Discuss: Is Roku's Netflix Player Tempting You Yet?
Filed under: Disney, Sony, Home Entertainment
You might recall that I bought a Roku player a few months ago to make it easier for me to watch high-quality versions of Netflix's Watch Instantly offerings. My biggest complaint about Roku and Watch Instantly was that the selection was pretty slim -- mostly we've used it to watch old TV shows, and even then I suspect we watch more TV on Hulu.com. Watch Instantly has a great selection of low-budget independent features and documentaries, and even some short films, but if you want Hollywood blockbusters you're better off with the DVDs.Fortunately, the Watch Instantly pickings are starting to improve. Netflix has just partnered with Starz Entertainment to offer more than 1,000 movies that Starz has licensed for its own video-on-demand services. Starz already has deals with Disney and Sony, so these movies include a lot of (relatively) newer Hollywood big-budget films, like Ratatouille, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, No Country for Old Men, and Superbad. These still aren't as recent as the films you can get mailed to you on DVD from Netflix (or rent at your local video store), but it's a significant improvement over the previous Watch Instantly offerings for recent mainstream movies. In addition, Netflix also signed deals last month with the Disney Channel and CBS to add some of their TV shows to the Watch Instantly lineup, like Hannah Montana and CSI. Those aren't movie-related deals, but I got excited because I can now watch the Disney TV show in which a cousin of mine plays an amusingly bad-tempered chef.
But that's not all the news for current and potential Roku users. Right now, you can only use the Roku box to stream Netflix Watch Instantly content. That's about to change. Last week, Roku's CEO said they're preparing to release a software developer kit that will make it possible for any company -- anyone with the developer smarts, really -- to use the Roku box for their video streaming services. There's been a lot of speculation that Hulu or YouTube or some other company might partner with Roku, although no deals have been announced yet. So the Roku box could become a lot more useful in the near future.
What do you think? Do you own a Roku box, and does any of this news make you happier with your purchase? If you don't have one, do you feel somewhat more tempted now that you know you can watch Spider-Man 3? How is this going to effect the films you watch at home, and the way in which you watch them?
[Special thanks to Hacking Netflix, which as always is an invaluable resource in finding info about the Roku player.]
_thumbnail.jpg)
'New Moon' Smashes 'Dark Knight's' Opening Day Record!
Black Friday Movie Deals: Best Buy
Sex and Nudity Don't Draw You to the Movies?
What Makes a Real Vampire?
Robert Downey Jr. Wants to Retire?
_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-02-2008 @ 3:54PM
Erik Davis said...
I'm not getting it yet because I'm too cheap and too busy catching up on TV shows. I will say that I'd purchase something like this more to watch seasons of TV shows I missed (if such an option would ever be available) than I would movies.
Reply
10-02-2008 @ 3:58PM
dukrous said...
Roku's box doesnt interest me because the 360 will soon be able to hook into Netflix. I'm just waiting for that Fall Update...
Reply
10-02-2008 @ 5:12PM
soundoftheground said...
the site is down now, but mediamall just updated their playon software to now stream netflix.
10-02-2008 @ 4:01PM
NP said...
I want one. I figure the selection of Netflix stuff available can only continue to get better (and this new news mentioned above is kind of exciting), and I don't have cable so it would be a nice not-quite-surrogate.
Reply
10-02-2008 @ 4:14PM
Peter Hall said...
Not one bit.
Reply
10-02-2008 @ 4:22PM
Kurt said...
I've got one and they are sweet. I wish there was more selection, but it's great for trying out things you don't want to waste a queue slot on.
Reply
10-02-2008 @ 4:25PM
brittany said...
yeah yeah yeah...when are they going to start working on macs?
Reply
10-02-2008 @ 4:56PM
netman said...
brittany,
this is outside the browser issue. anyone with a mac or pc can select movies from their watch now queue and watch it on their tv. it's not the same issue as watching it on their computer. but, yes, i do agree netflix needs to speed that up but it's unrelated to roku.
10-02-2008 @ 4:56PM
Eric D. Snider said...
The Roku already "works" with Macs, insofar as it uses your TV and Internet connection and has nothing to do with your computer.
I bought the Roku a few months ago and like it a lot. I wish the fast-forwarding and rewinding were more efficient, and I'd like to see a better selection -- but this addition of 1,000 new titles is a huge step forward. It was $99 well spent.
10-02-2008 @ 4:40PM
LS420 said...
I love mine and I look forward to the new software updates they have planned.
The selection is good, but no doubt will get stronger and stronger. If the netflix/hulu partnership happened, this tiny box will be a must buy. Its really opened my mind to other films and docs that I never would of rented or downloaded otherwise.
Im glad im saving the $50 a month instead of giving it to comcast...
Reply
10-02-2008 @ 7:10PM
Robin said...
No, but I have a media center PC so I can watch Netflix on that. ... I think ;) I'm still setting it up.
Reply
10-02-2008 @ 7:37PM
Phill said...
I just bought one. Works real easy. I just wish new releases came out on it.
Reply
10-03-2008 @ 7:32AM
yaksplat said...
I've already got my own VOD. It's called Vista Media Center. I have 500 movies and many seasons of different TV shows. When Roku goes under, I'll still have access to all of my content.
Reply
10-03-2008 @ 11:57AM
rockyOnasis said...
I use a program called Play On! http://www.themediamall.com It's free now because it's in beta. It allows you to stream Netflix and HULU to any media server. So far I've tested it with my 360, PS3 and even my old modded xbox and it works great. My only complaint with the service is the quality. Not only does the PS3 play BR but it upscales standard def dvd. Now it's almost painful to watch the streaming movies on netflix, but free is free.
Reply
10-03-2008 @ 5:45PM
Jed said...
Love my Roku box. LOVE IT. There's more than enough great stuff for me to watch. I don't have cable, and never will as long as I have the Roku.
As soon as they can stream HD content, I'll buy an HD TV. I'm convinced that streaming is going to kill the physical media formats forever.
Reply
10-07-2008 @ 3:07PM
mike said...
This may sound crazy to some...BUT....many of us have dumped our cable TV and, for me, the ONLY thing I miss is a news channel(!!!!!) I think it would be awesome if, with this developer kit, MSNBC decided to expand it's audience to the streaming world with Roku!
Reply