WEBVTT - Roku gets AirPlay in OS Update, free streaming app and refreshed devices

0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:03.360
<v Speaker 1>Rich Debiro here, Rich on Tech, and I've got some

0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:08.440
<v Speaker 1>new Roku news. Joining me is Mark Eally, Vice president

0:00:08.440 --> 0:00:11.119
<v Speaker 1>at Roku. Mark, thanks for joining me on the podcast.

0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:13.640
<v Speaker 2>Thanks so much for having me. Really appreciate it.

0:00:13.720 --> 0:00:15.800
<v Speaker 1>All Right, So you've got a lot of news that

0:00:15.840 --> 0:00:19.560
<v Speaker 1>you're dropping today on the Roku platform. Let's start with

0:00:19.960 --> 0:00:24.720
<v Speaker 1>something that everyone with an iPhone basically is affected by,

0:00:24.760 --> 0:00:28.520
<v Speaker 1>and this is Airplay being added to the platform. Tell

0:00:28.560 --> 0:00:29.080
<v Speaker 1>me about that.

0:00:29.920 --> 0:00:31.120
<v Speaker 2>We're super excited.

0:00:31.400 --> 0:00:33.600
<v Speaker 3>We've been working with Apple for quite a while on

0:00:34.479 --> 0:00:39.480
<v Speaker 3>trying to deliver really a great iOS experience for our customers,

0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:42.480
<v Speaker 3>and so we're rolling out Airplay to support as long

0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:47.360
<v Speaker 3>actually along with Apple Home Kit to most of our

0:00:47.400 --> 0:00:51.480
<v Speaker 3>four K devices, both TVs and players, and we're really

0:00:51.520 --> 0:00:53.800
<v Speaker 3>excited because it's going to give our customers the ability

0:00:53.840 --> 0:00:58.480
<v Speaker 3>to take their videos, their photos, their music and play

0:00:58.480 --> 0:00:59.800
<v Speaker 3>it back on the big screen in the house.

0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:01.840
<v Speaker 1>Now is this now? I know you said airplay too,

0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:03.800
<v Speaker 1>which is kind of like their new version of airplay

0:01:03.840 --> 0:01:07.199
<v Speaker 1>that's you know, advanced. Was there airplay on the Roku

0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:08.600
<v Speaker 1>platform before in other ways?

0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:10.680
<v Speaker 2>No, this is the first.

0:01:10.400 --> 0:01:13.240
<v Speaker 3>Time that that we're bringing airplay support to the to

0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:17.120
<v Speaker 3>the Roku os and and it really kind of complements

0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:20.200
<v Speaker 3>the other ecosystems that we support. So it really gives

0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:22.200
<v Speaker 3>our customers just a great amount of choice in the

0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:23.920
<v Speaker 3>kind of content that they can then stream to the

0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:24.440
<v Speaker 3>big screen.

0:01:24.600 --> 0:01:26.640
<v Speaker 1>I mean it's huge, not just for streaming, but also

0:01:26.640 --> 0:01:28.240
<v Speaker 1>if I just want to show a picture from my

0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:31.360
<v Speaker 1>phone on the TV screen, it's right there to do it.

0:01:31.959 --> 0:01:33.280
<v Speaker 2>Oh, it's awesome. I mean you can.

0:01:33.880 --> 0:01:36.640
<v Speaker 3>I think photos are great, Music's great, it's also great.

0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:39.240
<v Speaker 3>It's just a second screen for your for your laptop,

0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:42.160
<v Speaker 3>I mean, for education. So many ways you can use it.

0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:45.440
<v Speaker 3>And it's available across you know, a wide range of

0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:48.400
<v Speaker 3>really affordable four K devices from Roku. So so we're

0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:49.120
<v Speaker 3>thrilled about it.

0:01:49.360 --> 0:01:52.040
<v Speaker 1>Very cool. All right, let's move on to the Roku channel.

0:01:52.400 --> 0:01:55.240
<v Speaker 1>So you you have seen a lot of popularity with

0:01:55.280 --> 0:01:59.520
<v Speaker 1>the Roku channel. People love watching free stuff. It's kind

0:01:59.520 --> 0:02:03.040
<v Speaker 1>of interesting. People think of streaming in two ways. It's

0:02:03.040 --> 0:02:04.640
<v Speaker 1>like what can I get for free? And also what

0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:08.440
<v Speaker 1>do I subscribe to? But free is obviously the best.

