Does Playboy have it right?
(Credit: Zatz Not Funny)When we last heard from Roku, the company was pledging to add 10 more channels to its Roku Digital Video Player before the end of the year. With 2009 almost half over, however, there's still only two: Netflix and Amazon Video On Demand. But according to Playboy Magazine, one of those new channels could well be Hulu. So notes blogger Dave Zatz, who photographed the incriminating sidebar article from the June 2009 issue of the magazine. "Roku promises Hulu support is coming" says the throwaway parenthetical sentence.
But is it true? Responding to the Playboy excerpt highlighted by Zatz, a Roku spokesman contacted by CNET replied, "We're not sure where that came from. We have not made any public statements regarding Hulu."
If you're keeping score at home, that's really neither a confirmation nor a denial that Hulu's on the way to Roku--just an indication that Roku didn't make any on-the-record comments to Playboy on the subject.
So, will we be seeing Hulu on the Roku--or any other non-PC device this year? Your guess is as good as mine. Like the bulk of the early commenters on Zatz's post, I'm skeptical: Hulu's jousting with Boxee and its recent well-received desktop application show that the streaming service is taking pains to remain PC-bound. But I hope I'm wrong.
What do you think? Share your thoughts below.
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Amazon Video on Demand HD, as it appears on the Roku Digital Video Player
(Credit: Roku/Amazon)It's been a long time in coming, but Amazon Video on Demand is finally available in high-def. Owners of TiVo HD/Series 3 DVRs, the Roku Digital Video Player, the Sony Bravia Internet Video Link, and Panasonic VieraCast TVs (and, presumably, VieraCast-enabled Blu-ray players) will be the first to enjoy Amazon's content in HD (software updates to enable HD viewing on those products should be available imminently). Likewise, Windows and Mac users will also get access to HD video content via Amazon's Web site.
As with competing services, HD movie rentals will cost $3.99 to $4.99, and TV episodes will be available for purchase for $2.99 each (HD movie purchases currently won't be available). More than 500 HD movies and TV shows will be available initially, encompassing content from most major studios, including Warner, Sony Pictures, MGM, Paramount, and Universal. TiVo is pledging that the "vast majority of titles" on its boxes will offer Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtracks.
CNET was able to get a sneak preview of the Amazon HD offerings on the Roku box last week. For existing users, it's a pretty seamless upgrade: new HD-specific filters for HD movies and TV shows are available, so there's no need to go hunting and pecking for high-def content.
Quality on the Roku box was very good--the 720p video is closer to that of a really good DVD, but it's definitely superior to the standard-definition content that's available. We didn't detect any major difference between the quality of Netflix and the Amazon HD offerings on the Roku, but the Amazon interface allows you to choose rentals or purchases directly from the onscreen interface, whereas Netflix requires you to manage your viewing queue via a PC.
Amazon and Netflix will be getting some company.
(Credit: Roku)The Roku Digital Video Player may be getting as many as 10 new Internet video-on-demand channels by the end of 2009. So says Roku vice president Tim Twerdahl in an interview with U.S. News & World Report.
The Roku Player was originally a Netflix-only device, but it recently added Amazon Video On Demand. The U.S. News story reports Roku has "quietly distributed a development kit to what Twerdahl calls a few 'close, big-name' partners." More info is expected to be revealed this summer, at which time the development kit would be made available to additional programmers.
Providers weren't named, but tech blogger Dave Zatz points out that YouTube support on the Roku has been hinted at in the past, and that Blip.tv has outed itself as a Roku developer as well. If those are 2 of the 10, that still leaves 8 more.
Obviously, any of the existing video content aggregators (Hulu, Sling.com, and CNET sister-site TV.com) would be huge attractions to the Roku, as would individual network-video sites. I'd also like to see some music services (Pandora was just added to Roku rival Vudu, and will also be on most Samsung Blu-ray players and home theater systems shipping in 2009).
Which providers would you like to see added to the Roku box? And do you think that Roku is starting to steal some of Boxee's thunder? Share your opinions below.
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