THE NETFLIX PLAYER BY ROKU
CNET
Roku introduces two new set-top boxes, teases additional content channels coming next month
by John P. Falcone | Published: October 27, 2009 5:30 AM PDT
Roku is prepping its set-top box line for the holiday season by adding two new models and new content "channels" due within the coming weeks. The step-up Roku HD XR Player ($130) adds faster 802.11n. Wi-Fi and a USB port "for future use." The step-down model--the Roku SD Player--loses the HD outputs of its siblings; it'll retail for $80. The two new boxes will have the same look and feel of the existing Roku box, which is being redubbed as the Roku HD Player. That model (802.11g Wi-Fi, no USB port) will continue to be available at the same $100 price point.
Currently, the Roku boxes have three content channels: Netflix (unlimited streaming of thousands of TV shows and movies for Netflix subscribers); Amazon Video-on-Demand (thousands of movies and TV shows available on a pay-per-title basis), and MLB TV (out-of-area Major League Baseball games, available as a seasonal subscription). However, the imminent (November) launch of the "Roku Channel Store" will add an expanded roster of programming options, including some free content. That should include the already announced Blip.tv and Mediafly channels, and may include some others as well.
USA TODAY
Roku's $99 player aims to be the hub for streaming movies
By Jefferson Graham | Published: Updated 9/14/2009 3:05 PM
SARATOGA, Calif. — Roku is the company that makes the simply-named "Roku player," a $99 box that brings Internet movies and TV shows from Netflix and Amazon, and now baseball games, to your TV set. "Roku" is also the number six in Japanese, and Roku CEO Anthony Wood chose it because Roku is his sixth company. He began selling homemade software in high school and college, and made his biggest stamp with ReplayTV, which beat archrival TiVo to the market by a few months with the first commercially available digital video recorder.
TiVo attracted better funding and marketing, and ReplayTV never caught on with consumers. It went bankrupt and is now owned by DirecTV. But Roku's simple box, which sounds like a smaller idea, could potentially become even bigger than the DVR, tech analysts say.
Zatz Not Funny!
Roku Hits A Home Run With MLB
by Dave Zatz | Published: Updated 8/13/2009
As you may have read earlier this week, the Roku Media Player ($99, Amazon) has a new channel in the form of Major League Baseball. Which is monumental as far as I’m concerned. Because it allows folks to subscribe to premium, live television programming without going through a television operator. And unlike Boxee, which also landed MLB.TV (and $6 million), Roku is truly a hack-free set-top device. (Which also travels well.) "Roku" is also the number six in Japanese, and Roku CEO Anthony Wood chose it because Roku is his sixth company. He began selling homemade software in high school and college, and made his biggest stamp with ReplayTV, which beat archrival TiVo to the market by a few months with the first commercially available digital video recorder.
As you can see in the video I shot above, MLB on Roku allows subscribers to watch all out of market games. Not only can you join a game in progress, you can optionally start playback from the opening pitch. Given the buffering, similar to Netflix video streaming, using the transport controls to jump around could be frustrating. But, overall, video looked good enough – I imagine most baseball fans will be quite pleased. But Roku's simple box, which sounds like a smaller idea, could potentially become even bigger than the DVR, tech analysts say.
CNET
MLB beefs up Roku's rotation
by Erica Ogg | Published: August 10, 2009 9:00 PM PDT
Starting Tuesday, the set-top box--known to many as "the Netflix box"--will begin streaming Major League Baseball games. As with the current Netflix arrangement, you have to be a subscriber to the service, in this case MLB.com Premium, to access the content that normally would be available only on a PC or iPhone.
And while this is a boon to baseball fans, it's an even more important development for Roku. MLB.tv Premium is the first live content available on Roku's device, and by bringing that from the PC to the TV, the 50-person Saratoga, Calif., company is beginning to differentiate itself from similar consumer electronics products.
