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New Roku media streamers may be imminent

Now might be a bad time to buy a Roku, as signs of new hardware clear the FCC.

Former GigaOm writer Janko Roettgers first spotted the FCC filings, which hint at two new devices based on the $100 Roku 3. It sounds like they’ll be cheaper variants of Roku’s flagship set-top box.

Both filings indicate no major hardware changes compared to the Roku 3, though Roku may be removing the Ethernet jack from these models and relying solely on Wi-Fi. The overall design looks to be a rounded rectangle similar to Roku’s existing set-top boxes.

Roku currently sells three set-top boxes, though there’s not much reason to consider the cheaper models unless your TV doesn’t support HDMI and requires the Roku 1’s composite video output. Otherwise, you’re better off buying either the $50 Roku Streaming Stick or the $100 Roku 3, which adds Ethernet, USB, Micro SD, a faster processor, and a headphone jack on the remote control.

With that in mind, perhaps the new models represent some spring cleaning, as Roku eliminates redundant hardware with a more focused lineup. On the other hand, the FCC filings could be hinting at a more significant revamp, with new high-end hardware or an updated Streaming Stick. Roku is requesting a 90-day confidentiality period on things like external and internal photos, so we’ll find out what the company’s up to within a few months.

In the meantime, the company has slashed the price of the Roku 3 to $80.

http://www.techhive.com/article/2895...-imminent.html

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Hands On Roku Voice Search

The 2015 Roku 3 ships with a new “Enhanced Remote” that includes a new magnifying glass button and microphone to power voice search, à la Amazon Fire TV and even Comcast Xfinity. When the magnifier is pressed, the lower third of the Roku screen indicates the remote is listening for movie, TV show, actor, or director – tying into Roku’s top-notch universal search across disparate video content providers.

In very brief testing, the voice recognition has been accurate – moreso than my Fire TV even. But this may depend on your personal enunciation and search patterns. Speaking of search, the results leave a little to be desired as new release movies featured in Roku Feed are not currently indexed. I’d think these two new services should work together… and perhaps it’s just a matter of time. Regardless, this is a nice-to-have that surely beats “typing” via a virtual keyboard or even iPhone app. And we expect it’ll be a requisite feature given Siri’s presumed inclusion via an Apple TV update. Related, we can imagine Roku making voice search available to more models and customers via update to their iPhone and Android remote control apps. Until then, expect to see this remote also sold as an optional accessory for the 2015 Roku 2 and 2013/2014 Roku 3 models.

FULL ARTICLE - http://zatznotfunny.com/2015-04/hand...-voice-search/

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