Movie rentals have brought billions of dollars to both movie studios and rental businesses over time, but the advent of high-speed Internet connections, file-sharing, rapid data transfers, etc. is rendering the old business model obsolete. So, in order to survive on this increasing "online" market, Netflix, one of the main rental chains in the US, has partnered with Roku in order to offers users a very affordable and easy alternative to the old rental store: the Netflix Player.

Although the concept is not at all a very new one (Vudu box, Apple TV, anyone?!), the device from Netflix and Roku does offer a few very interesting features, summed up by Reed Hastings, chairman and CEO of Netflix, as follows: "The key breakthroughs of The Netflix Player by Roku are simplicity and cost. First, it allows consumers to use the full power of the Netflix Web site to choose movies for their instant Queue, and then automatically displays only those choices on the TV screen. That's a major improvement versus the clutter of trying to choose from 10,000 films on the TV. Second, there are no extra charges and no viewing restrictions. For a one-time purchase of $99, Netflix members can watch as much as they want and as often as they want without paying more or impacting the number of DVDs they receive."

As the company informs us, the device is extremely easy to work with, even for those people who generally have some "issues" with technology. Thus, from the Netflix Web site, members simply add movies and TV episodes to their individual instant Queues, and those choices are then displayed on the TV and available to watch instantly.

By using just the player's accompanying remote control, members can browse and make selections right on the TV screen and also have the ability to read synopses and rate movies. In addition, they have the option of fast-forwarding and rewinding the video stream via the remote. The device also offers optimization of the Netflix video streaming technology, which eliminates the need for a hard disk drive associated with video downloads, and built-in connectivity for automatic software upgrades, which will keep the device up to date with the service enhancements.

The device from Roku has roughly the size of an ordinary, paperback book and delivers quite an interesting set of connectivity options, either for connecting to the TV or home cinema system (HDMI, Component Video, S-Video, Composite Video, Digital Optical Audio and Analog Stereo Audio) or for receiving data from the Internet (a wired Ethernet interface and a Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) module).

All in all, the new product/service combo from Netflix will most likely boost the company's profits, but it's also likely to affect the competition in quite a serious manner (and yes, Apple should be very afraid!). After all, 99 bucks for all the movies and series you can "chew" is a pretty sweet deal, don't you think?


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