Posts Tagged ‘Netflix’

Report: 100,000 Roku Netflix set-top boxes sold

It was only yesterday that our friend Dan Rayburn over at Streaming Media was talking down the impact that Internet-delivered video was making in the living room. Or to quote Rayburn himself, his guest post for GigaOm was intended to “set expectations properly”, based on official figures and various estimates, which suggest that consumer facing set-top boxes from the likes of TiVo, Sony, Microsoft, Apple, Roku and Vudu that are capable of delivering online video, have sold a lot less than what most people think.

Today, however, Rayburn admits he got one figure wrong. Based on a new source, Rayburn says that rather than selling 10,000 units, the Netflix player by Roku has sold closer to 100,000.

While it surprised me the number was that high, it does seem possible, as that would equal about 1% of Netflix’s 8.2 million customers. Considering the price point ($99) and the fact that the product’s marketing is very focused, to a targeted audience, Roku’s penetration rate would be higher than the average product that has only been on the market for eight weeks. Plus, once you have the Roku box, the content is free.

Rayburn goes on to suggest that it won’t be long before the Roku box outsells the AppleTV (we don’t disagree), especially with the promise that the Roku player will soon support more than just Netflix. “This little device has some real potential to make a real impact in the market”, he says.

How big of an impact is Internet-delivered video making in consumer living rooms?

I’ve often wondered this, but my math skills suck. How big of an impact is Internet-delivered video really making in the consumer living room?

Dan Rayburn, the EVP of StreamingMedia.com and the blogger behind BusinessofVideo.com, crunched numbers in a post for GigaOm today and decided that the impact is not nearly as large as we think.

“While it is good to see more content options coming to consumers, adding up all of the install numbers for these devices gives a stark picture of just how small the install base really is,” Rayburn wrote. “The market is still too fragmented, with too many different devices, all limited by a lack of premium content.”

Rayburn bases his analysis on market penetration rates. His point is that the best technologies don’t always win — it’s what consumers adopt. The numbers for TV-connected devices are interesting.

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Video: Netflix streaming on XBox 360

Now it’s official that Netflix is coming to the Xbox 360, although not until this fall, we’re as curious as the next person to see just how well it’s been implemented. Luckily, Inside XBox has published a brief – and we mean brief – video walk-through of the new feature.

Initial impressions: the UI is slick, and the integration between the XBox 360’s newly designed dashboard and Netflix.com, where you still manage your Watch Now cue, works as expected. We’re not sure what kind of Internet connection they were using, but movies start playing almost immediately. Check out the video for yourself after the jump.

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Stream Netflix movies to an Xbox 360 with vmcNetflix add-in

vmcNetflixIt’s been long rumored that Netflix may be coming to gaming consoles like the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Unfortunately, you still have to wait for that to officially happen. Fortunately, at least for a few Xbox 360 owners, there is a work-around.

Lifehacker provides instruction on how to turn an Xbox 360 into a streaming Netflix player — as long as you meet a few requirements.

One: You own an Xbox 360.

Two: You have a Netflix subscription.

Three: You use Microsoft Vista with the Vista Media Center, included by default in Vista Home Premium and Ultimate editions.

Four: You download and install the freeware plug-in vmcNetflix, an add-in for Vista Media Center. You can find it here with instructions.

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Win a Roku Netflix set-top box!

Win a Roku Netflix set-top-box!This isn’t a last100 give-away — we haven’t even got our hands on a review unit yet — but our friend Dan Rayburn over at Streaming Media is parting company with the new Netflix set-top box from Roku.

Also see: Roku delivers first Netflix set-top box

To be in with a chance to win it, all you have to do is leave one comment on Dan’s original post with a working e-mail address. He’ll pick a random winner this Thursday and ship it out at no cost. (Sorry, U.S. residents only). The unit comes with all of the original materials, box, remote and cables, but since it only works with Netflix’s service, you’ll either need to be a Netflix customer, or need to be willing to setup a Netflix account.

As an aside, Anthony Wood, the Founder and CEO of Roku will be one of the keynote speakers at the Streaming Media West show in September in San Jose.

From an RC beer cooler to an ESPN remote, digital lifestyle gifts for Dad on Father's Day

rc coolerThere are only a couple of more shopping days left until Father’s Day, that once-a-year event when wives and kids all across the U.S. buy Dad ties, aftershave, and other things he — let’s be honest here — will never use.

