Roku Netflix 2009 "review" (via some friends)

Okay, I have to say up front that I don't currently have a Netflix subscription or a Roku digital video player (the Roku HD Player at Amazon ), but I've heard from a number of friends lately who love the Roku/Netflix combination. I haven't heard this many positive comments about a product/solution in quite a while ... probably not since the original iPhone launch. As a movie-lover, I take that as a very positive sign.

I just read more about the Roku on their website, and they offer three different models of their hardware (DVD quality; HD quality; and HD quality with Wireless-N access), and all three can be used with your current Netflix account. The Roku site says they also have 50,000 movies and tv shows that are available to you "instantly". Hmm, and a 30-day money-back guarantee ...

In a related story ... I'm amazed at what the cable companies will do when you call them to cancel your subscription. With something like the Roku/Netflix digital video solution in hand, a couple of people have told me that when they called their cable companies to cancel their service, they have either been able to keep their basic service for free, or else get some sort of low-priced bundling option that made them decide to keep their cable subscriptions as well.

(This also makes me think of dinosaur companies like Blockbuster. Five to ten years ago they ruled the video world, but now I _never_ think about them.)

But back to the Netflix and Roku online/digital/streaming video solution, I don't currently have a large tv (and I don't want one right now), so I'm going to have to visit some friends and check one of these out. :)

Closing: Here's a link to the the basic Roku HD Player at Amazon, and here's a second link to the The Roku HD-XR Player at Amazon.