Blu-ray is headed to the great jumble sale in the sky, to be replaced in our hearts by a digital set top boxes like those made by Roku, Apple et al. At least, according to the CEO of, er, Roku.
Roku CEO Anthony Wood reckons that Blu-ray sales are going to peak this year as people begin to drop the platform in favour of devices that perform better when streaming digital media across the internet. “Will people use Blu-ray players in four years? I don’t think so,” said Wood.
Wood’s prediction came earlier this week in his keynote address at the TV of Tomorrow show in San Francisco. Wood spoke at length about the future of streaming media, saying that although currently most streaming is done via games consoles, he sees this shifting to dedicated set top boxes or smart TVs with (just to pluck an example from thin air) Roku’s streaming technology built in.
Roku launched in the UK earlier this year, but has built up quite the reputation over in the US, offering a cheaper alternative to the likes of Apple TV. The UK Roku box already supports NetFlix and BBC iPlayer and the company is reportedly in talks to add Sky Go to its list of services.
As for Wood’s theory on the future of Blu-ray, it is certainly possible – likely even – that people will move from physical media to pure digital. It is telling however, that Wood won’t rule out a future Roku box with a Blu-ray drive built in..
[source: Gigaom]
