TV boxes let Netflix users bypass mail delivery

"You can't really drive consumers to do anything before they're ready," Friedland said. "You can only give them options. And Netflix seems to be trying to deliver as much as it can (with the streaming service), given the current limitations of the studios and technology."

Netflix offers more than 100,000 movies and TV shows on DVD, about 10 times the streaming service's selection.

Although the streaming device bears the Netflix brand, it's the brainchild of Roku's founder and CEO, Anthony Wood.

After temporarily leaving his startup to work on the streaming device as a Netflix employee, Wood returned to Roku earlier this year. At that point, Netflix paid $6 million for an undisclosed stake in Saratoga-based Roku. Several other former Netflix employees also work at Roku.

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