Netflix Sells Out

by Peter Martin Jun 10th 2008 // 6:02PM

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Cinematical Indie

Less than one month after introducing a set-top box that allows "instant" viewing over a broadband connection, Netflix says that the current supply of devices has sold out. CEO Reed Hastings did not disclose any sales figures, but he told Bloomberg News that the company is pressing their supplier, Roku Inc., to step up production. The backlog of orders will reportedly take six to eight weeks to fulfill.

As I've mentioned before, I think this is a good option for indie film lovers, who'll find a decent selection of docs and foreign-language films available. Netflix "is working with three other consumer electronics manufacturers to build Netflix software into products and game consoles," Hastings said. Rumor has it that Microsoft is one of their potential partners; Hastings is a Microsoft director, according to Bloomberg News.

I'm exploring other possibilities, too; a friend just gave me an original Xbox modified with the Windows Media Center software, and I'm finally setting up a proper wireless home network so I can better manage a growing collection of boxes and media. I'm not technically-minded, so all this is very daunting to me. I'd love an easy solution that allows me to watch more movies rather than wade into DNS setttings.

Did you nab one of the new Netflix boxes? if so, how did it work? Are you planning to invest any coin into a set-top device? Or are you content to watch downloaded and streaming movies on your PC?

17 Comments

Tags: indie online, IndieOnline, netflix, roku

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

6-10-2008 @ 6:14PM

Rufus said...

I download on my PC. If you have the right media centre, you can just use your 360 to connect via the network and watch stuff you have on your PC without playing with wires or files.

I actually have Connect 360, so I just connect to my Mac via my 360 and stream via my network without having to move anything but my remote-finger ;)

If you know your AVI files, your MP4s and so on, and know how to convert then you're golden. I can watch pretty much ANYTHING on my 36" with the use of my Mac, PC and 360.

No need for a Netflix box, or even MS Marketplace rentals. Though i do still rent via Netflix and wow... I have said via a lot.

6-10-2008 @ 7:12PM

Peter Martin said...

I'm leaning toward the Xbox 360, but right now I'm bound and determined to figure out how to conquer time, space, and networking on an original Xbox.

6-10-2008 @ 6:25PM

Maria Stahl said...

Man, that headline scared me. :o)

6-10-2008 @ 7:10PM

Peter Martin said...

Wow - first time anyone has said that they've been scared by something I've written. :)

6-10-2008 @ 6:44PM

scoville said...

I'm still waiting on news about Netflix through Xbox360.

6-10-2008 @ 7:08PM

Peter Martin said...

Me, too. That would make my decision easier! Netflix's Hastings told Bloomberg News that their other partnerships would be announced "in the second half of the year."

6-10-2008 @ 7:09PM

Liz said...

My boyfriend and I ordered one of these the day it was announced on the internet. We were contacted the next day saying that the demand was overwhelming and it would take a little longer to arrive- but then we got it a week later, so it wasn't a problem.

Hookup and setup were easy and painless. The remote and the device are really basic, which is pretty nice actually because I already have 3 other remotes w/ 300 buttons each. You control your queue through your computer, and it updates instantly- and I really mean instantly.

The video quality could be better, but it also might be our terrible internet from good ol Time Warner (12 tech support guys and counting!). Still the video quality is good enough that I mostly don't notice it, and we haven't had any hiccups so far (considering it is streaming, not downloaded in advance).

We spent almost every night last week watching season 2 of the Office, and we have also watched Ghost in the Shell, and some various English tv shows. Next up 30 Rock season one. We absolutely love this thing and are recommending it to everyone we know who has a Netflix subscription. Of course, the selection of movies is still very lacking, but I am optimistic that Netflix will add more in the future. And if not- for $100 and no other fees it is totally worth it IMO.

6-10-2008 @ 7:14PM

Peter Martin said...

Excellent. Thanks for the detailed, hands-on report, Liz.

6-10-2008 @ 8:48PM

josh said...

I've had mine for a week or two now. It's really pretty great. There seems to be some firmware hiccups that cause the box to crap out, but, with a quick tug on the power cable, it reboots and it back in order.

I think once they expand the catalog a tiny bit more, it's going to be more than worth the investment. In the mean time we have a good 40 or 50 movies and shows in our queue to keep us busy.

I would rather just be able to use my Mac to watch movies, but, if I have to have an alternative, this is a fair one.

6-10-2008 @ 8:53PM

Peter Martin said...

Thanks, Josh.

This is a question for anyone who wishes to comment: How does the video quality compare with what you're accustomed to watching (DVDs, cable, etc.)?

6-10-2008 @ 9:10PM

josh said...

Peter - It's variable. If I'm using my network aggressively, the quality isn't as good. But, if I'm not downloading, or just using it for internet browsing, I'd say it's near DVD quality. I have one of those big fat business DSL style services, so it's a fairly fat pipe I'm streaming through.

I'm also assuming it's going to improve as time goes on, as well, because the browser based version has DEFINITELY improved since it was introduced.

6-11-2008 @ 2:32AM

xvertigenx said...

I know they wanted to keep costs down, but I wish they would have included a very small (flash even?) hard drive so that the video could buffer off of that. My cable internet, though usually good, does have huge spikes throughout the day.

Another interesting thing to think about... if companies (like Comcast) are trying to limit bandwidth usage (i.e. p2p torrents and such) what would they have to say about a service that is basically streaming huge movies everyday, if not multiple times a day.

On that note, anyone have info or guesses as to how big the files are on average? Near DVD quality could fall anywhere from 1-8gb a movie.

6-13-2008 @ 8:29AM

Peter Martin said...

All valid concerns, xvertigenx. I didn't think about a small hard drive for buffering, though none of the other Roku users who's posted have mentioned that particular problem.

It seems like something has to give on bandwidth, doesn't it?

6-11-2008 @ 9:51AM

Moviezzz said...

I got it last week and am really enjoying it.

I wrote a review here:

http://talkingmoviezzz.blogspot.com/2008/06/tech-review-netflix-player-by-roku.html

6-13-2008 @ 8:26AM

Peter Martin said...

Thanks for the link, Moviezzz. Solid review.

6-13-2008 @ 8:20AM

Robert Martin said...

I'm in love with my box. My PC is hooked up to the TV, but the Roku box looks a lot better (maybe it's the HDMI hookup, maybe it's the Nexperia PNX8935 chip that decodes the video stream).

Anti-competitive bandwidth caps by ISPs may soon meet with lawsuits from Netflix and other video providers. Comcast's recent troubles over "managed bandwidth" left the wholr industry vulnerable. Combatting such caps would be a golden PR opportunity anyway.

If you don't like the way Netflix looks on your PC. you probably haven't much bandwidth. You need at least 3000 kbps down to get a decent stream (Netflix has four different bandwidth streams, and the thinnest one looks hella-smudged!)

6-13-2008 @ 9:31AM

Peter Martin said...

Thanks, Robert. That's good to hear about the quality of the picture.

I tend to agree that bandwidth caps will be meeting with stiff opposition. The percentage of heavy users may be small right now, but that's bound to increase, and all it'll take is for the heavy downloading / streaming child of an elected official to start complaining, and said parent will take this issue a lot more seriously!