Back in November, I wrote about Netflix streaming and the new (at that time) Roku box. Well, Alison took my hints and I recieved my shine (tiny) Roku box for Christmas this past December. Yeah, it’s all I wanted it to be.
After 8 months with the device, I can say (IMHO) that it’s all it’s cracked up to be. Netflix is adding more and more movies to their streaming service all the time. My kids say “Can I watch Roku” instead of “can I watch TV” now. The great thing is, and I hope they keep this up, is that several shows allow you to stream new episodes very soon after their air date. Heroes (NBC) lets you watch the new episode from the Roku player the day after the new showing. Maggie gets to watch Sonny With a Chance and other Disney programs in the same manner.
Aaaaand, many shows are now in HD quality. I never thought it’d get there, but 720p resolution on my 32 inch widescreen looks close to spectacular. I’d like to test it out on a larger Hi-Def tv . . . gotta wait on that though!
Oh, and did I mention that it’s wireless? It used 802.11G wireless, so it’s plenty fast to pull in shows rather quickly and with good quality.
All in all, a great piece of hardware. You can pick them up for $100 at several places. You will need a minimum Netflix package of $8.95/month (that gets you one disc in the mail at a time too). If they keep up the trend, cable might be a thing of the past soon. Oh, and iPhone and Wii are rumored to get Netflix streaming too . . . that’s just too cool.
