Rich Fiscus
20 May 2008 10:28
Today Netflix began promoting the first set-top box for streaming movies directly to a TV using their Instant Watching service. Instant Watching is part of every subscription to Netflix DVD rental plan, but until now a computer with Windows Media Player has been required for taking advantage of it.
The Netflix Player, which is manufactured by Roku, can be connected to a home network via Ethernet or Wi-Fi. TV outputs include HDMI, component video, composite video, and S-video. It's being offered from the Roku website for $99.99.
According to Roku VP of consumer devices Timothy Twerdahl the box includes a full complement of copy protection on the TV connections, including HDCP and Macrovision and "has been fully vetted by the studios.”
He's also quick to point out that the unit has the potential to be far more than just a Netflix client. “It’s an open environment,” Twerdahl said. “It supports a lot of different codecs, a lot of DRMs, so it’s not limited to just playing movies from Netflix.” For now, though, only the Netflix service is available on the device.
In the coming months at least one more set-top box for use with Netflix is expected. In January Netflix announced a deal with LG Electronics to produce their own Netflix compatible unit which is expected to ship in the fall.
Now that the problem of getting content from the internet to the television appears to be at least in the first stages of being resolved, perhaps Netflix can address the lack of popular movie and TV titles in their streaming library. Although there are a few noteable exceptions, such as the wildly successful "Heroes" from NBC, the selection of recent movies and TV shows is very limited.
No high definition ccontent is being offered at this time either, although according to the FAQ on the Roku site their set-top box is capable of handling HD streams.