Hasta La Gadget!

Roku announced on Tuesday the launch of a new Streaming Stick which appears to be taking Google’s Chromecast head on. The new device is not much larger than a USB flash drive and connects directly to a television through an HDMI port, bringing streaming media to your TV through a small, hidden package.

The Roku Streaming Stick also comes with a remote control similar to the existing Roku boxes (minus a headphone jack), and a Micro-USB connector for power. It also gives you access too all of the 1,200 streaming media channels that Roku has to offer including YouTube through 1080p and supported by dual-band WiFi.

Compared to Google’s Chromecast this adds a remote, more channels and an extra $15 is cost for the device. The only thing it really can’t access that Chromecast can is your Google Play media library.

Roku is launching the new Streaming Stick in April, retailing for $49.99.

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We’ve come across a number of DLP-based pico projectors over the years and while these products are getting smaller, brighter and higher resolution, it’s the integration with other devices that’s really captured our imagination. Samsung’s Galaxy Beam, which we reviewed last year, merges a 15-lumen nHD (640×360) DLP-based pico projector with a Galaxy S Advance. More recently at CES 2013, Texas Instruments announced its new Tilt & Roll Pixel chip architecture and demoed a handful of other DLP-equipped products live on our stage, including 3M’s Streaming Projector and Smart Devices’ U7 tablet.

The company recently invited us to play with some of these devices and to show us other applications in areas such as 3D printing, 3D scanning, optical research, medical imaging and even automotive. Some of this DLP-equipped tech, like the Interactive Center Console, shows where we’re headed in the near future — other products, like Christie’s VeinViewer Flex, exist today but remind us of something right out of science-fiction. Take a look at our galleries below, then join us after the break for our hands-on video and more info on these devices.

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Tablets, Transportation, Science, Mobile, Samsung

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Westinghouse is already jockeying for CES 2013 position in the crowded connected-TV arena, saying it’ll announce a bevy of MHL-compliant models at the show that’ll work with Roku’s HDMI Streaming Stick. That would presumably give the panel maker Smart TV options without having to bake the circuitry into the new models, letting Roku take the load in providing WiFi connectivity along with 400 channels like Netflix, Amazon Instant Video and Hulu Plus — all accessible with the TV’s remote. Westinghouse teased LED side-lit models ranging from 27- to 60-inches that’ll have the option, along with UHDTV sets like the 110-incher it trumpeted earlier. Pricing and availability are still in the air until at least CES, of course, but considering the company’s lack of a premium reputation and the fact that you’d also need to purchase the $99 Roku stick, we don’t see them looking at the haut de gamme set.

Continue reading Westinghouse set to launch ‘Roku ready’ CES lineup of HD, 4K models

Filed under: Home Entertainment

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We’ve been waiting for Roku to release its miniaturized dongle since CES, and now we finally know the flash drive-sized Streaming Stick will be available next month for $99. Priced the same as as the Roku 2 XS set-top box, it brings the same feature set but in a smaller package designed to work directly with your HDTV, thanks to power, remote control and data signals fed through an MHL-compatible HDMI port. While it will work with other MHL-ready host devices, manufacturers with Roku Ready stamped and certified HDTVs on shelves this fall will include Apex, Insignia and Hitachi — Onkyo plans to ship receivers early next year. If you pick up an otherwise dumb flat-panel with the stick bundled along with it the price is set by that manufacturer, but the standalone plan means buyers savings are focused on the two cables they won’t be needing, and simplified remote capability since their TV remote can talk to the Stick directly. Like the Roku 2 XS, the Streaming Stick also includes the motion control capable game remote.

A separate move will benefit many existing Roku owners, as it is also announcing that Walmart-owned Vudu is launching on the platform today. You will need a Roku HD (2500), LT or Roku 2 box (or the Streaming Stick, once it launches) to take advantage of the Vudu app and its streams that bring quality of up to 1080p and 7.1 surround sound. That also means access to Vudu-compatible UltraViolet movie titles on yet another set-top box, if that’s a consideration, and users score a $5.99 credit with Vudu just for linking the account to their boxes. All the details are in the press release after the break, and on the Roku blog.

Continue reading Roku Streaming Stick launches in October for $99, Vudu comes to the Roku platform today

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Roku Streaming Stick launches in October for $99, Vudu comes to the Roku platform today originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 03:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The little media streamer company that could, Roku, has gained some powerful friends in its latest round of financing, with $45 million in funds coming from the likes of BSkyB, News Corp and another partner who would prefer to remain nameless at this time, as well as previous investors Menlo Ventures and Globespan Capital Partners. While we leave you to ponder which company might be that unidentified source, Roku is simply continuing on, earmarking the money for use in building brand awareness, expanding internationally and much, much more. Also, that MHL-connected Roku Streaming Stick introduced at CES? It hasn’t gone away and is still on track for launch later this year, with an eye towards providing a “Roku Inside” bundled experience for otherwise dumb flat-panel HDTVs.

Roku’s alignment with BSkyB (which reported a $10m stake in its earnings this morning, as well as the option to distribute its own branded Roku hardware) makes sense after the pay-TV giant launched Now TV recently with the hockey puck as one of its supported platforms, while CEO Anthony Wood tells us the fruitful partnership with News Corp had its root in the Fox News, Wall Street Journal Live and X-Factor channels it launched last year. Wood cites plans to make Roku “the TV distribution platform of the future”, and this fifth round of financing — larger than all previous rounds combined — may help push it in this direction, check out a few more details in the press release after the break.

Continue reading Roku picks up financing from BSkyB, News Corp and more, keeps eye on the premium streaming crown

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Roku picks up financing from BSkyB, News Corp and more, keeps eye on the premium streaming crown originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 02:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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