NetflixWatchInstantly
Latest
Poll: Wii Netflix discs now arriving, was it worth the wait?
It looks like today's the day that the first Wii Netflix discs are arriving in customer's hands, which only means one thing -- time for a poll. The Wii may be the last of the big three consoles to get its instant streaming fix, but it also has the largest installed base, and plenty of eager Netflix subscribers looking for an easy way to get instant streaming in their living room. Still haven't received your disc? Then you can get a taste of what's in store in the video after the break -- and if you have received it, be sure to let us know how it's working out in the poll below. [Thanks, Erik]%Poll-43449%
Netflix streaming in HD on the PC expected this year
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/software/Netflix_streaming_in_HD_on_the_PC_expected_this_year'; Netflix's Watch Instantly service is without a doubt one of the most popular streaming services out there, but while the game consoles get to enjoy much of the selection in HD, those who stream to a PC are left to standard definition. There've been many theories as to why this is the case and now Netflix's official Twitter feed lets us know the limits are content licenses and technical issues. The good news is that Netflix expects to enable HD streaming on the PC this year. HD combined with honest to goodness surround sound and closed captions, will make Netflix Watching Instantly even sweeter -- we might even call it down right watchable.
Best Buy Insignia Blu-ray features WiFi for $119
Now we've seen some inexpensive Blu-ray players before, but this one is really something. As if getting a half-way decent Blu-ray player for $119 wasn't enough, the Insignia NS-WBRDVD has a few items on its spec sheet that only a few other players do. The most notable is WiFi which is a pretty big deal for a Blu-ray player that supports BD Live and Netflix Watch Instantly. Now we're in no way endorsing this product because for all we know you're getting what you pay for, but the technology has officially gone mainstream when such a full featured player hits the market at such a low price.
Windows 7 to get a better version of Netflix than Vista
No the Windows 7 version of the Netflix Watch Instantly still isn't going to work on Extenders for Media Center, but it will include a more seamless experience than the Vista version does, like the movie info image above. Microsoft really wasn't ready to share any more details with us, but we suspect the search is improved. The fact that they were so tight lipped leads us to believe that Microsoft is still holding back on some Windows 7 details -- at least in regards to internet content and Windows 7. At this point it appears we might have to wait until the official release of Windows 7 to truly figure out if all that work to bring internet content to Windows 7 pays off. %Gallery-72477%
Sony's new BDP-N460 Blu-ray player adds access to internet content
What you're looking at here is the latest addition to the Sony Blu-ray family. The BDP-N460 seemingly fits right in between the BDP-S360 and the BDP-S560 with an MSRP of $249. What sets it apart from its little brother is the fact that it can use its included network jack for more than just BD-Live and it features a USB port on the front, in addition to the one on the back for optional BD-Live storage. There's no built in WiFi or MKV support like other brands though, but it is shipping with access to YouTube and to Bravia Internet Video, and in addition Sony promises Netflix Watch Instantly later this fall. No word on whether this means the end for the BDP-S360, but considering the price and improved features of the 460, that's where we'd put our money.
