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Thursday, January 3, 2008

Netflix will roll out movie delivery set-top box

... to make its existing streaming movie service more user-friendly.

By Pegasus News wire

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Hoping to make their online streaming movie services more appealing to the average Joe and Jill (by making them easier to view on a regular TV monitor), DVD mail-order rental pioneer Netflix will offer a set-top box option to users later this year.

Early attempts to make the set-top box anthropomorphic were quickly scrapped

Early attempts to make the set-top box anthropomorphic were quickly scrapped

The boxes will be produced by Korean consumer electronics giant LG, and will provide a bridge connection between a user's computer (from whence said user will select and download a video stream, as documented here) and his or her television. The limitation of one's existing bandwidth will still apply under the new hardware regime; it'll just look a lot nicer when/if you're able to actually view the streaming product - unless, of course, you've got a kick-ass, wide-screen, multiple-viewer-friendly computer monitor.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings apparently thinks websites in general are clumsy and difficult to use - at least, that's what I derive from this statement: "It's going to be very slick and easy. We want the TV experience to be very relaxing and not like visiting a Web site." Thank God for that, anyway.

posted by JM

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Comments

Michael Davis

Michael Davis Verified

If your laptop has an s-video jack and you plug into your stereo, it's dvd quality. The only thing is that netflix needs newer movies on its 'watch now' feature.

$400 saved.

8 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Scott Doyle

Scott Doyle Verified

You seem to be missing the point, Mike D. They're making new technology for computer-illiterate people, b/c obviously they'd prefer watching the television tube rather than connecting to the intertubes.

I envision the remote having buttons the size of quarters to accommodate the abnormally fat fingers of targeted consumers.

At any rate, seems to simply be an alternative to Apple TV.

8 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Billusa99

Billusa99 Anonymous

And how many of these targeted fatso's are going to have an Ethernet connection for this box beside their TV? And how many will spend the bucks?

Since it says that "subscribers will still need to use a computer to pick out which programs they're interested in streaming" I don't see it flying too high. These people already get VoD via cable or DirecTV and this is still too complicated for them.

8 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

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