CRUNCH GEAR
Roku Netflix box to stream Amazon content
By John Biggs | Published: January 5, 2009
Not much else to add but the Roku Netflix box will soon be able to stream 40,000 Amazon titles on demand, “enabling Roku customers for the first time to watch new release movies titles instantly.” The movies cost as much as the do on Amazon and the box will simply connect to your online account and have no movie adding/browsing functionality. The system should be similar to the current Netflix scheme.
Ars Technica
A win for digital distribution as Netflix set-top box debuts
By David Chartier | Published: May 20, 2008 - 02:02PM CT
Finally living up to its name, Netflix today introduced the Netflix Player by Roku, a small piece of hardware that can play any Netflix titles available for Internet streaming. With a cheap price and Netflix's signature subscription model, the Netflix Player brings a new set of rules to the video distribution table.
Manufactured by Silicon Valley startup Roku, the Netflix Player is about the size of a Mac mini and a bit thicker than an Apple TV. The unit impressively includes a full gamut of outputs, including HDMI, component video, S-video, optical audio, and even good ol' fashioned composite RCA jacks. Netflix doesn't want to leave any viewers in the dust just because they haven't sprung for the latest and greatest. The Netflix Player can get online via Ethernet or Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, and setup reportedly requires not much more than entering a five-digit code the player gives you into your Netflix account.
Barron's
Netflix Unveils Streaming Video Device; Lehman Upgrades
May 20, 2008 by Eric Savitz. Blogger and Columnist, Tech Trader Daily, Barron's
Netflix (NFLX) today unveiled a new set-top box to be produced by privately held Roku Inc. that will allow subscribers to stream an unlimited number of movies and television shows directly to televisions. The device costs $99. The video content is free to anyone with a Netflix subscription of $8.99 a month or more. Most of the video content will consist of older material, rather than new releases.
The obvious comparison here is with Apple’s (AAPL) Apple TV box, which costs more, requires paying for movies downloaded from iTunes, but also offers more functionality, like the ability to stream personal music and photo content to your television. Older movies for free? Newer movies for a fee? It’s an interesting choice.
Cinematical
What's The Deal With: Roku's Netflix Player
Posted Jun 22nd 2008 8:02PM by Jette Kernion
A couple of weeks ago, I ordered a Netflix Player by Roku -- a little box that lets Netflix subscribers watch the company's video-on-demand selections on a TV set. We already had a media computer hooked up to our TV, but it runs on a Linux platform so we couldn't use it to Watch Instantly on Netflix, which is Windows-only. The Roku player was priced at $99, which is a little steep for a gamble on whether the quality would be acceptable and whether we could make it work with our increasingly bulky TV/media setup, but we decided to give it a shot.
The box, which is about the size of a large paperback, arrived last weekend while I was at the farmers' market, and by the time I returned with tomatoes and peaches, my husband had hooked the box into our TV setup and activated it through our Netflix account. He tells me this was a very easy thing to do, although we're talking about someone who spent time the night before creating a fancy diagram of our devices and cabling input/output so he'd know exactly where and how to hook up the Roku box. (We also have a digital TV tuner, two DVD players, a VCR, and the media computer.) Here are the ups and downs we've discovered so far about the newest addition to our home's TV/media setup.
Chicago Tribune
Tired of waiting for movies in the mail? Try Roku
If it seems that little red envelope with your Netflix movie takes forever to arrive, you might really like this player.
Etan Horowitz | User's Guide. June 14, 2008
The Netflix Player by Roku is the latest effort to bring Internet movies to the masses.
Right off the bat, the Roku (roku.com) has two big advantages over its competitors: its price and size. It costs $100 (compared with $300 for Vudu and $230 for Apple TV and it's about the size of a stack of four or five CD cases, so it doesn't take up precious real estate in your entertainment center.
But don't be fooled by its stature. The Roku packs every possible connection port you need to hook it up to your TV and the Internet.
To use the Roku, you must be a Netflix member (plans start at $5 a month) and you must have a high-speed Internet connection (wired or wireless). Setup and activation is quick and simple, and the Roku's size makes it easy to move around your house.
