The Perfect Gift for Netflix Users – The Roku Player

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I saw the Roku Player the other day on television as one of the hottest tech gifts this year for watching movies on your tv.  The Roku Players allows you to instantly stream movies to your television through wireless internet connection starting at $79.00 for the Roku SD and up to $129.00 for the Roku HD-XR.  After learning about this product for the first time, I decided to research it and compare to other players.

The Roku Player is also known as the Netflix player since you can instantly stream and watch Netflix movies instantly on your television. You have the capability to pause, fast-forward, rewind, or watch it over and over.  The minimum Netflix subscription is $8.99 a month in which you get one DVD at a time, but unlimited movies streamed to your computer or tv using the Roku.  Since many would rather watch the movies on a tv than a computer, the Roku allows you to do this and with great quality.

Netflix offers over 17,000 movies that you can instantly stream to your pc or tv using the Roku Player, so you have many movies to choose from while waiting for your dvds in the mail.

The Roku is so much more than just a Netflix player.  Recently the Roku expanded its channels to include Flickr, Pandora, Facebook Photos, Revision3, Mediafly, TWiT, blip.tv, FrameChannel, Motionbox and MobileTribe.  The Roku also works with MLB Premium if you have a subscription.  It was hoped that the Roku would partner with Hulu.com, but that hasn’t occurred yet.

The Roku also works with Amazon Video on Demand so you can rent or purchase movies and TV shows to watch on your tv without a subscription to Netflix.  Amazon Video on Demand has over 45,000 movies and shows to choose from and they are immediately available on your tv.  Most Amazon Video on Demand movies cost $3.99 and $1.99 for tv shows.  So, if a movie just got released or if you missed a show, you can always choose Amazon Video on Demand to rent the movie.  If you rent through Amazon Video on Demand, you have 24 hours to watch the movie once you start it.

The only competitor that I could find that had as good of reviews, quality, and consistency is the Apple TV. I love Apple products, so I was really hoping that this would be the best player.  The Apple TV got rave reviews for quality of HD movies and speed.  It also had other great features with being able to view pictures and connect iTunes to your home theater system.  However, the Apple TV costs $229 + shipping and you can’t connect it to your Netflix subscription.

To watch a movie through Apple TV, you have to purchase movies through Apple iTunes and they start at $3.99 a movie and even more for HD movies.  If you think  you will watch more than 2 movies a month, then you save with the Netflix plan at $8.99 a month with unlimited movies for streaming.

Many reviewers had both the Roku and the Apple TV, but said they use the Roku more since they had the Netflix subscription.  There are also some Blue-Ray players that now work with Netflix streaming, but they still don’t offer the other channels and capabilities as the Roku.

Based on reviews, the Roku is very easy to setup for wireless connection.  You can read more reviews about the Roku from Amazon which sells it via the Roku store for the same price.  If you purchase directly from the Roku site, you get a 30-day money back guarantee with free returns and a one-year warranty.

The Roku player makes a perfect Christmas gift for those who love watching movies and want to save money in the long run.  I know that the Roku player is on my list this year and I hope to give you an update of how it works after the holidays. 

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