Roku recently introduced the Netflix Player, a compact device that will play any of the Watch Instantly streaming download movies available from Netflix. At the time of this writing, Netflix offers 12,000 movie and television titles for instant download. The best part is that you only need a basic Netflix membership in order to view all of the Watch Instantly movies that you want to watch.

With a Netflix membership you can use the Watch Instantly download feature to watch movies on your PC, but that is not quite the same as viewing a movie on a television. The Roku Netflix Player solves that problem by providing an interface and control that allows you to connect to Netflix, select and view any of the streaming download movies in their catalog.

You will need a Netflix membership to download and view movies, but Netflix only requires an $8.99 per month or better membership plan for unlimited viewing of the Watch Instantly movies.

The Netflix Player will work with any television and includes connections for HDMI, S-video, component video and composite video. Both digital optical and standard red & white stereo audio connections are included. The current model only offers stereo audio output, but that might change in the future. The Roku web site calls the unit 5.1 Surround Sound-ready.

The connections are simple to make. The player comes with a standard composite video cable set, so if you want to use component video or the more advanced HDMI connections, you will have to supply your own cables. However, due to the fact that the video quality does not currently approach that of true high definition, the use of those cables is really unnecessary.

The video quality from the Netflix Player is very good, but is slightly less than what you would see with a standard DVD. The current video quality is rated at 480i, but the unit is capable of producing much higher quality. According to the Roku site, the unit is HD-ready. The video quality is not currently perfect, but nonetheless is good enough if you like to watch a lot of movies and don’t want to constantly travel to and from the local video store. It looks like high definition is already built in, so the current limitations might be due to constraints on the Netflix side.

Because the video is streaming to your set through the Internet, the quality of your Internet connection plays a role in the quality of movie video. Once you sign up for a Netflix membership, their Watch Instantly page measures your connection speeds and rates the quality you can expect from a download. Most cable television connections should not have any problem with receiving the highest quality video, but the quality may be poor with a DSL connection. I would not even think about trying this with a dial-up connection.

That brings us to another important aspect. You will need to be able to connect to the Internet from wherever you place the Netflix Player. You can do this via a wireless connection. The player includes a Wi-Fi wireless connection and is compatible with 802.11b and 802.11g networks. It supports WEP, WPA and WPA2 wireless security. If you have a secured wireless connection, there is a provision to plug in your key on one of the setup screens.

What we do like

• Inexpensive method to watch lots of movies.
• Simple connections to any type of television.
• Unlimited streaming downloads from Netflix.
• The Netflix Player has future HD and Surround Sound capabilities built in.

What could use improvement

• Limited selection of streaming video movies due to Hollywood’s paranoia and licensing constraints. Only about 10% of the current list of DVD movies is available for download, but you can always find something worth watching.
• Lack of current high definition video. The player is capable of HD, but it is not currently available.
• Currently limited to stereo audio. Once again, the player has Surroud Sound capabilities, but it is not currently available.

Y0ou can see and purchase the Roku Digital Movie Player at:

About Netflix

We have been using the Netflix service for about three years and have found their level of service to be impeccable. As with any service, they occasionally experience a glitch, but Netflix always apologizes and takes steps to make things right.

We subscribe to their Two-At-A-Time Unlimited Plan for $14.99 per month. We typically watch movies on Friday and Saturday nights and return them in the Netflix pre-paid mailers on Sunday or Monday. We almost always find the next selections in our Queue List in our mailbox on Wednesday.

If you are looking for a great gift idea, a Netflix membership will thrill any movie lover. If you are into renting Blu-ray high definition movies, they have a nice selection of all of the movies available in Blu-ray at no extra charge.