Netflix Unveils Streaming Set-Top Box

Netflix has partnered with Roku to offer a compact set-top box that can stream movies from Netflix directly to users televisions.

Over a year ago, Netflix began offering an online download service that enables members to download movies for viewing on their PCs. Now, the company is taking online media delivery to the next level with the Netflix Player, a diminutive set-top box developed with Silicon Valley startup Roku, Inc. that can leverage Netflix users’ broadband Internet connections to stream more than 10,000 movies and TV shows from Netflix’s digital content library.

“We’re excited to bring the first Netflix ready device to the market,” said Roku CEO Anthony Wood, in a statement. “The seamless integration of the Netflix service into our player has resulted in true ease of use for the consumer. Now, streaming video isn’t limited to people sitting in front of the PC; it’s ready for the TV in the living room.”

The Netflix Player measures just 5 inches square and sports HDMI, component, S-Video, and composite outputs, along with optical and analog stereo output. For Internet access, the Netflix Player can connect either to a wired Ethernet network or an in-home 802.11b/g Wi-Fi network (and it supports WEP, WPA, and WPA2 wireless security). In an interesting design decision, the Netflix Player does not include a hard drive for storing digital media: instead, all video content is streamed directly to the unit, and the player wants a minimum of a 1.5 Mbps Internet connection to stream video—that’s the high end of many residential DSL offerings—and Roku recommends a 4 Mbps connection for “high quality” video. According to the company, lower-speed connections will get quality akin to a VHS tape, while high-speed connections will get video quality king to a DVD. According to Roku, optimizations in the Netflix Player means videos start playing within a few seconds of being selected.

The Netflix Player enables users to pause, fast-forward, and rewind video, and users can rate items they’ve watched and remove items from their Instant Queue using the remote. The unit also enables users to browser and make selections from the TV screen with the accompanying remove, along with viewing synopses of titles.

The Netflix Player is available now for $99, although it also requires users have an unlimited DVD subscription plan with Netflix, which start at $8.99 a month. There are no extra charges and no viewing restrictions on content accessed via the Netflix Player—although users cannot store it to their computers or transfer it to a portable player.

The Netflix Player probably represents just the first of the video rental company’s efforts to tap into the online video delivery market: Netflix CEO reed Hastings has been clear that he sees the company’s rent-by-mail business eventually giving way entire to online content delivery. Earlier this year, Netflix and LG announced plans to develop a Netflix set-top box.