Roku

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This article is about the electronics company. For the animated television series character, see List of Avatar: The Last Airbender characters#Major recurring characters.
Roku
Type Corporation
Industry IT
Founded 2002
Headquarters Saratoga, California
Key people Anthony Wood, CEO
Products Roku 3; Roku LT, HD; Roku 2 XD, XS
Employees 170[1]
Website www.roku.com

Roku (/ˈroʊkuː/, ROH-koo)[2] is an American, privately held, consumer electronics company that sells home digital media products. The company is based in Saratoga, California.[3] Roku manufactures a variety of digital media receivers that allow customers to access internet streamed video or audio services through televisions. This includes subscription-based services as well as services that are available through the receiver free of charge.

Contents

Company profile [edit]

The company was founded in October 2002, by ReplayTV founder Anthony Wood. Roku means "six" in Japanese, a reference to the six companies Wood has launched.

Legacy products [edit]

Roku's consumer products line-up included:

  • Roku SoundBridge, a network music player
  • SoundBridge Radio, a network music player with built-in speakers and subwoofer, AM‑FM receiver, volume-ramping alarm clock, preset buttons, SD slot and headphone jack
  • PhotoBridge HD1000, a system for displaying images on a high-definition television, as well as streaming MPEG video. The unit has four card readers on the front and can read from Memory Stick, MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card, SmartMedia Card, CompactFlash Card type II.

Roku also produced:

  • the BrightSign solid-state media player, designed to drive HD displays in a retail environment.

Roku's audio products did not use internal storage but rely on Wi-Fi or Ethernet to stream digital audio over a network, either from Internet radio or a computer attached to the same network. Roku introduced the Radio Roku Internet radio directory in August 2007. Radio Roku provides a directory of Internet stations, accessible from a web browser or from SoundBridge players.

Digital video player [edit]

First Generation [edit]

On May 20, 2008, Roku announced the first Netflix Internet video streaming receiver box, the Roku DVP. The NXP-powered device runs Linux.[4]

The XD/S has HDMI and component output for high-definition video on new and older televisions.

Prior to Autumn 2010, three versions of the Roku DVP were available: the Roku SD, HD, and HD-XR.[5] The Roku SD only streams standard definition (SD) content.[6] The Roku HD streams both SD and HD (720p) content.[7] The Roku SD and HD both have an Ethernet connection and built in 802.11g Wi‑Fi compatible with wireless B, G, and N routers.[8] Their third box was the Roku HD-XR, which streams both SD and HD (720p and 1080p) content, has built in dual-band 802.11n WiFi support, and has a USB port on the back.[9]

In 2010, Roku revamped its lineup of devices: the revised HD is the basic model of the line, offering 720p resolution, 802.11g WiFi reception (as well as an Ethernet connection), and an HDMI output. The middle of the line, the XD, adds 1080p resolution (if channel programmers provide it), an enhanced remote with replay capabilities, and single-band wireless N WiFi. The flagship XD|S offers the same feature set as the XD but also adds component video and optical audio outputs, dual-band wireless N, and a USB port for playing videos, photos, and music (USB Playback Support is available as of February 1, 2011).[10][11]

Second Generation [edit]

On July 20, 2011, Roku updated its product lineup with three new boxes, each in the same price range as before. However, the Ethernet connection and remote with motion control for games are available only on the XS model.[12][13] The Roku Game Remote uses Hillcrest Labs' Freespace motion control technology, so users can control games with natural gestures.[14] The Netflix application was revamped for the Roku 2 HD, Roku 2 XD and Roku 2 XS. The current models now provide the option of subtitles, when the program provides this aid.[15]

On October 29, 2012, the feature "Roku Search" was added. This feature allows users to search movie and TV show titles, actors and directors for multiple services on Roku such as Netflix, Amazon Instant Video and HBO Go. The feature is only available on Roku 2, Roku Streaming Stick, Roku LT and HD, due to technical constraints on earlier models.[16]

On May 14, 2013, a updated software interface was released for second generation Roku units. This is the same interface that was introduced with the release of their third generation player.[17]

