First Netflix Streaming Box Review, $100 and Unlimited Downloads!

[xenotaku]

I love Netflix and installed windows on my MBP just so I can use their streaming service. I will never buy an TV or use iTunes for movies until they offer a flat monthly service plane like NetFlix. This device is what I have always wished TV and iTunes would be, but I don't know if Apple will ever offer monthly services like that.

I have always liked the NetFlix/eMusic plans over the iTunes model.

 

[Popeye206]

I'm not sure if the Nexflix box will fly... it sounds good because of price, but that is about it. Apple TV is a much more robust and mature device and all Apple has to do is introduce more content and a subscription deal and the Nexflix box is dead.

Remember, Apple TV also provides access to YouTube, Movies, Music, Photos, etc... It's all a content and pricing game now!

I think that's a good thing (to a point).

 

[BornAgainMac]

I wish for an extra $20 dollars they would just handbrake the movies for me and I can ship a portable drive back and forth.

 

[JMax1]

Simple, and great idea.

Not sure why it would be "dead in the water" at this point though... give it a chance.

 

[Motley]

Well aside from the technical quality it's a subscription model for movie rentals. I love Netflix and if you watch more than four movies in a month then Netflix is cheaper than Apple TV on a month by month basis, it doesn't have the 24-hr restriction and it has a much bigger library.

If Apple TV had a similar pricing structure then they'd be doing themselves a big favor. I'm sure Apple's technology is better but the costs are too high to make a big impact when Netflix is so much cheaper.

I'd like some sort of tv and hulu type service combo. Select an episode/movie I want with limited commercials (less than tv anyway). Caught the gf up with Lost using the ABC website and only had a few issues and no real complaints with the about four 30 second ads that where shown each ep.

Hooked the laptop up to the projector and everything even looked good.

Now, give me an tv, eyetv, hulu combo and I'd be in heaven.

 

[mkrishnan]

I'd be curious to know just how close to DVD quality the video is with a typical US cable internet connection. While the way the catalog is described makes it sound somewhat less appealing at the moment, it sounds to me like a fairly impressive setup. Were I using Netflix, I'd seriously consider getting one.

The comments seem to indicate that it *does* do widescreen 480p in the same way a DVD player does. Someone above said it does not do any widescreen. If it only releases pan&scan 4:3 versions of movies, I personally would be more annoyed by that than by DVD quality (which, if it gets fairly close to DVD quality, I'm actually quite fine with).

 

[bdkennedy1]

Yeah I'm not falling for that again. Get the surround sound and hi-def content and then maybe I'd be interested.

 

[kornyboy]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

They will have to improve both video quality and content (ie new releases and HD) before I would be interested. It's really good otherwise and beats going to the rental store or waiting an the disc in the mail.

 

[mandoman]

It looks ok to me. Just need to wait for HD/5.1 with some reviews and I'd consider jumping in on one of these. Not a netflix subscriber presently, we use Comcast On-Demand for most rentals.

 

[Transeau]

PERFECT!

90% of my netflix are for my 3yo! This will end up saving me money and now I'll be able to queue MY movies instead of hers! I have no problem with streaming movies for her. And she doesn't care about 5.1 either.

And now I will be able to remove 140GB of DVD rips from my ATV too.

 

[vandy1997]

I don't mean any disrespect to the manufacturers of this thing, but has anybody looked at the remote on this? It looks like it is modeled after remotes from the 1980s - what a piece of junky-looking equipment. And the Apple TV costs more because it comes with something called a hard drive. This thing does not. And I am not believeing the "we will flip the switch, and HD will magically appear" baloney. Is it just me, or are people just looking for a really cheap-looking piece of junk. It would be fine if I were a starving college student, but otherwise, comparing the Apple TV with this is like comparing Apples with rotten nasty-looking and awkwardly designed oranges. In addition, there have been talks that Apple TV may include a DVR feature in the future. That would definitely put this crappy little thing to shame. The Apple TV also can play pictures, music, etc. I just don't see how people are comparing this to the Apple TV. Sorry, and now let's return to quality products.

