Netflix box streams video to the TV

Online movie service Netflix has released a new set-top box that allows users to watch streaming videos on a standard television.

The company developed the device with streaming media hardware vendor Roku, giving it the name The Netflix Player by Roku.

The box features a Wi-Fi antenna and Ethernet connection which links the box to the PC. Movies from Netflix are then streamed from the PC to the set-top box.

The device also sports RCA, HDMI and component outputs, as well as S-video and optical audio jacks.

Users will not be able to stream the movies directly from the service, but will have to download the movies to their PCs and then access them locally from the box.