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Netflix officially separates DVD, streaming pricing; $15.98 and up for both
Netflix hasn't hinted at any upcoming plans to change the services it offers, but NewTeeVee spotted an unadvertised DVD-only plan on its site, and an anonymous tipster indicates that's just the start. The DVD.Netflix.com page offers unlimited DVDs by mail, per month (one at a time) for $7.99, which slots it between the standard DVD & streaming combo plans and a $4.99 offering that gives just two DVDs per month. According to our source Netflix is planning to change its pricing entirely by implementing a streaming only plan with no discs for $7.99 and changing the minimum pricetag for combined services to $15.98 -- up from the current $9.99 it has charged since November. They indicated the change would take place tomorrow night around 9 p.m., with customers notified by email and no plans to grandfather any of the old pricing setups along. With aggressive expansion plans and its costs to acquire content rising sharply, hiking the price by 50 percent on many of its 20 million+ subscribers could be the easiest way to make the numbers add up. Now, subscribers are left to determine exactly what Watch Instantly streaming (or DVD access) is worth to them. Update: Just that fast, Netflix has officially announced these changes to its pricing plans. Just like our information indicated, DVD only or streaming only unlimited plans are available for $7.99 each per month, or $15.98 together. Existing members can float on their current plans until September 1st but new members will see these rates effective immediately. According to a post on the official blog, the change replaces the DVD plan's existence as a $2 surcharge over streaming and from now on it will no longer unlimited discs and streaming as a single package. Two discs at a time will cost $11.99 by themselves now, but there's no mention of higher plans just yet. Fans of the plastic platter should be at least a bit encouraged however, as there's a new team devoted solely to that service -- here's hoping they can get the stagnant Blu-ray catalog refreshed. [Thanks, Anonymous]
Star Trek TV series, X-Men cartoon are among Netflix Watch Instantly additions today
As promised, Netflix added several of the Star Trek TV series to Watch Instantly this morning. While Deep Space 9 is due to arrive in October, TOS (only seasons 2 and 3 at the time of this posting), The Next Generation, Voyager and Enterprise are all present and accounted for. If you're looking for HD streaming, only the remastered original series and Enterprise will fit the bill, but judging by the sorry state of our TNG Betamax dubs we'll take what we can get. Also new today is Marvel's X-Men cartoon (in SD), although it appears many of the amazing season finale episodes (especially those dealing with the Phoenix saga) are still trapped on discs.
Netflix Watch Instantly works in a new region: Puerto Rico
Ever since Netflix launched its Watch Instantly movie streaming service residents of and visitors to Puerto Rico have been left out of the fun, but today that changed. This evening Puerto Rican disc-only subscribers began receiving this email indicating their accounts are now streaming enabled, ending their infuriating wait watching the service expand internationally to Canada and heard rumors it would reach the UK or other countries soon. Netflix confirmed the expansion to us in an email while a post by the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association -- which began agitating for the policy change about a month ago -- indicates they were successfully able to stream movies by PC and phone, although Twitter reports NBC content isn't working. Does this mean Fat Joe will drop a Roku reference on his next album, or that JJ Barea's NBA Championship celebration is finally getting under way in style? We can only hope so. Update: Per Netflix PR, this should also apply to other US Territories as well -- here's looking at you, Guam. [Image Credit: Rafy Mediavilla, thanks Ibrahim!]
Netflix takes on the networks again, snags streaming rights for Open Road Films, Well Go
Netflix is adding a few more options to its Watch Instantly catalog with new deals recently announced. An agreement with Well Go USA includes new and catalog Asian action flicks like Ip Man 1 & 2, and The Man from Nowhere, while a separate deal with nascent studio Open Road Films locks up its movies for streaming in the "pay TV window." After movies like Killer Elite and The Host finish their theatrical and DVD run, the only place to find them will be on Netflix streaming instead of on TV, similar to its deal with Relativity Media. If you hadn't seen Ip Man yet and like kung fu flicks at all, we'd suggest adding that to your queue immediately, while the impact of the deal with the movie theater (AMC & Regal) owned Open Road will be easier to impact once it actually has a few film releases under its belt.