 

[MacFly123]

Reading over that review I don't see any reason for Gizmodo to be getting all excited about this device. In addition to the list that one poster has already pointed out you can't choose what entertainment to watch directly from the device. You have to start the stream from your computer. How lame is that?

No, this device is just a slapped together panic response to the TV and XboX 360 rental services. It won't last very long.

Regards,
Michael

This is just the entry level for Netflix. There are more advanced units coming. One step at a time. I would imagine eventually users will be able to view all of Netflix's library and do it from the unit without having to start the stream on the computer. The more options we have, the better things are.

What's even more lame and completely delusional is that they say that having to start it from your computer is an "Improvement" over Apple's "No Computer Required" approach that lets you control everything from your couch, LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!! Wow how stupid are these people???

Did I mention the thing is Fugly as all get out???

 

[/dev/toaster]

Once Netflix comes to the PS3 I will sign up again. I have an AppleTV, and it does its job well. I purchased it for the content I already owned.

Netflix on the PS3 would be really nice.

Sadly, it appears to only be a rumor that they were going to do it.

 

[KindredMAC]

Apple is poised right now to put a real hurt on Netflix by doing the following:
- Increase watch time to 5-7 days instead of 24 hours.
- Offer a possible subscription model similar to Netflix for rented movies.

I would ditch Netflix in a heartbeat if these happened.

 

[mchalebk]

The buffer size seems awfully small. I question whether that's enough to keep the playback from stuttering on anything other than the fastest connections.

On the other hand, there's no extra charge for rentals, so if you've already got a NetFlix subscription it might be worth dropping the $100.

But how sweet would it be if NetFlix could join with Apple and add this capability to AppleTV? I don't see it happening, but I can dream, can't I?

 

[krye]

What a piece of junk! Looks like a $6 Radio Shack project box. I can't believe Netflix are in bed with these guys. And what's with no 802.11n? At least put in a USB port so we can add a Wi-Fi adapter. If I have to run ethernet to the living room, I might as well just watch it on the computer. Honestly. And what happened to the LG partnership that they announced in Jan? I thought that was supposed to be the new hotness?

 

[mchalebk]

One other thing I wonder about: how does NetFlix expect to make money this way? If it really takes off and their selection becomes much better, people might start downgrading their accounts because they can get downloads for no extra charge. It might save on S&H costs for discs, but the infrastructure has got to be pretty amazing for this (the cost, that is). Plus, are the studios giving them these files for nothing? When they force Apple to charge so much?

It just seems that this is a half-solution with lots of potential to flame out and, possibly, take the company down with them.

Not that I think iTunes rentals don't have their issues, but it's a business model that has a chance to make money. The only way I can see this making money for NetFlix is if it increases their subscriber base significantly. I'm not sure I see that happening, though. This might just be a desperate attempt to keep from losing business to the download market.

 

[clayj]

Hmm.

Having owned a couple of Roku products in the past, let me warn you all: Roku products are notoriously bad about dying due to faulty power supplies. This usually happens (it has happened to me on THREE separate occasions) just after the unit's warranty expires... my PhotoBridge croaked, and I've had two SoundBridge Radios croak. Each time it was due to a faulty power supply.

I'm pretty much done buying Roku gear. Their tech support and software are both pretty good, but their hardware just has a tendency to die much more quickly and much more often than it should.

 

[blindzero]

***
I'm with this comment...if you can't put ripped DVD's into the box what is the point? ATV, is one stop shop, limited for now but will only expand look at itunes...I have my whole movie collection 65+, all seasons of Seinfeld and all my personal videos on my ATV, and I can rent and by movies with a touch of a button on my couch...what more does one need I ask??

I can't tell from the eye rolling if this is sarcastic, but how about a subscription based service on Apple?

For the same price on Apple/XBOX you could rent 2-3 movies max a month. Fine if you are a casual watcher...but these boxes are not for the casual watcher.

Has the movie industry responded to this Netflix decision to offer free content? Maybe they pay a portion of the monthly fee...I don't know, but to think NBC was giving Apple all that grief for selling content...

