The Roku Netflix Player was one of the best Christmas gifts I received this year, and I can only say “one of” because I got my first GPS device as well (though the two are apples and oranges). Here is a very brief summary of some of the facts and experiences I had.
Out of the box
The first thing a person will notice is that this thing is tiny. I would estimate the top-surface is about a tenth of your standard DVD/VCR combo unit, and it is probably about a third to a half of the height. The remote, too, is very small but very rugged.
Connection
You have the option of setting it up via ethernet or WiFi. Because we wanted to have the box on our upper level and our wireless modem is on the lower level, we went the WiFi route, and we haven’t had any performance issues. They do recommend a fast DSL or cable connection to be able to bring in the highest quality streams. We have the 7 mbps down/896 kbps up DSL connection and we are able to get the full quality stream.
The connection to the TV can either be the standard red, white, and yellow RCA connections, or an HDMI cable. You will also need an available power outlet.
Account
The first thing you will do when you get the device connected is activate it with your Netflix account. The whole process took less than five minutes and we were up and running on Christmas Day.
Adding Movies
In order to add movies to your online queue, you simply log into Netflix and click the “watch instantly” tab and browse movies that are available for streaming. Alternatively, you can browse movies like you normally would (for the standard procedure of getting discs) and any movie that has a “play now” button can be added to your online queue. As far as I can tell, so far, they do not limit the amount of movies you can add to that queue. It may be wise to keep it to a number that is manageable in terms of watching the movies, but it’s also nice to have a lot on the menu to choose from when you are already in your favorite chair and deciding what to watch. I’m sure there is a technical limit, but we currently have over 50 in our queue and haven’t reached it yet.
Quality
The quality is excellent. Only on rare occassions has the stream had to stop and re-buffer and that was likely due to other internet traffic in the house. At any one time we have 6 or 8 devices on the network (three computers that are almost always on, my BlackBerry, the Wii, the Roku, and a pocket PC or another laptop or two). For shows that were shot in HD, the stream is in HD (widescreen even). I’m thoroughly impressed with the quality and, in the end, it is often better than what we would get on disc. (We are not signed up for BluRay discs.)
Selection
For movies I can’t complain. It seems like there is plenty of new stuff up there, and between the device and the constant flow of discs coming in, we are never at a loss for something to watch. I would like if there was a little bit more television. My wife is big into movies, but I like the shorter bursts that the sitcoms provide. I wasn’t a watcher of The Office until I was able to get through the first four seasons on the Roku in a few weeks.
Summary
This is a great idea and a great product. The setup is amazingly easy, the use of the device is simple and extremely high quality, and it appears that there will be more content coming to it. The menu now shows Netflix as a sub-menu and has another “what’s new” option that says more streaming content will be coming to the box in early ‘09. Well, we are in early ‘09 and I am anxiously awaiting the new content. If you are a Netflix subscriber, you are wasting a huge part of your monthly subscription fee by not buying this box. No extra monthly fees — just the one-time cost of the box — and you have a wealth of content without the snail-mail delay.
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Tags: Movie, Roku Netflix Player, Streaming, Television
