Video of the Netflix Player by Roku

I got a Netflix Player review unit today, and I put together the following video to give you a feel for the product.

Netflix spent a lot of time making the device easy to setup and use, and since my main machine is a Mac I will use Watch Instantly a lot more.

Initially the picture looked compressed -- I had to change the setting on the Netflix Player to Widescreen, and also on the TV.

If you're having trouble with the Netflix Player, Netflix is doing support. You can reach the Netflix Player support team at 888-600-7658.

$99 is less than half of the Apple TV, but the Netflix Player doesn't display photos or play music. I bet that other companies will create Netflix-enabled devices that accept SD cards for photos and hard drives for music.

The quality of the movies and TV shows was better than I expected, but some, like Weeds, were a bit grainy despite a high-quality connection. Netflix has said that the Netflix Player will support HD video in the future.

If you order the Netflix Player, it only includes a composite cable so you might want to order the component, optical audio and HDMI cables for $19.99 (very reasonable).

I tested the Netflix Player with HDMI, but the box also supports component (2nd best), s-video (3rd), and composite output (lowest quality). The box only supports 480i and 480p at this time.

The selection for Watch Instantly is getting better, and I'm finding more and more titles I want to see. Netflix launched Watch Instantly last January with about 1,000 titles, and they just passed 10,000 titles.

It's quiet -- a lot quieter than my Xbox 360 (what was Microsoft thinking?).

There are a few new releases available for Watch Instantly, but I wonder how Netflix will be able to offer new releases when they rent for $2.99 and up. Will we see $2.99 - $4.99 new releases for Watch Instantly?

I'm still hoping that the Xbox 360 will be a Watch Instantly device (you can have up to 4 per Netflix account). I already want a couple of these is different parts of the house.

What do you think? Are you going to buy a Netflix Player?

Comments

[ThePlaz]

It seems to me that they did a good job with the player itself. I just wonder how many people will want to use it. You mentioned the limited selection of "Watch Instantly" titles. They really need to beef that up for this device to become viable.

[aiko.adonia]

Personally I like what the reviews are saying about the device and the price is reasonable too. The only thing holding me back is wanting to see what the other companies netflix partnered up with will offer in their devices. Also I wish you could have access to the whole instant watching library rather than just having to choose from your queue. Until another device or two materializes I'll probably just stick with my avid instant viewing on the computers at home and work.

[idylld]

I don't mind being restricted to my queue, if only the 'Watch Instantly' films from ALL THREE family queues would show up. As it is, I fear only the main account's 'Watch Instantly' will show up. Much shuffling ensues. But, yes, I ordered one of these things.

[junkfood]

I ordered one. I've been looking for a quick and easy way to watch Netflix "Watch Now" movies. I haven't yet moved up to an HDTV so I'm not that concerned about video quality. As for the selection, I wish there were more movies but I was able to pretty easily add 75 movies to my Watch Now Queue so I think I'll be able to get my money's worth.

[Becky]

I ordered one within seconds of seeing it here. I think it's great for folks like me, who only want to watch movies online and don't need extraneous features. I don't have a video game console and have no desire to get one.

And I have a Mac.

I have 54 movies in my Watch Now queue.

[Bob, Lindenhurst, NY]

Somewhat off topic - anybody who's not getting this b/c they already have a PC hooked up to their TV - what are you using to control it? I have my HP laptop with a front IR but not sure if I should get HP's remote which seems to be geared towards DVD playing. I have a wireless mouse but it only works about 6' and I'm about 9-10' away. My HP doesn't have bluetooth built in or I would try my Wii-mote. I'ld like 1 device for both watching and browsing. thanks

[David Grenier]

I dig the idea, but I already have four game consoles (3 old ones I never use, and a PS3), a dvd player, a VCR my wife won't let me get rid of, and a home theater system.

Ideally at some point when I redo my living room and get a nice flat-panel wall mounted TV, I want to get rid of the bulky entertainment center and just have one or two devices. I'm hoping that the PS3, which can play DVDs and Blu Ray discs will also support Watch Instantly or some other movie/tv download format at that time.

It looks very appealing and I almost pulled the trigger right away. But I have a feeeling that while the image looks good on my small computer screen, it'll look noticeably worse on my 32 inch LCD, even using the HDMI out.

I am also pretty ho-hum on anything that is not HD and 5.1 nowadays. I can get HD content from the Xbox Live marketplace and it looks and sounds great (I just need to buy myself a 360 remote so I don't have to use my controller when playing movies :) )

And finally, like everyone says, the available content is meager. I have watched a couple Watch Now movies on my computer, and then pretty much ignored it. When I heard about the Roku player, I took a fresh look at what was available in Watch Now and ... it was underwhelming.

So, I, too am regrettably leaning towards waiting to see if there will be Xbox 360 integration coming.

[GaryB]

Does the player require DHCP? I have all static on my network, does this let you enmter the ip/gateway/dns manually?

Thanks.

[longklaw]

I think I'm going to pass on this. Hopefully, I'll be able to use Netflix on my Xbox 360 soon.

