I ordered the Netflix Player by Roku a week or so ago and it finally came in last friday.  My inital impression is pretty positive.   It’s tiny - much smaller than even what you’d expect from seeing it online.   The setup is beyond easy - just plug it in to your TV and home network (wireless or wired).   The documentation says it supports wireless b or g - but I opted to go with the hard wired connection since it was inches away from the box. 

The HDMI connection was very straightforward since it is a single plug and carries audio/video.  The box only comes with rca cables, but truthfully since the audio/video isn’t high def, it probably doesn’t matter very much what you use for the hookup.   Officially, my TV reported the output at 480p.  If I need to free up the hdmi connection for something else, I doubt it will look much different.    Associating the box with your Netflix Account involves just typing in an activation code it tell you to use through your computer by visiting the Netflix website.

Keep in mind the Netflix Player does not allow you actually browse any of their current 12,000 titles using the remote and box itself.   Any if you didn’t know this already - you must have a Netflix Account that supports instant viewing - the plans I believe start around $8/month for this.   It simply lists out your titles that you have in your “Instant Queue” - something you may or may not have been using in your Netflix account.    This instant Queue becomes your selection list on the player itself.  So you have to select your titles using your computer no matter what first.

The box is fast, responsive - and updates nearly instantly.    The picture quality is just about the same as when I’d use the “Watch Now” feature through a computer onto the TV.  Netflix claims it is DVD quality, which honestly it is pretty close.   When you have a series selection, like a tv show, it groups them all together and lets you select which one you’d like to watch - along with giving descriptions for each episode.

Updating the firmware (the very first thing I did), is a breeze.  There’s an update feature in the software and it took less than a minute.

Only one problem so far - I had to reboot the box because all of the pause, rewind, and fast-forward features just stopped working entirely.   After a reboot, all was well.  We’ll see if this is an isolated incident.

All in all - thumbs up.  I wish Netflix’s Watch Now selection was a little bit better.   The biggest test it passed was the one that for me is the acide test for any new technology I want to implement in the house - the wife test.   She’s pretty happy with the box so far.  :)