Netflix and RokuLabs unveil Set Top box
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Online DVD-rental company Netflix Inc. took a step into the home-entertainment market by unveiling a new set-top box that allows its subscribers to stream videos directly from the Netflix Web site to their televisions. Netflix has already been offering its customers “Instant Watching” which allows one to stream movies to a computer. This expands the ability of their instant watching service and makes it easier for user to stream content directly to their televisions. The Instant Watching offering currently offers over 10,000+ movies.
Netflix said it developed the player with technology company Roku Inc. and will begin selling the device for $99.99. According to RokuLabs’s website, the cost is a one time cost and does not involve any subscription fees. The device is about the size of a paperback book and works with both wired and wireless high-speed Internet connections. Similar devices have come from Apple Inc., with its Apple TV device, and Microsoft Corp., through its Xbox 360 videogame system.
Previously Netflix’s had planned for a $6 million strategic investment in Roku. Customers will need to subscribe to a Netflix service plan costing at least $8.99 a month to use the device.
