Roku to Wheeler: HTML5 Should Not Be De Facto Navigation Standard

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Video streaming device maker Roku has issues with the Federal Communications Commission's set-top box unlocking plan, but it also has issues with the cable industry's box-ditching, apps-based plan. In meetings with top aides to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler about the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's app-based proposal, Roku said that "while Roku continues to believe that the Commission’s current set-top box rulemaking efforts could be counterproductive," it is concerned that the cable alternative would create HTML5 as the de facto video distribution standard.

"Such an approach would be ill-advised given that consumers have clearly demonstrated their preference of an array of devices with diverse user experiences," they said. FCC staffers vetting the pay-TV proposal have suggested that HTML5 "may be an appropriate platform for app developers to provide access to content." But Roku has little good to say about it, at least as a potential standard: "HTML5 is a bulky and expensive architecture that would require third-party device manufacturers to include additional processing power and memory to support it, even in their lowest-priced device."


Roku to Wheeler: HTML5 Should Not Be De Facto Navigation Standard