Roku has a USB looking set-top-box which runs streaming video off the Mobile High Definition Link [MHL] interface standard.
It’s a sweet package all bundled up for portability. As you can see the HDMI connector of the USB device, you click it once to a MHL supported TV and using the TV’s own remote you can steam video without the need of a bulky set-top-box.
Televisions that support MHL will be able to integrate Roku’s streaming TV platform simply by plugging in the stick. With the stick docked, it will be just like having the Roku set-top box: it adds the Roku interface (and the 400+ channels it offers), Wi-Fi connectivity, and local storage to the TV it is used on.
MHL standard is quickly becoming adopted by the major players like Toshiba, Sony and Samsung and BestBuy is the first major retail to ebrace the solution.
No word on pricing of the USB shaped set-top-box, but we’ll know soon enough from the 2012 CES show.