0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:11.400
<v Speaker 1>People love free. So with the Roku Channel, you are

0:02:11.440 --> 0:02:14.200
<v Speaker 1>now coming out with a dedicated app that you can

0:02:14.240 --> 0:02:18.480
<v Speaker 1>get on iOS and Android. No Roku device necessary. Tell

0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:20.320
<v Speaker 1>me why you did this and what we can expect

0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:21.079
<v Speaker 1>from this app.

0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:25.880
<v Speaker 3>Well, as you said, you know, our customers love free

0:02:26.200 --> 0:02:28.720
<v Speaker 3>and the Rookue channel has become so popular it's become

0:02:28.760 --> 0:02:31.240
<v Speaker 3>one of the really top channels on our platform, and

0:02:31.280 --> 0:02:34.079
<v Speaker 3>it's because you've got this great mix of ad supported content,

0:02:34.280 --> 0:02:36.360
<v Speaker 3>plus you can add subscription content if you want to,

0:02:36.840 --> 0:02:39.640
<v Speaker 3>and we found that that our customers want to be

0:02:39.639 --> 0:02:42.640
<v Speaker 3>able to access this everywhere, not just on their Rokue device,

0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:45.440
<v Speaker 3>but through their browsers and through their multile devices.

0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:47.120
<v Speaker 2>And so by creating a.

0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:51.160
<v Speaker 3>Dedicated app, we're really broadening the reach and appeal to

0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:54.480
<v Speaker 3>customers that maybe don't have a Rookue device but would

0:02:54.520 --> 0:02:56.960
<v Speaker 3>really benefit from that free content that you can get

0:02:56.960 --> 0:02:57.880
<v Speaker 3>through the Rokue channel.

0:02:58.440 --> 0:03:00.560
<v Speaker 2>So we're really excited to roll the out.

0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:03.560
<v Speaker 1>And any thing that you subscribe to Throughku you can

0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:05.040
<v Speaker 1>also get on the app as well.

0:03:05.760 --> 0:03:08.520
<v Speaker 3>That's right exactly, So premium content that you've signed up

0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:11.440
<v Speaker 3>for on a Rokue device or through our browser experience

0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:15.200
<v Speaker 3>you can access on the app. And that just kind

0:03:15.240 --> 0:03:18.280
<v Speaker 3>of creates a really rich experience for our customers.

0:03:18.400 --> 0:03:21.360
<v Speaker 1>And do people I mean I mentioned that people love free.

0:03:21.360 --> 0:03:23.079
<v Speaker 1>But I mean, are you seeing on your end that

0:03:23.160 --> 0:03:26.000
<v Speaker 1>the roku channel is just continuing to grow?

0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:30.520
<v Speaker 3>Oh, it's huge, it's I mean, we've got tens of

0:03:30.560 --> 0:03:33.280
<v Speaker 3>millions of people out there that are watching the Rokue

0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:35.680
<v Speaker 3>channel on a regular basis. It's become one of the

0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:40.600
<v Speaker 3>top channels on our platform. And it's because it's not

0:03:40.640 --> 0:03:42.600
<v Speaker 3>only is it free content, but it's great free content.

0:03:43.040 --> 0:03:45.800
<v Speaker 3>And we also have kids and family related content. There's

0:03:45.800 --> 0:03:47.800
<v Speaker 3>stuff that pretty much appeals to everyone.

0:03:49.040 --> 0:03:51.200
<v Speaker 1>Let's talk about some of the new devices. So you

0:03:51.280 --> 0:03:55.360
<v Speaker 1>have I'm counting my notes here, one, two, three, four, five,

0:03:55.680 --> 0:04:02.040
<v Speaker 1>at least five devices, six devices, seven devices at this point?

0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:03.480
<v Speaker 1>Am I right on that? Or is there more?

0:04:03.480 --> 0:04:03.680
<v Speaker 2>Well?

0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:05.520
<v Speaker 1>Not including the newest one we're going to talk about.

0:04:05.520 --> 0:04:08.200
<v Speaker 1>So you have about eight devices to choose from.

0:04:09.080 --> 0:04:12.240
<v Speaker 3>We have a range of devices, and the reason we

0:04:12.320 --> 0:04:15.080
<v Speaker 3>do is that we want to make streaming accessible to

0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:18.440
<v Speaker 3>the broadest range of folks, from people that are first

0:04:18.480 --> 0:04:20.359
<v Speaker 3>time streamers that just want to try it out for

0:04:20.400 --> 0:04:22.720
<v Speaker 3>the first time to people that are really dedicated to

0:04:22.800 --> 0:04:24.680
<v Speaker 3>it and want all the bells and whistles, and so

0:04:24.720 --> 0:04:26.719
<v Speaker 3>we try to hit all of these different price points

0:04:26.720 --> 0:04:30.200
<v Speaker 3>in between and really deliver a set of streaming platform

0:04:30.320 --> 0:04:34.120
<v Speaker 3>streaming devices that really create a great streaming experience for everyone.

