Despite the bold promise of Internet video, the reality is that your couch is much more comfortable than your computer desk. But there's that old "last mile" problem--how to get the movies and other video content from the Net to your TV. Netflix has offered video streaming for well over a year, but the MPAA's insistence on DRM-protecting the content delivered to paying customers, and Apple's refusal to license its Mac DRM solution--while scofflaws continue to download things for free--has kept Mac users shut out. Roku has mostly solved both of these problems, with its new Netflix Player, a set-top box that brings Netflix's streaming content directly to your TV.
Setting up the box was painless. All told, we went from zero to watching a movie in less than 10 minutes, including the time it took to move our entertainment center and navigate the maze of cables back there. The player sucks down video via your home network, connecting either over Wi-Fi or a wired Ethernet connection. Out of the box, the player comes with a composite A/V cable, but it also sports HDMI, component video, S-video, and optical audio outputs if you bring your own cable.
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Setting up the box was painless. All told, we went from zero to watching a movie in less than 10 minutes, including the time it took to move our entertainment center and navigate the maze of cables back there. The player sucks down video via your home network, connecting either over Wi-Fi or a wired Ethernet connection. Out of the box, the player comes with a composite A/V cable, but it also sports HDMI, component video, S-video, and optical audio outputs if you bring your own cable.
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