Roku Gets Overhaul

DAILY DOT COM - Roku is turning up the heat in the battle of streaming video devices, with its all new Roku 3.

The Roku box first hit the scene in 2008.  Back then it was called the Netflix player and only came with one channel.  Today it has more than 750 channels, including major movie channels, music, sports and games.

The third generation model went on sale Wednesday, March 06 at Roku's Web site and Amazon.com for $99.99.  It's the first equipment update since July, 2011.

In its latest reincarnation, the new Roku 3 is giving other internet streaming boxes like Apple TV a run for their money.  The device features headphones, a more powerful search engine to track down movies, TV shows and music more quickly.

And it also has a new menu to help you sift through the hundreds of services the device offers.  The redesign displays more information by stacking the channels vertically in rows of three --instead of in single.

So consumers can see nine channels at a time now, instead of the five under the old format.

The new box also boasts a powerful processor for people wanting to play online video games from their TV.

Consumers can listen to video and music from headphones that connect to the remote...a feature Apple TV doesn’t have by the way.  The new model will expand to retail stores next month.  More details on the features can be found at www.roku.com .