 

[wordmunger]

Has the movie industry responded to this Netflix decision to offer free content? Maybe they pay a portion of the monthly fee...I don't know, but to think NBC was giving Apple all that grief for selling content...

I can't imagine Netflix is doing this without dealing with the movie industry first.

I certainly don't have a problem with the way this unit looks. In fact it will look better with my stereo components than an apple tv. Clayj's issues with Roku are a little more troubling, but given how cheap this thing is, even that's not such a big deal. At some point, you just buy a new one.

 

[vandy1997]

Maybe version 2.0 will include a brown remote in the shape of a turd. It would be an improvement over this one - haha! The other thing is the choice of movies. Yes, you are getting them for free, but will they be movies that people will want to watch? If not, it's like going to the cheap DVD section at a store and getting a crappy movie for $3.99 - you watch it and ask yourself why you bought it in the first place. Apple TV has a movie of the week each week for $0.99. Last week was "A Fish Called Wanda", and there have been other decent movies, so not all rentals cost $3.99 to $4.99. I definitely do not like the fact that you have to watch the movie in 24 hours. And with this box, can you watch the movie again once you finish or if you cannot finish it in one sitting, or does it go back to your viewing queue? It seems like a great option for Netflix users, since there is no additional fee other than the $100, but I can't see the viewing quality as being excellent and distortion free.

 

[blindzero]

One other thing I wonder about: how does NetFlix expect to make money this way? If it really takes off and their selection becomes much better, people might start downgrading their accounts because they can get downloads for no extra charge. It might save on S&H costs for discs, but the infrastructure has got to be pretty amazing for this (the cost, that is). Plus, are the studios giving them these files for nothing? When they force Apple to charge so much?

They have been streaming movies to laptops/computers for over a year now. This is nothing more than a tiny box that is probably using the same infrastructure already tested on the comps.

I think Netflix cares more about subscriber amounts than making money at this point. Maybe once they get a sizeable base they plan on delivering commercial content before the movie/show like Hulu?

 

[mchalebk]

And what's with no 802.11n?

It offers 801.11g, which is probably plenty fast considering the tiny buffer on this thing. Your internet connection is much more likely to be an issue than the speed of your wireless network. I'm only running a "g" network at my house, and the one time I rented an HD movie from iTunes it was ready for viewing in two minutes. A "g" network is plenty fast enough for this thing.

 

[ccunning]

Last time I checked, my appletv is theoretically streaming HD rentals...720p, DD audio. Granted you have to wait one minute for it to "buffer" and get a head start, but that is expected. Once I'm about 1-2% in, my download speed is faster than if I were to watch the movie in real time, so I am able to play it. I would consider that streaming since the file is continually being built on the fly.

I imagine the difference between this thing and the AppleTV is essentially the same as the difference between the Real Player of yore with it's continual "buffering..." and most modern media players. This thing is caching to memory which has a very limited storage space and turns into a disaster if there is even a small hiccup in your connection speed, whereas your AppleTV is caching to a disk and can have a vastly larger buffer.

I'm curious if everyone really believes that Netflix and Apple are such entrenched competitors, that it's inconceivable for them to collaborate on a Netflix client for the AppleTV. As an AppleTV owner and Netflix subscriber (without Cable/Satellite TV) I think this would be a perfect combo (and yes I acknowledge I am certainly in the minority).

 

[neven]

Last time I checked, my appletv is theoretically streaming HD rentals...720p, DD audio. Granted you have to wait one minute for it to "buffer" and get a head start, but that is expected.

The Netflix box doesn't have a hard drive to buffer to, though. Depending on your connection speed, you may need to preload quite a bit of the movie, and with no hard drive, where are they going to place that?

Regarding the price difference, doesn't anyone notice that AppleTV does quite a bit more than rent and buy movies? I'm not sure I would've bought mine at all if it didn't have seamless podcast, photo, and music integration. I'm sure there are many, many users who don't care about those at all, but let's be fair - they cost money, and some of us don't mind paying for them.