Roku has just made media streaming to your TV even easier, by introducing their brand new Roku Streaming Stick today!
It is now available at BestBuy.ca
Roku has been one of the biggest and best names in media streaming devices, and continue to show that they want to stay a leader in that market. The NEW Roku Streaming Stick puts nearly all the capabilities of a regular Roku box into a stick that looks much like a USB flash drive. With this latest announcement they have brought down the price of streaming and made it even simpler as it just plugs into an HDMI input in the back of your TV.
Small But Powerful
The Roku Streaming Stick is just over 3” long with an HDMI connector on one end and a micro USB port on the other end. The micro USB port is used in order to provide power to the Stick. Roku provides a cable that plugs into the micro USB port on the Stick, and a regular USB port on the TV. If your TV doesn’t have a regular USB port, Roku also supplies a USB power adapter so you can just plug into a regular outlet.
It is a powerful little stick because it has WiFi capabilities that connect to your home network, and once connected provides the same onscreen interface that you get with their . More importantly is that the Roku Streaming Stick has the same access to all of Roku’s apps or channels, which is now more than 700! Included with this are all the usual suspects like Netflix, YouTube, and Crackle to name a few, but also a huge number of channels in just about any category: news, sports, games, religion, health, etc.
The Streaming Stick outputs in full 1080p so you can take full advantage a great picture that your HDTV was designed for. It is a pretty amazing that this little stick has Wi-Fi streaming capability in high-definition.
Remote Control
The new Roku Streaming Stick also comes with its’ own remote control as an added bonus. Because the Stick is typically hidden behind the TV, the remote doesn’t work on normal line-of-sight infrared signals, but rather uses Wi-Fi Direct so it can control the device from anywhere. Roku’s remote control app for your Smartphone or tablet will also work with the Stick. I particularly like the Roku app because it makes it easier to search for content on your tablet than using the on-screen menu using the remote.
Roku Box Comparisons
You may be wondering what Roku Boxes have that the Roku Stick doesn’t. The short answer is “not much.” One thing is both the Roku 2 and Roku 3 has a very neat headphone jack that you can use for private listening. Just plug your headphones into the remote and turn the sound off of your TV for those late night House of Cards marathons while everyone else is asleep. Another difference is that the internal chip on the Roku Streaming Stick is similar to the one in the Roku 1, whereas the Roku 2 and particularly the Roku 3 have upgraded chips for faster streaming. The has noticeably faster streaming and response times.
Roku Innovation
Roku continues to innovate and find new ways to deliver their streaming platform. At announced agreements with manufacturers to install their platform directly in their TV’s so you don’t need a separate streaming box. Roku is also planning on upgrading their mobile app later this year to improve the user experience and make cross platform searching available and convenient.
Today’s announcement of the Roku Streaming Stick is just another example of how Roku continues to innovate and improve their streaming products. It provides a small, simple, and inexpensive way to help you get a lot more entertainment value out of your HDTV.
Order yours and be one of the first to own the ROKU Steaming Stick.
