Roku is ditching the set-top box in favor of a stick design

Roku is shrinking the size of their already small, video streaming solutions from very small set-top box down to a stick size. Their next slew of devices will plug right into your TV, like a USB drive providing you Roku capabilities, without taking up space in your entertainment center.

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The Roku Streaming Stick (PDF) crams most of what you find in a traditional Roku into a device approximately the size of a stick of gum. The Streaming Stick has Wi-Fi and built in memory but lacks the ability to expand storage like some of existing Roku models. Power will be supplied via the TV and navigation of the Roku interface will happen via your standard TV remote.

All of this sounds phenomenal, so what exactly is the catch? Well, the Roku Streaming Stick requires a Mobil High-Definition video Link (MHL) port. The standard was introduced in 2010 and is supported by a slew of manufacturers including Nokia, Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba.

Not only can MHL accept video and audio, but it can provide 5V, 500mA power, which is necessary considering the Streaming Stick doesn’t have its own power connection. If the TV has an MHL port, then its remote will allow you to control the device connected to the port. MHL also supports HDCP, so copyrighted content will be able to be pushed through the interface.

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Currently very few HDTVs have MHL ports in them, so if you’ve recently invested in a new set and it doesn’t have the port, you won’t be able to take advantage of the small size of the Roku Streaming Stick. There are some MHL to HDMI adaptors available, so theoretically you could still use the stick, but those adapters require power which reduces the benefits of the stick.

Roku is saying the Streaming Stick won’t be available until fall and the company hasn’t yet announced a price. What they have done is partner up with Best Buy, so the company’s house brand of TVs, Insignia, will be one of the initial partners for the Streaming Stick.

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