Third Generation [edit]

On March 5, 2013, Roku announced the release of their updated media player, Roku 3, with a CPU that's five times faster than the Roku 2 XS, and a Wi-Fi Direct remote in place of Bluetooth. The Roku 3 remote includes a headphone jack (with headphones provided) for a private listening mode.[18]

Feature comparison [edit]

Model Intro­duced Dis­con­tin­ued Video Outputs Video Resolutions Au­dio Output Network USB Re­mote Pro­cess­or Chan­nel Mem­o­ry mi­cro
SD
slot
Com­pos­ite, S-​Vid­e­o Com­pon­ent, HDMI 480i / 480p 720p / 1080p A­na­log Op­ti­cal / HDMI Eth­er­net 802.11
Wi­re­less
First Generation
Roku DVP (N1000) May 2008 Oct 2009 Both Both Both 720p Yes Both Yes b/g No IR PNX­8935 400 MHz​[19]​[20]​[21]​[22] 64 MiB[22] No
Roku SD (N1050) Oct 2009 Sep 2010 Com­pos­ite Nei­ther 480i Nei­ther Yes Nei­ther Yes b/g No IR PNX­8935 400 MHz​[22]​[23] 64 MiB[22] No
Roku HD (N1100) Nov 2009 Sep 2010 Both Both Both 720p Yes Both Yes b/g No IR PNX­8935 400 MHz​[22]​[23] 64 MiB[22] No
Roku HD-XR (N1101) Oct 2009 Sep 2010 Both Both Both Both​[fc 1] Yes Both Yes a/b/g/n dual-​band Yes IR PNX­8935 400 MHz​[22]​[23] 256 MiB[22] No
Roku HD (2000C) Sep 2010 Jul 2011 Com­pos­ite HDMI Both 720p Yes HDMI Yes b/g No IR PNX­8935 400 MHz​[22] 64 MiB[22] No
Roku XD (2050N, 2050X) Sep 2010 Jul 2011 Com­pos­ite HDMI Both Both​[fc 1] Yes HDMI Yes b/g/n No IR PNX­8935 400 MHz​[22]​[24] 64 MiB[22] No
Roku XDS (2100X) Sep 2010 Jul 2011 Com­pos­ite Both​[fc 2] Both Both​[fc 1] Yes Both Yes a/b/g/n dual-​band Yes IR PNX­8935 400 MHz​[21]​[22]​[25] 256 MiB[22] No
Second Generation
Roku LT (2400X, 2450X) Nov 2011 Com­pos­ite HDMI Both 720p Yes HDMI No b/g/n No IR BCM­2835 400 MHz​[26]​[22] 256 MiB[22] No
Roku HD (2500X) Apr 2012 Com­pos­ite HDMI Both 720p Yes HDMI No b/g/n No IR BCM­7208 400 MHz​[27] 256 MiB[27] No
Roku 2 HD (3000X) Jul 2011 Apr 2012 Com­pos­ite HDMI Both 720p Yes HDMI No b/g/n No IR​[fc 3] BCM­2835 600 MHz​[22]​[28] 256 MiB[22] Yes
Roku 2 XD (3050X) Jul 2011 Com­pos­ite HDMI Both Both​[fc 4] Yes HDMI No b/g/n No IR​[fc 3] BCM­2835 600 MHz​[22]​[28] 256 MiB[22] Yes
Roku 2 XS (3100X) Jul 2011 Mar 2013 Com­pos­ite HDMI Both Both​[fc 4] Yes HDMI Yes b/g/n Yes Blue­tooth BCM­2835 600 MHz​[22]​[28]​[29] 256 MiB[22] Yes
Roku Stream­ing Stick (3400X, 3420X) Oct 2012 Nei­ther MHL only 480p Both​[fc 5] No HDMI No b/g/n No Wi-Fi Di­rect BCM­2835 600 MHz​[22]​[28] 256 MiB[22] No
Third Generation
Roku 3 (4200X) Mar 2013 Nei­ther HDMI 480p Both​[fc 4] No​[fc 6] HDMI Yes a/b/g/n dual-band Yes Wi-Fi Di­rect Broadcom ARM Cortex-A9 dual-core Yes

Also see Roku's product comparison table.