[ScottZ]

Seems to be a bit of mis-information. From the Roku FAQ:

The Netflix Player is HD-ready. It has all the connections you need to connect it to your HDTV, and it’s capable of playing back HD content. When Netflix releases HD content for Instant Watching, the Netflix Player by Roku will be ready.
--
The Netflix Player by Roku is HD-ready. Netflix is working to make movies and TV episodes available in HD. When they are ready, your Netflix Player by Roku will also be ready.
--
Additionally the hardware for 5.1 audio is there and can be activated by a future firmware udpate. If my past experience withe the Roku Photobridge product, it is very possible this will never actually happen.

[susan dennis]

I ordered one Monday morning. I'm still waiting for the 'we've shipped it' email. I'm glad to hear the HDMI hookup works (I had read elsewhere that it was iffy). HDMI is my only option as all the other ports are taken.

[ScottZ]

Interesting, I found another FAQ from Roku. It implies 5.1 audio is there, Netflix just needs to provide the content.

What type of audio outputs does the Netflix Player by Roku have?
The Netflix Player by Roku outputs standard stereo audio on the red and white composite audio cables or 5.1 channel surround sound using the HDMI or optical audio cables. Keep in the mind that the movie or show must also contain 5.1 channel audio for surround sound to work.
--
Another interesting tidbit from this faq.
- You can use 4 players per Netflix account
--
http://www.roku.com/netflixplayer/support/

[Jeff]

Thanks for the review. Now I'm really looking forward to purchasing this unit as soon as I can. I'm hoping they add the ability to browse instant titles sometime soon.

[Darryl]

I know the Roku is HD ready, but with no HD content in Watch Now, I can't get excited about getting the Roku player because all that is available is non HD and non-5.1 content. I might be willing to buy the Roku now on the vague promise of future HD content if the current Watch Now offerings were more compelling, but they're not.

I also have Tivo and it is the same reason I can't get excited about Amazon Unbox content. Unbox has a pretty wide selection, but none of it is HD. I've rented a few TV shows where I don't care so much about quality, but there's no way I'd rent a decent movie from Unbox.

Like I said, I can get HD 5.1 on my Xbox 360 right now. The Xbox Live Marketplace selection is not the greatest either, but it is better than Watch Now's.

[evie]

I bought one. It hasn't shipped yet, though, so we'll see how it goes.

[Pollardito]

"There are a few new releases available for Watch Instantly, but I wonder how Netflix will be able to offer new releases when they rent for $2.99 and up. Will we see $2.99 - $4.99 new releases for Watch Instantly?"

here's a link to the NYTimes piece that you linked in January that addresses that question:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/itunes-movie-rentals-and-netflix-online-different-markets/index.html

"There are a lot of people who dream about having the entire 90,000-title Netflix catalog available for instant viewing at home, for a fixed monthly fee. I’m not sure that Hollywood economics will ever let new releases be part of a fixed subscription plan."

[Gowan]

Completely off topic, but did someone say their supplemental queues had Watch Instantly? I have two queues set up (one for movies, one for TV shows) and the second queue doesn't have Watch Instantly access.

Did I set something up wrong?

[eviltimes]

Not until it goes HD, even then the WI selection will have to get a lot better than it is now.

[Moviezzz]

Will this be available in retail stores or just online?

[BoB]

"Completely off topic, but did someone say their supplemental queues had Watch Instantly? I have two queues set up (one for movies, one for TV shows) and the second queue doesn't have Watch Instantly access."

"Watch Instantly" is only available on the main queue.

[Scott]

regarding the quote, "I’m not sure that Hollywood economics will ever let new releases be part of a fixed subscription plan."

It's already been done. It's called "Netflix."

There's no reason I can see why they can't create, for example, a "3-out" plan that includes all releases electronically. Just put a hard drive in the device. Overnight, they send your next 3 queued movies to your device. After you watch one, you mark it "done" and the system erases it from your hard drive and they electronically send you the next movie. It would work exactly the way the current system does, except faster turnaround for the customer, and no mailing cost for netflix. Everyone wins.

[CJ]

A few comments after reading this thread - Firmware updates automatically over internet, the current version 1.0 only supports 480p (over HDMI) and stereo sound. Future Firmware will support HD and 5.1 sound. Your router should assign the box's submask IP address automatically.

I too am waiting for my FedEx shipping notice.

Given the box's current limited capabilities, I plan to initially set it up on 32" 720p LCD TV via HDMI cable, wired 8 Mbit connection to the router. Later when HD and 5.1 sound are available, I'll move the box to home entertainment system which has a 47" 1080p LCD TV and an elaborate sound system.

I have zero interest in trying to hook any kind of Windows PC to a TV for streaming movies. And the PS3 is great for photo slide shows. An ancient internet wired laptop with a USB Hard Drive does duty for music through the entertainment center.

Still patiently waiting for the PS3 to support Netflix Instant Watch - probably waiting in vain...

[kh]

Scott - I had the same thought, then I realized that the difference is that with discs they can tell you that it's not available and you have to wait, thereby limiting the number of rentals per month of a new title. With electronic releases they would have no reason to tell anyone that they couldn't watch it immediately, so no doubt they'd end up paying a lot more to the movie studios per month.

