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Many movie buffs are celebrating this week at the thought of streaming their favorite movies straight to the TV, but some analysts are concerned the excitement may burst when the reality of installing yet another set-top box sets in.
Netflix, a pioneer in online movie rentals, introduced The Netflix Player by Roku. Netflix partnered with streaming-technology company Roku to offer the device that lets subscribers instantly stream the movie-rental service's library of 10,000 movies and TV episodes directly to their TVs.
The player is available for $99.99 at Roku's Web site. Netflix has unlimited rental plays starting at $8.99 a month. But will the hassle of installing one more device be too much to make the mainstream?
"There's a battle for the living room and which devices will be connected to the TV set. Netflix hopes it can provide the movie content to that screen," said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at JupiterResearch. "The problem with the device is that it is too limited in its current carnation."
The Netflix Challenge
Gartenberg sees two major barriers to adoption. First, he said, the Netflix screening catalog is still small. Second, he noted, consumers have to set up the device on their home network, and that may meet resistance.
"There's only a limited number of boxes consumers will hook up to their TV," Gartenberg said. "It eliminates the need to ship little discs in the mail. But this functionality should probably be built into another device, like an Xbox or a Wii or a DVD player, as opposed to this stand-alone functionality."
For these reasons, he argued, The Netflix Player by Roku is more of a geek toy than mainstream technology. But, he added, the concept does point the way to the future -- more content delivered directly over the Internet to the screen.
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