Roku's next streaming boxes will have new names like 'Premiere' and 'Ultra'

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

Roku's next streaming boxes will have new names like 'Premiere' and 'Ultra'
http://www.theverge.com/circuitbrea...-express-premiere-ultra-2016-rumor?yptr=yahoo

 

[camo]

I disagree completely renaming this way. It makes it totally confusing which is the latest and greatest unlike the numeral renaming. Maybe this is the idea so model difference won't be apparent so sales can continue on older units by confused consumers.

 

[Tampa8]

Seems like it would be more confusing but I suppose after awhile it will be common and make sense. To me Roku has a bigger problem than renaming and may be why the changes. It still has access to many things other streamers do not but for me the Fire TV or Stick has overtaken it and I use that much more now. Most of the things Roku has access to that others don't aren't things I would really ever watch or care about. Meanwhile the Fire TV has really come on strong with apps and sideloading, and most importantly works with all amazon music, movies and Alexa etc and has a true Slingplayer app for me extremely useful.
Up until recently if asked I would have said the Roku is the one to get if you are only buying one streamer, but now it may be the Fire TV particularly if you have Amazon Prime. So Roku may be working towards making changes to stay or regain dominance. If it can.

 

[Dr. Pepper 6044]

Seems like it would be more confusing but I suppose after awhile it will be common and make sense. To me Roku has a bigger problem than renaming and may be why the changes. It still has access to many things other streamers do not but for me the Fire TV or Stick has overtaken it and I use that much more now. Most of the things Roku has access to that others don't aren't things I would really ever watch or care about. Meanwhile the Fire TV has really come on strong with apps and sideloading, and most importantly works with all amazon music, movies and Alexa etc and has a true Slingplayer app for me extremely useful.
Up until recently if asked I would have said the Roku is the one to get if you are only buying one streamer, but now it may be the Fire TV particularly if you have Amazon Prime. So Roku may be working towards making changes to stay or regain dominance. If it can.

I totally agree with your commentary above. I do have some spiritual channels that Roku has that Fire doesn't. That is important to me. I do also have Amazon Prime and lots of music on there. The Fire is a nice alternative. But:::: My Fire died after about 13 months. I had used it very little. I hate that. Hate to spend real $$ on something I don't use often. And how long would another one last??
I'm bummed!

 

[king3pj]

I disagree completely renaming this way. It makes it totally confusing which is the latest and greatest unlike the numeral renaming. Maybe this is the idea so model difference won't be apparent so sales can continue on older units by confused consumers.

I think people who would care enough to notice the differences between different Roku models are probably the same people who would take the time to look those differences up.

I could argue that the new naming scheme solves the problem of people not knowing which year's Roku model they are getting, at least for one year. The old naming system was pretty terrible about this. I mean there are multiple Rokus from different years with different hardware specs that are simply called Roku 2. The same goes for the Roku 3. You have to look up the model number or find a year listed to know which one you are buying.

I don't know how changing the naming scheme could make that more confusing than just releasing a new products called Roku 1, 2, 3, and 4 every couple years. Sure the numbers give you an easy way to tell which quality tier you are buying into but they do nothing to tell you whether it's the current model or not.

 

[Zookster]

I hate that I have to get the premium version of Roku (Roku 4) in order to get a streaming device that has an older style of audio output (optical digital) for my ancient AVR in the bedroom (where I will not be putting a 4K TV for the foreseeable future), but at least Roku still gives me that option ... and will continue to do so for this next generation, it appears. Otherwise, a Roku 2 is more than sufficient for that setup.

I've been vacillating between a Fire TV and Roku these past few months ever since cutting the cord. So many pros and cons for each given my particular needs. If I catch a good closeout deal on a Roku 4 in the next couple of months, I may bite. My biggest hesitation in getting any kind of Roku is the Roku's very poor PS Vue app.

 

[camo]

I think people who would care enough to notice the differences between different Roku models are probably the same people who would take the time to look those differences up.

I could argue that the new naming scheme solves the problem of people not knowing which year's Roku model they are getting, at least for one year. The old naming system was pretty terrible about this. I mean there are multiple Rokus from different years with different hardware specs that are simply called Roku 2. The same goes for the Roku 3. You have to look up the model number or find a year listed to know which one you are buying.

I don't know how changing the naming scheme could make that more confusing than just releasing a new products called Roku 1, 2, 3, and 4 every couple years. Sure the numbers give you an easy way to tell which quality tier you are buying into but they do nothing to tell you whether it's the current model or not.

If they were doing this before as you claim putting different hardware parts in the same named Roku just changing model number (which I didn't realize was going on) whats to stop them from doing the same with the upcoming renaming plan? Nothing, so nothing changes making it just as confusing for the consumer except now you have multiple models and no idea which is the latest without researching which is the latest model number.

 

[king3pj]

If they were doing this before as you claim putting different hardware parts in the same named Roku just changing model number (which I didn't realize was going on) whats to stop them from doing the same with the upcoming renaming plan? Nothing, so nothing changes making it just as confusing for the consumer except now you have multiple models and no idea which is the latest without researching which is the latest model number.

That's why I said it would help for at least one year. The names will be different for that first year so you will easily be able to tell them apart. If they go back to their old ways of releasing updated models in future years with the exact same names as previous years it will be just as confusing as before. I'm not sure it will be any more confusing than having more than one model named Roku Stick, Roku 2, or Roku 3 though.

Edit: Also, I think you are misunderstanding the way Roku used numbers. It's not not like PlayStation where PS2 was the successor to the original PlayStation and PS3 was the successor to PS2 and so on. For Roku 1,2,3, 4, and Stick have nothing to do with how old the model is. They are quality tiers. The higher numbers just have more features. They are not newer.