Streaming Movies now on Netflix

18th February, 2007

So I was surprised earlier today when I logged into Netflix to discover the availability of streaming video content over the internet! While this doesn’t include very much content yet, it holds promise for the future. For subscribers to the usual dvd-in-the-mail plans, you get 1 hour of video stream for every $1 in your monthly contract. I have the 2 dvd at a time $15 plan, so I get 15 hours of streaming video a month. The quality is pretty damn good, too. It looks similar to dvd video played on my computer (albeit, it is a 4 year old thinkpad).

Netflix “watch now” currently requires windows (xp sp 2 or vista), ie6+, windows media player 9+. My standard comcast internet connection was sufficient for the stream.

I’m guessing they’ve got a pretty nice content delivery network (cdn) behind this thing …

Unfortunately, Netflix itself doesn’t carry much publicly available information (meaning to non-subscribers), but it appears that this faq is available:
http://www.netflix.com/FAQ?p_search_text=Instant_Viewing&lnkctr=FAQ

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2 Responses to “Streaming Movies now on Netflix”

  1. Shanthony says:
    February 18, 2007 at 9:58 am

    Streaming videos are great….IF YOU HAVE A PC!!! Us poor Apple users are left behind. I hope in the future they will include Apple in their software development (and dont you dare say apple doesnt matter!!!)

  2. tolar says:
    February 18, 2007 at 12:59 pm

    Here are my initial thoughts on pc vs mac compatibility for Netflix…

    First, if you really want, you can use Parallels or Boot Camp to run windows.

    However, to start thinking about why Netflix ‘watch now’ isn’t compatible on macs… this is fully immersed in Microsoft & their drm. It requires windows as well as IE and their media player. Each time I watch a movie, it has to acquire a license. Microsoft no longer supports or develops IE or WMP on the mac. As to why not get a similar license on an Apple product [quicktime perhaps]? I’d ask, why would Apple do that when they’re busy pimping out $15+ videos on itunes? This will directly cut into their business. Why not use another os-agnostic player like Real? Maybe the MS deal was better, either in quality or cost.

    Either way, I think Netflix would be mistaken to not find a way to let its Mac users use this great new technology. But they do know exactly how many of its users use Mac vs Windows .. and I’m sure that was taken into account when developing this technology.

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