Netflix player hits the streets for $100 with unlimited downloads

Yeah, you read that one correctly. Netflix has just released their oft-rumored set-top box, and from the looks of things they have a real stunner on their hands. The new hardware, manufactured by Roku, is a diminutive, fanless box that sports a HDMI and optical outputs alongside the standard component cables. The player is designed to integrate with your home network, and doesn’t have any on-board storage, with all media being streamed by way of your broadband connection. Movie selection and download is executed by way of Netflix’s custom TV interface, navigable by the included Roku remote control. There’s currently a catalog of roughly 10,000 films, with many more planned for the future. The best part, however, is that unlimited streaming is available free of charge for anyone with a Netflix account over $9/month. It doesn’t get much better than that. There are a couple of downsides, including no current support for HD streaming (Netflix is planning on implementing this in the future), limited new release catalog, and no built-in title search. That said, this looks like a real contender in the Apple-TV realm. Anyone interested?

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