Streaming

Roku is prepping its set-top box line for the holiday season by adding two new models and new content "channels" due within the coming weeks.

The step-up Roku HD XR Player ($130) adds faster 802.11n. Wi-Fi and a USB port "for future use." The step-down model--the Roku SD Player--loses the HD outputs of its siblings; it'll retail for $80. The two new boxes will have the same look and feel of the existing Roku box, which is being redubbed as the Roku HD Player. That model (802.11g Wi-Fi, no USB port) will … Read more

Justin Yu has finally caught the SARS/swine flu that's been floating around the CNET New York offices. It was bound to happen, considering the number of makeout parties we have here. Filling his petite shoes, we have Mark Licea (aka MTI).

On today's show, we talk about beautifupeople.com, a Web site that is finally coming to the United States, which only beautiful people are allowed to join. That's right: in order to join this dating Web site, you have to be pretty. Users must submit their pictures, then the community decides whether you're hot enough to join. Unfortunately, Jeff and Wilson will likely get rejected. We'll let you know what Mark finds out on the Web site.

After that, we find out that older men who are less educated than their female counterparts are less likely to get a divorce and are generally happier in their relationships. So we guess all those cougar relationships out there aren't going to work out. We also check out a not cool "illegal alien costume." It might have been funny on "Chappelle's Show," but it's likely to get the crap beat out of you immediately.

Finally, we cover CNN's new Web site and we get to some video game news and commentary. The PlayStation 3 finally gets Netflix streaming after Xbox 360 has had it for almost a year now. Took them long enough, but we think this might start to change the balance of power in the video game console war, because it will be free on the PlayStation 3, rather than having to sell out $50 bucks a year for a Xbox Live Gold membership. Plus, Wilson gets close to beating Ghostbusters: The Videogame. His take? It's fun to watch, a little monotonous to play after a while, but a good buy.

Please, please, send in voice mails. We're running a bit low these days, and we love to hear your feedback. Call in at 1-866-404-CNET (2638). Call! (Especially if you're a lady.)

At this point, who could begrudge Reed Hastings and his Netflix management team from some celebration, from performing the corporate equivalent of an end-zone dance?

Wall Street and Netflix subscribers appear overjoyed with the direction that Netflix's CEO has the Web's top video-rental store pointed in. The only people who don't seem pleased with Netflix's success work in Hollywood.

Just days before Netflix reported third-quarter earnings that jumped 48 percent from a year ago and subscriber growth of 28 percent during the same period, two executives from different studios told me they aren't getting their … Read more

Netflix online streaming is coming to the PlayStation 3.

A Netflix press release spelled out the details of deal. The good news is that the streaming feature--which enables Netflix subscribers to access thousands of movies and TV shows on-demand via the Internet--is available at no extra charge beyond the monthly Netflix DVD-by-mail subscription, which can be as low as $9 a month. (By contrast, Xbox 360 owners also need to subscribe to Xbox Live, which is an extra $50 per year.)

The bad news: PS3 owners will need to put a special Blu-ray disc in the game console, which will enable streaming via the Blu-ray's BD Live functionality.… Read more

If you weren't in The 404 live chat room this morning, you missed an insanely '80s dance party! It turned out to be a blast, so we're going to start doing it every Friday. Don't worry if you missed out this time, just be sure to check us out next Friday for more Starship, Outfield, Buggles, etc...

Last week we reported on a story about Pepsi's "Amp Up B4 You Score" iPhone app that offered "helpful" pickup lines targeted at a very specific type of girl. For example, if you choose the "political girl," the app offers several jokes about stimulus plans, global warming, etc...you can use your imagination to figure out the rest. Unfortunately, if you didn't download the app you're out of luck, because Pepsi removed the app from the iPhone store.

All this talk about iPhones brings us to the first big topic of the day: DROID. The TV commercials for the new Verizon phone running the Google Android OS mock the iPhone and its fans, making claims that Android's open architecture and physical keyboard will draw unsatisfied Apple fanboys to its camp, but we're hesitant to jump onboard after the G1 flopped.

If you're currently in the market for a new smartphone but can't decide between an Android phone, the iPhone, a BlackBerry, or Palm Pre, this is the perfect episode for you! For more Droid info, check out this episode of Dialed In, another awesome CNET podcast with Bonnie Cha, Kent German, Nicole Lee, and Jason Howell!

In sadder news, Hulu may finally start charging a fee to view its broadcast content online. After that cryptic extraterrestrial commercial that Hulu aired during the Super Bowl last year, we figured that a monthly fee would eventually come, but the site definitely needs to offer more incentives before we bite the bullet. If we decide to support the paid version, Hulu needs to offer the entire back catalog of every show in HD and improve the movie selection...if not, then users might be tempted to simply visit another not-so-legal site. Get it, Hulu? Now get to work.

Today's Beck's Beer Audio Draft is my (Justin's) choice and Jeff is pretty surprised because the band plays a fully orchestrated, instrumental-only version of popular video game music! The band is Konami Kukeiha Club, and it features the composers who worked on original Konami games like Gradius III and Contra.

In addition to releasing several original soundtracks (i.e. Silent Hill), the group also makes original music, and it's great for anything active: gym workouts, bike rides, long distance runs, anything that requires you to get pumped up! The two tracks of the day are "Beginning" and "Bloody Tears" off the album "Konami Battle the Best."

Have a supreme weekend everyone!

Facebook members will start to see a new look for their home page "news feeds" on Friday, with the design now featuring a toggle view between a main view, featuring the top stories from their friends list based on their Facebooking habits, and a "live feed" featuring real-time updates from their whole network.

"When the user wakes up in the morning, you go to Facebook and you see (the) news feed," product manager Peter Deng told CNET News. "You see the stuff that you missed, the best of the previous day, to basically … Read more

Like indie films? Documentaries? Animation? Ho, boy, have I got an app for you: NFB Films lets you watch over a thousand movies on your iPhone. For free.

The "NFB" stands for National Film Board, a kind of Canadian PBS. The app taps the NFB's mammoth library of documentaries, animated films, trailers (for upcoming NFB releases), and more.

All the movies are streamed to your iPhone, but there's also an ingenious "watch later" option that downloads a selected movie for later viewing. However, these downloads expire after 24 hours, not unlike App Store movie … Read more

Last week, Sonos unveiled the ZonePlayer S5, the first product in its streaming-audio family to boast built-in speakers. Monday, we got the opportunity to see (and hear) it in person for the first time when Sonos reps dropped by our New York office for a demo.

The setup was a two-zone system (two S5s) pulling music from an Apple Time Capsule. The one caveat of a Sonos setup is that at least one component needs a wired network connection. In this case, a ZoneBridge BR100 was connected to the Apple router via Ethernet, which in turn enabled both S5s to … Read more

Jelli.net, a Total Request Live-esq Internet radio station, is coming out of beta on Monday night and is expected to announce that it's inked a syndication deal with Triton Digital Media that will get it played in actual terrestrial FM radio stations across the U.S. beginning next year.

The service revolves entirely around a playlist of songs that's managed by users in real time. Users can vote songs up or down before they ever hit the air, as well as when they're playing. If enough people downvote a song while it's in the … Read more