Microsoft's Ashley Highfield sees the end of TV as we know it
We don't even know where to start with this one, but apparent Microsoft UK's Ashley Highfield, managing director of consumer and online, seems to think that the TV industry has about "two to three years to adapt or face its iTunes moment." There is no doubt that the content industry is changing faster than ever, but this type of monumental shift in advertising revenue from traditional broadcast TV to digital distribution in only two years just seems crazy to us -- this is especially true when you think about how complex the video industry is with all its windows and regions. Sure the DVR and network streaming services like Netflix Watch Now and Hulu are making waves, but we figure we have at least another five years of crapy reality TV before Hollywood gives up its grip on the tried and true model. Who knows, maybe his comments only apply to the UK, we suppose anything could happen in a country that taxes TVs.[Via Electronista]
Join our Netflix Movie Party this Friday night
Yes that's right, we're nerds, real shocker right? So just admit it and join us for Engadget HD Movie night. We're going to take advantage of the new Netflix Movie Party feature on Xbox Live this Friday night at 9pm EST. So if you have an Xbox, a Gold membership and a Netflix subscription, you're out of excuses as we know you don't already have plans. Here's how it'll work; sign into our Ustream IRC channel when it's time and the first six people (8 person limit to Movie Parties) to post their gamer tags will get invited to the official Movie Party. Everyone else can join their own party and try to sync up the movie manually and we'll all chat it up in IRC. Now about the movie, here's a poll to decide what we'll be watching -- and yes they're all in HD. %Poll-33160%
Xbox 360 officially the only console to stream Netflix -- sorry, PS3 and Wii
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gadgets/Xbox_360_now_ONLY_CONSOLE_with_Netflix_PS3_Wii_are_SOL'; We actually had to brush the fog off of our spectacles to ensure that hazy conditions weren't clouding our comprehension abilities, but sure enough, that Netflix streaming that Xbox LIVE members have grown to love won't ever land on Sony's PlayStation 3 nor on Nintendo's Wii (PlayOn notwithstanding). At the very bottom of Microsoft's long list of details surrounding today's Xbox LIVE update, we're clearly told that the Netflix Watch Instantly integration is now an "exclusive partnership," with Microsoft going so far as to say that the "Xbox 360 will be the only game console to offer this movie-watching experience, available to Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Netflix unlimited plan subscribers." Of course, we'd heard rumors over the years that Netflix could sashay over to other consoles in due time, but it looks like the suits in Redmond had the foresight to lock things down while they still had a chance. So, are you reconsidering that Xbox 360 purchase, or just looking that much more intently in Roku's direction? Full blurb is after the break.[Thanks, David]
Subscription services like Netflix Watch Instantly generate 20x the revenue of pay-per-downloads
Now this is one stat from an analyst that we wouldn't refute, but we do wonder how Versaly Entertainment acquired this information. How exactly does one calculate streaming revenue from a subscription service like Netflix anyways? To be fair we are only assuming that Netflix is involved here as it wasn't specifically mentioned, but we really can't think of any other subscription based video streaming service. Our best guess is that the revenue in question is based on what the studios are receiving and not for the service itself. Regardless, it isn't hard to figure out why no one is paying $4-$5 for the 24 hour rights to watch a movie on any of the pay-per-download services out there. Especially when you can rent a movie from just about anywhere via Redbox for $1. Read -- Subscription downloads outperform pay-view. Read -- Redbox undermining DVD value
Subscription services like Netflix Watch Instantly generates 20x the revenue of pay-per-downloads
Now this is one stat from an analyst that we wouldn't refute, but we do wonder how Versaly Entertainment aquired this information. How exactly does one calculate streaming revenue from a subscription service like Netflix anyways? To be fair we are only assuming that Netflix is involved here as it wasn't specifically mentioned, but we really can't think of any other subscription based video streaming service. Our best guess is that the revenue in question is based on what the studios are receiving and not for the service itself. Regardless, it isn't hard to figure out why no one is paying $4-$5 for the 24 hour rights to watch a movie on any of the pay-per-download services out there. Especially when you can rent a movie from just about anywhere via Redbox for $1.Read -- Subscription downloads outperform pay-view.Read -- Redbox undermining DVD value
Netflix expected to release a Watch Instantly video streaming app
