I finally broke down and bought one of the newer game consoles, the XBox 360. I wasn't comfortable with such a purchase if only for games, but the prospect of using it to watch streaming movies from Netflix sealed the deal. Right now I have to tell you all that it is really cool. How I will feel about it a year from now may largely depend upon how rapidly Netflix ads titles to instant viewing. But, let me tell you about the experience right now. It is awesome!
For those interested, here is how it works:
Aside from an XBox360, you need a Gold membership and the minimum unlimited plan from Netflix (combined this can be less than 15 bucks a month) and a good internet connection.
At Netflix, for selected titles, you put them in your instant cue and the covers will show upon the Xbox, cascading across the screen. It is easily scrollable and it looks really cool. You can change the order on Netflix (btw, you need access to a computer for the Netflix parts). It would be cooler though if you could have files and group items by categories. Hopefully that will be available some time, but it still doesn't take long to scroll through 70 titles (in my case). When you click on the cover art you can see more details about it. The audio/video is comparable to DVDs, it is incredibly convenient, and can be a space saver and money saver for some.