Netflix's day: Sony movies pulled, new bandwidth options, no more DVD API access and a lawsuit
In an apparent ode to Rebecca Black, Ice Cube and any number of body switch movies, Netflix has had an incredibly active Friday, so sit back while we get you up to speed. Sony Pictures movies from Starz Play are no longer available (on any device, not just the Xbox 360 this time) due to a "temporary contract issue" according to the official blog. According to NewTeeVee, the problem is an "IP distribution cap" that was reached due to Netflix's explosive growth, but with no word on when the movies will be back, you'll be missing The Other Guys. Up next was the National Association of the Deaf, which has filed a lawsuit in Springfield, MA against Netflix, claiming that its failure to provide closed captions on all streaming content puts it in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Netflix last claimed 30 percent of titles were subbed with plans to reach 80 percent by the end of the year, but the press release (and captioned YouTube video) make the case that as a leader in streaming video, it should do better. Netflix also quietly gave US subscribers access to the same bandwidth management options provided to Canadians a few months ago. The new Manage Video Quality settings (shown above) can be found in the Your Account section, and if you're trying to stay under bandwidth caps or just keep seeing buffering, they should help you out at the cost of a few pixels. As if that wasn't enough, the Netflix Tech Blog squeezed in news that it was ending access to "DVD-related features" for apps using its Open API later this year. The move is apparently preparation for expanded international streaming, so if you're trying to manage discs through a third party things may change soon.
Netflix.com's new look is focused on streaming, cribs UI elements from connected TV apps
Do not be alarmed, your Netflix.com experience has been updated today "with a new look and feel to make it easier for you to find something to watch instantly." While the header introduced late last year remains and sticks on screen as you scroll vertically, box art of queued movies fills the screen horizontally. The redesign takes significant cues from the HTML5 UIs recently rolled out to most streaming devices, but it's not clear if this related to some of the queue shuffling we've been seeing recently. Responses on the Netflix blog have been mostly negative, although just like Facebook and Twitter revamps some complaints about any change are normal. That said, we're not fans either because it still requires an additional click to find out if a movie is in HD or has subtitles, a misdirected click starts playing the wrong movie too easily and selecting "your queue" still takes us to our discs first instead of Watch Instantly. If the new front page isn't working there's always alternatives in Netflix queue managers like InstantWatcher.com and FeedFliks, or any number of mobile apps. Let us know if you'll be riding with the redesign or hitting the back button in the comments here.
Netflix pushes max number of registered Watch Instantly devices to 50
We're not sure when this happened, but those keeping a close eye on the number of device activations tied to their Netflix Watch Instantly account will notice the max number of devices has recently gone up to 50. While that will be pleasing to hear for those that switch between computers / consoles and set-top boxes frequently, a quick look at our account listed 16 activations, half of which appeared to actually be just one PC and browser. Either way, with the streaming service ubiquitous on so many devices being able to activate and forget it without having to bump something else from the list will be helpful going forward -- as long as you don't share it too widely. [Thanks, Edwin]
Hulu, Miramax deal means Netflix, Hulu Plus both add Pulp Fiction and more starting today
According to a blog post and press release (after the break) Hulu is bringing Miramax films to its free and paid Hulu Plus services. This is also the same day the Miramax deal kicks in for Netflix, so both just added notable movies including Clerks, Swingers, Basquiat, The Crow and Reservoir Dogs. Miramax movies on Hulu Plus are presented ad-free and in HD, just like on Netflix Watch Instantly, and both appear to have the same selection available, although one negative side effect of parity is that neither has optional closed captions on streaming for any of them. The only difference so far? Soon, Hulu will offer a rotation of 15 Miramax movies per month through Hulu.com for ad-supported viewing. While we're sure some will wait for Miramax to work through its Blu-ray release backlog (CEO Mike Lang is on it, although we still don't have a date for Pulp Fiction) it's good to suddenly see a catalog that had been locked away due to the studio's pending sale suddenly become available through so many outlets.
Our Netflix queue is suddenly out of order, is yours?
It was pointed out to Hacking Netflix and we're noticing it too, in the last few days a large portion of our Netflix streaming queue has relocated from somewhere in the middle to the end, and new additions suddenly appear in the middle instead of the end like they did before. Something else we've recently noticed in those new HTML5 interfaces Netflix is rolling out to most devices is a "new episodes" tag (as seen above) that helps viewers know when to check out their favorite shows for some new viewing selections. This is far from the first time we've noticed someone playing musical chairs in our queues but there doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason. Let us know if you're seeing any weird behavior / new features lately and maybe we can figure out what's going on.