There are at least 27 Netflix related iPhone apps according to Macworld. Their purposes differ but most of them are designed to let you manage your movie queue.A new player is about to enter the arena: Netflix itself, who intends to bring "Watch Instantly" video streaming to the iPhone/iPod touch and the Nintendo Wii. At present Netflix streams over 12,000 movies and TV shows over a large variety of devices including Intel-based Macs.Todd Spangler of Mutichannel.com speculates, and I agree with him totally, that when released, streaming will be limited to Wi-Fi only. This is not because there's any technical reason not to stream over the AT&T 3G network, but like the SlingPlayer Mobile app, streaming will probably be hobbled to prevent massive data overloading of the AT&T network. This being the case, I wonder why Apple/AT&T allowed streaming of full baseball games using the MLB.com At Bat 2009 app over 3G as well as Wi-Fi? It also brings up the question of why AT&T has been concerned about the issue of video streaming while Verizon, Sprint, Nextel and T-Mobile don't seem to have any problem with it. Perhaps AT&T is having seller remorse over their $30 all-you-can-eat data plan for the iPhone.Putting corporate technological politics aside, I really look forward to the Netflix app. Even if limited to Wi-Fi streaming it will be a welcome addition to the stable of useful iPhone/iPod touch applications.Note: Netflix only does business in the United States, so whether you are looking for a red envelope or streaming media, if you don't have a US zip code...never mind.[via Ars Technica]
Netflix Watch Instantly coming to Windows 7 Media Center
In what is sure to be just the start of many announcements surrounding Windows 7 in the next few months leading up to the general release, Microsoft demoed Netflix on Windows7 Media Center at the Microsoft Financial Analyst Meeting. No hard release date yet or big surprises here as Vista owners got this access some time ago and Extenders still don't support Silverlight. The good news though is that the app will be full touch screen capable, so for those with the right hardware you'll have the same great improvements you have in the rest Windows 7. Media Center fans might also be happy to hear that more features were promissed in regards to "TV on the PC." (Fast forward to 1 hour and 2 minutes in the video via the read link to see the demo)[Via AppScout]
Netflix lays out official response to bandwidth capping allegations
After a small but vocal amount of Netflix users got the world thinking that it was pulling a Comcast and putting caps on computer-based Watch Instantly users, the outfit's Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt has come forward to clear the air. He makes clear that Netflix's aspiration is to "deliver to everyone the best bitrate that their broadband connection can support," also noting that congestion "could affect some users, but not others, at some times, but not always." He also notes that different titles and encodes for different playback device types "may come from different CDNs or different servers at a particular CDN, so they may have different paths and different bottlenecks." We'd encourage you to hit the read link for the full explanation, but we're already seeing enraged Roku users bark back by his dodging of the so-called out-of-sync audio issue that's evidently still present. We'll go ahead and warn you, Netflix -- you can't please 'em all.
Is Netflix putting caps on computer-based Watch Instantly users?
Depending on your choice of computing platform, possession of dedicated streaming hardware, and love of otherwise forgettable '80s films, Netflix's Watch Instantly service is either a godsend or a gimmick. Regardless, nobody likes arbitrary bandwidth caps, and that's what Riyad Kalla at The "Break it Down" Blog claims to have spotted, finding that Watch streams on his Xbox take multiple minutes to buffer, but that those on his PC (using the same connection) can take hours -- if they work at all. Doing a little snooping he found he was being capped to about 50 KB/sec per download thread on his PC, but if he spawned ten such threads he was able to get over 700 KB/sec. Something, it seems, is issuing a per-thread cap, but is it really Netflix? Or, rather, is it his Qwest DSL line doing a ham-fisted job of managing bandwidth? We've seen similar issues intermittently, but nothing consistent, so we're not quite ready to call this an internet-wide conspiracy just yet, but would love to hear about your streaming experiences lately. Update: Based on the volume of "It's working just fine for me" comments both here and elsewhere it seems safe to say that if there is a conspiracy at work here, it's not Netflix's. [Via Slashdot]
Engadget's Netflix HD streaming shootout
Netflix seems to be doing things right when it comes to the streaming game, partnering with several hardware companies in an attempt to make its service more or less ubiquitous -- a pretty sharp break from the proprietary hardware approach taken by most of its competitors. That means Netflix subscribers have quite a few choices when it comes to streaming, and we thought we'd put the ones available now head-to-head and try to crown a winner. The good news? There isn't a mediocre choice out there. The bad? Well, read on.Update: We shot another video to answer some lingering questions about the Roku player, check it below.
Xbox 360's lack of Sony Pictures films streaming on Netflix "unrelated" to competition
You probably recall that two days ago, when the new Xbox Experience launched, sadly, about 300 Sony Pictures films were unavailable for Netflix Watch Instantly on NXE, thus quashing your hopes of streaming The Karate Kid series. At the time, it seemed possible that missing titles were due to the fact that Xbox 360 manufacturer Microsoft and Sony are direct competitors. Well, according to a Sony spokesperson, the problem isn't specific to the Xbox, nor is their beef competition-related in any way. Sony also says it is in talks with the several "relevant parties" to work out these vague licensing issues, though there was no word on when the issue would be resolved. We really do hope it's soon because we're dying to see how everything turns out with the Cobra Kai.[Via Joystiq]
