BUY THIS: Roku price drop for watching Netflix, Amazon, more

[UPDATE 9/5/10 - Roku SD now seems to be out of stock. But the HD versions are great options at not much more money. You know you'll go HD eventually.]

If you read my July review of the Roku streaming video box that delivers Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand and dozens of other viewing choices, you may want to jump on a new price cut for the amazingly handy little box.

The Amazon deal of the day price I was touting back then has just been made the regular price for Roku's top-of-the-line HD-XR model. At $100 now, that's a $30 savings.

Roku's other two models have dropped in price, too. The plain HD player, which streams at wireless-G speed rather than the speedier wireless-N dual band, goes for $70 (was $100). The SD box for standard-def hookups is now $60 (was $80).

Click here for info/purchase on all three Roku models.

This is an especially great solution for that bedroom, office or kitchen, where you can't use or don't want a big component box. (The Roku box is smaller than the wireless router you will need to use it.)

Be aware that the streaming features once dominated by Roku are now available in the latest HDTVs, Blu-ray players and gaming systems, too. So if you're in the market to update one of those in the near future, you might not need Roku.

But this device is one of the easiest to hook up and use, and Roku is rapidly adding program providers to broaden its video (and audio) streaming selections.

We mostly use ours for Netflix, though -- unlimited streaming for a minimum $9 monthly subscription -- and we suspect that's what others do, too.