Wii May Get Netflix Streaming Friday October 30, 2009 It seems that everyone is getting into the streaming video market. Early this week, it was announced that Sony has partnered with Netflix so that PlayStation 3 owners who are also Netflix subscribers will be able stream video to their televisions using the gaming system. That announcement was followed by the debut of two new Roku streaming video units. Today, I ran across a report by Dan Rayburn of BusinessOfVideo.com stating that Nintendo is in tests to bring Netflix streaming to its Wii gaming console. Rayburn doesn’t reveal the name of his source, and I’m always skeptical about things like this until somebody goes on the record. If it is true, however, we’re looking at one more development that could help video streaming someday replace physical DVD and Blu-ray libraries. Personally, I enjoy having a physical library of movies lining my walls, but I’m a film critic as well as the guide for this site, so I may be the exception. I’d love to hear what you have to say. Are you hopeful that video streaming will come to the Wii? Now that video streamers are becoming plentiful and cheaper, are you likely to get rid of your DVDs and Blu-ray discs? Photo

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Roku Adds Two New Players Thursday October 29, 2009 Roku announced this week that it has added two new set-top boxes to its line of video streaming products. One, the Roku SD , is an entry-level model featuring only standard-definition output. The main selling point on the SD is it’s relatively low $79.99 price. The second new model, the Roku HD-XR , sells for $129.99 but can output high-definition signals at a resolution of 720p . Both players are equipped with Wi-Fi or can connect to a wired network with an Ethernet cable. The HD-XR goes a step further as the first Roku player to offer 802.11n dual-band wireless connectivity. Roku players allow viewers to stream video content over the internet to a television, and consumers currently have access to programming from Netflix , Amazon Video On Demand and MLB.TV . It’s important to note, however, that each of those outlets charges for content. The Roku itself is just a delivery system. At $79.99, the SD is $20 cheaper than Roku’s standard player, the HD, and the company is clearly hoping to win more consumers over with the lower price point. The HD-XR, on the other hand, is targeting a higher-tech crowd with its high-definition capabilities and improved Wi-Fi. Photo

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Screen Size and Resolution Important to Consumers Monday October 26, 2009 According to the market research company the NPD Group, about 25 percent of consumers say they’re going to buy a television in the next six months. Of those people, NPD says, screen size and picture quality are the two factors most likely to drive their purchase decision. According to NPD, 77 percent of consumers who said they plan on buying a TV also said screen size will be very important or extremely important to their decision making. Seventy-one percent of the potential buyers said the same thing about resolution. Those latter statistics don’t surprise me because — as a guy who loves big TVs — screen size has always been one of my biggest concerns. And, of course, there’s no point in having a big screen if the picture quality is poor. What does surprise me is NPD’s finding that one out of every four consumers is in the market for a TV. Clearly, the high-definition television revolution has convinced a lot of people to upgrade, but the economy is still shaky, and televisions are relatively high-end pieces of equipment. NPD reported that the average price of 40- to 42-inch flat panels selling during the first nine months of 2009 was $838, and that’s the size range most of the potential consumers polled for the NPD study are considering. For more on NPD’s research, check out the company’s press release on its 2009 TV Inventory Study . What do you think about the findings? Do you think 25 percent of consumers are actually going to make such a large purchase during the next six months? Leave your comments and let’s get a discussion started.

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