CNET
Look out, Apple TV: The $100 Netflix Player has arrived
Posted by John P. Falcone
We've been playing with the Netflix Player for about two weeks, and--for the most part--we found a lot to like. Setup is simple, and--if you've got a solid broadband connection--picture quality is acceptable and streaming performance was almost entirely lag-free.
Those looking for the HD video quality and polished interface of Apple TV and Vudu will be disappointed. The Netflix Player is strictly barebones--you're not intended to do anything more than just dive in and watch the movies and TV shows you've already queued up via your online Netflix account. The biggest drawback--for now at least--is the dearth of quality content. Thanks to Hollywood's byzantine licensing system, less than 10 percent of Netflix's 100,000-plus library of titles is available for streaming to the Player. That means, for now, that only two of Netflix's top 100 DVDs are available for streaming: March of the Penguins and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
CrunchGear
Review: Netflix Player by Roku
By John Biggs
What can’t Netflix do? First, they destroyed weekend trips to Blockbuster with their ubiquitous red envelopes and now they promise to destroy the postal service by totally cutting out the middle man.
The Netflix Player by Roku is the first in what portends to be a long line of devices designed to download and stream movies from Netflix. While in its current incarnation the device is fairly limited, I can firmly recommend it with the expectation that the movie selection will improve.
How does it work? You buy the box for $99 and connect it to your TV via HDMI, composite, or component. You connect the stereo outs to your receiver or run out digital optical.
You must have a Netflix account to make it work, but then you simply connect the box to the Internet via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, send a request to Netflix, and then type in a code in your Netflix account. The box is paired and you’re ready to add digital movies to the box.
DEMO
Roku offers first player that streams Netflix movies to TVs
By Mary A. C. Fallon•05/20/2008
A harbinger of how U.S. consumers may access the Web for entertainment and information, Roku, Inc. of Saratoga, CA. (DEMOfall 05) today introduced the first player that streams movies from the online, subscription service Netflix to televisions using open source software. Roku's Netflix Player, about the size of a paperback book, cost $99.99 and is available immediately from its Web site.
The Netflix Player is the first step in Roku's quest to fulfill its "Internet to the TV strategy" that challenges the "walled garden" approach of closed systems Apple TV and Vudu, and in the future, cable television, said Tim Twerdahl, Roku's vice president of consumer products.
Engadget
Roku Netflix Player hands-on, first impressions
by Ryan Block, posted May 21st 2008 at 8:31PM
It seems like everything about Roku's Netflix Player seems understated, from the plain, unceremonious purple box it shipped in, to the nondescript black plastic case, to the stripped-bare user interface. But as we've quickly discovered, it's pretty easy to learn to love this little hundred dollar bugger, even despite the fact that we need another set top box in our living room like we need a hole in the head. Sure, it's great that Netflix subscribers get a cheap, easy avenue for additional content to their TV, but the real beauty here is that this might actually be a streaming video box friendly enough to rival the Apple TV -- or to give your folks.
Gizmodo
First Netflix Streaming Box Review, $100 and Unlimited Downloads!
By Brian Lam, 12:01 AM on Tue May 20 2008
Netflix's first streaming box is finally here and it's pretty damn brilliant of a setup. First of all, the box is 99 bucks, and designed by Roku. It's fanless and quiet; has HDMI and optical outputs; and is about the size of five CD cases stacked together. Any Netflix disc mailing plan over $9 gets you unlimited streaming of almost 10,000 titles. Unlimited! 10K titles! Take that Apple TV and Vudu!
Multichannel News
Netflix Streams Movies Over Roku's Internet Set-Top
$99 Box Allows Netflix Users To Watch 10,000 Titles On TVs
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 5/19/2008 10:00:00 PM
Netflix subscribers can now watch movies on their TV sets, using a $99 Internet-connected set-top box from Roku.
