The Roku Netflix Player today announced it will join the growing number of streaming devices that offer HD video support, with the new version 1.5 firmware upgrade.
The free firmware upgrade from Roku will give owners access to Netflix’s catalog of around 300 HD streaming movies. The $99 price tag of the Roku Player will remain the same, despite the addition of HD streaming.
"No other HD device delivers as diverse a catalog of HD entertainment along with flexible HDTV connections and incomparable price-value as Roku," The Envisioneering Group Research Director Richard Doherty said in a statement.
Current Roku Player owners can expect to download the firmware update in the next few weeks, after the holidays.
The HD content streams on average broadband connections — using an advanced compression technology — a feat that companies likely wouldn’t have been able to meet a few years ago. Roku promises that third-party companies will hop aboard the Rokuo HD content bandwagon sometime next year.
The Microsoft Xbox 360, TiVo HD DVR, Samsung BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 all have made similar moves to support HD content. Netflix has a catalog of more than 12,000 movies and TV episodes for rent, though with just 300 HD titles, there is much work Netflix has left to do.
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