Here's another staggering figure, courtesy of the broadband equipment/services company Sandvine: Between 8 and 10 each night, 20 percent of the download traffic to broadband-serviced U.S. households is now carrying Netflix-delivered movies and TV shows to subscribers watching on a variety of Internet-connected devices. Truth is, if you don't mind the time warp (this is 2009, right?), there's always something good on Netflix, and the basic $9-a-month fee - with one DVD loaner disc - is reasonable.
BIG THINGS IN SMALL BOXES: Want to plunge even deeper into the new world of bargain-priced, broadband-based entertainment? Buzz is building for a new crop of magical boxes that likewise connect to a TV and the Internet (either via Ethernet or Wi-Fi) to serve up an array of Web-based video and audio channels.
You may not know Roku or Boxee, but doubtless you've heard of Apple, Google, Logitech and Sony. All are players in this add-on product category that some are calling "Over the Top" boxes. It's a playful term meant to suggest these devices soar a lot higher than your traditional cable or satellite "set-top" boxes.
FUN WITH TECHNOLOGY: Even if you only have passing interest in Internet TV, the $59.99 starting price for a Roku Player, or the $99 price tag on the new Apple TV make either streaming video (and audio) device worth the splurge.
Roku's versatile little boxes, pioneers in the field, even connect to ye olde standard-definition TVs and analog sound systems, as well as today's high def-sets and digital audio sound makers. The Roku Player delivers a huge array of on-demand channel/podcast offerings on a newly spiffed-up menu. Added to a favorites list, they're accessed with an ultrasimple remote.