0:04:34.480 --> 0:04:37.080
<v Speaker 1>So for the streamers, they range from thirty dollars to

0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:41.680
<v Speaker 1>one hundred dollars. And let's talk about the newest Roku Ultra.

0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:44.400
<v Speaker 1>This is ninety nine ninety nine and this is your

0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:46.640
<v Speaker 1>flagship device. I mean, this is for the person who

0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:50.440
<v Speaker 1>wants everything that Roku has to offer in their top

0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:55.840
<v Speaker 1>of the line device, new processor, new form factor, better wireless.

0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:59.479
<v Speaker 1>Tell me about the importance of wireless when it comes

0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:01.200
<v Speaker 1>to a streaming device.

0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:05.120
<v Speaker 3>Well, you said, I mean, it's so important, and it's

0:05:05.160 --> 0:05:07.760
<v Speaker 3>because of course you're streaming more. You know, people want

0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:11.080
<v Speaker 3>to stream high resolution, high quality content four K content.

0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:13.280
<v Speaker 3>In the case of Roku Ultra, you can now stream

0:05:13.320 --> 0:05:16.800
<v Speaker 3>Gulby Vision content. It's you want to get that to

0:05:17.480 --> 0:05:19.240
<v Speaker 3>you know, the best, you know screens in your house,

0:05:19.240 --> 0:05:20.960
<v Speaker 3>wherever they may be, and it might be really far

0:05:21.000 --> 0:05:23.800
<v Speaker 3>from your router. So having a really really great wireless

0:05:23.800 --> 0:05:26.120
<v Speaker 3>performance means you're going to have a great picture no

0:05:26.240 --> 0:05:28.160
<v Speaker 3>matter where that device is set up in your home.

0:05:28.560 --> 0:05:30.600
<v Speaker 3>And it's also important to remember even if you don't

0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:32.719
<v Speaker 3>have a really large house, you might have a lot

0:05:32.760 --> 0:05:35.400
<v Speaker 3>of wireless interference. So many of us are on our

0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:38.200
<v Speaker 3>computers all day, you know, doing zoom calls and other things.

0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:40.440
<v Speaker 3>There's lots of lots of video moving back and forth.

0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:45.200
<v Speaker 3>There's phones, there's devices, and having really high quality you know,

0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:48.760
<v Speaker 3>radio system built into the Roku Ultra means that you're

0:05:48.800 --> 0:05:52.159
<v Speaker 3>really getting the best possible streaming wherever you put it,

0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:54.200
<v Speaker 3>and and that just a better experience.

0:05:54.600 --> 0:05:56.719
<v Speaker 1>And on the back of the device, you've got USB

0:05:57.160 --> 0:05:58.799
<v Speaker 1>three point zero for the first time.

0:05:59.600 --> 0:06:02.359
<v Speaker 3>We've had USB two in the past. We've upgraded it

0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:05.000
<v Speaker 3>in the new versions of USB three point zero. It's

0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:07.440
<v Speaker 3>a great way for folks that have their own video

0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:11.520
<v Speaker 3>libraries or photo libraries on memory sticks or USB hard drives.

0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:13.440
<v Speaker 3>You can plug them in and access it through our

0:06:13.440 --> 0:06:16.840
<v Speaker 3>media player, and just another way to get content into

0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:18.880
<v Speaker 3>your Rokue device and then pick up on the big screen.

0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:23.440
<v Speaker 1>And another first, you're throwing Bluetooth, sorry, Bluetooth into the

0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:26.800
<v Speaker 1>mix on this device for what reason? What can I

0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:28.559
<v Speaker 1>do with the Bluetooth on the Roku Ultra.

