Roku is diving further into smart home equipment, and the price is once again a major draw. The company has unveiled a Home Monitoring System SE kit that includes two entry sensors, a motion sensor, a hub (with siren) and a keypad for $99. You might pay less for a whole monitor setup than you do individual parts from rival bundles.
As with earlier products, Wyze co-developed the hardware. You can monitor activity on your phone, but Roku unsurprisingly touts integration with its media players and compatible TVs. You can get an entry alert while you’re watching a show. You can expand the system as needed, and an optional $100 per year professional monitoring option uses Noonlight to provide immediate help from agents.
The Home Monitoring System SE is available today through Roku and Walmart, and will reach Walmart stores in the US on May 19th alongside a currently-unpriced light strip and outdoor-oriented solar panel. A Roku OS update enabling TV monitoring notifications (plus camera history and voice control) is due in the “coming weeks.”
The expansion may seem odd for a company that’s closely associated with streaming devices, but it comes at a critical moment for the company. It’s still laying off workers as it grapples with a rough economy, and is concentrating on projects that it believes are more likely to pay off. Smart home products could help Roku supplement its core business while competing against Amazon and others that already have a wide range of home-oriented gear.
Source: www.engadget.com