Netflix Instand Player goes directly to your TV

[VikingJuice]

http://www.roku.com/netflixplayer/

http://www.roku.com/netflixplayer/frequently-asked-questions/

I'm going to have to buy this very soon.  The guy at tech support told me that I would need a wireless router for this too to eliminate wires running across my living room.  I hear those go for about $30-100.  So for roughly $140 or so, you could watch all the instant vids that Netflix offers.  I'm pumped about this because there are a ton of these I've got in my queue but I don't relish sitting at my computer to watch all those hours of shows.

I'm pumped about this.

[BigDun]

This product is a direct competitor to the Tivo Amazon Unboxed service. Too bad neither deliver High Def movies yet.

[VikingJuice]

This product is a direct competitor to the Tivo Amazon Unboxed service. Too bad neither deliver High Def movies yet.

Tell me more about this Tivo Amazon service.  I've never head of it.  I assume you have to have a Tivo service already and then what comes next?  Does Amazon offer the same stuff as Netflix?

[Gamplayerx]

Basically, at the moment, Tivo is incompatible with OnDemand because it's only one way (although the Tivo guy told me they're really close to releasing some USB chip that will fix that)*.  So, they offer the Amazon Unboxed.  You can either rent or buy movies.  The rental library doesn't seem to be very huge yet - at least as far as the Tivo interface goes.  I've not ever used it non-Tivo.  I did rent I Am Legend from it when we first got it, and you really only had to wait about 20 minutes to download enough to watch on the fly.  But still.  It's not OnDemand.

I still love Tivo, though.

*NOTE:  If you can order ondemand crap over the phone, you can still do it that way - just not with your remote control and cable box.

[BigDun]

Our Amazon Unbox downloads are able to play within 3-5 minutes of the download starting. It's true that their movie selection isn't as good as Netflix, but most new films are available pretty quickly on Unboxed.

[Gamplayerx]

Our Amazon Unbox downloads are able to play within 3-5 minutes of the download starting. It's true that their movie selection isn't as good as Netflix, but most new films are available pretty quickly on Unboxed.

I tried after 10 minutes and got glitches.  20 minutes was better. 

[VikingJuice]

Part of what excites me is that the Netflix catalog is quite extensive in general, and their online stuff is growing very quickly.  They've got a ton of documentaries and true indy films that never got a big distributer to watch.  A bunch of their catalog is stuff that National Geographic and other respected groups put out but are either hard to find or only air once or twice on cable.  I love stuff like that as well as regular movies.

Oh, and did I mention that they also have a bunch of TV shows that are available in both DVD and on demand.  I'm looking forward to watching the entire run of Night Court again.

[Gamplayerx]

Oh!  I forgot to mention, if you have the Tivo wireless doohickey and Tivo Desktop, you can play videos/movies/mp3s/whatever from your computer on your tv.  You can also convert anything besides pay-per-view on your tv to ipod format.  It's way cool.

[meredith]

VJ, if you have a HDTV, I believe there's a Blu-Ray player that has built-in support for Netflix streaming too.  Probably not cheap though.  Also I remember something like they were trying to add the functionality to X-Box 360s...

[VikingJuice]

VJ, if you have a HDTV, I believe there's a Blu-Ray player that has built-in support for Netflix streaming too.  Probably not cheap though.  Also I remember something like they were trying to add the functionality to X-Box 360s...

They are working on a couple consoles for adaptation to the service but that isn't due out till October according to their site.  I won't be wading into the HDTV pool for several years still because it's too pricey for the size of tv I'd want. 

[eo000]

yeah, this fall you'll be able to download netflix movies right on your xbox. the way it is right now, is that they've got 50 or so movies you can download, both regular, and high def, and they are about $3-$4 a pop. I'll totally get netflix when this comes out.

[Beefy]

yeah, this fall you'll be able to download netflix movies right on your xbox. the way it is right now, is that they've got 50 or so movies you can download, both regular, and high def, and they are about $3-$4 a pop. I'll totally get netflix when this comes out.

But when are they switching to Blu-Ray?

*snicker*

[eo000]

yeah, this fall you'll be able to download netflix movies right on your xbox. the way it is right now, is that they've got 50 or so movies you can download, both regular, and high def, and they are about $3-$4 a pop. I'll totally get netflix when this comes out.

But when are they switching to Blu-Ray?

*snicker*

touche