First off let me say this – Netflix has mastered digital streaming media on the computer and not to your TV too.  Fuck what iTunes is doing & sure you can get everything off bit torrent or www.surfthechannel.com but Netflix is the king with their “Watch Instantly” feature (that
comes free with your Netflix account).  Noted that the selection isn’t the greatest but give them time, it will get there.

And now, to put the cherry on top, they introduced their Roku device that streams their Watch Instantly films directly onto your TV without a computer – all with DVD quality pictures.

Well, last month I took a small chance and impulsively spent the $100 (no additional monthly fee either!) and pressed “Buy Now”.

WATCH INSTANTLY

Since early in 2007, whether at home or on the road (as I often am), I’ve been using the Netflix Watch Instantly feature on a daily/nightly basis.  Their overall selection is not the greatest but it has gotten better and better each week as they continue to add 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s classic movies and TV shows.  Mixed in with random “classics” (Author, Legends of the Fall, Purple Rain, Basketball Diaries, Ghostbusters, A-Team series, Leave it to Beaver series) are some seriously horrible B-movies (King Kong Fu, Karate Dog, Like Mike 2) which unforunately make up most of the catalog.  Hey, they gotta start somewhere right?

Their instant PC streaming technology shines through a small (10,000 plus) online catalog and delivers unbelievably well.  It loads quick and the quality is determined by your broadband speed in order to optimize the speed.  On my widescreen 19″ laptop, it was portable bliss – especially when they got Heroes (seasons 1&2) followed by Weeds (seasons 1&2) and 30Rock (which could be the greatest show ever).  Hours and hours of entertainment built into my already great Netflix account.  At the end of the day, I used Watch Instantly was more than I did using their DVDs.

BUT WAIT…INTRODUCING…ROKU…STREAMING VIDEO TO YOUR TV FROM NETFLIX

When I saw this device advertised on the Netflix site I was intrigued and had to get it.  It was only $100 and there were no additional fees for the service.  The Netflix interface used to select movies on Watch Instantly always sucked and I was def curious when a new “Watch Instantly Queue” suddenly appeared a couple months prior to th Roku announcement.  Little did I know, it was the precursor to the new Roku device that would link streaming media directly to your TV.  Ahhhhh shit!

So, I ordered the device and waited about 6 days for it to show up.  When it showed up via UPS, I almost forgot that I even ordered it because there wasn’t much talk about it online or in real life for that matter.  The box it came in was probably 8″ x 8″ x 4″.  Not big at all, which meant the device was pretty small itself.  Was that a good or bad sign?  Did I waste my money buying something too early?  NOPE.

netflix_player_by_roku_1Like most men do, I opened the box and didn’t read the instructions before trying to set it up.  My excitement was crushed because I didn’t have a cat5 cable long enough to go from my hub to my TV (35″ flat screen) and couldn’t test this new bad boy out.

But, little did I know (would have if I read the info booklet) it had built in wireless!!!!  SICK.  A simple plug in and an easy menu popped up…

  • Find a wireless netword & enter the network password
  • The device connected and gave me a code to enter in my online Netflix account to link the devices
  • Waited like 5 minutes to set up and…

BAMN!!! A cool scrollable visual menu came up with my complete Watch Instantly Queue (from my Netflix account) appeared as DVD covers going from right to left.  You click on a cover with the Roku remote control and it shows you a synopsis of the movie, a rating and options to watch, resume, etc.

netflix_player_by_roku_21

I was completely shocked at how fast and responsive the device was.  After clicking a movie, it took less than 20 seconds to begin playing.  And like DVD menus, you can skip to scenes, fast forward, rewind, pause and quickly leave the movie for the home screen at any moment.  And, if you want, you can resume playing where you left off at even if you start watching a different movie/show.
netflix_player_by_roku_4

THE VERDICT

As an self-proclaimed early adopter to technology this could have been a gamble.  But $100 isn’t a bad gamble for the potential payoff.  For $100, I got true On-Demand television and movies.  Not bad if you ask me.

In the end, the device has worked flawlessly…

  • Easy installation (there’s no way it could be that easy, right?)
  • Intuitive and informative menus
  • Quick response/loading time
  • Great picture quality
  • Resumes quickly with cable broadband

But there could be some improvements…

  • The movie/TV catalog def needs to improve
  • Adding movies to your Watch Instantly Queue is easy enough, but organizing them is near impossible (i suggest using the numbers to order them)
  • Finding movies is a pain in the ass because you need to scroll left/right and can’t organize
  • The remote doesn’t yet work with a universal

All in all, this device could be the future.  For those of you that sit in front of the TV for hours, it would be a good investment.  But for many of you, give it another 6 months or so and I’m sure it will only get better and better.