The Roku Netflix Player – The Future Is Here So Just Get It

netflix_roku_streaming.jpgI’ve never really used Netflix for a couple of reasons. 1) When I’m in the mood to see a particular DVD I want to see it NOW… not in 2 days. 2) They don’t have Netflix in Canada. Oh I tried a couple of Netflix clone companies up there… but I was never satisfied with the speed or the order in which I got my movies (I always ended up getting number 12, 21 and 24 in my que instead of 1, 2 and 3).

But then a while back I heard about this new streaming service with Netflix where you could actually stream and watch movies online immediately. It sounded promising, but I don’t like watching movies on my computer screen. Well everything is different now… the ROKU is here!!!!

A little over a week ago I first read about the Roku and it sounded so good I bought one immediately. The Roku is just a simple little box that you plug an internet cable into (it can also use Wi-Fi), then connect it to your TV. That’s it. Here’s how it works:

You log into your Netflix account and you have 2 different Queues. Your first queue is your regular DVD queue… and your second queue is your “Watch Instantly” queue. You add a bunch of movies to your Instant queue (the ones that are available for Instant watching) and then when you go to your TV, the Roku shows you all the movies you have in your instant queue. You just select which one you want to watch, and BOOM… it starts streaming right on your TV! It’s seriously that simple.

A couple of things to mention:

1) The video quality is FAR better than I was expecting. I’m watching it on a 42′ plasma TV and it looked GREAT. Not HD, but fantastic nonetheless.

2) I have to mention the ease again. It’s so simple and easy to use this system… you could get addicted.

3) The Price – The streaming service is totally free with your regular Netflix subscription of 2 or more DVDs at a time. I have the 3 DVDs at a time subscription and it only costs me $17 a month. So that’s all my DVDs AND the unlimited streaming service

4) Did I mention the streaming was unlimited?

5) The Roku box itself is just $99

6) I spent all day yesterday watching the entire first season of “Dexter” on the Roku… no I’m not even kidding.

The future is here… instant streaming movies right to your TV over the internet. This must be how my parents felt when man first walked on the moon!!!!

Ok, the one and only drawback of the Roku is the selection. Don’t get me wrong, the selection is great, but it’s only about 10,000 titles right now. It’s growing… but you’re not going to find everything you want for instant streaming. But just for example, here is what is currently on my Instant Streaming Queue:

The Host
The Office Season 2
The Office Season 3
Dexter Season 1
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Superman Doomsday
Fido
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Min
The Jerk
Matchstick Men
30 Rock Season 1
The Tick (Live Action) Complete Series
Eddie Murphy Raw.

in conclusion… for the $17 a month regular Netflix service and the $99 it costs to buy the box, I can’t recommend this set up highly enough. I love this thing… and I can now say I will probably never visit a Blockbuster again. Viva Roku!

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24 thoughts on “The Roku Netflix Player – The Future Is Here So Just Get It

  1. The movie theater analogy is completely logical if you are saying that watching a movie without commentary is crap. “Watch Now” was not designed to let you hear commentary (though it would be nice). It was designed to let you watch movies instantly. That’s it. It does not let you own, copy, backup, share, edit, etc… just watch. I think that this will change in the future though (which is what Bill Gates is talking about when he dismisses blu-ray).

    I don’t think they are marketing this service as better than DVDs. If they ARE doing that… then yeah, I totally agree with you. The technology is not ready to be better than DVD, but it is DIFFERENT than DVD. Being able to watch a movie instantly is more convenient than having to wait for the DVD to come in the mail.
    And I find that it has allowed me to look into different films that I normally would be hesitant to “waist” one of my mail in rentals on (this is probably what I like the most about it).

    I could create a hefty wish-list of things I would like to improve upon the “Watch Now” service… but that doesn’t mean it’s not nice to have.

  2. I checked Netflick and it said I could do this even though I only have the one at a time rental plan. I think they upgraded the streaming aspect of my membership awhile back even though I’ve never used it.

