Roku Digital Video Player Taps into Amazon Video on Demand

By Geoff Duncan March 4, 2009

Roku Digital Video Player Taps into Amazon Video on Demand

Roku captured headlines last year by being the first out of the gate with a set-top box that could stream movie and television content from Netflix; now, the company has vastly expanded the video offerings available to owners of its Roku Digital Video Player by tapping into Amazon Video On Demand content. Roku has been beta testing the service for a few months, but has finally thrown open the doors for all customers.

“We are excited to give our customers access to Amazon’s massive catalogue of top movies and TV shows—including many new releases”, said Roku CEO and founder Anthony Wood, in a statement. “The launch of Amazon Video On Demand on Roku demonstrates our commitment to creating an open platform that instantly delivers the entertainment consumers want directly to their TVs.”

The $99 Roku digital video player connects to users TVs, and utilizes an existing in-house broadband Internet connection (via Ethernet or Wi-Fi) to download and stream content. Owners just have to register their Roku unit with Amazon, and then they’ll be able to rent or purchase content from Amazon. Amazon’s selections include many new movies and television shows; while Netflix makes some 12,000 titles available to Roku users for a single monthly fee, the offerings don’t tend to include many new releases.

Existing Roku owners will automatically receive a free software update that will enable them to access Amazon Video On Demand services.

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