So to make shopping easier this year, we’ve assembled a few digital lifestyle ideas for your husband or Dad. Most of these are more expensive than Aqua Velva aftershave but, since we’re being honest here, these are what Dad might buy for himself, including a remote control beer cooler.

The obvious

The most sought-after Father’s Day gift on the planet will be the new 3G iPhone from Apple, which isn’t available until July 11. Until then, a hand-written IOU redeemable for the iPhone will do. Thankfully, the price is coming way down: $199 for the 8 GB model, $299 for the 16 GB phone. And since it now supports the enterprise with Microsoft Exchange syncing and other business-place features, the grumpy IT guys at Dad’s office will be happy.

Alternatives: none. Sure, we could argue for a Sony Ericsson, BlackBerry, or HTC smart phone, but why bother? Until Google’s Android phones are available — long after this Father’s Day is over — the iPhone will head Dad’s wish list.

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Catching up with Time Warner Cable, Blockbuster, TiVo, iTunes UK, and Netflix

time warner cable logoAnother day, another set-top box.

This one comes courtesy of Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt, who told those at the Stanford C. Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in New York that the company planned to market equipment to its subscribers to make it easier for them to watch Internet video on their televisions.

Naturally, Britt offered few details, other than to say:

“Right now it’s pretty hard to get Internet stuff on your TV,” Britt said [via Reuters]. “We’re actually going to have equipment we make available to subscribers. It’s actually going to be a new wireless cable modem that will allow you to network everything in your house.”

Naturally, Britt didn’t elaborate or say when the set-top box would be available to subscribers.

“Within a relatively short time . . . it’s going to be very easy to get Internet TV on your big screen TV.”

OK. So Time Warner is throwing its hat into the ring with the likes of Apple and the AppleTV, TiVo, Netflix/Roku, Vudu, Microsoft, Sony, the cable companies, and seemingly hundreds more. As long as we’re watching the vendor sports between these players, we might as well throw Time Warner’s set-top box scheme into the mix.

Catching Up

After the break, a few stories of interest from the just-concluding week.

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Details are scant, but Amazon will be launching online video streaming service soon

bezos at all things dThe details, unfortunately, are scant. This is what we know:

Amazon, the world’s largest Internet retailer, will be launching an online streaming video service in the next several weeks, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said a little too matter-of-factly at the D: All Things Digital conference. (Reuters)

One detail: The streaming service will start immediately for viewers, unlike Amazon’s Unbox product, in which users are required wait a period of time as content downloads.

Another semi-detail: The streaming service will operate a-la-carte, but we don’t know what this means exactly. Can viewers stream movies on a pay-per-view basis, presumably at the industry standard $3.99 per rental? Or will this service operate ala Netflix, where people pay a monthly subscription fee (like $15) for a certain number of movies?

We’re sure additional details will be forthcoming in the coming days, or weeks.

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Roku delivers first Netflix set-top box

When Netflix teased us last month with news that it had secured three more set-top box partners in addition to LG, we speculated as to who they might be. “It’s our bet that we’ll see Netflix compatibility added to a number of media streamers, such as those produced by D-Link and Linksys”, we proclaimed with confidence.

Close but no cigar.

Today Netflix announced that Roku, best known for its line of networked audio players, has become the first company to offer a dedicated set-top box designed to bring Netflix’s ‘Watch Now’ Internet TV service to the television.

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Netflix: three more set-top box partners by end of year

Netflix: three more set-top box partners by end of yearNetflix’s ambitious Internet TV plans are forging ahead, with three new set-top box partners to integrate the company’s ‘Watch Now’ video streaming service into their products by the end of year. The company has previously announced a partnership with Korean manufacturer LG Electronics to stream movies, TV shows, and other content to LG high-definition televisions or set-top boxes by the second half of 2008.

During the company’s Q1 earnings conference call, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings told analysts:

“We have LG plus three additional partners actively working on integrating our technology into their products… Three of the four partners are major companies, which each sell millions of devices per year and will enable the Netflix functionality in some of those devices likely in the fourth quarter of this year. The fourth partner is a small company, which will likely launch sooner than Q4.”

So who might these three additional hardware partners be?

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