Thumbdrive-Sized Streaming Media Players Coming Soon 112
DeviceGuru writes "Roku is building its streaming media player technology into a thumbdrive-style device that will plug directly into a TV's HDMI port. The Roku Streaming Stick, to be priced in the $50-$100 range, will convert ordinary TVs into smart TVs, according to CEO Anthony Wood. One catch is that it will depend on the TV having at least one Mobile High-Definition Link (MHDL) compliant HDMI port. The new standard is not widely supported yet, with only Nokia, Samsung, Silicon Image, Sony, and Toshiba listed as members on the MHDL Consortium's web page."
And the point is...? (Score:5, Insightful)
So you get this super-nifty thing which can only be attached to the most super-nifty of the HDMI ports, which will only be equipped to begin with on devices which were already super-nifty.
So, I guess the choices are as thus (since keeping an old TV and buying a new Roku isn't an option):
1. Keep old TV, buy old Roku.
2. Buy new TV, keep old Roku.
3. Buy new super-nifty TV, don't bother with super-nifty Roku because the super-nifty is already built into the TV.
(4. Oh, yeah: At no point is there any functional merit to a new super-nifty Roku. Neat!)
MDHL compliant HDMI port? (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm guessing this sort of port will only be found on a smart TV - so, really, where's the market for a device designed to "convert ordinary TVs into smart TVs" that requires that port?
Really, the fundamental issue is the market for devices like the Roku box or AppleTV is drying up as more and more televisions come with the same functionality built in. They're still iterating on what's rapidly becoming an obsolete product segment - sort of like how Palm kept releasing new takes on the PDA long after stand-alone PDAs became irrelevant.
Re:And the point is...? (Score:5, Insightful)
My New Years Eve.
I was playing around with a digital antenna to get a sub channel. One reason why I quit cable was because they weren't required to support them... I wanted to watch Kohaku on UTB 18.2 Hollywood. I am forced to use this piece of trash [bestbuy.com] since it was all they had at bestbuy. It literally has 1.5 out of 5 stars. As I ask myself why I am moving this box around the room having to scan for channels in this day and age, I give up because the digital channel in MY NEIGHBORHOOD isn't picked up by the scanner no matter how hard I try, given the limitations imposed by the length of the power cord and the random antenna I chose.
I'm thinking, good thing I picked up a Roku box while I was at bestbuy for plan B... I heard about it, and just assumed it was a smart device that would magically find content given it is online. Felt like there were a few unnecessary steps, but I get it to work, only to find that it just has a bunch of youtube-like channels, but no youtube!? No access to any of the upload sites. WTF? If I wanted Angry Bird I'd just get the app, thank you. So what is the hooplah? The channels suck.
I hop online to lookup Roku alternatives, thinking I must have been thinking of something else... Find Boxee, and figure that must have been the magic box. I find I don't even need to buy one. I can just install it on my computer. Brilliant!
90MB download, installed, I try to run it, "dll not found". Silence. It turns out you need to install DirectX manually, but at this point if my Windows 7 doesn't support it, and no one cared to mention it during the install, I figure Boxee doesn't deserve any more attention.
So I end up just hooking up my PC as is to the TV... Shit, it works. I can watch anything. Brilliant!!!
What are all these boxes really about!?!? ...my last WTF and OMG moment of 2011.