Years ago, friends and I were talking about how the price of DVD players coming down and how long it would be until we could afford to buy one. One bright fellow in the group said he’d buy one eventually, but that wasn’t where technology was stopping. No, he said, it wouldn’t be too many years before you’d just rent movies on a thumb drive and plug it directly into your television. The group scoffed at his suggestion, but he held fast. Today that bright fellow (okay, it was me) gets to act smug to everyone he meets, because that movies on a thumb-drive prediction came true when Roku announced its new Streaming Stick.
Here’s what the Roku CEO, Anthony Wood, said on the company’s official blog. (There’s a more effusive press release as well.)
With the rapid pace of innovation in the streaming world, and all the software updates, it’s inevitable that over time the software needs more hardware power. You see this in the mobile world. Apple and Google increase the memory requirements of their platforms regularly. New games come out that require faster processors. This same problem exists in the Smart TV world, but unlike phones people don’t replace their TVs every two years.
We’ve thought about this problem a lot, and believe we have the solution. Today we unveiled the Roku Streaming Stick™—a little stick about the size of a standard USB flash drive that will simply plug into a TV to instantly transform it into a Smart TV. It essentially includes everything in a Roku player—built-in WiFi, processor, memory and software—and will deliver all the channels found on the Roku platform today. It will also benefit from regular free software updates and channel enhancements.
With the Roku Streaming Stick, consumers will be able to enjoy a Roku streaming experience that is fully integrated into their TVs. They’ll only need to use one remote for their TV and for streaming. There won’t be any cables or a power adaptor. And the best part is, when the Streaming Stick becomes outdated (and let’s face it, technology hardware needs to be upgraded as software evolves), consumers can simply purchase an inexpensive new Streaming Stick without having to replace their much more costly TVs.
It’s an interesting idea, and one whose time has come. Though only a handful of Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL)-capable televisions have been released (the first just months ago), the industry seems to be leaning in that direction. If Roku gets in on the ground floor and makes their service (rather than their box) an expectation, they can pretty much write their own ticket. If this goes according to plan, the company will have effectively done an end run around AppleTV, GoogleTV, Veebeam, Boxee, and other direct competitors to capture the streaming video device market.
Look, Ma! No cables!
As Smart TVs become more common and less expensive, people will expect more from their investment than cable or satellite service, and Roku can step in to fulfill that expectation with their free and paid services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu Plus, all streamed in full 1080p high definition. Best Buy’s Insignia brand of televisions is expected to begin shipping with pre-installed Roku Streaming Sticks in the second half of 2012, with Roku promising other brands to follow. Streaming Sticks will also be available for separate purchase, retailing between $50-$100.
However, this setup would do away with Roku’s remote control. They’ve given their game library a fairly hard push for the past six months, and the remote’s motion-sensing capabilities are integral to that part of the service. Will the TV remote be outfitted with Roku’s Bluetooth remote capabilities or will customers have to buy a second remote for playing games?
If the streaming stick costs the same as the Roku boxes, some people may just opt for the box for the added connection options [wired Ethernet, composite/svideo/component video connections and USB mass storage for media playback] or the remote.