Just 10% of the more than 100,000 movies and TV shows available on DVD through Netflix are available for Roku streaming. Precious few have been made available on the same day that a DVD is released. None are in high-definition or have surround sound.

Despite these important drawbacks, I give thumbs up to the Roku box. At $100, it's reasonably priced. It should only become more appealing as the film library grows. And you can watch the titles that are available through the box as often as you wish, without the stringent viewing limitations imposed on other movie services.

Moreover, Netflix subscribers don't have to fork over a premium for instant access to those movies, so long as they're enrolled in a monthly plan of $8.99 or higher. You don't pay to rent the movies you watch, nor do you buy them.

Netflix actually started going after the instant-gratification crowd more than a year ago. But its Watch Now feature required people to watch on a PC or connect that computer to a TV. Few bother.

The new box doesn't completely eliminate the computer. You must visit the Netflix site to choose the movies you're going to watch. All you can do from the TV is pick among the movies you've already queued up to play.

Here's a closer look:

Setup.

Roku and Netflix deserve credit for making setup a relative breeze. My biggest challenge (not much of one) was awkwardly trying to pry open the remote control so I could insert batteries.

There are several ways — composite, S-video, component or HDMI cables — to connect the non-descript and, mercifully, small black Roku box to a TV. Roku throws in only the lowest-quality composite cables, so I supplied my own higher-quality HDMI cable.

The box communicates with your home network through ethernet or Wi-Fi. If taking the wireless route, as I did, you'll have to enter any security passwords via the remote, a minor hassle you'll presumably have to do only once. To complete the process, you must type into your computer an authorization code that's displayed on the TV. This lets the box know your Netflix account identity.

Selecting fare.

At the Netflix site, you search for and pick the movies you want to watch by filling up your "instant queue." It works just like the DVD queue that's familiar to Netflix subscribers.

Movies that can be added to the instant queue display a clickable Add/Play button on the Netflix site. You can search for stream-ready movies by genre at a Watch Instantly section on the site. Alas, none of the newer movies I wanted to watch could be streamed.

There is a decent (if seemingly arbitrary) assortment of independent movies and classics and some newer TV shows (The Office, Heroes). You can place a movie at the top of your instant queue, but I'm not sure what the purpose is since you can watch any of the selections in your queue on the TV right away.

I streamed an eclectic mix of new and old movies and TV titles including: Crazy Love, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, Casablanca, Gentleman's Agreement, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and the first season of Leave It to Beaver (annoyingly without the first episode, which is available only on disc).

The viewing experience.

You can view your instant queue from the TV by pressing the "home" button on the Roku remote. You click on a thumbnail movie poster to read a brief plot summary, see a star-rating and get a few other details. But there are no movie trailers or any of the other "extras" that make many DVDs so much fun. Not all "widescreen" DVDs are available for streaming in that format.

Streamed movies aren't truly "instant," either, but close enough — it took about 20 seconds for the stream to start playing. You can pause a film and resume where you left off and scan forward or backward a frame at a time.

Though nowhere near high-definition (which is coming), the overall picture quality was satisfactory enough, at least watching on a 36-inch digital television. I experienced minor audio blips on 84 Charing Cross Road and one major snag trying to stream Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show. First, there was no sound at all. Later, the box froze as I attempted to retrieve the movie again. I called tech support. A Roku representative explained that the movie's audio wasn't encoded properly. He had me unplug the unit and eventually press a reset button to restore the box (if not this particular movie) to working order.

The Roku/Netflix offering isn't perfect. It screams for fresher content. Still, this simple and affordable little black box is a worthy newcomer, especially if you're already a fan of Netflix.

E-mail: ebaig@usatoday.com

Enlarge Netflix The Netflix Player Roku lets you instantly watch movies and TV shows streamed to your TV.

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