Digital Media

Mediafly's podcast aggregation channel is coming to Roku.

(Credit: Mediafly)

Mediafly is coming to the Roku Digital Media Player later this year. The Mediafly channel will aggregate free-of-charge audio and video podcasts from a variety of providers, including Comedy Central, CNN, ESPN, and NBC. While these programs are easily available on a PC, the Mediafly channel should provide a quick and easy way to enjoy them on a TV or living room audio system as well.

Currently, Mediafly allows users to organize podcasts into customized feeds that are then available on a variety of Web-connected devices, including the iPhone, Zune, and Blackberry. (Check out CNET's coverage of the recently released Mediafly iPhone App for an explanatory video.) However, the Mediafly experience on the Roku will include streamlined access to the most popular 500 shows across 20 topics without the need to set up an account or manage any subscriptions. For example, the promo screenshot (above) highlights the comedy genre, and shows at least two Comedy Central stand-up podcasts, along with "Ask A Ninja."

The capability to access audio and video podcasts exists on competing products such as Apple TV and TiVo DVRs, but both of them are considerably more expensive than the $99 Roku box. Originally introduced as a Netflix-only playback device, the "Roku Netflix Player" has since expanded its roster of content providers, adding Amazon Video-on-Demand as well. Mediafly is the first of 10 new channels that the company has pledged to add by the end of 2009.

Amazon and Netflix will be getting some company.

(Credit: Roku)

The Roku Digital Video Player may be getting as many as 10 new Internet video-on-demand channels by the end of 2009. So says Roku vice president Tim Twerdahl in an interview with U.S. News & World Report.

The Roku Player was originally a Netflix-only device, but it recently added Amazon Video On Demand. The U.S. News story reports Roku has "quietly distributed a development kit to what Twerdahl calls a few 'close, big-name' partners." More info is expected to be revealed this summer, at which time the development kit would be made available to additional programmers.

Providers weren't named, but tech blogger Dave Zatz points out that YouTube support on the Roku has been hinted at in the past, and that Blip.tv has outed itself as a Roku developer as well. If those are 2 of the 10, that still leaves 8 more.

Obviously, any of the existing video content aggregators (Hulu, Sling.com, and CNET sister-site TV.com) would be huge attractions to the Roku, as would individual network-video sites. I'd also like to see some music services (Pandora was just added to Roku rival Vudu, and will also be on most Samsung Blu-ray players and home theater systems shipping in 2009).

Which providers would you like to see added to the Roku box? And do you think that Roku is starting to steal some of Boxee's thunder? Share your opinions below.

Lots of options already exist for getting video-on-demand via the Web.

(Credit: CNET)

The economy is in the toilet, and I know I'm not the only person in America who is looking for ways to cut costs. Top on my list in 2009 is finding a way to eliminate my $100 a month cable TV bill.

Up until very recently, the idea of cutting off subscription TV would have meant skimping on a whole lot of good quality entertainment. I must admit, I don't watch a lot of TV. But I watch enough that I would be very sad if I had to give up HBO's "Flight of the Conchords" or NBC's "30 Rock."

But thanks to that wonderful communications network known as the Internet and the fact that big Hollywood studios and TV networks have finally realized that digital distribution is actually a good thing, cable cord cutters, like me, won't have to sacrifice that much or anything at all, depending on what movies and TV programs we like to watch.

Thanks to services like Netflix, iTunes, and Amazon On Demand, consumers can simply stream or download movies or previous seasons of TV shows directly from the Web anytime they want. And for those viewers looking for current seasons of TV shows, they can turn to Web sites, such as Hulu.com or TV.com, which have aggregated some of the most popular TV shows for on-demand viewing over the Net. (Disclosure: CNET and TV.com are properties of CBS Interactive.)

The Roku Digital Video Player has just gotten a whole lot more interesting.

The company announced Tuesday that it is adding more than 40,000 movies and TV shows to its online video service from Amazon Video on Demand.

Roku launched its $99 digital video player in May with Netflix as its first streaming partner. For a monthly fee, consumers can watch any of Netflix's 12,000 movies and TV shows in its library.