Netflix adds more Viacom videos for streaming including stuff for kids and bigger kids
There was a notable update to the Netflix Watch Instantly streaming catalog today, and it consisted almost entirely of content from the various Viacom networks (MTV, BET, VH1, Spike, Logo, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon). According to a post on the official blog, you can now view new shows like Yo Gabba Gabba, The Buried Life and The City as well as additional episodes of shows like iCarly, True Jackson VP and Dora the Explorer. Unfortunately quite a bit of the content maxes out in SD resolution simply because it was made that way, but it was interesting to note that the second season of Jersey Shore made is among the growing segment of shows with optional English subtitles.
Ask Engadget HD: Best Netflix streamer?
A Netflix Watch Instantly app is pretty much a standard feature on home theater devices these days, but with so many options, how do you choose which one to use? That's what our friend Don wants to know, but we'll let him describe the situation first: I've got plenty of options on what to use for Netflix streaming, but how am I supposed to know which one is the best? I've been using my PlayStation 3 for a while and dig the surround sound, but it stopped working when the PlayStation Network went down and since then I've been switching between the Xbox 360 and my Samsung TV's embedded Netflix app. I've got a Roku player in another room but i don't use that very often. Every now and then there's some softness in a picture or one of them won't pull an HD stream if it's available and I wonder if I should switch for good, but so far it's easier to just go with whichever one is the easiest. Do you have a preferred option? There you have it, with many of us doing at least some streaming now we're wondering which way have you found works best to bring Netflix's movies to your TV screen? Obviously only a few options support extra features like 1080p streams, surround sound or closed captions, and even with standardization on the new HTML5 UI, there's several devices out there going their own way. We've done our own comparisons, but the rapid iteration of hardware and software has left it a little out of date. He's probably not the only one with more than one Netflix-capable box in the living room either, so let us know why you chose the one you use most in the comments below. Got a burning question that you'd love to toss out for Engadget HD (or its readers) to take a look at? Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences? Hit us up at ask at engadgethd dawt com and keep an eye on this space -- your inquiry could be next.
Netflix adds Marvel animated series to Watch Instantly streaming library (Update)
The latest addition to Netflix's library of streaming content are a slew of animated titles from Marvel. While quite a bit of the series added are older cartoons that aren't available in HD, there's a few that are including Iron Man: Armored Adventures. Other selections that showed up this morning are The Incredible Hulk, Silver Surfer, Spider-Man Unlimited and more. There's a bit more information available at the Netflix blog, check that out and see what might be worth adding to your queue. Update: Marvel.com has more details on what was added immediately, as well as other series (X-Men from '92-97) that will be arriving later this year.
Watch Netflix on your PS3 while PlayStation Network is down
As the PlayStation Network outage continues on with no word on a resolution, we can't get your PS3 online for Call of Duty: Black Ops but if all you want is a quick Netflix fix and haven't already figured it out, here's some help. A post on HackingNetflix points out that merely skipping through the login error screens (hitting the button to try to login and waiting worked best for us) is allowing many to access their queues and stream movies. We were able to get through to our Netflix queue a few days ago using this message, but we were stopped cold when we tried to actually stream a movie by an unskippable failure to connect to PSN screen that is probably due to our console's status as a rarely used streaming option. Unfortunately this method won't help with Hulu Plus and when it comes to Qriocity...was anyone ever using Qriocity?
Netflix Q1 report shows 23.6 million subscribers, embraces rerun TV moniker
Netflix has issued its Q1 letter to investors, revealing a subscriber count that has grown by 3.3 million to 23.6 million subscribers. Among the financial details were a few tidbits about its position and plans for the future, including acknowledging Comcast -- which now has fewer customers than Netflix -- CEO Brian Roberts' calling Netflix "rerun TV" as "fundamentally correct" and reiterating its belief that Netflix strengthens traditional video channels. There's also terms like "cord mending" thrown about, though it does also acknowledge TV Everywhere and video on-demand as potential competitors. In terms of new competition like Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime Instant Video the plan is simple: grow faster and buy more content than them while also developing "two or three" similar deals to the already announced original series House of Cards. We'll wait for the investor call at 6 p.m. to hear more details, click through to read the PDF for yourself.
Poll: What's the most important feature for a Netflix competitor?
