I don’t think I’ve ever done a tech review here at Screen Rant, but I’ve been hearing about the “Roku Box” for months now and I had the opportunity to review it this weekend.
The Roku Box works together with Netflix to allow you to download and watch DVD movies instantly. Netflix, of course is the biggest online DVD rental company on the planet – they’ve shipped out over one billion DVDs. Kind of the McDonalds of movies, I suppose.
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I’ve actually been a Netflix member since shortly after it launched, way back in 1999. I’ve heard that some people have problems with them as members, but really I’ve found it to be a great service. For a fixed monthly fee you are allowed to have at home a set number of DVDs which they send in the mail. There is no due date – they control the turnaround time by fixing the number of DVDs you have at home. They include a postage paid envelope for returning the movie when you’re done.
They offer plans starting at $4.99 a month and on up from there.
So while it’s fairly convenient, you do have to plan your viewing sometimes as it takes a few days for a DVD to arrive and you don’t always get what’s at the top of your list (which they call a “queue”). That’s where the Roku Box comes in: You can download and watch movies in your Netflix queue instantly on your television. I say “TV” specifically because Netflix had rolled out a “Watch Instantly” feature but it only allowed you to watch movies on your PC.
The Roku Box brings instant movie downloading and viewing to the masses.
It took me all of 15 minutes to get it set up from the moment I opened the box. And by “set up” I mean hooking it up to my home theater system, configuring the box via the online instructions and browsing my first movies to pick from on my TV screen. It’s very easy and the instructions are all graphic-based and meant for non-technical users.
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5 Comments
I’ve been curious about this for a while, but lately we’ve been too busy to watch the movies we do get from Netflix. We put the account on hold for now, since we’ve got Blockbuster and Red Box right across the street from us. But I will definitely consider the Roku when we get the subscription back, because it sounds really cool.
This market is heating up. ClickStar will be open for business soon with from computer to home theater viewing. VUDU and a plethora of other services are already competing, it will just be a matter of “letting the horses get to the hay” as the old saying goes.
I agree. I love the Roku, find it user friendly and so does an elderly parent. We both like it and the price is definitely right.
It’s pretty funny that you wrote about this, Vic. I just heard about it yesterday (before I saw your review) and I thought it was a pretty neat gadget. I’ll probably end up getting one! There are alot of older movies that I haven’t watched, and this seems like it would be a good way to check ‘em out.
I’d heard about it for a while but when my friend John over at The Movie Blog reviewed it, it spurred me to check it out. Once the selection grows it’s going to be a very cool way to rent movies.
Vic
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