I wish I had more thumbs, so I could give this thing as many thumbs-up as it deserves. I’m gushing, I know, but it’s only because I think I may have found a pretty good alternative to my current subscription to basic cable.

My Roku Netflix Digital Player arrived yesterday, after I had been hemming and hawing over whether or not I should spend the $100 to get it. Currently, I’m trying to exercise as much restraint as possible when it comes to my spending, playing the hypothetical scenario of calling into Suze Orman‘s “Can I Afford It?” segment on her MSNBC show.

I suppressed her imaginary cries of “DENIED!” in my brain and ordered a refurbished Roku player through Amazon.com. The total came in at $104, which included shipping and whatnot. Not bad, considering that’s about the price of two months worth of cable bills and my plan was that the one could replace the other.

Immediately after removing the player from the box, I connected it to my television and accessed my wireless network. After logging into my Netflix account to enter an access code, I was ready to open shop!

Netflix.com informed me that my wireless connection speed was “very good” and I excitedly flipped through my instant cue to test out the player. You can flip through your entire Watch Instantly cue and although I haven’t really tested out yet how easy it is to find a particular selection quickly, I did notice that you can easily jump within episodes and from one show to the next, once you’re within a certain show.

The picture and sound quality on my television is the same as if I had a DVD playing. You would never know it’s streaming video. Granted, I’m not a purist when it comes to watching TV and movies—my television is one I bought from a friend after he upgraded to a plasma screen—but for someone like me, looking for an inexpensive way to survive without the $60 or so bucks of cable that I pay every month, it’s pretty damn good.

I have to try out the option of downloading movies and/or TV shows on Amazon.com, but for now, I’m pretty damn happy with the selection provided by Netflix.