Netflix Player

Why can’t I find anything worthwhile to watch on TV and cable? My cable package has about 200 channels and most of it is pretty unwatchable. After clicking through several laps of channels, you start to wonder what you’re really paying for. If it’s primarily throw away content, then what’s the point? Even the pay per view options are often too few and often the same redundant selections.

But wait, there’s hope! Do you realize what Netflix has been up to?  For years they have offered a DVD rental service that delivered via US mail. One of the reasons I liked it so much was the reviews from the critics and subscribers allowed you to sort through and find a good selection pretty easily.

Now applying that same rating and sorting to Netflix streaming has opened up a whole new world. There are Netflix streaming players like the Roku HD or the Roku XDS that send the movies streaming right to you TV. Even in high def with the XDS! If you already have a gaming console like an Xbox or a Wii you can use that in the same way…just have Netflix send a disc or download it for free from your console’s shopping channel.

Once installed, the beauty of it is it’s really easy to explore and, using the reviews, discover a wealth of good viewing options. Now every time I go back to my regular cable I always feel like I’m missing any guidance on what the selections have to offer. The single reviews there are never comprehensive enough and usually miss the mark.

The reality is that, I would rather watch a few hours of really good programming that interests me and this gives me that. I feel like I used to watch endlessly and rarely see anything that enriched my life or sparked my curiosity…ultimately leaving me drained and uninspired. With the Netflix streaming, I really feel I can watch well constructed programming that has true artistic integrity and be empowered by it.

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The Roku HD is the entry level model of the Roku players. This player will play semi-hi def up to 720p. This player is the least expensive but still has the core features you need and will stream movies and videos with ease.

The most common use of the Roku HD is to stream Netflix. The Netflix library continues to grow making this Netflix player an essential peice to anyones home entertainment system.

What it’s missing is the ability to play 1080p or broadcast in surround sound. All and all a great value for the price and more than adequate for it’s purpose.

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Netflix has broken through to another market and now offers to streaming videos. Netflix redefined the DVD rental world when they originally hit the market by mailing the DVDs and allowing people to keep them as long as they wanted. They also had a huge searchable library with reviews from critics as well as other subscribers. This is the business model that proved to be a giant killer and Blockbusters has suffered ever since.

The advantage to streaming is that you can be spontaneous and watch it at will. The mail method is great but it takes a little more forethought and patience. With a Netfix account you can stream to your computer and watch movies on demand. They don’t offer every title but there’s enough to keep you busy for a long while. The issue is, who wants to watch their computer when you have a TV set that is bigger and has better sound?

That’s where the Netflix Player comes in. The most popular being the Roku player. This component is about the size of most routers (approx 1″ tall and 5″ wide and 5″ deep). It lets you stream Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon instant video. 

You can also stream Netflix through most game players like Wii or Xbox. As a father with 2 kids I have found the Netflix streaming to be far better than any cable package I’ve had in the past. The basic Netflix account with streaming is $7.99/mo.

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The Roku XDS Streaming 1080P is the top of the line for Roku. Besides the standard features of the other models it also has a USB port as well as component video and optical audio outputs. The audio output are a great feature especially if you want to watch with surround sound. It also plays 1080p HD video.

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