Unlike cable's video-on-demand services, the 10,000 movie and TV titles available through the Netflix Player by Roku don't include any windowing restrictions. However, the selection of movies available through Netflix's Internet service does not include any new or relatively recent releases.
"For a one-time purchase of $99, Netflix members can watch as much as they want and as often as they want without paying more or impacting the number of DVDs they receive,” Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said, in a statement.
Roku is selling the video player, priced at $99.99, on its Web site starting Tuesday.
“We’re excited to bring the first Netflix-ready device to the market," Roku CEO and founder Anthony Wood said in a statement. “Now, streaming video isn’t limited to people sitting in front of the PC; it's ready for the TV in the living room.”
NewTeeVee
Netflix Set-Top Boxes, Brought to You by Roku
Written by Stacey Higginbotham. Posted Monday, May 19, 2008 at 9:01 PM PT
Well, for those of you wondering which small provider would provide the hardware for Netflix’s digital download service, the suspense is finally over. It’s Roku, a startup better-known for making streaming music hardware. Founder Anthony Wood went over to Netflix last year to help build the digital download service, and then worked with team members brought from Roku to help create a device that consumers can hook up to their televisions (using composite or component video cables, HDMI or S-Video). Earlier this year, however, Netflix decided it didn’t want to be a proprietary hardware vendor after all, and so Wood and the team building the set-top box went back to being part of Roku again.
The Roku box gets the content from Netflix servers to the user’s television screen using the consumer’s Wi-Fi network or an Ethernet cable hooked to the box. I’ve been testing the box for the last two weeks, and with a price tag of $99 (through the Netflix and Roku web sites), I’d be tempted to buy it if only Netflix’s selection for online streaming weren’t so limited. At 10,000 items, it outsizes the existing online streaming competition, but Neflix has more than iTunes et al to battle; it’s competing against video on demand and existing DVD rentals.
PCMAG.COM
Netflix Player by Roku
By Tim Gideon
As a confirmed Netflix addict, I was immediately intrigued by the new Netflix Player by Roku, an on-demand video streaming device that works with the popular movie rental service. How does the Roku box compare with the Netflix device of my dreams? My dream device wouldn't require a PC, just like Apple TV—Check. It would be diminutive and discreet, yet have excellent connectivity (HDMI with surround sound, S-Video, standard composite and component ports)—Check. It would be incredibly easy to set up and would update available films on the device whenever I updated my queue online—Check. I'd pay an upfront cost—say $100—for the box, but my monthly subscription fee wouldn't increase—Check. Lastly, it would have full access to the entire Netflix library—No check there. Well, four out of five ain't bad—in fact, that's pretty fantastic.
San Francisco Chronicle
New box streams Netflix films on TV
By Ellen Lee, Ryan Kim. Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Roku, a Saratoga startup, is introducing a $99.99 set-top box today that will let Netflix customers stream movies directly onto their television.
It's the first such device to hit the market for Netflix, which with LG Electronics announced a similar gadget in January and also said it is partnering with two other unnamed consumer electronic makers.
Most Netflix subscribers, as part of their monthly online DVD rental package, also can stream television shows and movies via the Internet. But to watch them on TV, they have to hook up their computer.
TechCrunch
Netflix Player by Roku Review
by John Biggs on May 20, 2008
The Netflix Player by Roku is the first in what portends to be a long line of devices designed to download and stream movies from Netflix. While in its current incarnation the device is fairly limited, I can firmly recommend it with the expectation that the movie selection will improve.
How does it work? You buy the box for $99 and connect it to your TV via HDMI, composite, or component. You connect the stereo outs to your receiver or run out digital optical. You must have a Netflix account to make it work, but then you simply connect the box to the Internet via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, send a request to Netflix, and then type in a code in your Netflix account. The box is paired and you’re ready to add digital movies to the box.
