News

Netflix Player Streams Apple TV Style

Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 at 9:50 AM - by

Netflix and Roku announced the immediate availability of the Netflix Player by Roku on Tuesday. The set-top player lets Netflix subscribers stream TV shows and movies from the Netflix library to their own television without requiring a computer.


Netflix Player by Roku

The Netflix Player includes HDMI, component video, S-Video and composite video outputs along with digital and analog audio outputs, and connects to your network via Ethernet or 802.11b/g Wi-Fi.

The compact size and reported ease of use make the Netflix Player a potential competitor for Apple TV buyers, and with a US$99.99 price point and no charges for shows it's more affordable, too. That lower price does, however, come with some limitations: The Netflix Player can't stream content from your own music or video library, does not stream content from YouTube, and can't display online photo galleries.

While the Netflix Player ins't an "Apple TV killer," it is a compelling option for Netflix subscribers looking for a lower cost alternative.

13 comments from the community.

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A guest said: (hide)

Tue May 20, 2008 11:41 am

Wait a minute, no charges for shows? You have to be a Netflix subscriber, yes? That costs money right? Or did Netflix become a non-profit?

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Jeff Gamet said:

member since 15 Mar 2006 with 92 posts, TMO Staff, send him a message or view his profile

Tue May 20, 2008 12:20 pm

Anonymous wrote:
Wait a minute, no charges for shows? You have to be a Netflix subscriber, yes? That costs money right? Or did Netflix become a non-profit?

Netflix has been offering unlimited online movie viewing for some time, and as I mentioned in my article that service is available to their subscribers. In short, become a Netflix subscriber and you can stream a selection of the movies or TV shows they have available to a Windows PC -- and now a Netflix Player box -- without any extra charges. The upside of the Netflix Player box is that it removes the need for a computer from the mix and lets you select and view Netflix movies and TV shows from your couch.

Jeff

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A guest said: (hide)

Tue May 20, 2008 1:14 pm

I wish the Netflix internet service worked on Macs, then I could just plug my tv in as an external monitor and forget about the $99 box.

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dhp said:

member since 22 May 2003 with 180 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Tue May 20, 2008 2:00 pm

For Mac-using Netflix subscribers, at least this is cheaper than buying a copy of Windows just to watch your free instant-view movies--especially if you don't yet have an Intel Mac. Of course, having online viewing for Macs would be even better.

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A guest said: (hide)

Tue May 20, 2008 2:20 pm

"without any extra charges."

That's the key I was getting at. In the article you say it has a cost advantage over AppleTV "with no charges for shows". It should have said no "extra" charges for shows, or no per show charges for subscribers.

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A guest said: (hide)

Tue May 20, 2008 2:44 pm

Their "instant" catalog is pretty limited compared to their mail DVD catalog though.

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A guest said: (hide)

Tue May 20, 2008 3:30 pm

Quote:
The upside of the Netflix Player box is that it removes the need for a computer from the mix and lets you select and view Netflix movies and TV shows from your couch.

Quote:
The set-top player lets Netflix subscribers stream TV shows and movies from the Netflix library to their own television without requiring a computer.

YOU STILL NEED A COMPUTER TO FILL YOUR QUE! Once you fill your que the box can access your que and your que only. You cant just browse from the box.

http://www.netflix.com/NetflixReadyDevices?tb=how

http://www.roku.com/netflixplayer/easy-to-use/

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Jeff Gamet said:

member since 15 Mar 2006 with 92 posts, TMO Staff, send him a message or view his profile

Tue May 20, 2008 4:08 pm

Here's another little tidbit that makes Apple TV more appealing than NetFlix Player: Netflix isn't streaming HD content even though the Netflix Player box supports it. Looks like for now you can get better video quality from the Apple Store and Apple TV, although Netflix could upgrade their content and take that advantage away somewhere down the road.

Jeff

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iJack said:

member since 13 Jun 2001 with 272 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Tue May 20, 2008 10:21 pm

[quote="Guest"]

Quote:
YOU STILL NEED A COMPUTER TO FILL YOUR QUE!

Of course you do, ya dope! That's how Netflix works. That's the way it always worked. But it can be any computer, not just a PeeCee.

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mahuti said:

member since 09 Jan 2003 with 370 posts, TMO Staff, send him a message or view his profile

Tue May 20, 2008 10:26 pm

When I purchased it this morning, it offered to sell me a set of 3 cables, including cables for HDMI, and other Hi-def formats for $19.95 extra, suggesting that there will be a reason to use them in the near future.

Over 6 months ago, I was part of a marketing survey for this device. They asked whether or not hi-def would be important, and discussed options for viewing high-def for an additional charge, or viewing newer movies for an additional charge, etc. I'm guessing that once they roll this out they're going to be making many additions & changes to the current offerings.

In the last few months the instant viewing stuff has added a lot of titles, and the 'instant queue' has been added to the Netflix site, apparently readying for this product. I'm excited to see it in action, and I'm interested to see where it will go in the long term. I find it curious though, that as a long-term Netflix subscriber and as a person that sat in on that marketing session for this product I had to hear about its launch from MacObserver. They must not be ready to really hit the prime time just yet.

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gslusher said:

member since 13 Nov 2002 with 2049 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Wed May 21, 2008 12:36 am

iJack wrote:
Guest wrote:
YOU STILL NEED A COMPUTER TO FILL YOUR QUE!

Of course you do, ya dope! That's how Netflix works. That's the way it always worked. But it can be any computer, not just a PeeCee.

Read the TMO article and note this: "The set-top player lets Netflix subscribers stream TV shows and movies from the Netflix library to their own television without requiring a computer." That is what the guest was pointing out. Now, who's the "dope"?

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed May 21, 2008 9:00 am

gslusher wrote:
iJack wrote:
Guest wrote:
YOU STILL NEED A COMPUTER TO FILL YOUR QUE!

Of course you do, ya dope! That's how Netflix works. That's the way it always worked. But it can be any computer, not just a PeeCee.

Read the TMO article and note this: "The set-top player lets Netflix subscribers stream TV shows and movies from the Netflix library to their own television without requiring a computer." That is what the guest was pointing out. Now, who's the "dope"?

Also, it is an advantage that Apple TV has over the NetFlix box, that you can browse ANYTHING you want at any time WITHOUT A COMPUTER!

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mahuti said:

member since 09 Jan 2003 with 370 posts, TMO Staff, send him a message or view his profile

Wed May 21, 2008 11:02 am

By itself, this thing doesn't really compete with the Appletv, but coupled with other devices I own it makes for an excellent and inexpensive addition to my nightly entertainment. Even if I had an AppleTV, I'd still have Netflix, so this thing would still be going in my living room.

Really I think the competition for this device is Blockbuster's mail rental service, and not Apple's streaming device. This instant delivery option puts Netflix way over on Blockbuster, at least until they can get streaming movies in front of the viewer at no additional cost. The only advantage BB has now, over netflix, is that you get 5 pick up in person videos a month with their online rental service (IIRC) but it's still a more expensive service than a comparable Netflix plan.

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