These days, TV is all about convenience. The days of sitting and waiting around for a TV show to come on are over. Nobody even bothers to sit through commercials anymore, because viewers record shows using TiVo, and can fast forward through them when they watch their show.
But just when we got comfortable with this whole "TiVo" and "DVR" thing, it appears we are about to take another leap. Roku, a company that created "ReplayTV," (the first digital video recorder to reach the market) has now introduced a new product that will revolutionize TV and movie viewing. It is called the "Roku player," which is essentially a video jukebox that allows users to use the Internet, and play movies and TV shows from Netflix and Amazon at their own convenience. At any time, without recording anything, they can scroll through the Roku's library and find any show or movie to stream directly to their TV.
You may be thinking, "Wait. This already exists." As a matter of fact, you are right. Apple, Samsung, LG, and TiVo have all started similar operations, and offer similar products.
But the systems they offer don't cost only $99.
Before, this high end equipment was only available to the families who could afford to pay for the equipment, along with the expensive monthly subscription fees. Each of the competitors' products costs over $300. Roku has made a point of providing this same convenience, but at a much lower price. It is also made to be extremely easy to use, and offers more content than any of its competitors.
By using Roku, and its agreements with Netflix and Amazon, users can pay $9 a month to have access to a 50,000 movie library with Netflix, and thousands more options with Amazon.
With competition growing in this area, Roku has to get started with saturating the market with this product. Soon enough, the Internet will have a direct feed to the TV, and the Roku will become obsolete. However, with over $22 million worth of funds invested in Roku, as well as a connection between the CEO of Roku and the CEO of Netflix, the Roku player has an opportunity to make the Roku player the next essential thing in homes across the country. While Roku's first product was beat out by its competitor TiVo, it is currently in a strong position based on its low price, enormous amount of content, and binding agreements with Netflix and Amazon to finish ahead.
Finally, stealing a page out of Apple's "IPhone app" book, another exciting feature that the Roku box intends to include is for third parties to have the opportunity to post their own content and applications.
Not only will the Roku provide streaming movies, shows, and internet to a TV set, but it is entering the Web 2.0 sphere of allowing users to post content. This revolutionary idea may be the kicker in making the Roku player the next essential household item.
So here we are: Flat screen TV's, High-Def, TiVo, and now the Roku Player? We shall see.
For more on this exciting new product, see this article at the USA Today website.
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