The New York Times
Why the Roku Netflix Player Is the First Shot of the Revolution
By Saul Hansell. May 20, 2008, 4:49 pm
You can show your non-techie friends the Roku Netflix Player, and they’ll get it right away. Unlike most version 1.0 products, you won’t have to keep making excuses for delays, awkwardness and various bugs. The box does what it says it does well and doesn’t promise to do anything else. In my tests, it was easy to use, responsive, with good video quality. (Disclosure: I didn’t stress it. I have a fast Internet connection and an old small TV that is gentle on fuzzy pictures.)
The product right now isn’t for everybody. If you don’t want old movies or don’t want a $9-a-month subscription, it is clearly not for you. But if you like that deal, you’ll like the box.
TIME
10,000 Netflix Vids Zapped to Your TV
By Josh Quittner Friday, May. 16, 2008
This week, a consumer-electronics company called Roku, in partnership with Netflix, launched a set-top box that brings us tantalizingly close to my dream. The Netflix player ($99 at netflix.com) is a palm-sized, black device that connects your broadband network (wired or wirelessly) to your TV. For as little as $8.99 a month, you can access Netflix's library of 10,000 movies and TV shows on demand. Watch what you want, instantly, for as long as you want. You can even start a movie on your home TV, and finish watching it on your PC laptop at a hotel days later. Apple, which uses its own digital-rights management to copy protect films and TV shows, doesn't support the Netflix on-demand service.
VentureBeat
The Netflix Roku box tosses the freshly emerged Apple TV right back in the woods — and they’re thicker
MG Siegler | May 19th, 2008
After a lackluster start, things were starting to look good for the Apple TV device. With its 2.0 software update, the media streaming device was able to rent or purchase movies directly to television sets, play HD movies and thanks to a deal Apple cut with the major movie studios, had plenty of content. Just to top things off, Apple even cut the price of the device by $70. It finally looked like it could work.
It’s not looking so great now.
Tomorrow, Netflix will unveil a set-top box made by Roku. The living-room bound device will allow subscribers to the Netflix online DVD rental service to access thousands of movies and television shows instantly — for free. The device will be $99. Even after January’s price cut, the cheapest version of Apple’s device is $229. This could be big. Very big.
Sure, with the Roku device customers are still paying via their Netflix subscription fee (typically around $20-a-month), but they’d be paying that regardless. All those customers must do now is spend a one-time fee of $99 and they’ll be able to access around 10,000 titles at any time.
Wired
Review: Roku Netflix Set Top Box Is Just Shy of Totally Amazing
By Danny Dumas. May 19, 2008 | 11:01:00 PM
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we've heard this all before, right? For years now, everyone from computer companies like Apple to OS companies like Microsoft to content providers like NBC have been trying to figure out the secret formula for delivering downloadable video.
Could it be that all we really need is the right middleman? Say, a company that has 8 million subscribers who already rely on them for video rental. If you haven't already guessed, we're talking about Netflix here. But is it possible for the Bay Area based company to ditch DVDs all together and move to online distribution?
My answer is a qualified yes. On the technical end, this small set top box is dead simple to configure and use with my existing Netflix account. 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.
Yahoo
Hands on with Roku's Netflix Player
By Christopher Null. Wed May 21, 2008 2:22PM EDT
I love Netflix, but I really love Netflix's video streaming service. Wouldn't it be great if you could get those streaming vids on your big ol' flat panel TV?
Well, you can, thanks to the curiously-named The Netflix Player by Roku, which Ben wrote about when it was announced. I've been using the Player for several spins now and I have to say, I honestly love it to death.
The box is about the size of a stuffed ham-on-wheat sandwich, and it's a featureless box with only a Roku logo and a single white LED to indicate it's on. The LED blinks when it receives a command from the remote, otherwise you won't even know it's there.
Hooking it up is brain-dead simple. Just connect the box to your TV or receiver via any kind of connection (RCA, S-Video, component video, HDMI, and even optical audio). Plug it in via Ethernet or configure it for Wi-Fi, and power it up. You're pretty much done. Another 60 seconds of registering the device to work with your Netflix account (you must have at least the $9 a month DVD plan), and you're finished. Now you have unlimited streaming movies delivered right to your TV.