ON-DEMAND VIDEO is not new, and neither is delivering video to your television via the Internet. But Roku's $ 100 Netflix Player unites those two ideas in one device that streams standard Edition video to your TV.
Setup went smoothly. The Netflix Player sits between your TV and your Internet connection (wired or wireless 802.11 b/g) - To activate the player, I had to log in to my Netflix account on my PC (you must subscribe to access movies) and enter the provided activation code.
Roku says that for simplicity sake the Netflix Player lets you browse titles only in your Netflix Instant Queue. (Netflix offers over 10,000 movies and television shows for immediate viewing.)
Navigating through my Instant Queue choices was easy: The left-right directional arrows on the included remote let me scroll quickly.
Roku recommends having at least a 1.5-mbps connection to ensure image quality. It looked mediocre to me, but not much worse than my digital cable at home. One neat addition: Roku and Netflix developed a way to mimic Fast-Forwarding and chapter marks on a DVD Netflix Look still frames every 10 seconds of every video it has; as I fastforwarded through a film, I could swiftly scan frames to find a desired spot.
As is, the Roku Netflix Player may be a great device for a living room, den, or bedroom-if you already su bscribe to Netflix. If Roku can add a few more tricks to the player, the device's usefulness will increase multifold.
ROKU'S NETFLIX PLAYER will fit in nicety with the other gadgets In your living room.
Setup went smoothly. The Netflix Player sits between your TV and your Internet connection (wired or wireless 802.11 b/g) - To activate the player, I had to log in to my Netflix account on my PC (you must subscribe to access movies) and enter the provided activation code.
Roku says that for simplicity sake the Netflix Player lets you browse titles only in your Netflix Instant Queue. (Netflix offers over 10,000 movies and television shows for immediate viewing.)Navigating through my Instant Queue choices was easy: The left-right directional arrows on the included remote let me scroll quickly.
Roku recommends having at least a 1.5-mbps connection to ensure image quality. It looked mediocre to me, but not much worse than my digital cable at home. One neat addition: Roku and Netflix developed a way to mimic Fast-Forwarding and chapter marks on a DVD Netflix Look still frames every 10 seconds of every video it has; as I fastforwarded through a film, I could swiftly scan frames to find a desired spot.
As is, the Roku Netflix Player may be a great device for a living room, den, or bedroom-if you already su bscribe to Netflix. If Roku can add a few more tricks to the player, the device's usefulness will increase multifold.
ROKU'S NETFLIX PLAYER will fit in nicety with the other gadgets In your living room.
