Unlimited Free Movies on Netflix just $99 bucks

[techGuy]

The Netflix streaming box is finally here and it's an excellent set up. First of all, the box is 99 bucks, and designed by Roku. It's fanless and quiet; has HDMI and optical outputs; and is about the size of 5 CD cases stacked together. Any Netflix disc mailing plan over $9 gets you unlimited streaming of almost 10,000 titles. Unlimited! 10K titles! Take that Apple TV and VuDu!



Install

You boot up the box, set the network to wireless or ethernet connectivity. You get a 5 digit code, head over to netflix.com/activate using a browser on a PC or other device, log into your Netflix account and enter the code. The Roku box gets your queue and the movie/show cover art. There are HDMI and optical connections on top of the standard video outs, but those cables are not included.

Using

The box itself doesn't have menus. No, instead, you use Netflix's brilliant website to load up your queue. You just use the remote to scan through your instant viewing queue (now separate from the disc queue) select a movie and play. It starts streaming. (Remember, there's no download/purchase program here and the device has no HDD, just 64MB of buffer.) The box is completely quiet, again, due to its fanless design. Movies stream in at different VC-1 bitrates of 500kbps, 1Mbps, 1.6Mbps and 2.2Mbps, depending on connection speed. Quality is not great, even at 2.2 Mbps, but I'm happy enough considering viewing is instantaneous. Note: Unlike Apple TV, scrolling between cover art is not done in an animated way. HDMI res is 480p, while all the other outputs are 480i. Fast forwarding is handled by key-framing movie content every 10 seconds, so you can FF to parts of the movie that haven't been downloaded yet, at three speeds. Once you hit play, the movie buffers for a few seconds and resumes. Speaking of resuming, the player itself does remember where you left off last in a movie and will continue playing from that point. One nice touch: You can score movies from the movie detail page. One bad thing: You can't search the Netflix website specifically for instant titles.

Choices

While appearing to have double the collection of Apple TV of Vudu, what do you get in Netflix's 10,000 movie collection? Basically, you get a lot of back catalog (classic movies) and a lot of TV shows (unheard of in rental situations!) right as they hit the market. But you don't get the same blockbusters on day one release that you'd get from Apple TV or VuDu. That makes the Netflix box and disc system a great supplement to those systems, which seem to specialize in new releases. (Kudos to Saul from the NYTimes for discovering this initially.) The business model behind a flat rate unlimited streaming system is unheard of. Sure, they're taking a lot of older content, which is inherently cheaper. But think of it this way. For a nine-dollar-a-month account, you can hold off on buying older DVDs or watching TV shows. A box set of Ghost in the Shell or 30 Rock costs over 50 bucks on DVD or by renting individual downloads, but you can stream many of these episodes for nine bucks a month. Buying the Karate Kid, an old movie not on many download services, costs a few bucks on DVD, but I can just watch it whenever I want as long as I'm a Netflix customer. (And consider that the number of great back catalog titles like that will probably outpace new releases you'd find on Vudu or Apple TV.) It's basically the same as Netflix's current model, but instead of being limited by the postal service, you're limited by your spare time and interest in older titles. (And don't forget Netflix's disc-by-mail service, which still covers new titles.)

The Future

Netflix is planning HD streaming and this box will support it. When Netflix gets HD streaming content, they'll update the box by firmware to support HD resolutions at higher bitrates of 4-6mbps, including 5.1 surround (everything is stereo now.) The menus will also be upgraded to HD res, too. In the future, the Roku-branded box will be upgraded to accept non-Netflix content, too. (And btw, the update on the Mac client situation is that they're just trying to sort out the DRM issues, or lack of a suitable system they can stream to Macs on.)

The box will be sold on Roku's website directly. Worth buying if you're a Netflix customer (or thinking of becoming a Netflix customer) and can find enough titles for Instant Viewing on their site.

[Yankster]

I went to rokus website, tried to order one, but they are sold out. DAMMIT

[galager]

LG Electronics on Thursday said this fall it would sell a high-definition Blu-ray disc player that can stream to a TV more than 12,000 movies and TV episodes from Netflix.

The LG BD300 player will rely on a wired broadband connection and a queue-based user interface to display on a TV a variety of content selected by the Netflix subscriber. Once selected, movies will begin playing in as little as 30 seconds, the companies said.

Netflix members will be able to use the player's remote control to browse and make selections on their TV screens, as well as read synopses and rate movies. They will also have the option of fast-forwarding and rewinding the video stream.

"The BD300 is another LG industry first and provides consumers with an advanced high-def disc player with unparalleled flexibility and networked access for services such as Netflix," Teddy Hwang, president of LG Electronics USA, said in a statement.

The LG-Netflix deal is not exclusive, so LG could add similar services from Netflix rivals in the future. Netflix has said that its long-term goal is to get Sony, Panasonic, and LG to integrate Netflix services into their digital TVs.

The partnership was expected. LG and Netflix said at the International Consumer Electronics Show in January that they would provide a device for streaming content from the Web to the TV in the second half of the year. Pricing was not disclosed.

While the BD300 supports high-definition content, Netflix does not offer HD content for streaming. It does offer HD movies via its by-mail service.

Netflix has offered subscribers the option of streaming movies to their PCs at no additional cost. The company is hoping to stay ahead of the curve as the Internet matures as a distribution mechanism. Netflix rival Blockbuster is also expanding its digital offerings.

LG is not the only Netflix partner for streaming content. The DVD rental firm this month unveiled a partnership in which it would stream movies through Microsoft's Internet-based Xbox Live service.

Under the deal, people with Xbox 360 video game consoles can download Netflix movies at no additional cost and watch them on TVs. The service, which is expected to launch in the fall, will only be available to subscribers of Microsoft's Xbox Live Gold service.

[Amber]

The blue-ray disc player sounds very interesting.