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Netflix on PS3 ready to download on some consoles, service starts Oct. 18th
You can't really use it for anything for two more days, as Netflix will tell you "this product is not currently available in your location," but if you turn on your PlayStation 3, you might notice the disc-less, 1080p and 5.1 surround sound version of the instant movie streaming service is already available to download. The above install screen popped up on our console without even requiring a trip to the PlayStation Store, which suggests that 1.) Sony has decided that this is a big deal and 2.) should an evil force ever wrest control from the Japanese manufacturer, they'd have some pretty rad propaganda pushing power. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Netflix on PS3 goes disc-free, gets 1080p streaming and 5.1 surround sound (update)
Rejoice, PS3 owners, your Netflix streaming experience just got vastly better than anything else on the market. Starting October 18 Netflix on the PS3 will no longer require a disc, and it'll stream some content with 1080i 1080p resolution and / or 5.1-channel surround audio, while everyone else will be stuck with a max of 720p stereo for the time being. Oh, and you'll get subtitles on some content as well. Netflix is partnering with Dolby on the audio side, and the surround format will be Dolby Digital Plus, which is the same codec used by the VUDU HDX streaming service -- we're guessing it'll require a tiny bit more bandwidth but the results should sound pretty great. Netflix says 5.1 will come to other platforms "over time," so we'll see how long that takes -- and given that the PS3 is now disc-free and the company's eschewed the SRS surround features baked into its Silverlight-based platform, we're guessing Microsoft's exclusivity period has now completely run its course. Video and PR after the break. Update: Though the official PlayStation Blog originally reported the service would display streaming video at 1080i resolution, they've since struck that out -- they say it'll do 1080p now. Much better.
FeedFliks adds HD only filtering to its Watch Instantly search, bringing joy to lazy videophiles everywhere
For those who haven't heard of it, FeedFliks is a web-based tool that accesses Netflix's API to help obsessive subscribers get their "money's worth" from the movie service. Using the tool, visitors can view info related to their rental habits through easy to read charts and share their reviews with anyone on the web -- even if they aren't a Netflix subscriber -- for free. For an additional $8.99 per year, the site adds the ability for users to sync and manage multiple Netflix queues as well as set reminders to put those pesky envelopes back in the mail. Now the company has upgraded their search filtering system -- which is still technically in beta -- so videophiles can select that only HD Watch Instantly titles appear in their search results or easily view HD titles mixed in with other results via small blue HD icons. Best of all, using this refreshed search functionality doesn't cost a dime, so feel free to host all of the late night HD Netflix library search parties you want so long as we get invited. After all, with all the time we'll save looking for high-quality movies, what else are we going to do?
