YouTube Heading for Roku? Not Officially
A screenshot floating around the Internet has folks online all aflutter that YouTube could be heading to the $99 Roku set-top box. Problem is, Roku says the screenshot isn’t real.
The picture in question (pasted here) originally appeared in the Roku forums. It shows off how the Amazon VOD system looks in the Roku menu system. Tucked away near the Amazon logo is a tiny YouTube logo. This is leading many to believe that content from the video-sharing giant will soon be making its way to the device, perhaps after Amazon’s VOD service hits early this year.
We contacted Roku yesterday for comment and Tim Twerdahl, the company’s vice president of consumer products, emailed us the following response:
“Somebody somewhere mocked something up. That’s not a real screenshot.”
So officially, the excitement surrounding that image is all for naught. Now I’m aware that Twerdahl could just be giving me the runaround. I followed up with him to see if Roku is working with YouTube and if so, when to expect it, but haven’t heard back yet. But it’s almost a foregone conclusion that YouTube will be on the device.
YouTube is already on a ton of other devices like the Apple TV, the Netgear Digital Entertainer Elite, Verismo, TiVo, the HP Mediasmart Connect, etc. Why wouldn’t it make its way to the Roku? Additionally, Roku has already opened itself up to all comers. YouTube is huge; why not allow a RokuTube?
Comments (2)
Linkbacks (1)
-
[...] Despite the lack of HD, the Amazon/Netflix combo is a nice one-two punch making the Roku well worth the $99. Bored? Fire up the box and rent a new release through Amazon, or if you’re in the mood for something slightly older, switch over to your Netflix subscription. And there will be more options to come. Roku says in 2009 it will accelerate the number of content partners available on the box (rumor has it YouTube is on its way). [...]
Amazon VOD Launches on the Roku « NewTeeVee
— 5:02 AM on March 3, 2009
Leave a Reply
Popular
- BitTorrent After The Pirate Bay: Do You Still Need Trackers?
- Tumblr Marriage Proposal: Behind the Scenes of Justin and Marissa's Engagement
- Get Ready for Flash Player 10.1 to Stream P2P Video to Millions, Swap Files BitTorrent-style
- Ten Sites for Free and Legal Torrents
- The Megawoosh Waterslide Viral: How It Was Really Done
- Six Steps To Get More HD From Your Scientific Atlanta Set-top Box
Recent
- BitTorrent After The Pirate Bay: Do You Still Need Trackers?
- Microsoft and Nielsen Partner for 1 vs. 100 Measurement
- Premium Content Drives Connected Device Adoption
- Site Sponsor: Twistage
- Tumblr Marriage Proposal: Behind the Scenes of Justin and Marissa’s Engagement
- Sungale’s Sub-par Portable Media Player
Network
- Weekend Vid Picks: Twilight Parodies For Bitter Boyfriends [NewTeeVee]
- Skype CEO Outlines Platform Ambitions, Hiring Plans [GigaOM]
- Earth2Tech Week in Review [Earth2Tech]
- WWD Weekend Reading List [WebWorkerDaily]
- WinMo Wrap: Marketplace Hits All WM 6.x Phones; Opera Mobile Advances [jkOnTheRun]
- Weekly App Store Picks: November 21, 2009 [TheAppleBlog]
© 2009 The GigaOM Network. Marketing consulting by ACS.
I love instantly watching Netflix on my Roku player! I’m so excited to hear that Amazon and YouTube content is coming, as that allows us to watch a larger selection of content on our Roku player.
when will adult come to the Roku player? It would be nice to have high quality adult vids in my living room…