Netflix $99 Set Top Player from Roku

Netflix has pulled the ultimate move. They have partnered with Roku (either ahead of, or in lieu of LG) to release a $99 set top box, dubbed the Netflix Player, that allows Netflix subscribers access to their entire 'Watch Now' movie database... for free.

That's right. Aside from the $99 box there are no additional fees to watch the Netflix movies on your home TV. The PC tether has been released and Netflix has apparently taken the lead in delivering home movies to users in massive quantities without bilking them for more money.

The 'direct-to-consumer' model is one that is headed for the big time, but certain issues have to be ironed out before it arrives at "mainstream" status. For one, consumers need compatible hardware - but more importantly, content providers need to step up and stop nickel-and-diming people for older movies. Netflix is the first company we know of to step up the the plate.

I'll be buying mine as soon as they can ship it to me.

The Roku Netflix Player features composite, s-video, component and even HDMI video output. Audio is delivered via stereo analogue, TOSLINK or HDMI. We don't expect uncompressed audio - and to be honest, we're just hoping for 5.1 Dolby Digital for movies - but the idea is sound. Improvements can come later as bandwidth opens up and as Netflix improves the infrastructure of its offering system.

Musch like the current Netflix Queue system, there is now a "Watch Now" queue which users will fill up in order to populate the system. This new queue is what the Netflix Player will access when you play movies.

Here are a list of sample titles available for instant viewing:

One of the more intriguing statements on the Roku website is this:

The Netflix Player is HD-ready. It has all the connections you need to connect it to your HDTV, and it’s capable of playing back HD content. When Netflix releases HD content for Instant Watching, the Netflix Player by Roku will be ready.

It seems that Roku and Netflix have already peered into the future and are readying HD content for deployment. Let's hope its not at a premium, but in either case this is a far better business model than charging $1.99/ea. for old movies and TV shows.

For now the big question centers around whether the system will support Dolby Digital surround decoding (we're hopeful, but that's about it) or whether Pro Logic will be the audio limit until HD movies become available.

One thing is for sure - this is a HUGE movie in the right direction for those betting on the downloads camp as the future of content distribution.

Check out Roku's website for more info: http://www.roku.com/netflixplayer/