Back to the Future: Netflix TV

As of an hour ago, Netflix and Roku unveiled a $99 little wifi-enabled box that brings Netflix to the television. This finally makes one of the original dreams of the broadband internet a pragmatic reality for the mass market (or at least that part of it with broadband in the home).

Here's some screen captures of one of these devices in action with my personal Netflix queue:



Much like the Netflix service overall, the Netflix TV offering is refreshingly simple, easy-to-use, and grounded in the realities of what can be delivered today. It's a reflection of everyone involved from Reed Hastings onward, and it's part of what has made my first couple of months of employment at Netflix so enjoyable.

I look back a decade to my stint with the @Home Network and realize with some nostalgia, that I really have gone back to the future.

lyndonwong