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Roku Now Licensing Its Media Player Design
DeviceGuru writes "Roku has begun licensing its A/V media streaming set-top-box hardware and software technology to third-party device makers. Netgear, Roku's first licensee, will soon offer a Netgear-branded version of the recently size- and cost-reduced Roku XDS box through Best Buy, Fry's, and Radio Shack stores. Although Roku's licensing move follows closely on the heels Google's October rollout of the Google TV platform, the $60 to $100 Roku XD player design's low-cost, low-power, compact design, and sheer ease-of-use make it a compelling alternative to Google TV, assuming Google's platform results in prices like Logitech's $300 Revue. As a small example, the Roku player most likely uses an inexpensive, power-stingy MIPS-based NXP processor in contrast to the Revue's more power-thirsty, expensive, and spacious Atom processor."
What's the point in buying these devices if the content you can watch on them is all utter crap out of New York or LA, or worse, some horrid anime tripe out of Japan or Korea?
I used to watch a lot of TV, but the shows got so fucking stupid that I had to stop watching. It's so much better to go down to the local jazz bar to hear some live music, or to go to the theater and watch a live play. I suppose a benefit of this is that you're helping support real people in your community, rather than some cockdangling actor or TV executive.
Great....maybe netgear will wise up and put a toslink connector on the back of it so some of us can still use our old avr systems. Stereo doesn't cut it.
For those of you that have one... Can you rewind/ffwd through movies that you rent from Amazon MarketPlace (AMP)? I rented an AMP movie via my pc and streamed through my xbox, and it wouldn't let us rewind or fast forward. I wasn't sure if this was an AMP feature or just because we downloaded the file.
Compared to a DVD remote, the Roku's is missing next and previous chapter buttons. When I'm watching a show, I like to jump past the opening credits, thank you.
And why are they still using an old-fashioned AC adapter? They ought to power the box through industry standard USB or PoE.
Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
The XD|S model has optical audio, as well as component video for those of us that bought high quality systems before HDMI was widely available. Unfortunately there aren't enough of us around to justify putting those on the base model where saving cost is high priority, so we have to fork out for the high-end model.
The implication Roku licensing is certainly the inclusion of a media player built into the TV. I can imagine that this would be a big selling point. No external cable box, no external DVD player, just broadcast and streaming on demand.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
It's so much better to go down to the local jazz bar to hear some live music
Children and college underclassmen aren't allowed into the establishment due to alcohol control statutes. What do you suggest for them?
or to go to the theater and watch a live play.
Ordinarily, these live plays don't end until the city buses have stopped running for the night, and a cab ride home is cost prohibitive.
from Wikipedia:
In order not to have to ship an AC adapter, the manufacturer would have to be certain that a nearby device has a Dedicated Charging Port. Which device might this be?
We already have this device in our store and it only runs for $89 bucks. Comes with remote and everything. Says it has built in wireless too.
As a small example, the Roku player most likely uses an inexpensive, power-stingy MIPS-based NXP processor in contrast to the Revue's more power-thirsty, expensive, and spacious Atom processor."
Spacious? So when can I move in?
We've got a Roku XDS, and we didn't buy it to watch garden-variety television. It does Internet radio, a large variety of channels, also Pandora, and that alone might get it a place in my media cabinet, but that's not all by any means. There's NASA TV and SpaceVidCast, news sources, iTunes access, flickr, Khan academy (math, science, economics)... all that and I've barely scratched the surface of the non-TV content.
As for "gems", Netflix seems to be ahead on that score. They've really got a decent variety of movies, and they're starting to pick up some of the edgy cable shows like Weeds, too. The Netflix capability of the Roku is excellent.
It's also worth mentioning (especially here on Slashdot) that the Roku's "channel" mechanism is implemented by an open-source kit; anyone can create a channel, and any content that isn't outright illegal is good to go. For example, they've got a porn channel, fairly basic - there's a BDSM component, a gay component, and a hetero component; doesn't show up on the site (these are called "hidden" channels) but getting to it is no problem when you find the offer for the channel (it's called EVTV, that's enough to track it down.)
The fact that there's a lot of crap out there in no way says that you have to watch (or listen) to it. On the other hand, if you're a connoisseur of crap, well, there's no shortage, that's for certain. :)
The XDS has some problems yet, notably a really lame and broken wifi setup (you're MUCH better off to set it up as wired ethernet until they fix that) and a few annoying bugs like the radio app being unable to "favorite" a station that's been found by search, but these are pretty minor compared to the latest AppleTV's inability to support many DVI connections, component systems, or work in anything other than HDMI/720p.
As a user of both, the Roku is the *far* better unit. Hugely better connectivity (component and composite, analog audio, none of which are available on the Apple unit, also properly supports DVI, again, not available from Apple), better compatibility (any HD mode up to 1080p plus SD, the Apple only does 720p), standard USB connection for your media files up front and handy (the AppleTV's USB connection is in the rear and doesn't appear to be supported except for upgrading), the Ethernet connection is better, sporting connect and speed LEDs, even a better remote (Apple's is typically minimalist, and consequently, as usual, functionally retarded. You end up navigating a lot more than with the Roku, for instance.) Both support wifi, ethernet, physical HDMI and TosLink optical audio. the Roku is also far ahead in content at present. Considering they're both the same price, as far as I'm concerned it's a slam-dunk in favor of the Roku XDS,
I have no relationship with either company other than as a customer.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Both AppleTv and the Roku XDS include TosLink optical audio; works great on both - I own both and use the TosLink audio connections for audio.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Roku XDS has analog audio outputs, they work just fine with gear from 1960's Marantz tube classics to whatever else you have. Classic gear owners haven't been completely forgotten. :)
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Compared to a DVD remote, the Roku's is missing next and previous chapter buttons. When I'm watching a show, I like to jump past the opening credits, thank you.
It works differently with Netflix than you do with YouTube or Archive.org.
On the Netflix display, if you hit the Pause button, then the Fast Forward button, it'll fan out a series of still images representing scene changes.
I don't get any of that on the free channels. I have not yet tried Amazon. We're busy gorging on the all-you-can-eat Netflix.
I do not know if this is related to a different player, different encoding in the data stream, or both.
(I didn't know about this until my wife showed me. She's the one who tortures the remote until it reveals its secrets.)
Sorry, missed the 5.1 thing.
Seems easily dealt with, though. Go to ebay, buy a cheap older receiver (pre-HDMI) that has outputs to drive external amps, and at least one optical audio input with decode support. That'd be most of them from a several year span. Like this one. It's cheap as I write this, but if it doesn't end that way, there's always something on there. Both my Sony and my Denon have analog outputs that can output the decode from the toslink optical inputs.
Even a parts unit would likely work - amps are usually what fail.
Plug in your optical source, set the old receiver to that, set the decoding to 5.1, take the analog signal from the amp outputs, and your problem is solved, no?
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
The Roku could be an absolute Squeezebox slayer if the thing would only offer playback of more audio formats. As it stands, MainSqueeze channel is available to connect with a Squeezebox Server, but unfortunately ogg, flac, etc are not playable on the Roku. And transcoding doesn't work either. WHAT A HEARTBREAKER! Think about it, the Squeezebox starts at $299....
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