[Becky]

Nice review, Mike. Thanks.

[Scott]

re: "so no doubt they'd end up paying a lot more to the movie studios per month"

If they pay the studios so much per rental (i.e. per movie electronically delivered), even if it may end up being higher on a given title because, as you say, there's no physical limit on the ability to deliver the movie, it can still save netflix money compared to the cost of two-way shipping each disc, cost of purchase of excess discs of movies that don't rent as well as expected, cost of warehousing the discs, cost of labor in processing the receipt of each disc, costs of disks that get scratched, etc. The cost benefits of making the product intangible are substantial. The movie companies themselves would also gain by getting revenue from higher rental volume without the higher cost of actually having to manufacture more discs. The potential is for everyone to come out ahead (okay, except the post office, and the disk manufacturing plants, those parts of the chain definitely lose revenue).

[Wolfeman]

I'm a bit confused. According to this post "The box only supports 480i and 480p" but the poster claims Roku says it will be able to support HD in the future, but how will it be any more than 480p? Surly that will require more than just a firmware update?

What it seems to indicate to me is, the resolution will never be better than an Nintendo Wii.

Yet another reason to hold out for the promised game console and possible mac solutions coming at the end of 2008.

[Pusta]

For those who have not received a shipping notice, I called Roku today, and they we're able to give me my tracking number, and the package is on it's way, and I still have not received a shipping e-mail.

I believe the Roku box can support HD content, Netflix just needs to provide it.

[kh]

Scott - I understand what you're saying. I still think the economics of it depends on limiting how many people watch newer releases every month, but there's no point in arguing it without having more info. I hope you're right, because if you are, I'm sure they've figured it out and there's no reason for them not to start offering instant new releases immediately.

[Galofree]

kh,

The problem with that logic is that as long as you have something other than the long wait new release in the queue, they still ship you something, so it's not like they're avoiding shipping costs by not shipping you a new release...

[Paul]

Vizios are excellent TVs. Don't be a twat.

[kh]

Galofree - I realize that, what I'm saying is that if Netflix pays less per rental to the movie studios for older movies than for new releases (which I admit I don't know to be true), then sending an older release would save them money.

[Josh]

Ummm the 360 does stream watch instantly video through your Windows Vista PC Media Center connection. I did the hack on this site and it ran great. No video degradation and no latency or lag in the video over a wireless connection! I almost bought the Roku player but no need for that now!

[Galofree]

kh,

Are you referring to the cost that Netflix pays to purchase each disc or are you saying Netflix actually pays the movie studios a royalty every time they ship a particular movie? According to the doctrine of first sale, Netflix owns the discs outright and can rent them freely without paying a royalty. So how does Netflix make more money by not shipping a new release but still shipping another disc?

[kh]

First, I apologize to anyone who gets annoyed by off-topic discussions. Please skip to the next comment.

Galofree - your comment made me do what I should have done in the first place, which is search for the answer. I found that Netflix does buy some discs like you said, but they also have some revenue sharing agreements with some studios where they get the discs at cost and then pay per rental. But in either case the real answer to Scott's original comment is that neither of those cases gives Netflix the right to stream the movie. Even if studios allowed it as part of the revenue sharing agreement at the same rate as a rental (which seems unlikely since it competes directly with cable PPV), it would be a trade-off between postage and handling savings vs. more people watching it.

[majortom]

I wonder how the set top box knows exactly whos account to bring up. Do you connect it to your pc ?

[Gir]

Watching Mike's video, part of setup is going into your NetFlix account and activating the box (type in a code from the box). After that, I'd imagine the box queries NetFlix using its unique code and NetFlix spits back the appropriate movie list from your account. The box never really knows what account it is attached to; it only knows its code.

[Chiaki]

I do like the idea behind this; for certain it allows NF to compete with "bundled services" like Comcast's "On-Demand" free/pay-to-play at-home movie rotations, while giving viewers far more freedom to and flexibility in choosing titles they prefer to watch--as opposed to those arbitrarily offered up by the hosting company. Users also have a far better screening option, obviously, with NF's peer-rating/saved-rating systems.

The only downside I've seen, personally, to "Watch Instantly" titles is that for some categories of title, such as Foreign or even Anime, the default 'no-frills' version found on "Watch Instantly" is almost always the dubbed-into-English version. For sure while this affects only a niche group of NF users, I can see many such viewers being turned off by the lack of choice in viewing something they may feel has more cultural meaning and nuance when played in the film's original language/dialogue. Hopefully, in the future, NF considers making alternate "Watch Instantly" versions of these same films for inclusion with this service.

[Pollardito]

well, here's another quote from the same article from Mr Netflix himself:

“Our content is generally older,” Mr. Hastings said. “That is why we can have such great pricing on it. You couldn’t do that on new releases.”

i don't see any reason why the CEO of Netflix would gain by being publicly pessimistic about the feature

[Jay Bennett]

I was watching Weeds online the other night and the quality of the video isn't up to par with much of the other content. I imagine that since they have the box now that they'll try to only put good quality streams up for viewing.