All TV to be streamed, says Roku chief
The traditional way of delivering the TV signal to viewers is on the way out – and so are DVD players, DVRs and other such devices, according to Roku chief executive Anthony Wood.
In an interview with Associated Press, Wood said that in the future, all TV is going to be streamed.
“It’s either going to be streamed to a smart TV, a gaming console or a streaming player,” he said. “That’s the way people are going to watch TV. Things like DVD players are going to go away. Cable boxes are obviously going away, too. DVRs are just a stepping stone technology.
“When everything is on demand, you won’t have to record anything any more so that’s going to disappear.”
The boss of Roku – which makes streaming devices – also shrugged off competition from rival companies Apple, Amazon and Google, which are all developing their own streaming services.
Wood said that he no longer had a DVR in his house. “I got rid of my DVR when it broke,” he said. “That was probably five years ago. We watch all our TV on demand anyway.”
Online streaming is a great idea in principle – but we’re going to need a much better, stronger internet before it takes over completely from traditional media.
