Roku on Tuesday announced a new $50 Roku LT player, the latest member of the company’s family of streaming media devices. The Roku LT supports 720p HD video, has built-in Wi-Fi, and provides access to 300 channels including Amazon Instant Video, Pandora, EPIX, Disney, Crackle, Hulu Plus and Netflix. ”Our goal is a Roku in every home,” Roku CEO Anthony Wood said. “The Roku LT opens up streaming to more people by lowering the cost of entry in these difficult economic times. With a $49 p...

Up until now, Roku devices have only been available online, but that changes today. Roku has just announced nationwide availability of their Roku XD model at all Best Buy locations. This is a pretty large move for the company, and with the success Roku has had online, there’s no question it will translate into retail sales. Press release after the break. (more…)

According to an unconfirmed report in The Seattle Times, Microsoft is preparing to demonstrate a new home entertainment product set to combat Apple TV and Google TV. The rumored service will supposedly be demonstrated this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Said to be powered by a “stripped-down version of Windows tailored for set-top boxes and connected TVs,” a customized version of Windows Embedded is the likely candidate for this type of product. The devices are also said to f...

Both Zach and I have bought no fewer than five Roku XDS units as holiday gifts this season. So it comes as no surprise to us that Amazon has slashed $20 off of the device’s price now that our Rokus are all wrapped, mailed, and committed. The online retail giant has quietly reduced the price of the 1080p streaming media player from $99.99 down to $79.99. The Roku XDS offers full Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu Plus compatibility, as well as a host of other streaming options thanks to an online channel-sto...

When Apple first announced that it would be issuing a refreshed version of Apple TV, several analysts and bloggers assumed set top boxes like Roku’s offering would be in trouble. According to Roku CEO Anthony Wood, however, the reality is just the opposite. The new Apple TV received a warm reception at launch, having sold 250,000 units during its first six weeks of availability. But Apple has been quiet about the product since its earnings call, and talk of the device has all but disappeared from the m...

Roku has just announced a firmware update — version 2.9 b1509 — for its popular line of streaming media players. The new code packs various bug fixes, playback optimizations, and, most notably, 1080p video playback for the Roku XR player. If your device hasn’t yet automatically retrieved the update, you can manually grab the firmware by navigating to: Settings > Player Info > Check For Updates. (more…)

If you’re looking to jump into the connected TV market, and aren’t quiet ready to go with Google TV, Roku is a great option. The company has just pinged us to let us know it is offering a sale on its widely popular Roku XD player starting tonight at 12:00PM PT. Roku will be offering its XD model player — which is capable of 1080p playback — at an additional 20% off. That brings the price of the already affordable box down to $64. The sale runs through Monday, November 29th. Happy...

Here’s a bit of good news: Hulu has just announced that its Hulu Plus premium subscription service will shed $2 from its monthly price tag. As the press release reads: “The monthly price for Hulu Plus moving forward is just $7.99. Any current subscribers who joined during our preview period will receive a credit for the difference from the $9.99 preview price. This credit will automatically be applied to their next billing cycle.”But the juice doesn’t stop there.  Hulu has also announ...

Following Netgear’s announcement Tuesday that it would offer a $90 set top box powered by Roku’s software, it looks as though Roku is playing with alternative models in an effort to stay competitive. Roku gained notoriety in 2008 by providing an easy solution for streaming Netflix Watch Instantly video content to television sets. The company has since expended its product through partnerships that brought additional content from the likes of Amazon Video On Demand, MLB.TV and Hulu. With a growing ...

Roku has just announced that they will be adding a Hulu Plus channel to their lineup “later this fall.” As the press release reads: “Hulu Plus offers one of the deepest offerings of TV shows, both current and classic, on a streaming platform to subscribers in the U.S. Through Hulu Plus on Roku, TV lovers can watch every episode of more than 45 current hit programs from ABC, FOX and NBC.” A Hulu Plus subscription, which will still be required, retails for $9.99 per month. We’ve go...

Today, Roku announced a new line of HD streaming video players, the Roku XD and the Roku XDS. To get your initial question out of the way: Yes, both new players can stream video in a full 1080p. The Roku XD, which will retail for $79.99, and the Roku XDS, which will retail for $99.99, both feature an HDMI-out port, Wi-Fi b/g/n, and an “instant replay” function (allowing you to skip back 7-seconds on streaming content without re-buffering). The XDS model will have dual-band Wireless-N technology, ...

Today, Roku announced a partnership with consumer movie company Flixster that will bring HD movie trailers right to your television. The new service will allow Roku owners to “search Flixster’s entire database of movie trailers and then search for those same movies to watch through one of Roku’s partners including Netflix and Amazon Video On Demand.” The trailers will be for unreleased and released movies; ratings from Rotten Tomatoes will also be displayed. Flixster has mobile applicat...

Today, Roku and MP3tunes announced a partnership that will bring your iTunes music library to your television. MP3tunes, for those not familiar, is a company that provides “secure online music space” and features “unlimited listening.” The company’s website boasts, “With just a couple clicks, Locker users can sync their personal digital music and video up to ‘the cloud’ for enjoying from any web browser and a wide variety of mobile and home entertainment devic...

Folks on the fence about a Roku box may be swayed by the news that Roku is teaming up with Clearleap to bring on-demand cable TV programing to the video streaming platform. Clearleap is a growing company that serves as the middle man between cable, satellite and telephone companies that have on-demand content and video streaming services like Roku that want to dish up this content. This arrangement would allow Roku users to purchase on-demand movies from their television provider via their Roku box and have a...