0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:31.920
<v Speaker 3>Well, what you can do is it's designed for pairing

0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:34.640
<v Speaker 3>for your phone to the Roki Ultra, so you can

0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:39.520
<v Speaker 3>stream audio stream music, music content from your phone to

0:06:39.600 --> 0:06:41.320
<v Speaker 3>the device and then play it back through whatever the

0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:44.040
<v Speaker 3>av system is that you've connected your Ultra to. And

0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:46.839
<v Speaker 3>we just wanted to give our customers just the broadest

0:06:46.960 --> 0:06:49.240
<v Speaker 3>range of different sources that they could choose from, whether

0:06:49.279 --> 0:06:54.640
<v Speaker 3>it's four KHDR content, Dolby Vision content, Bluetooth content from

0:06:54.680 --> 0:06:57.560
<v Speaker 3>their phone, you know, whatever it is, airplay content. You

0:06:57.600 --> 0:07:00.920
<v Speaker 3>can get all of that onto the Ultra and then

0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:02.120
<v Speaker 3>displayed on your favorite TV.

0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:06.880
<v Speaker 1>So you basically, Roku likes to give folks options. That's it.

0:07:07.040 --> 0:07:09.520
<v Speaker 1>I've always called you the sort of the Switzerland of

0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:12.120
<v Speaker 1>streaming because it's just whatever, however you want to do it,

0:07:12.160 --> 0:07:15.040
<v Speaker 1>whatever you want to watch, it's generally available on Roku.

0:07:15.080 --> 0:07:19.880
<v Speaker 1>It's very flexible as a viewing platform, it is.

0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:22.680
<v Speaker 3>I mean, that's you know, for us, we've always believe

0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:25.160
<v Speaker 3>that that you know, this is the streaming decade.

0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:27.320
<v Speaker 2>Streaming is just going. It's just incredible.

0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:29.520
<v Speaker 3>So many people are cutting the cord, they're moving over

0:07:29.560 --> 0:07:31.160
<v Speaker 3>to streaming, and we want to make sure that it's

0:07:31.200 --> 0:07:34.680
<v Speaker 3>super easy for anyone to get get on board, get

0:07:34.680 --> 0:07:36.920
<v Speaker 3>a product set up, be up and running and streaming

0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:39.880
<v Speaker 3>their favorite shows and do that to the widest possible

0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:43.320
<v Speaker 3>audience and that's really informed all of the different products

0:07:43.320 --> 0:07:43.960
<v Speaker 3>that we built out.

0:07:44.280 --> 0:07:47.240
<v Speaker 1>Another new product you're coming out with is the Roku

0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:51.080
<v Speaker 1>stream Bar, and this is kind of a soundbar that

0:07:51.160 --> 0:07:55.200
<v Speaker 1>has Roku built into it. Explain what the advantage is there.

0:07:56.360 --> 0:08:00.120
<v Speaker 3>So we launched our Roku Smart Soundbar last year and

0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:02.080
<v Speaker 3>it was a soundbar with a player built into it,

0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:04.640
<v Speaker 3>so you've got the full OS experience built in. And

0:08:05.160 --> 0:08:07.120
<v Speaker 3>our idea was to put these two things together to

0:08:07.120 --> 0:08:09.640
<v Speaker 3>create a really great experience for our customers. And what

0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:11.800
<v Speaker 3>we found was that people loved it. I mean, they

0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:16.120
<v Speaker 3>absolutely love having great sound, and so we thought, well, gee,

0:08:16.120 --> 0:08:18.760
<v Speaker 3>how can we bring this great sound and great streaming

0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:21.640
<v Speaker 3>together but reach a broader audience and maybe folks that

0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:24.480
<v Speaker 3>have never thought about a soundbar before.

0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:27.840
<v Speaker 2>So this new stream bar is a whole new idea.

0:08:27.880 --> 0:08:28.480
<v Speaker 2>It's really a.

0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:32.360
<v Speaker 3>Super compact soundbar and streamer together and it's designed to

0:08:32.440 --> 0:08:36.000
<v Speaker 3>go under pretty much any TV. It's only fourteen inches wide,

0:08:36.040 --> 0:08:38.000
<v Speaker 3>it's less than two and a half inches high, and

0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:40.760
<v Speaker 3>it's got these incredible high performance drivers in there that

0:08:40.800 --> 0:08:43.720
<v Speaker 3>really pump out a lot of great sound. And it

0:08:43.760 --> 0:08:46.400
<v Speaker 3>was a really clever signal processing in our rooku os,

0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:49.560
<v Speaker 3>we were able to steer that sound even wider, so

0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:52.040
<v Speaker 3>it sounds much bigger than it looks. And I think

0:08:52.040 --> 0:08:54.080
<v Speaker 3>when people hear it, they're going to be really impressed.

