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Presenting... Da Da Da Daaaaa... The cheap Netflix streaming box with little embedded Linux on ARM installs. Ok I don't think it runs Linux and I don't know if it's ARM, but it's a pretty small box, and only draws 2 Watts while streaming an HD movie, so I guarantee it's not x86. And the cheapest one is about $60. I don't think you can expect much cheaper than that. Sure you can't run a bittorrent client on it at the same time, but for $60 most people can afford a dedicated device. This is all assuming they don't already have a Wii/XBox360/PS3/BlueRay/WinPC already under their TV and don't require a dedicated device for running Netflix.

So, Netflix won't work on my Roku. Get "internal services error" messages. Google gets me to this two month long thread. Been going on since mid June and still isn't fixed. There is some problem with the Netflix "instant queue"; looks like the server has a cache that is out of date somehow. Can be fixed by altering or deleting entries from a web browser. Problem pops up with several different clients. Thinking to myself; this is a caching problem in the Netflix web services stack; probably some multi-tier coherency problem and reckless programming. Things like NoSQL come to mind; Digg and Twitter learned the hard way in public too.

Then this story appears. More muddled thinking about databases. I decided to make the effort to see if my blue sky guesswork about Netflix and their screwups have any basis in fact. Result of Google query #1 ("netflix nosql"):

This is Yury Izrailevsky, Director of Cloud and Systems Infrastructure here at Netflix. As Netflix moved into the cloud, we needed to find the appropriate mechanisms to persist and query data within our highly distributed infrastructure ... move beyond the constraints of the traditional relational model ... high availability ... trumps strong consistency ... we have found ourselves braving the new frontier of NoSQL distributed databases.

22 weeks from that blog post to first damage.

This is just the sort of unthinking buzzword driven nonsense I have come to associate with all things NoSQL, the technology of celebrity wannabe PHBs. The results speak for themselves.

Football and hockey?

Have you looked here and here ? There is hope to cut the DTV...

I will never pay for cable or dish or watch broadcast tv again. Roku streams Netflix, Hulu, even Aljazeera and Democracy Now to my TV. Device only cost $60. You don't need a DVR when you're watching on demand. I also watch tv and movies on my laptop, which enables me to sit outside and drink and smoke. Roku has tons of channels and you can even create your own.

Streaming to a PC that isn't hooked to your TV is an inferior experience, so I wouldn't recommend it. While streaming to your PC is convenient, to be a replacement for DVDs, you need something hooked to a TV with a remote. Windows 7 comes with MediaCenter that has a Netflix Plugin. This means that it will work out of the box with any MediaCenter remote. You can also use the Wii, XBox360 or PS3. The Wii doesn't have as good of a picture, and the Wii mote is an inferior remote for the purpose, but it works, and if your TV isn't huge, it looks fine. You can also get Netflix streaming to many TVs and Blu-ray players, so if you are buying any new home entertainment devices, it may just come bundled. Finally if you MUST know that linux is driving your video, you can always go with a Roku.

http://www.roku.com/

It is a linux device (as I suspect many of the TVs and Blu-ray players are). So, you can enjoy streaming AND feel good about using linux.

Streaming to the desktop is not an OPTION for netflix streaming. There are far more, and far better options for streaming to an actual TV.

. And IINM, Linux apps will run under BSD, won't they?

Sort of. For example, the Linux emulation support in OpenBSD is based on Fedora 4, which was originally released June 13, 2005. I've never bothered with it—and wouldn't even if Netflix released a Linux client (that's what I have a Roku box for)—since it really seems like a headache I just don't need.

It certainly seems that open source packages utilized by Roku have been released.

It's a dang cheap way to get your stuff on your bigger screens, provided you're willing to jump through the necessary hoops.

Roku Box or WDTV, anyone? No hoops to jump through there...or, if you have an Xbox 360 or PS3, TVersity is a FANTASTIC solution.

No content.

They are actually in the lead in internet set top boxes right now, at least for internet streaming. If you haven't heard of them or haven't checked them lately (I thought until recently that they were only Netflix boxes), they start at $60 for similar features to the new Apple TV, they already have 75+ apps/channels available (including Netflix, Amazon VOD, Pandora, MLB, NBA, NHL, etc), expected to increase to 100 by the end of the year, DLNA local media streaming feature is coming soon, Hulu+ also coming soon. It's really thriving and unquestionably the best deal for this type of device right now.

Oh, since this is Slashdot, you may also like to know that anyone can develop an app for it, with free tools in Windows/Mac/Linux, according to their developer page: http://www.roku.com/developer

Unfortunately, Apple's marketing might and fanboy army are probably going to crush them in the marketplace. Google probably won't be far behind either. Roku are also not helped by (to my understanding) not being available at brick and mortar retail stores, but you can get them at their own website, at Amazon.com and probably at other online retailers as well.

