Netfix plans to start streaming some of its VOD content in 1080p later this year, doesn’t plan to support 1080p streaming in 2010, according to a CNET report, which was updated after the company reportedly said its own road map had incorrectly identified 1080p streaming as a goal for this year. Timing, catalog size and other details of the plan aren’t public yet, and a company spokesperson told us that he couldn’t comment on any specifics. Two weeks ago, though, the company told us that it is currently streaming about 1000 titles in 720p. That’s a small percentage of the total amount of content available for streaming.

The eventual migration to 1080p isn’t too surprising. YouTube launched support for 1080p streaming at our NewTeeVee Live conference last fall, and Microsoft rolled out 1080p streaming for its Xbox Live service late last year as well. In fact, the Xbox could be one of the first devices to bring Netflix in 1080p to the TV set in the living room. Microsoft’s game console has been supporting Netflix streaming for more than a year now.

However, the move puts pressure on Roku, whose set-top boxes used to be one of the only ways to access Netflix streaming without the help of a PC. None of the Roku boxes currently available for sale support 1080p. Adding the capability to play back full-scale HD content could significantly raise the price point of the company’s devices, which currently sell for $80 to $130, depending on the configuration of the device. Chip sets capable of playing back 1080p could push the price of a Roku box closer to $200, but Roku recently announced that it plans to actually lower the price of its hardware to make it more attractive to consumers. We have reached out for Roku to comment, but haven’t heard back yet.

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In arguing that Apple’s iPad could change the way people consume video, the biggest hurdle to my thesis was that the iPad doesn’t support Adobe’s Flash, which has become the de facto vehicle for delivering video from a number of popular web sites. How could the device revolutionize online video viewing when it doesn’t support the main way that people currently view video online video?

While you probably won’t be able to stream video from Hulu or Netflix on the device at launch, I’d argue that the lack of available web video on the iPad (i.e. video delivered in Adobe Flash or Microsoft Silverlight) is only a short-term problem. That’s because I believe that over the long term, such content — and more — will be made available through iPad apps.

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HD-XR with remote front

Roku is seeking to raise an additional $30 million to ramp up those plans, in a financing round that it expects to close in the first quarter. Existing investor Menlo Ventures is already on board for that round, having bought out Netflix’s stake in the set-top maker last year. To date, Roku has raised $24 million from Wood, Netflix and Menlo.

Roku sold more than 500,000 of its broadband set-top boxes to date, and expects that number to top 1 million by the end of 2010, which will help drive revenues over the year. It now sells three models of its Roku player, priced from $79 to $129 depending on the configuration of the device.

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Netflix subscribers, after months of rumors, will soon be able to view its “Watch Instantly” streaming service on the Wii gaming console, the NY Times is reporting. But while the deal will open up the service to a whole new group of potential subscribers, there are limitations that could hamper adoption among Wii owners.

For one thing, those hoping for the same high-quality video that they get on the Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3 or any other connected device should curb their enthusiasm, since the Wii will only support standard-definition streaming. As we reported earlier this week, the Wii simply doesn’t have the horsepower to stream HD video. The BBC, which introduced its iPlayer on the gaming console late last year, is only able to stream video on the Wii at around 700 kbps, compared to the 1.5 Mbps or 3.2 Mbps that can be found on a typical broadband PC connections.

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It seems Netflix has already reached a tipping point in the consumer electronics market, as it signed up five more CE manufacturers to enable its streaming services on their devices. Panasonic, Sanyo, Sharp, Toshiba and Funai (the CE maker behind the Philips, Magnavox, Sylvania and Emerson brands in the US) have all agreed to add the Netflix “Watch Instantly” streaming service to some of their Internet-connected HDTVs and Blu-ray players.

Netflix streaming has become nearly ubiquitous on consumer electronics devices in the past few years; the service was already available on a number of devices, including the Roku Player; Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 gaming consoles; Blu-ray players from Insignia, LG, Samsung and Sony; Internet-connected TVs from Insignia, LG, Samsung, Sony and VIZIO, and TiVo DVRs. Altogether, Netflix expects to have its streaming service on more than 100 different CE devices this year.

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