:MythTV?

[StreetStealth]

MythTV resides in an entirely different market from this.

Myth's featureset has always been built around DVR features; your Myth box sits downstream from a cable box or tuner. The Roku box, on the other hand, is the content source.

Right now, it's being sold as a Netflix streaming device. In the future, though, any company could theoretically provide client software for it to stream other proprietary or open content.

Re:content?

[sacherjj]

Roku has the capability to play MPEG4. It doesn't have to deal with the inferior WMV.

Re:Couldn't find it... getting a bit ahead

[petes_PoV]

The story says that Roku will release an open source version - in the hope that it'll help them sell more boxes.

This (slashdot article) is a story about a story of something that will/might happen in the future. I wouldn't hold my breathe waiting for the outcome.

Re:MythTV?

[H0p313ss]

I believe they are trying to say that it is a comparison of apples to oranges.

Sounds more like they were saying it is a comparison of apples to Orangutans.

Open Source?

[Fnord666]

I wouldn't get too excited just yet. I have not only read the linked article (which is a real dog's breakfast in both organization and apparently facts), but the articles that it links to and the ones that they link to. I didn't find anything that said Roku will be going open source. The nearest thing I can find is commentary with the word open in it that indicates that they are opening up the box to other content providers.

Roku, the maker of a set-top box used to stream online video on a traditional TV, will open its platform to any content provider over the next few months, says Roku CEO Anthony Wood, speaking at Streaming Media West. "We're opening up the platform to anyone who wants to put their video service on this box," says Wood. "We're going to release the software developer kit, so anyone can publish any channel, and users can access web content on their TVs."

Jennifer Guevin over at cnet has a decent article that talks about where Roku is really going with this. Keep an eye on Roku's press releases for the real deal if and when it's announced.

Re:Open Source?

[peterw]

That's my read, too. TFA doesn't say anything about even releasing source code, let alone using an OSI-approved open source license. All it promises is an SDK. You know, like the iPhone has.

In fact, one of the articles linked to from an article linked to by TFA suggests that Roku is considering charging for software upgrades that provide HD playback capabilities (http://techpulse360.com/2008/09/24/streaming-media-west-roku-to-open-netflix-player-with-sdk-shifting-to-new-name-soon/). I know that's a "Gratis" issue, not necessarily a "Libre" issue, but still, this doesn't look at all like Open Source.

Re:Couldn't find it...

[mrslacker]

Yes, indeed. The summary is rather bad, but at least Slashdot is not alone (but typically, it's late to the game).

The reality is that most of the Roku software is _already_ open source - Linux kernel, busybox, other standard stuff, certainly more than 95% of the system. Whether they open more stuff up remains to the seen. More accurately, Roku will be "opening the system up". In particular, everything is signed, ala TiVo, so no one's yet managed to hack into it.

See here: http://www.linuxhints.info/index.php/Roku_Netflix_Player

Roku already uses some open source

[Thornae]

They fully endorse the open source Firefly Media Server for use with their nifty Soundbridge devices.

Runs on FreeBSD/Linux. Integrates with iTunes (if you must). What more do you want?