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Roku is a name that has become so common to see that you probably don’t think much about where it came from. Roku devices can be found in millions of households, but what does “Roku” actually mean? Is it anything?
The Origins of Roku
Roku Inc. was founded all the way back in 2002 by Anthony Wood. Prior to Roku, Wood had founded ReplayTV, a DVR company that attempted to compete with TiVo. After selling ReplayTV, Wood started working at Netflix.
In 2007, Wood became a VP at Netflix and worked on the “Netflix Player.” The idea was to create a device to allow people to stream Netflix on their TVs. However, CEO Reed Hastings decided to drop the project. The “Netflix Player” was then taken over by Roku.
The first Roku was released in 2008. It was still developed in collaboration with Netflix. The original Roku device had support for Channels (apps) just like modern versions. You still had to use Netflix on a computer to add things to your “Instant…
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