The world of online streaming has really hotted up over the last year with services such as Netflix becoming more and more popular all the time. People have even started to cut their cable subscriptions in favor of online streaming services which are cheaper and offer a more on-demand service.
Roku is no stranger to the world of online streaming as they have had several variations of the ‘Roku Box’ which is now on version 3. When compared with other solutions such as the Apple TV, Roku have always been very popular due to the sheer amount of content available with over 450 channels and counting available at the time of writing. Unlike Apple TV which has a very controlled approach to the channels that are available, Roku have always tried to offer as much as possible with services such as Amazon Instant, Netflix, Now TV and more recently YouTube. Whilst some devices like the Chromecast only work with particular services Roku appears to support nearly all of them.
With the launch of the Chromecast Google changed the way we thought about streaming devices, they were no longer clunky boxes that had to be placed on top or beside the television set, you simply plugged in your Chromecast stick into a spare HDMI port and you were away. It seems that Roku also thinks that this is the ways to go as they have just announced their own Streaming Stick which will offer over 1,200 channels when it launches. What sets apart Roku’s offering from the Chromecast is the inclusion of the Roku remote which has been included with all of their previous streaming devices.
The new Roku streaming stick is due to launch in April but you can pre-order it from many retailers before to avoid disappointment if they sell-out quickly. It’s important to note that unlike previous Roku boxes the streaming stick is only compatible with HDMI so if you don’t have HDMI capabilities you may want to look at the Roku 1 or 2 which allow connectivity via RCA instead. To learn more about the new Roku Streaming stick head over to Roku’s website.