  1. ^ a b c 1080p at p24 or p30 only.
  2. ^ The com­pon­ent video connector on the Roku XDS (2100X) is a nonstandard 3.5mm connector and a proprietary adapter cable, which is sold separately, is effectively required to use this. "What is the component cable?". Roku. 2010-07-22. 
  3. ^ a b Bluetooth remote optional.
  4. ^ a b c 1080p at p60 only.
  5. ^ 1080p at p24.
  6. ^ Analog audio output is available only through the headphone jack on the remote.

Online Roku channels [edit]

Content on the Roku DVP is provided by Roku partners, and are identified using the "channel" vernacular. Each separate channel supports content from one partner though some content partners have more than one channel. Users can add or remove different channels from the Roku Channel Store. In May 2011, Roku stated the DVP had over one million viewers and had delivered 15 million channel downloads. Both on-demand content and live streaming are supported by the devices. For live TV streams, Roku supports Apple HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) adaptive streaming technology. The primary movie channels which are available on Roku in the U.S. market are suppressed in Canada.

Service creation for Roku Player [edit]

The Roku is an open-platform device with a freely available SDK that enables anyone to create new channels.[30] The channels are written in a Roku-specific language called BrightScript, a scripting language the company calls "similar to Visual Basic".[31]

Developers who wish to test their channels before a general release, or who wish to limit viewership, can create "private" channels that require a code be entered by the user in the account page of the Roku website. These private channels, which are not part of the official Roku Channel Store, are not reviewed or approved by Roku.[32]

There is a NDK (Native Developer Kit) available, though it has added restrictions - see Roku developer question "How do I develop games for Roku?"[31]

Services listing [edit]

Partial list of services currently available through the Roku Channel Store.[33][34]

Free channels [edit]

Channels with both free and premium programming [edit]

Premium channels [edit]

Games [edit]

♦: Currently only available to cable and satellite subscribers of this service, no stand alone subscription is available.
†: Only available on Roku 3, Roku 2, Roku Streaming Stick, Roku LT and HD models

References [edit]

