media players.
Not only is Roku licensing it’s technology to Netgear, it is also ready to partner with other companies, according to the announcement.
With media players coming from so many companies these days, it will be quite interesting to find out which models finds themselves coming out on top in the consumer marketplace with the right features at the right price. Whether the Internet-based Roku media streamer is the one for you or a competing product provides you the “must-have” feature set remains to be seen.
With all the Internet-based TVs coming to market, the media players that provide this function for those TVs without this connectivity, and media players that provide even more features (including an HTPC), I think we are just now beginning to see the tip of the iceberg of the connected home. The connected home, that is, for more than just the home media enthusiast.
Roku Licenses Streaming Media Player Platform; Announces NETGEAR as first OEM Partner
New NETGEAR-branded Roku Player Now Available in Best Buy, Fry’s and Radio Shack
Saratoga, Calif. – October 27, 2010 – Roku, Inc., maker of the best-selling and award winning Roku streaming player, today announced that its hardware and software platform is available to license, giving consumers more ways to access the power of the Roku player in their living room, playroom or on any television in their home. The company also announced its first licensee, NETGEAR®, who has taken the recently introduced Roku XD streaming player and began selling it under the NETGEAR brand in retail stores including Best Buy, Fry’s and Radio Shack.
“Roku has built an open platform that has been enthusiastically adopted by content providers, many choosing Roku as the first product to launch their service into the living room,” said Anthony Wood, founder and CEO of Roku, Inc. “With today’s announcement we are broadening our reach and giving many more consumers access to our product and all the great content it contains, whether they shop on-line or in retail stores.” First introduced in May 2008, the Roku streaming player provides an easy, affordable, and reliable way for hundreds of thousands of Netflix customers to watch movies and TV shows instantly on their TV. Since the launch of the Roku Channel Store last fall, all Roku customers now have access to over 85 channels from 50 unique content services, with more added all the time.
Roku players already deliver the largest collection of streaming content available for the TV including over 100,000 movies and TV shows from Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), Amazon Video On Demand (NASDAQ: AMZN), and later this fall, Hulu Plus; live and ondemand sports from MLB.TV and UFC; music from Pandora, MP3tunes, MOG, and TuneIn Radio; photo and video sharing from Flickr, Picasa, Vimeo, and Facebook; plus news and entertainment content from around the world.
About Roku, Inc.
The market leader in streaming entertainment devices for the TV, Roku has always believed that anything you want to watch, listen to, and enjoy should simply be there on your TV, whenever you want it. Roku streaming players are renowned for their simplicity, variety of entertainment choices, and exceptional value. Roku is privately held and based in Saratoga, Calif. For more information on the company and its products, visit: http://www.roku.com.
