Roku
Roku (/ˈroʊkuː/ ROH-koo) is a brand of smart TV operating systems, smart TVs, streaming devices, and smart home and audio products designed and marketed by Roku, Inc., headquartered in San Jose, California, United States. Roku's smart TV products primarily offer access to streaming media content, including streaming television, from online services.
Not to be confused with Ruku.Developer
One of Roku's early products was a digital media player developed in collaboration with Netflix and introduced in May 2008, and it has since released at least 10 generations of streaming players. Roku's products have historically been built around the idea of utilizing low-cost hardware interfaces for over-the-top (OTT) media consumption.[1] Roku, Inc., also licenses its Roku OS operating system as middleware for smart TVs, and as of 2023 manufactures its own branded smart TVs, soundbars and smart home devices. The Roku OS targets streaming TVs or devices as its primary hardware, like Amazon's Fire OS, Samsung's Tizen OS, Google's Android TV OS, and Apple's tvOS.
By some estimates, as of 2022 the Roku OS is the leading streaming TV platform in the US in terms of market share.[2] The Roku OS also holds a noticeable 30.5% share of the global TV streaming hours,[3] whereas the Roku Channel Store has the largest collection of TV channels among all streaming TV platforms, hosting 38,941 channels as of 2023.[4]
History[edit]
Roku was formed by Anthony Wood in 2002, who had previously founded ReplayTV, a DVR company that competed with TiVo.[5] After ReplayTV's failure, Wood worked for a while at Netflix. In 2007, Wood's company began working with Netflix on Project:Griffin, a set-top box to allow Netflix users to stream Netflix content to their TVs.[5] Only a few weeks before the project's launch, Netflix's founder Reed Hastings decided it would hamper license arrangements with third parties, potentially keeping Netflix off other similar platforms, and killed the project.[6] Fast Company magazine cited the decision to kill the project as "one of Netflix's riskiest moves".[6]
Netflix decided instead to spin off the company, and Roku released their first set-top box in 2008.[7] In 2010 they began offering models with various capabilities, which eventually became their standard business model.[7] In 2014, Roku partnered with smart TV manufacturers to produce TVs with built-in Roku functionality.[5] In 2015, Roku won the inaugural Emmy for Television Enhancement Devices.
Roku streaming players[edit]
First generation[edit]
The first Roku model, the Roku DVP N1000, was unveiled on May 20, 2008. It was developed in partnership with Netflix to serve as a standalone set-top box for its recently introduced "Watch Instantly" service. The goal was to produce a device with a small footprint that could be sold at low cost compared to larger digital video recorders and video game consoles. It features an NXP PNX8935 video decoder supporting both standard and high definition formats up to 720p; HDMI output; and automatic software updates, including the addition of new channels for other video services.[8][1][9]
Roku launched two new models in October 2009: the Roku SD (a simplified version of the DVP, with only analog AV outputs); and the Roku HD-XR, an updated version with 802.11n Wi-Fi and a USB port for future functionality. The Roku DVP was retroactively renamed the Roku HD. By then, Roku had added support for other services. The next month, they introduced the Channel Store, where users could download third-party apps for other content services (including the possibility of private services for specific uses).[10][11]
Netflix support was initially dependent on a PC, requiring users to add content to their "Instant Queue" from the service's web interface before it could be accessed via the Roku. In May 2010, the channel was updated to allow users to search the Netflix library directly from the device.[12]
Controversies[edit]
Non-certified channels[edit]
The Daily Beast alleged that non-certified channels on Roku eased access to materials promoting conspiracy theories and terrorism content.[87]
In June 2017, a Mexico City court banned the sale of Roku products in Mexico, following claims by Televisa (via its Izzi cable subsidiary) that the devices were being used for subscription-based streaming services that illegally stream television content without permission from copyright holders. The devices used Roku's private channels feature to install the services, which were all against the terms of service Roku applies for official channels available in its store. Roku defended itself against the allegations as such, stating that these channels were not officially certified and that the company takes active measures to stop illegal streaming services.[88] The 11th Collegiate Court in Mexico City overturned the decision in October 2018, with Roku returning to the Mexican market soon after; Televisa's streaming service Blim TV (now Vix) would also launch on the platform.[89]
In August 2017 Roku began to display a prominent disclaimer when non-certified channels are added, warning that channels enabling piracy may be removed "without prior notice".[90][79][91] In mid-May 2018, a software glitch caused some users to see copyright takedown notices on legitimate services such as Netflix and YouTube. Roku acknowledged and patched the glitch.[92][93]
In March 2022, the private channel system was deprecated due to abuse and replaced with a more limited and strict beta channels platform which only allows twenty users to test a channel for up to four months.[94]