  3. The reason I don’t buy MP3s is because I’m just getting the audio…when I purchase something as a CD, I want something I can physically hold and read with it.

    I have no problem have MP3s (I have a lot of them) but only if I don’t pay for them. If I’m paying for it, I expect liner notes at least on the computer so I can read them.

    When I watch a movie, I ALWAYS put on subtitles and listen to the commentary tracks. When they’re coming on my TV, I want the same stuff I can get on the DVD (commentary tracks).

    And the movie theater analogy is not even logical, movie theaters weren’t made for extra commentary tracks. One of the purposes of DVDs is to have extra audio tracks. And if they’re touting this service off as BETTER THAN DVDS, I want the same things DVDs offer.

  4. (Type your comment here. Make sure you’ve read the commenting rules before doing so)

    I can’t see this sticking around for long.

    Doesn’t a cable network such as HBO pay a hefty fee for the right to broadcast movies? Won’t they be more than a bit choked when a dvd rental place steals away a ton of their customers by offering “free” showings of movies?

    I must be missing something here. The tech sounds awesome, and I would utilize it quite a bit if it ever got released up here in Canada, but something tells me that this is too good to be true.

  5. Why is not having audio tracks “kinda crap”? That just seems like a drastic viewpoint to me. I could understand if you thought that not having surround sound or hi-def content would be “kinda crap” (though I wouldn’t agree with you). But not having commentary tracks? Do you think it’s crap that movie theaters don’t have commentaries playing in the background?

    If people felt that way about everything, there would be no music services like iTunes and the original version of Napster would have never became as popular as it was. I really enjoy reading through liner notes in the album covers when I get a new CD… but that doesn’t mean that I think that buying an MP3 without getting the whole shebang is crap.

    The technology is fairly new. I think that eventually you would be able to get the commentary tracks, subtitles, surround sound, hi-def, etc… but it takes time to get all of that worked out.

  6. JOHN: Do extra audio tracks come with the movies they provide, such as commentary tracks? Because if it doesn’t, this is kinda crap…I’d still have to physically rent/buy the movies to hear the commentary track.

  7. I pay about $140 for cable, and they repeat movies 3 times a day on each premium channel. I doubt they offer 10,000 titles or anything close to that in a year combined.

    At $17 a month and if Netflix can give me new titles each month, I may make the switch from cable. Because Comcast does in fact SUCK!

  8. I tried the “watch instantly” for a couple months just on my laptop.

    I would stongly recommend spending 5 minutes browsing through the selection before buying Roku, just check out the selection for yourself. You’ll see if it’s worth it.

  9. Sweet, I’ve been thinking about getting this box. I love Netflix and don’t mind watching the occasional movie on my computer, but to watch it on the tv is ten times better.

  10. “The future is here… instant streaming movies right to your TV over the internet. This must be how my parents felt when man first walked on the moon!!!!”

    Quote of the year

  11. Most people complain about the watch-now selection not being that good. But I’ve had my two “mailed” DVDs sitting in my kitchen because I haven’t had a chance getting to them since I am all over the Watch Now (I’ll probably burn out pretty soon though).

    Before the Roku box came out, I built a nice and compact PC to connect directly to my TV. It costs me $500 to build, so it’s a lot more money than the Roku player… But I do get do do a lot more with the unit than just netflix. So I’d say building your own box is definitely a good option for the geeks in the crowd.

  12. I apologize for not sending in a review a couple months ago, been on the road a bit too much this summer.

    I agree 100% with this review. I love this little box. The selection is a bit weak, but the rumor of Netflix adding Hulu, Youtube and Unbox to the Roku player would be amazing.

    I have enjoyed watching alot of Doc’s and idie flicks that I would of never heard about before this player. Its worth every penny imo.

    I can also suggest you check out http://www.hulu.com. Its legit and has some great TV and the quality is great for a free 480p stream.

  13. Hey Hero,

    The Roku doesn’t need your computer. You just plug an internet cable into it or use Wi-Fi, and then plug it into your TV. That’s it.

    The only thing you need a computer for is to add movies to your Queue on the internet.

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