Speaking with Forbes about the set-top box Netflix by Roku that allows the Internet content to be streamed on the TV, Tim Twerdahl, Roku's vice president of consumer products, said that in the near future a software update will allow the box to stream content from other "big name" providers.

Twerdahl refused to give other details or the names of the content partners, but he said that the update will be launched later this year.

The 5-inch-by-5-inch device, unveiled by Netflix and Roku in may this year, has no hard drive, and simply streams more than 10,000 movies and TV shows from the Netflix library, through an ethernet or Wi-Fi connection.

Users can fast-forward and rewind the video streams with a remote control. The box was sold through Roku's site and Tim Twerdahl said for Forbes that the initial shipment was sold out in three weeks.

There already are similar Internet-to-TV devices made by Apple Inc. and Vudu Inc. which cost $229 to $295, but Netflix is hoping that both new and current users will be attracted to its new set-top box for its relatively low cost and "simplicity."

Netflix by Roku is priced at $99 and it grants access to only 10,000 titles of the Netflix’s 100,000 movies.

Along with the Roku device, two other Netflix players with added features like DVD or Blu-ray playback are expected to launch in the second half of 2008, from manufacturers including Korea's LG Electronics with whom Netflix partnered in January.