[ale] Streaming video for Linux?

[George Carless]

Paul Cartwright (ale at pcartwright.com) wrote the following on Tue, Nov 30, 2010 at 05:56:14PM -0500:
> On 11/30/2010 04:44 PM, George Carless wrote:
> > Wiis are a lot of fun, but you could get a Roku box (which will happily 
> > play Netflix) for a lot less money, so if you just need it for video 
> > that's the route I'd recommend.
> 
> so ( as I'm sitting here with my Dish searching for a satellite:) what
> does Roku do for you? can you get rid of something ( Dish?) to get a
> Roku, or is it just another add-on... The Wii was something we have
> wanted for a long time, the netflix is something I've thought about,
> since I haven't had a blockbuster account in a year or so.. Right now, I
> have a SLOW DSL line, which I could probably upgrade ($$$) to 6Mb (
> Atnex.net does have 6MB, right?) so downloading movies or streaming
> movies might be painful.. atnex 6Mb service is $49 per month, and I DO
> pre-qualify:)

Hi Paul,

To be honest, I've not yet had a chance to put the Roku through its 
paces: mine is literally sitting in a box at home, waiting for me (I'd 
have plugged it in tonight except that I got stuck in Indiana due to a 
canceled flight back!)... however, from everything I've read it's a 
nifty little media box that will play netflix and a variety of other 
'apps', including Hulu plus; it cost something like $60 for the model I 
bought. If you haven't already tried netflix, I very much recommend it - 
and from what I've seen it'll run pretty well even on a slower internet 
connection... if you have a Windows or Mac machine lying around you 
might want to give it a try.  As to whether you can drop cable, I'd say 
it depends: I keep my satellite subscription around because of a few 
shows I like to watch live, but at the same time I watch a LOT of stuff 
just over Netflix - there's quite a good (and definitely growing) 
selection of stuff available on there for instant play, for 
$8-ish/month. From what I gather, too, there's a lot of good recent 
material on Hulu Plus, too, for another $8-ish/mo.

So, depending on your viewing preferences, you might well be able to 
drop your cable and swap in a Roku box (or some other box that plays 
Netflix).  By the way, I have a Wii too and it's a lot of fun, and its 
Netflix player is great too--but if you're JUST looking to play 
movies/tv shows then the Wii is overkill for that. (Not to dissuade you 
from a fun xmas gift, though!)

Regards,
George