The rumor mill indicates we can expect serious competition for Netflix's Watch Instantly service sometime soon, so we're wondering what features anyone else diving into the game may want to focus on in order to get your attention. Given the service's wide reach we figure you're probably a subscriber or at least gave it a shot whether by word of mouth or through one of those annoying pop under ads (why do they still run those?) and have seen some room for improvement. We've put a few of our ideas as options in the poll below, let us know what you'd like to see most in the comments below. %Poll-63017%
L.A. Times sees possible competition for Netflix coming from Walmart, Best Buy, Vutopia and more
Until Amazon launched its Prime Instant Video service earlier this year Netflix was almost completely alone on the subscription video streaming mountaintop, but an article this weekend in the Los Angeles Times suggests there could be competition on the way. There's plenty of rumoring from analysts and the typical "people familiar with the matter, but their sources have been on the money in the past and indicate retailers like Walmart and Best Buy are seriously considering angling their Vudu and CinemaNow efforts in the subscription direction instead of VOD like they've done so far. Meanwhile Hulu Plus is reportedly considering expanding its movie selection, and Amazon is likely to puff up its offerings while iN Demand, the PPV baby of the cable companies, is considering expanding its 200~ title Vutopia service. Still, according to the article no one's signed any of the big checks necessary to take on the 20-million subscribers strong behemoth yet, but don't be surprised if serious competition arrives shortly.
Netflix is in your queues, rearranging your TV shows
If you've noticed TV shows being bumped around in your Netflix queue, that's likely due to its continued reordering and combining of several seasons under one title. While this does streamline the queueing process and makes them easier to sort through on the website, there are drawbacks like trying to pick through 100+ episodes of The Office on your streaming device of choice, and the inability to rate seasons individually (it's not our fault things fell off after Jim & Pam got married.) Hopefully there's UI updates on the way to take care of the first issue, we'll have to wait and see who replaces Michael before coming to a resolution on the second.
Sony rolling out Netflix, Yahoo updates; celebrates internet on TV with a new ad
If you access Netflix on your Sony TV (or Blu-ray player or Streaming Player) you'll probably notice it's been updated with the new HTML5 based UI that allows for search of the entire catalog, among other things. A press release issued recently also mentions Sony will be delivering the Yahoo Connected TV store when it launches "later this spring" selling paid apps through its widget powered TVs. Just to make sure people get the message, Sony's official blog just posted this new ad, embedded above, focusing on its TV products from 1960 on and how it can bring music, movies and apps over the internet in HD (and 3D) to the living room.Give it a peek and let us know if you agree with the vision, the press release about all the new features is after the break.
Netflix for Xbox 360 updated with Kinect support, everybody wave!
The next time you hit the Netflix app on your Xbox 360 the update we heard about at CES will be waiting, bringing Kinect owners the ability to flick through their videos (like ESPN3 and Zune have since the peripheral launched) without digging a controller out of the couch cushions. After the 43Mb update downloads waving ones hand for the camera or saying Xbox will pull up the new menu seen above, which auto sorts selections for browsing by voice or gesture based on what it thinks you may want to watch next. Selecting "browse all" brings you right back to the standard menu and is probably the method most will want to stick with, however being able to pause the movie quickly during playback by simply saying Xbox, Pause (or FF, rewind, skip scene, etc.) is quite convenient. Not near your Xbox? Check out a brief video of it in action after the break. [Thanks, George]
Garmin intros the Forerunner 610, its first touchscreen GPS watch for runners (video)
Over the years, Garmin's beefed up its line of Forerunner GPS watches, offering something for everybody with graphs and even a dash o' pink. But the new, slimmed-down Forerunner 610 is the first to feature a touchscreen that you can tap to flip menus instead of feeling around for a host of bantam buttons. For your $350, it'll display distance, time elapsed, and pace all on one screen, though you can add other metrics, such as heart rate. The 610 is also the first in the line with a run / walk alert, which keeps Auto Lap and other features active even when it detects you're walking. As always, you can upload your runs to the web in excruciating detail, but this watch jumps on the social bandwagon with "Virtual Racer," a Nike Running-esque community where you can compare your stats with strangers' (or just try to best your own PRs, if you don't play like that). After logging some epic runs with the touchscreen Nano, we'd be curious to see how responsive the display is after your fingers become sweaty, though Garmin promises it'll work well through sweat, rain, and touchscreen-friendly gloves. It's available now on Garmin's site, though we suggest you hardcore runners check out DC Rainmaker's review below: it's everything you wanted to know about the 610 but were afraid to ask, including comparison shots with other Forerunners and a glove test.
