Roku Unveils High-Definition Digital Media Player for Photos, Art, Music

[Gregg Lengling]

Once again Anthony Wood is making television history -- first with ReplayTV and now with Roku. Launched today, Roku is a consumer electronics company specializing in advanced digital media products that maximize the home entertainment experience. Bringing software development expertise to the consumer electronics world, Roku designs and builds sleek products that consumers can use intuitively, making digital media more enjoyable in all areas of the home.

Roku's initial product, the Roku HD1000, is the world's first high-definition digital media player. The Roku HD1000 connects to any HDTV and provides a high-resolution canvas for digital media such as photos, art, music and dynamic media applications. Roku also introduced a new concept today called LiveArt, which brings motion to art, whether a field of vibrant orange poppies blowing in the wind or a rippling deep blue mountain lake.

"Roku's singular focus is to offer exceptional but convenient ways for consumers to enjoy digital media," Wood said. "The growing HDTV market has triggered a new wave of thinking that goes well beyond the capabilities of previous digital media products, providing Roku with the opportunity to address this untouched market."

HDTV owners are setting the standard for the living room as high-definition television becomes more commonplace. High-definition television is the highest resolution digital television format offering much higher resolution than standard analog television. The Roku HD1000 addresses the desires of HDTV owners with a high-end, stylish product that complements their investments in high-definition equipment. Unlike other digital media players, the Roku HD1000 is optimized for HDTV but can also connect to a standard television, providing an upgrade path for consumers who soon will purchase HDTVs.




Roku HD1000
The Roku HD1000 lets consumers see their favorite photographs and artwork in high-definition quality and share them easily with others. The Roku HD1000 also plays digital music, and can even play music while displaying photos and art.
 

Every aspect of the Roku HD1000 was designed with the consumer in mind. The Roku HD1000 takes CompactFlash, SD/MMC, Memory Stick, SmartMedia and XD memory cards for easy plug-and-play use. The Roku HD1000 also easily connects to any computer via built-in 10/100 Ethernet or wirelessly with a Wi-Fi adapter. The Roku HD1000 includes component, VGA, S-video and composite video out, for use with standard as well as high-definition TVs. Other connectors include component in, S-video in, composite in, RS-232, audio in and out, and digital audio out.

The Roku HD1000 is the only digital media player to not only support high-definition content and take content from both memory cards and a computer, but also opens the door to third-party developers. All Roku products have a Linux-kernel based operating system that has been enhanced for digital media applications. Though transparent to the consumer, the Roku OS allows third-party developers to build applications that enhance enjoyment of high-definition digital media players. A software developer's kit for the Roku OS will become available in the coming weeks.

Roku Art Packs
Roku Art Packs offer digital media collections on CompactFlash memory cards for easy plug-and-play viewing. Roku Art Packs available today include: Aquarium, The Classics, Nature and Clocks.

Roku Photos: Viewing and sharing your treasured digital photos is now easier and more exciting than ever. Photos are crystal-clear on your high-definition big-screen TV. No more crowding around a PC monitor in your cluttered den—Roku HD1000 lets you relax and view your photos in a more leisurely atmosphere. Your friends and family will love gathering around your HDTV for high-definition slide shows!

Roku Art: Create stunning wall art with a click of your remote. Roku's Art Packs offer the easiest way to enhance your décor and make use out of an idle HDTV. Choose from a wide range of images—classic masterpieces, stunning nature scenes or a lifelike aquarium—and bring it to life in your living room. Or, use LiveArt™ to change your surroundings without changing your location. Bring a rippling mountain lake, a leafy summer forest or a white sand beach with soothing waves into your living room for an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. Looping HD MPEG2, standard JPEG and MPEG clips are all supported. Art Packs come on CompactFlash memory cards; just pop in the card and choose your favorite scenery.

Roku Music: Liberate your growing library of MP3 music files from your PC and listen to them all through your home entertainment system. Roku lets you listen to files on a memory card or over a simple Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection, so you can enjoy your favorite music through the high-quality sound system in your living room. You'll never need to change CDs again!

Burn-in Prevention: Roku offers built-in protection to help reduce the risk of image burn-in on your TV screen*. Not only does the HD1000 have a "Screen Saver" mode that works when the HD1000 is the video source, but we can display the Screen Saver when one of your other video sources stops moving. When placed in a pass-through configuration, the HD1000 detects when the video input source is still and automatically generates a changing Screen Saver.

Easy To Use: Roku has made it easy to enjoy the benefits the HD1000 has to offer, without delay. Easy-access front loading slots accommodate five types of memory cards—CompactFlash, MMC, SD, Memory Stick and SmartMedia. Add XD support with a simple third party adaptor. Just pop in a card, whatever type, and instantly browse through your photo, art and music files using your remote control. To access files stored on your computer, just hook up the Roku HD1000 with one simple connection to your home network, and display digital media from your PC or Mac on any TV. Roku supports a broad range of digital and analog AV connectors, so hooking it up to your existing home entertainment system is straight forward.

Network Ready: Built-in 10/100 Ethernet makes integration with your PC or Mac home network seamless and simple. Or, go wireless with a Wi-Fi adapter (available as an accessory).

Made for HDTV: Roku HD1000 works with any TV, but it was built from the ground up to support high-definition television. With built-in 2D and 3D HD video processors, a real-time HD MPEG2 decompression processor and support for all HD formats, it's the only digital media player on the market that lets you take full advantage of your HDTV.

Open Platform: The Roku HD1000 is based on the Roku OS. An open platform that includes Roku's advanced media APIs and the Linux Kernel. Using the Roku OS, developers can quickly craft innovative and custom applications for the Roku HD1000 that take advantage of our TV-centric user interface elements, network and memory card access, MP3, MPEG, windowing system, graphics library, and other media engines. As well as the option to write C or C++ code with our SDK, custom installers can completely control the HD1000 without the SDK by using simple ASCII control commands over the serial or Ethernet ports. (C/C++ SDK available by the end of the year.)

Pricing and Availability
The Roku HD1000 is priced at $499.99. Roku Art Packs are $69.99. The Roku HD1000 and Roku Art Packs can be ordered beginning today at //www.rokulabs.com. Additionally, beginning in October, the Roku HD1000 and Roku Art Packs can be found on //www.amazon.com and in consumer electronics stores nationwide including Magnolia Hi-Fi and Tweeter Home Entertainment Group locations such as all Tweeter, HiFi Buys, Sound Advice, Showcase Home Entertainment and Hillcrest High Fidelity.

About Roku
Roku is a privately held company located in Palo Alto, Calif., and founded by Anthony Wood, the inventor of the personal video recorder (PVR). Roku designs digital media products that maximize the home entertainment experience. The Roku HD1000 is the world's first high-definition digital media player and delivers photos, Live Art, music and dynamic media applications to any HDTV. Based on an open platform, Roku's digital media products create new opportunities for developers to broaden the ways consumers enjoy home entertainment.

Source: Roku