It could be a sort of STB / game console merger like Google Chromecast

Mar 18, 2014 07:27 GMT  ·  By

The term set-top box normally defines a compact but still fairly large device shaped something like a video and disc player, but featuring different hardware, for tapping into the channel network of a broadcast company. Amazon is preparing something of the sort, although with Internet TV and cloud-streaming mixed in.

Amazon has been said to be preparing a set-top box for a long time now. The company wants to branch out, no longer content with being just a shop.

True, it has the Kindle line of e-readers and tablets, but that hasn't exactly allowed it to make a big name for itself.

So it is now working with providers of television and web content to produce a USB dongle-like gadget that merges the benefits of an STB with those of a game console.

It sounds a bit far-fetched, but it is not, in fact, impossible to integrate the ability to stream PC games. So even if the Amazon dongle doesn't have any mighty hardware of its own, it will still allow you to do everything from watching a film to playing a PC game on your main living room TV.

Or at least that's the plan. The actual “hows” are still a bit foggy. Amazon could do something like OnLive, which streams games from a cloud server.

According to TechCrunch, “top-tier games” will be streamed to your TV from an Amazon server at a frame rate of 30 fps. As one might guess, the names of those games have been conveniently left out.

If the Amazon USB dongle set-top box proves a real item, it may very well ship with a remote control and a gamepad.

Don't be too quick to jump on the bandwagon though, even if Amazon does set up a gaming cloud server in the near future. Chances are said server will be located far away from your location, on a different continent even, so the game streaming aspect may not work without lag.

We're not talking about MMOs here after all. Those only need to update numeric value, while the graphics and sound all operate from on-board storage. But since Amazon's STB is just a small USB dongle, it won't actually store and run anything locally.

So while rumors do say the Amazon device will be a tiny STB+PC Game streaming unit, you're probably better off waiting a month or so once the item is launched (in April, according to The Wall Street Journal) to see if the feature works well from remote locations.