Neowin.net - Netflix Introduces Movie Streaming Device

Netflix Introduces Movie Streaming Device

Posted by Bezhou Feng on 21 May 2008 - 16:57 · 12 comments & 6483 views

Online movie rental company Netflix has teamed up with Roku to create a new device that enables Netflix subscribers to instantly stream a growing library of movies and TV episodes from Netflix directly to the TV. The player is roughly the size of a paperback book, supports both wired and wireless connections to the internet, and has a range of connectors, from HDMI to RCA. The player itself costs $99.00, and, as long as a user has a Netflix subscription of $8.99/month or more, he/she is allowed unlimited streaming from a catalogue of more than 10,000 items (though newer releases are lacking at the moment).

"We're excited to bring the first Netflix ready device to the market," said Anthony Wood, CEO and founder of Roku. " Now, streaming video isn't limited to people sitting in front of the PC; it's ready for the TV in the living room."

View: The Netflix Player by Roku

Hide additional information

About the Author
Full name: Bezhou Feng
Forum name: Sagittarius
Contact: via forum PM
Submissions: Normal · Headline

Total votes: 0

Bookmark on del.icio.us

Advertisement

(2 replies) #1 Posted by DrIndianaJones on 21 May 2008 - 17:34: If you have a Vista Home Premium or Ulitmate (and in some cases MCE 2005) and a Media Center Extender (XBOX 360) you can already do this.
However, if you don't, this is a really nice option.

(2 replies) #2 Posted by neufuse on 21 May 2008 - 18:06: humm unlimited movies for $9 a month with this... or an outragious fee with AppleTV per movie... gee hard decision there

(1 reply) #3 Posted by Ogmius on 21 May 2008 - 18:18: This is the technology option I've been waiting for... Cheap, I cant wait to see some reviews on it

#4 Posted by +Skwerl on 21 May 2008 - 18:24: I've been really disappointed with the selection of movies and quality of the Netflix streaming. If you like really crappy movies, you're in for a treat, because that's what 75% of those 10,000 titles are- Just like Vongo, and other streaming services (I've never tried the Apple one, though).
In my experience, the Netflix video quality is pretty bad. It might be passable on an NTSC tube, but on an HDTV screen, the compression artifacts scream and it looks like YouTube quality. It's worth nothing that this is only my personal experience- The Netflix player tries to guage your connection speed to determine quality, so maybe it thinks 2MB downstream is too slow for decent quality.

#5 Posted by notta on 21 May 2008 - 20:18: I just sent Netflix a feedback email a few weeks ago. With Blockbuster's in store plan Netflix needs to offer something or there is really no sense in people staying with them. The online player was a nice try, but it's been how long and I bet I still can't name 10 movies available for streaming. I'm going to drop the service because Blockbuster's service is more than I will ever need.

#6 Posted by Burst404 on 21 May 2008 - 20:51: I'm in for 3... oh, wait, wrong website.

#7 Posted by Airlink on 22 May 2008 - 09:04: Or you could just pirate it all off the torrents.
I'm just saying....

[1]

Commenting has either been disabled on this article or you are not logged in. Click here to login or register, its free!

Note: Anonymous commenting is disabled in order to keep the quality of responses to a high standard.

Scroll to the Top