0:08:54.320 --> 0:08:57.320
<v Speaker 1>And how important is sound in your research and just

0:08:57.920 --> 0:09:00.240
<v Speaker 1>you know, in general as someone watching TV. I mean,

0:09:00.240 --> 0:09:02.800
<v Speaker 1>these these thin TVs, they're not known for their speakers.

0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:04.120
<v Speaker 2>That's it.

0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:06.320
<v Speaker 3>And it's amazing if you think about where we are now.

0:09:06.600 --> 0:09:08.920
<v Speaker 3>You know, the movie theater is really in our living

0:09:09.040 --> 0:09:11.640
<v Speaker 3>rooms now, We're spending so much time watching content at home.

0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:13.920
<v Speaker 3>But those TV sets that are out there really were

0:09:13.920 --> 0:09:16.600
<v Speaker 3>never designed for great sound. They're designed for great picture.

0:09:17.120 --> 0:09:19.040
<v Speaker 3>So when you bring a great set of speakers, if

0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:22.240
<v Speaker 3>you can bring a soundbar, stream bar into your environment,

0:09:22.360 --> 0:09:24.280
<v Speaker 3>it's like going from black and white to color.

0:09:24.400 --> 0:09:26.720
<v Speaker 2>It just really makes it so much richer.

0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:29.360
<v Speaker 3>Not only can you hear the dialogue much better, but

0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:33.120
<v Speaker 3>you're really you know, enveloped more in the experience. And

0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:36.160
<v Speaker 3>in fact, people have told us that, you know, the

0:09:36.520 --> 0:09:40.000
<v Speaker 3>actual video looks better just by adding better sound. So

0:09:40.120 --> 0:09:42.360
<v Speaker 3>it's it's one of those incredible things that really enriches

0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:43.600
<v Speaker 3>the whole streaming experience.

0:09:43.800 --> 0:09:46.200
<v Speaker 1>When can we expect to see these new features and products.

0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:49.559
<v Speaker 3>So we're really exciting to be rolling out OS nine

0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:52.880
<v Speaker 3>to four. It'll be rolling out through through the fall

0:09:52.960 --> 0:09:55.640
<v Speaker 3>quarter here through the end of the year. To our devices,

0:09:56.240 --> 0:09:59.440
<v Speaker 3>the Roku Ultra and the Roku stream Bar are both

0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:01.720
<v Speaker 3>going to be on the shelf in mid October and

0:10:02.280 --> 0:10:04.160
<v Speaker 3>we can't wait for folks to get their hands on them.

0:10:04.400 --> 0:10:06.760
<v Speaker 1>And Mark, what are you streaming these days? Anything interesting?

0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:08.839
<v Speaker 1>Are you done? By the time you get out of work,

0:10:08.840 --> 0:10:10.040
<v Speaker 1>You're like, no more streaming for me.

0:10:10.720 --> 0:10:13.840
<v Speaker 2>I gotta tell you, I'm running through Shit's creek right now.

0:10:13.960 --> 0:10:18.000
<v Speaker 3>It's so much fun and I'm really enjoying that.

0:10:18.000 --> 0:10:19.840
<v Speaker 2>That's the end of the day wind.

0:10:19.600 --> 0:10:21.960
<v Speaker 1>Down, and that just it's funny. When I lived in

0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:23.880
<v Speaker 1>New York City, this was many I mean I'm talking

0:10:23.920 --> 0:10:26.000
<v Speaker 1>I think it was ten years ago or something. They

0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:28.600
<v Speaker 1>had those advertisements all over them. That show has been

0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:30.439
<v Speaker 1>around for a while, but it seems like people are

0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:31.520
<v Speaker 1>just discovering it.

0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:36.200
<v Speaker 3>Exactly and they just discovered it. And that's a fun

0:10:36.240 --> 0:10:37.560
<v Speaker 3>wind down for me.

0:10:37.800 --> 0:10:41.439
<v Speaker 1>All right. Mark Eally, Vice President of Retail Product Strategy

0:10:41.440 --> 0:10:43.360
<v Speaker 1>at Roku, thanks so much for joining me today. I

0:10:43.360 --> 0:10:43.959
<v Speaker 1>appreciate it.

0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:46.360
<v Speaker 2>Thank you really appreciate it all right.

0:10:46.280 --> 0:10:48.920
<v Speaker 1>You're listening to the Rich on Tech podcast. Be sure

0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:51.200
<v Speaker 1>to rate and review the show, and if you like

0:10:51.240 --> 0:10:53.520
<v Speaker 1>interviews like this, let me know. Thanks for listening.