The whole idea of having a device which takes content straight from the internet to a TV set is that you don’t spend your time navigating the internet when you really want to watch TV. And so anyone that wants to sell such a device has to have access to 1,000s of films and TV shows from its own integrated site. Which makes the new Netflix direct to TV device, made by start up Roku have a nice feel about it. The existing online video service from Netflix, which did have to be watched on a PC, can be directed to the new device called simple the Netflix Player.
The invention is the work of serial entrepreneur Anthony Wood, who bills himself as the inventor of the DVR, because along with TiVo, one of his earlier companies Replay TV, did contribute enormously to the DVR concept.
This is just an Apple TV class device plugged into the Netflix online service and even then it comes with the peculiar business model it is set up to keep the old Netflix business in play. People pay to have the online DVD rental service, and consequently get the online service for nothing. The device itself will cost $100 and is a straight retail proposition. Netflix has also contracted with LG Electronics to supply a Blu-ray DVD player that can view the service and says it has two other such devices in the wings from major CE manufacturers ‘ you can bet at least one is a gaming console.
Wood joined Netflix a year ago saying he would design a direct to TV player, but after a few months in the job went back to his old company Roku, which focuses on streaming video, usually for in-store advertising, to complete a product, taking with him an investment from Netflix.
With over 8 million subscribers to its online DVD rental service, and 10,000 online pieces of video to choose from, there is a good chance that this will be one of the surviving products that takes video from the internet to a TV set.
The Netflix Player by Roku is roughly the size of a paperback book and is installed by simply connecting the player to a TV and to the Internet and supports connection to the TV using HDMI, Component Video, S-Video, Composite Video, Digital Optical Audio and connects to the internet via an Ethernet plug or Wi-Fi.