The T-Box might not be the only TV inspired gadget Telstra has, as the company announces a partnership with Roku to build a tiny hub for Aussies to stream television through.
It’s been quite some time since Telstra managed to grab our attention with some television-related, but that time may well come again as the Australian telco has announced that it working with US streaming media player company Roku to build a similar gadget for our neck of the woods.
There’s one picture of what the gadget would be, seen below, and it appears to be a Telstra branded Roku variant, which itself is a small media streaming box able to jump online and grab content from a variety of sources.
Imported to Australia, a Roku won’t do much by itself as most of its services either require subscriptions that aren’t available locally or need to go through a VPN in order to trick an overseas service that you’re in America.
But a Roku that has been designed and programmed to work in Australia, that’s something different, and could give Telstra a local edge with regards to streaming media solutions.
“Roku is renowned for producing streaming devices with an exciting variety of entertainment choices and great value,” said Telstra’s Joe Pollard.
“By combining our networks and content with Roku Powered players and the Roku platform, we will offer a brilliant streaming experience in the market designed specifically for Australian consumers.”
Pollard says that when launched here, the Telstra-branded Roku box will likely offer access to all three of the major streaming services available locally, including Netflix, Stan, and Presto, with BigPond Movies also set to be made available, and a selection of Australia’s catch-up TV services, similar to what people can do with AirPlay from an Apple device to an Apple TV, as well as Chromecasting with a Google Chromecast.
Pricing on Telstra TV isn’t yet confirmed, but it will be interesting to see where this one is positioned, especially since the telco is saying this will add to the solutions already found in the T-Box and Foxtel.
September is when you can expect this one, though, so we’ll keep you up to date for when Telstra lets more out of the bag.
