What is the purpose of SmartStream?

[422151819119]

I have been meaning to ask this for some time: What is the purpose of the SmartStream product? For customers/users of SmartStream, what does the product provide that, for example, a $30 Roku media player (or a more elaborate media player such as Shield TV or Apple TV) do not provide? Other than the hardware, does it provide any value for the monthly subscription? It looks like an interesting product (if one could just purchase the box and not worry about a continuous monthly subscription), but it is not clear to me as to what value it provides when compared to existing streaming media players.

[-G- · Accepted solution]

@422151819119  Personally, I don't see much value in Ignite Streaming (formerly SmartStream).  The Ignite Entertainment Box is an okay media player but you do not have any control over any of the apps that are on the box, nor is the box available for sale.  In the future, Rogers may offer additional integration with other/yet-to-be-announced Ignite products but for now, it it just a media player.  Rogers would also like you to use their box because it will allow you to buy or rent content from them.

Comcast has a similar offering to Ignite Streaming called Xfinity Flex.  They provide the Xfinity set-top box to their Internet Internet customers for free because they would prefer them to use their hardware rather than another competing streaming platform.