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2009 Holiday Gift Guide: Roku HD-XR Player

Roku Netflix Player

We are kicking off our 2009 Holiday Gift Guide with the Roku HD-XR player. Why? Well, we think that it’s the perfect time to introduce someone to the new hotness that is TV, delivered over the web, and right into the living room. Sure, has come to the , but if you want streaming access to the Netflix service and don’t own a game console, this is your cheapest barrier to entry. The HD-XR model also gives you access to the Amazon Unbox catalogue, as well as the entire MLB game service as well, if you are subscribed.

Definitely a great gift for movie buffs, the Roku HD-XR player is able to stream over 12,000 movies and television shows from the Netflix Watch Instantly catalogue, and over 45,000 from Amazon Video on Demand. It connects to your home network through an ethernet port, or over Wi-Fi, connecting at up to 802.11n if you have it. There’s also a USB port on back, which Roku says is for future use. Our guess is that they’ll be allowing the device to read from an external USB drive, which would be stellar.

The actual device is tiny, so it takes up barely any space, and setup takes just a couple of minutes - very simple. Of course, a Netflix subscription is required, but once you have that, everything else is a piece of cake.

Honorable Mention: If you want all the features of the Roku HD-XR, but don’t need the USB port or 802.11n wireless speeds, you can grab the Roku HD Player for $99!

Read More | Roku HD-XR

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2008 Holiday Gift Guide: Roku Netflix Player

Roku Netflix Player

Sure, has come to the , but if you want streaming access to the Netflix service and don’t own a game console, this is your cheapest barrier to entry. Definitely a great gift for movie buffs, the Roku Netflix player is able to stream over 12,000 movies and television shows from the Netflix Watch Instantly catalogue. The set-top box currently outputs at 480p (DVD quality), but we know that high definition streaming is on the way. The box is tiny, so it takes up barely any space, and setup takes just a couple of minutes - very simple. Of course, a Netflix subscription is required, but once you have that, everything else is a piece of cake.

Read More | Roku

Rokus Netflix Player

Netflix PlayerRoku’s Netflix Player was finally launched this week to the delight of those who are all things movies and TV. If you have a Netflix unlimited movie plan and a DSL connection, you can watch over 10,000 movies and TV episodes at no extra cost. It connects to your TV, home theater, or A/V receiver via standard RCA jacks, S-video, component video, or HDMI and works like a DVP. It comes with a remote to browse your queue, just like your Netflix account. At a price of $99.99, the player seems to be so popular that the company says to expect a 10-day delay in delivery.

Read More | Roku

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