Posted Wed Jul 20, 2011 at 01:30 PM PDT by Dick Ward
It also plays games. Well, it plays one game.
Roku has long been at the forefront when it comes to media streamers. They're not as fully functional as some higher end devices, but they're cheap, easy, and Roku is always updating with new channels and features.
One of the big things that Roku 2 brings to the table is gaming, though you'll have to be happy with eating white rice for an appetizer, white rice for an entree and white rice for dessert. It's not a very diverse table, is the point. Roku expects to have plenty of games available soon, but at launch you'll get to pick from 'Angry Birds,' 'Angry Birds Rio,' and 'Angry Birds Seasons.'
Pricing for the three different tiers of players is the same as it's ever been. The HD is the cheapest model and offers the full Roku 2 experience at 720p and a price of $59. Stepping up to the XD gets you a 1080p resolution for $79. At $99, the Roku 2 XS comes with a gaming remote, a copy of 'Angry Birds' and an ethernet port for those that aren't down with the Wi-Fi provided by all three models.
One more thing that the XS brings to the table is a USB port for playing your own files. Playback options are fairly limited - you're stuck with WMV, MP3, AAC, JPG and PNG - but it's a step in the right direction for sure.
Source: Roku
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