Netflix Player provides steady stream of instant gratification

— -- Netflix has earned a solid reputation shipping DVD rentals by mail. But waiting a day or so for a disc to arrive won't satisfy the movie junkie who wants to watch a flick immediately. The Netflix Player by Roku I've been testing addresses that problem, provided the film you have in mind is among the limited selection available for instant streaming.

Just 10% of the more than 100,000 movies and TV shows available on DVD through Netflix are available for Roku streaming. Precious few have been made available on the same day that a DVD is released. None are in high-definition or have surround sound.

Despite these important drawbacks, I give thumbs up to the Roku box. At $100, it's reasonably priced. It should only become more appealing as the film library grows. And you can watch the titles that are available through the box as often as you wish, without the stringent viewing limitations imposed on other movie services.

Moreover, Netflix subscribers don't have to fork over a premium for instant access to those movies, so long as they're enrolled in a monthly plan of $8.99 or higher. You don't pay to rent the movies you watch, nor do you buy them.

Netflix actually started going after the instant-gratification crowd more than a year ago. But its Watch Now feature required people to watch on a PC or connect that computer to a TV. Few bother.

The new box doesn't completely eliminate the computer. You must visit the Netflix site to choose the movies you're going to watch. All you can do from the TV is pick among the movies you've already queued up to play.

Here's a closer look:

Setup.

Roku and Netflix deserve credit for making setup a relative breeze. My biggest challenge (not much of one) was awkwardly trying to pry open the remote control so I could insert batteries.

There are several ways — composite, S-video, component or HDMI cables — to connect the non-descript and, mercifully, small black Roku box to a TV. Roku throws in only the lowest-quality composite cables, so I supplied my own higher-quality HDMI cable.