The company said it had sold out of the device in the first two weeks after it went on sale. And since then, sales have been strong, said Tim Twerdahl, vice president of consumer products for Roku.

The company won't release specific sales figures, but Twerdahl said the company has sold well over 100,000 devices in the past nine months.

While this is certainly a good start, the Roku box could become even more popular as more content is added to the platform. The Netflix deal has been a good start, but the service only offers a fraction of its overall DVD library for streaming.

Roku Digital Video Player

The deal with Amazon is key because it not only offers a much larger library of content, but it also offers hot new titles, many of which are released on Amazon's download service when they're made available on DVD.

(Credit: Roku)

Amazon Video On Demand will be coming to the Roku Netflix Player in early 2009.

Amazon's video service will become the first non-Netflix "channel" to be available on the Roku box. The service, formerly known as Amazon Unbox, offers more than 40,000 movies and TV shows.

While that dwarfs the 12,000 or so streaming titles currently available via Netflix--and includes many newer titles as they're released on DVD--they're available on a pay-per-view basis rather than the flat-fee subscription of the Netflix.

A mid-December firmware update included the promise of "a number of great new channels that will begin to appear on your player in early 2009." That implies that Amazon is the first of several additional viewing options that will eventually be available on the box. Whether or not the Roku hardware will be rebranded to emphasize its more diverse choices beyond Netflix remains to be seen.

Amazon Video On Demand is also available on TiVo DVRs and the Sony Bravia Internet Link, as well as on Windows PCs and Macs.

UPDATE: 3:29 p.m. PT: To include Roku's statement.

Netflix, the Web's top video rental store, has corrected a glitch that has plagued some customers of the company's streaming-video service for several weeks, Netflix said Friday.

Beginning in mid-November, owners of Roku's Netflix Player and Microsoft's Xbox 360 began complaining on Web forums about seeing dramatic drop-off in video quality and long buffering delays, which prevented them watching films.

This was the first setback for Netflix's streaming service, which has won accolades since last spring when the Roku box made its debut and helped users transfer video streamed from the Web to TV sets. Microsoft, LG Electronics, and Samsung followed with their own set-top boxes featuring Netflix's service.

With the rollout of the service, many observers have said that Netflix is closer to the holy grail of Web video--jumping from the PC to the living room--than Apple, or any other competitor.

Netflix notified customers of the fix on the company's blog.

"Recently some Netflix members using Roku or Xbox movie players noticed lower quality streaming than they had experienced earlier," the company said. "This was a temporary issue that we believe we have resolved. Working with our content distribution partners and key carriers, we made some specific changes that should restore everyone's experience to where it was before - high quality streaming."

The company declined to identify what caused the glitch.

Some frustrated customers expressed gratitude to the company for finally acknowledging the glitch and finding a fix. Said one person who posted a comment to Netflix's blog: "Thanks for stepping up to this problem."

Nobody is likely more relieved than Roku. For a week, the company was criticized by frustrated by device owners who erroneously thought the company was at fault.

"Roku is pleased Netflix has resolved the issue," the startup said in an statement, "but we will continue to closely monitor streams to make sure our customers get the best quality experience."

Some owners of Microsoft's Xbox 360 who have signed up to receive movies via Netflix's streaming movie service have seen the same loss of video quality as owners of Roku's Netflix Player.

A mysterious glitch has been hobbling video streams distributed by the two set-top boxes for at least two weeks, said a source close to Netflix on Thursday. The problem is the first setback for Netflix's streaming, which has won accolades since the $99 Roku box debuted last spring. Microsoft, LG Electronics, and Samsung followed with their own set-top boxes featuring Netflix's service. Microsoft did not respond to an interview request.

Those affected by the problem have been frustrated by long delays before a movie is playable and "unwatchable," according to one Roku box owner. Steve Swasey, Netflix's spokesman confirmed the company is working on a fix but declined to discuss which set-top boxes have seen a drop-off in video quality. He said the glitch is affecting a relatively small number of Netflix users.

"We can't stress highly enough that we want everyone's experience to be the best it can be," Swasey said. "We've seen the (complaints on the message boards). It's a small number of people involved but we don't want to diminish the fact that's it important."

