Roku Box Adds HD, Grows Beyond Netflix

DeviceGuru writes "Roku has announced two free updates to its Internet-enabled Netflix movie-streaming set-top box. The initial update adds advanced compression capable of streaming HD video over average consumer broadband connections, while the second (expected during the first quarter of 2009) will add A/V streaming from sources other than Netflix (e.g. YouTube, Hulu, Comedy Central, MSNBC, etc.). Roku faces growing competition from other providers of Internet-based video-on-demand STBs, such as Blockbuster's STB, Syabas's Popcorn Hour (aka NMT), AppleTV, and others. Roku hasn't said anything specific, but perhaps it'll partner with Boxee, which already provides a popular AppleTV hack."

Comments

Re:XBMC

[Shrubbman]

FYI the aforementioned Boxee hack for AppleTV is actually an XBMC fork.

I love Roku

[WiiVault]

As an AppleTV I must say I really admire Roku. They seem to understand hardware and software in a way few manufacturers do. They work really hard on compatibility with so many formats and products, its really great. I love my AppleTV as well, and it does some things better, but to get the openess of Roku it must be seriously hacked. Roku is the one pushing this segment forward.

Re:"Presumably" Hulu

[powerlord]

Hulu is on the PS3 now - the Roku isn't that big a step away. But I'd like to see one box that can do hulu, netflix hd, and local upnp/DLNA streaming with hdmi output.

Exactly. Between my PS3 and TiVo I've got almost all the bases covered (since TiVo added the Netflix streaming in addition to the Amazon Video support).

Likewise a PS3 and an XBox360 would also cover most of the streaming video options, or a 360 and an AppleTV, or lots of other combinations.

Lets count the media sources together:
Sony's Video store on the PS3
MS's Video store on the 360
Apple's iTunes
Amazon's Video store (formerly unBox)
Netflix
Hulu

Once people have access to "enough" media sources, their usually set, and each Set Top Box seems to be getting more and more access to more and more sources.

Re:"Presumably" Hulu

[powerlord]

Once Hulu comes to my Tivo (I hate having a million boxes for different things), I'd reconsider why I even pay for even the cheapest tier cable.

Cable is in for lots of rude awakenings in the coming year or two.

Once digital TV goes live, and signal strength increases on the digital signals, a lot of people in formerly "I can get a usable signal" areas will suddenly get crystal clear reception.

I live in the canyons of concrete and steel in NYC and went from missing a couple of channels and lots of snow (on analog signals) to crystal clear reception on all channels plus sub channels, plus some I didn't expect (on digital). That, plus some supplemental downloading Amazon, Sony, iTunes to fill in a "first run cable" series or two (or even just waiting for syndication), and cutting the cable back to just an ISP seems much more promising.

If only FiOS was here over DSL I'd ditch cable as an ISP also.