Roku Box or WDTV, anyone? No hoops to jump through there...or, if you have an Xbox 360 or PS3, TVersity is a FANTASTIC solution.

By "hoops", I'm assuming the OP means "transferring your physical media to networked storage".

And you'll have to do that no matter what solution you use. The only difference is in what "hoops" you have to jump through. Some only need the DVD to be ripped. Others want it in divx or h.264 format.

I started out ripping all my movies to h.264, so I have very few "hoops" to jump through, and my files play on almost all devices out there, including ATV.

It's a dang cheap way to get your stuff on your bigger screens, provided you're willing to jump through the necessary hoops.

Roku Box or WDTV, anyone? No hoops to jump through there...or, if you have an Xbox 360 or PS3, TVersity is a FANTASTIC solution.

Netflix is heavily pimping the Roku set-top media player, which apparently runs Linux under the hood. It doesn't look like anyone's made much progress in reverse engineering the NetFlix application, but it's proof that there is already a Netflix player for Linux which has no Silverlight dependency.

Sonos is awesome if you have the cash to spend - it even has a pandora interface!

I recommend the soundbridge http://soundbridge.roku.com/soundbridge/index.php for the working middle class.

And it definitely has that audiophile look to it.

When Netflix became available on XBox, my PC feed became useless as well...since I began watching everything on my XBox. And the quality from there is outstanding, in "HD" in some cases.

In all honesty, if I didn't have an XBox, I think it would be worth it to shell out the $100 for a Roku device. It has HDMI out, a dedicated remote, and you don't have to futz around with a computer, no Silverlight/Moonlight/Flash/whatever.

Now, I can already hear the cries of, "Why should I have to pay more..." but, in the end, if you want to use the Netflix streaming on a regular basis, you have an HDTV, and you don't own a 360, that's the way to go.

If you scroll down to the bottom on http://www.roku.com/community/gpl_nfp.php you will see this:

"This product is protected by certain intellectual property rights of Microsoft Corporation. Use or distribution of such technology outside of this product is prohibited without a license from Microsoft or an authorized Microsoft subsidiary."

Even tho it's using embedded linux Microsoft still have their sticky fingers in it somehow.

At the moment there is no evidence of openness that I can find.

you either didn't look very hard or don't have much in the way of researching skills.

http://www.roku.com/community/gpl_nfp.php

http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=2932

http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/30/1645200&from=rss

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10050649-93.html

http://hackaday.com/2008/07/02/netflix-player-source-code-released/

http://forums.rokulabs.com/viewtopic.php?t=17046&highlight=&sid=1bea026fdae6ddaace484e70273f2d0d

I'm not saying much has become of it, but Roku has already released all GPL code and is hosting forums for their users where they allow talk about hacking it at least. They publicly state their intentions to allow any content provider to use their box to distribute content, and mention the release of a software development kit to help people do that.

I don't know if you are claiming there is no evidence of "open" as in FOSS or "open" as in allowing other companies to use the platform, but there seems to be plenty of evidence of both.

They fully endorse the open source Firefly Media Server for use with their nifty Soundbridge devices.

Runs on FreeBSD/Linux. Integrates with iTunes (if you must). What more do you want?

They fully endorse the open source Firefly Media Server for use with their nifty Soundbridge devices.

Runs on FreeBSD/Linux. Integrates with iTunes (if you must). What more do you want?

Roku, the maker of a set-top box used to stream online video on a traditional TV, will open its platform to any content provider over the next few months, says Roku CEO Anthony Wood, speaking at Streaming Media West. "We're opening up the platform to anyone who wants to put their video service on this box," says Wood. "We're going to release the software developer kit, so anyone can publish any channel, and users can access web content on their TVs."

Jennifer Guevin over at cnet has a decent article that talks about where Roku is really going with this. Keep an eye on Roku's press releases for the real deal if and when it's announced.

I'm not saying they won't get around to it this time, but on the Photobridge we were (unofficially?) promised that they would open source it, and they never did.

http://forums.roku.com/viewtopic.php?t=500

Having been burned before, I'll believe it when I see it.

You, sir, just made my day :) I didn't know other people actually remembered Sliders...

I should mention that I've been watching Sliders again on Netflix. Their online viewer is kinda crappy, and it's IE-only, but it has only bluescreened my machine once ;)

It looks fine on this. Unfortunately it can't help the writing or the acting in the last season.

I use a Roku soundbridge radio. It is perfect, easy to set up, and comes with a handy remote control. http://www.roku.com/

So the obvious question is, where do I get the source code?

AFAIK, the source code hasn't been posted yet. When it does get posted, "Netflix Player" will probably get its own tab here.

So the obvious question is, where do I get the source code?

AFAIK, the source code hasn't been posted yet. When it does get posted, "Netflix Player" will probably get its own tab here.