The malfunction has apparently stumped Netflix and Roku engineers for weeks. Roku, which counts Netflix as one of its financial backers, asked those affected by the problem to post information on the company's forums that could help the company pinpoint the problem, such as their ISP, what kind of connection speeds they typically get, and what part of the country they live in.

Earlier this week Roku posted a message on the forum asking any San Francisco Bay Area residents having problems whether they would mind letting engineers poke around their system for clues. Netflix has also been working hard on the problem, Swasey said.

"We're doing all of the analysis we can," Swasey said. "We're looking at region, at carriers...we're working diligently to identify the problem. Until we have, we certainly don't want to speculate at all. Look, there's no manual to take off the shelf here. Netflix has created something new here."

Delivering full-length movies over the Web is extremely complicated and has always been plagued with long download times or fuzzy streams. But Netflix is also competing with itself here. The streaming service was free of these kinds of quality issues for six months. Why are they cropping up now?

A Roku executive told me earlier this week that the problems coincided with changes Netflix was making with its content distribution network (CDN). It may be a coincidence but about the same time Roku customers began seeing problems with video quality, some Apple TV owners began complaining on the company's message board about long delays downloading movies.

The Netflix Player by Roku

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Some Apple TV owners have complained for several weeks that it takes much longer now to download and playback high-definition movies.

"I started downloading an hour back and it says it will take two hours," wrote someone with the user name Reachg. "It's already 25 percent downloaded but it's not letting me play. In the past I was able to play the movie in 10 minutes max...seems something is happening."

The complaints at Apple's forums first appeared on November 14. That was the day after Roku, maker of the Netflix Player, notified customers it had received complaints from some device owners about a marked drop-off in quality of their streaming video. The Netflix Player and Apple TV are set-top boxes that enable owners to watch Web video on TV sets.

What we have here are two set-top boxes that almost simultaneously experience dramatically reduced streaming quality in the case of the Netflix Player, and longer download times in the case of Apple TV. Coincidence?

It's possible but it's worth digging a little to see whether the two cases are connected. A Roku executive told me on Monday that the problems with the company's box occurred at about the same time Netflix was making changes to its content distribution network (CDN).

Steve Swasey, Netflix spokesman declined to comment, citing the company's policy of not discussing vendors. (Apple also declined to comment.) But sources close to Netflix said the Web's top movie-rental service uses multiple CDN companies, including Akamai and Limelight Networks.

Akamai also delivers much of Apple's video content for iTunes. Jeff Young, an Akamai spokesman, said the company's isn't to blame, at least for Netflix's problems. He acknowledged that Akamai performs some services for Netflix, but they don't include anything having to do with the company's streaming video service. Netflix's streaming service is now offered on multiple devices, including Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Young said Akamai executives had not been informed about any problems at Apple TV and were looking into the problem.

I was told by an industry source that it's easy to blame Akamai and CDNs for these kind of problems, but often the glitches are the result of a company's own servers or other back-end infrastructure. The one thing that's crystal clear is none of the companies are providing customers with much information and are very tight-lipped about what they know.

On Roku's message board, several Netflix customers ask why the company hasn't notified them that there's a problem.

Roku's November 13 note to customers asking them for help determining the cause of a dramatic decline in video quality.

(Credit: Roku)

The Netflix Player by Roku, which enables owners to watch streaming Web video on their TV sets, has received plenty of applause from pundits and owners since debuting last May. But the box now faces its first major challenge.

Customers from around the country have been "experiencing inexplicable loss of video-streaming quality," for at least three weeks according to Roku's engineers, who have posted comments at the company's Web forums. Device owners have posted complaints to the same forums about receiving less than half of the video quality they've had in the past. One user told CNET that the video stream is now "unwatchable."

Tim Twerdahl, vice president of consumer products at Roku, told CNET News on Monday that the company is still unsure about what exactly triggered the problem, but he said indications are it originated at Netflix. Twerdahl added that the problem likely affects Netflix's other boxes as well as Roku's player.

"All we know is Roku didn't make any changes," Twerdahl said. "This is not a box problem. We know from some reports that this seems to be correlated with a change in Netflix's content distribution network (CDN), and Netflix is trying to figure out what the issue is."