New Netflix/Roku streaming movie box arrives
Perhaps I wont need to get that Blu-Ray player afterall.
As some people have been saying the last few months, it really may not matter that Blu-Ray beat out HD-DVD for the title of high-def DVD king…now that streaming movies are making their arrivals, we may not even need those shiny discs again.
Roku has released their video streaming box that connects to Netflix and brings movies on demand to your television using a pretty simple set-up procedure, according to the Wired Review.
Plug it in, hook it up to the HDTV with an HDMI cable, plug in an Ethernet cord, and then use a confirmation code to link it to your account. I was running within five minutes.
The downside at the moment is the lack of titles available. Only 10% of their estimated 100,000 DVD titles are able to be streamed right now and there doesn’t appear to be any High-Def related content.
But the upside: It only costs you $99 and then nothing extra on your normal Netflix membership (if you have the unlimited plan I guess).
So what do you think? Would you get this over a Blu-Ray player? Is it worth it?
One thing to note: The movies stream, they don’t download…which is a downside to me, because I’d rather download them first, then watch, in order to lessen the risk of a laggy connection interrupting the movie.
The only other problem I have…is what about special features? Commentaries?
I don’t see how they will work over a streaming box, and therefore it does make me hesitant to think this will make Blu-Ray obsolete.
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The other thing to consider is Apple TV. It’s all downloadable via iTunes and then the Apple TV box picks it up wirelessly. Not sure about their current catalog, but generally Apple builds the better mousetrap.
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Yeah, I’d need to look into that. They may build the better mousetrap, but usually it costs $300 more than other mousetraps
I can’t imagine the quality really being there. If it was a box that could download the movies like you said and they were in High Definition then I would consider it compared to a Blu-ray player. I just hate those low quality flash movies and if it lags I want to scream. This is an interesting step in the right direction for Netflix though.
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Streaming isn’t the answer right now. Not for me anyway. This just doesn’t sound like anything I’d be interested in doing.
@Mike -it may cost $300 more, but what would you rather have, a Zune/other crappy MP3 player or an iPod? Keep in mind I already know your answer.
Scotty Dubs last blog post..Google gets it!
I wasn’t disagreeing with you, I was just pointing out the price
Of course I’d rather have the iPod
I hear you. Still I don’t think $300 is bad, esp when compared to a universal remote.
Scotty Dubs last blog post..Google gets it!
Yeah - but you can’t watch streaming content on a universal remote…at least not yet.
Buy a PS3 for your blue ray player, you can always install a new HD for larger capacity etc. They will begin streaming at sometime.
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Just so y’all know, I understood nothing in that green box.
It’s a step that many will be happy to see, but I think we’ll always have hard copies of movies because people like to “own” them. CD sales are stable, I don’t see DVD sales dropping anytime soon.
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