  1. ^ Roku pins TV's future on Internet streaming Retrieved May 4, 2012
  2. ^ "Roku Forums • View topic - Rock You or Row Coo???". Forums.roku.com. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  3. ^ "Our Company". Roku. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  4. ^ Altavilla, Dave (2010-12-07). "Inside The Tech Of The Netflix Player With Roku". HotHardware. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  5. ^ "Roku Streaming Players | Roku HD Player, Roku XD Player and Roku XDS Player". Roku.com. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  6. ^ "Roku Labs Roku SD Home Theater Product Product Information". PCWorld. 2009-11-24. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  7. ^ Carnoy, David; Falcone, John P. (2010-09-24). "Roku N1100 HD player Review". CNET. Retrieved 2011-11-12. 
  8. ^ "What compatible Wi-Fi devices work with my Roku player? : Featured Questions". Roku.com. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  9. ^ "Roku HD XR Player Review - Watch CNET's Video Review". Reviews.cnet.com. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  10. ^ RokuTom (2011-01-31). "Roku Forums • View topic - Roku USB Media Player launched". Forums.roku.com. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  11. ^ "What media file types does the Roku USB Media Player channel support? : Featured Questions". Support.roku.com. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  12. ^ Roku Expects User Base to Triple in 2011 Retrieved May 10, 2011
  13. ^ Roku Hits 15 Million Channel Downloads PDF
  14. ^ CED Magazine September 30, 2011. New Products - October 2011.
  15. ^ Introducing Roku 2
  16. ^ Roku.com: Introducing Roku Search (In addition, see follow-up in "Comments" section from Roku) Retrieved October 29, 2012
  17. ^ Rolling out the new Roku interface Retrieved May 16, 2013
  18. ^ Roku 3, a faster and more powerful media player, to go on sale Retrieved March 15, 2013
  19. ^ "NXP and Roku Enable Instant Enjoyment of New Release Movies" (Press release). 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2011-11-11. "The Roku digital video player, powered by the PNX8935 multi-format source decoder from NXP" 
  20. ^ "Netflix Player source code released". Hack a Day. 2008-07-02. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
  21. ^ a b Higgins, Tim (2010-09-29). "Roku XDS Reviewed - Inside". SmallNetBuilder. Retrieved 2011-11-11. "the original Roku and XDS, which both use Nexperia's PNX8935 multi-format source decoder. It's obvious that a newer version of the PNX8935 is used in the XDS, given the device's smaller size." 
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x http://sdkdocs.roku.com/display/RokuSDKv43/Developer+Guide
  23. ^ a b c "MIPS-Based Products". Archived from the original on 2011-11-11. Retrieved 2011-11-11. "Roku HD-XR Digital Video Player ... Roku SD Digital Video Player ... Roku HD Digital Video Player ... Licensee Chip Used: PNX8935" 
  24. ^ Lueke, Alan (2010-11-12). "Netgear Roku XD: Streaming for the Masses". AnandTech. Retrieved 2011-11-11. "Looking inside, I discovered the NXP PNX8935 SoC." 
  25. ^ Detwiler, Bill (2011-01-14). "Roku XDS Teardown". TechRepublic. Retrieved 2011-11-11. "XDS uses a Trident Microsystems / NXP Semiconductors PNX8935 multi-format source decoder." 
  26. ^ O'Brien, Terrence (2011-09-27). "Budget-friendly Roku LT pops up at the FCC as the 2400X (Updated with pics)". Engadget. Retrieved 2011-11-11. "Inside is the same Broadcom 2835 SOC that powers the Roku 2 XD, XS, and HD" 
  27. ^ a b http://www.wirelessgoodness.com/2012/03/15/new-roku-hd-player-hits-the-fcc-with-composite-out-new-remote-does-away-with-microsd-storage/
  28. ^ a b c d O'Brien, Terrence (2011-06-29). "Roku 2 line passes through the FCC with modest hardware updates and a reset button". Engadget. Retrieved 2011-11-11. "Inside that tiny case is a new Broadcom 2835 SOC" 
  29. ^ "Roku 2 XS 3100R Streaming Media Adapter". Hearst Electronic Products and iSuppli. 2011-10-26. Archived from the original on 2011-11-11. Retrieved 2011-11-11. "The new design twist on the 3100R is the use of a Broadcom (BCM2835) A/V Processor. ... BCM2835MIPPG, TE1119 P31, 136664 B3 W (Die Marking: Logo, BCM2708, 2010)" 
  30. ^ "Roku Bows Online Store". Home Media Magazine. 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  31. ^ a b http://www.roku.com/developer
  32. ^ "What Are Private Channels?". Roku.com. Retrieved 2011-11-12. 
  33. ^ "Roku Channel Store". Roku.com. Retrieved 2012-12-08. 
  34. ^ Roku device, "Roku Channel Store"
  35. ^ Disney Short-Form Videos Now Available on Roku Retrieved September 21, 2011
  36. ^ musiclouds.com
  37. ^ TomorrowsWorld.org/Roku
  38. ^ WTHR.com: WTHR video on Roku Retrieved June 30, 2011
  39. ^ Classical TV-Roku Users
  40. ^ Fandor on Roku
  41. ^ IndieFlix on Roku
  42. ^ https://www.hallmarkspiritclips.com/

External links [edit]
Windows
OS X
Linux
Cross-platform
  • Plex (Android, iOS, Linux, OS X, Windows, Windows Phone, Raspberry Pi)
  • SageTV (Linux, OS X, Windows)
  • XBMC (Android, Apple TV, iOS, Linux, MeeGo, OS X, Raspberry Pi, Windows, Xbox)
Set-top boxes/
Digital media receivers
Related hardware
System manufacturers
Related articles
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