Are Streaming Media Players a Passing Fad 367
DeviceGuru writes "In-Stat is questioning whether dedicated streaming media players like the Roku player, Boxee Box, and Google TV boxes will be around for long. The reason, says In-Stat, is that IP-streamed video is becoming a standard feature of TVs and Blu-ray players. Passing fad? Not according to this blog post at DeviceGuru, which argues that we're talking about a disruptive market, not a mature one, and that TVs and Blu-ray players can't possibly provide the flexibility to serve as the platform for delivering rapidly evolving technologies to the early adopters who represent the testbed for all this innovation."
Re:Yes, at this rate... (Score:5, Informative)
This point exactly. Before I headed overseas I switched my ISP from Rogers to Teksavvy, which means I went from a $49/mo plan, with 60gb @10/1 to a $42/mo plan with 300gb @ 15/1. Canada sucks for the internet, the US seems to be trying to catch up to Canada. It's quickly coming to a point where as much as I hate it, the last mile should be regulated and publicly owned, like in other countries which can provide dirt cheap internet services.
Are PC's a passing fad too? (Score:5, Informative)
Using that logic, we should all be buying souped-up computer monitors that have computers built into them, as opposed to buying the monitor as an accessory to your computer.
My story: bought a Samsung TV at exactly the wrong time (early 2010). It had DLNA capability built in (which is buggy) and a framework for Yahoo gadgets. As soon as Samsung's new 2010 models came out, they stopped supporting the 2009 models (no fixes for buggy DLNA). They changed their app framework, so the Yahoo gadget ecosystem is now dead. I learned from the experience that it's really dumb to buy a TV for it's media-player functionality. You're better off buying a dumb TV and using a STB like a Playstation that has broader support.