Netflix Movie Downloads
on 01.16.07, 06:34am in media • comments (4)
[CNN] Internet connectivity with a minimum of one megabit per second of bandwidth is required. Faster connections are needed for better quality playback of the programming, with DVD quality possible with a three-megabit-per-second connection, according to the company. The service will base the number of online viewing hours on a customer’s plan. A client with the entry-level $5.99 a month plan will be able to watch movies online for six hours a month, while those with the full $17.99 a month plan that allows them to rent three DVDs at a time will be able to watch 18 hours a month online.
This is pretty cool - I already have a Netflix “full” plan at $17.99, so looks like I’ll be able to watch 18 hours of video online a month. It uses a “one-time installation of a browser applet that will take less than a minute” to deliver “real-time playback that allows a video to be viewed at virtually the same time it is being delivered to a user’s computer.”
Wait a second.
Let me repeat that: I can watch eighteen hours of video in my web browser. I can watch eighteen hours of video in my web browser, using some new plugin/codec/applet thing.
While I do have a 30″ monitor at work, 100% of my time at home on a computer is spent on my laptop. When I watch movies, I use my media room that has a nice screen and an XBox 360 connected to it (which, by the way, can stream movies from my PC in the closet, directly from the internet or play a Netflix rented DVD). Or I can (soon) buy an Apple TV to stream thousands of TV shows and movies to it if I want.
For me, when you watch a movie, it’s supposed to be an absorbing experience - something that consumes you for 2 hours - it’s certainly not the same as watching a YouTube clip. If I’m on the go, my video iPod already fills that need, but most of the time I really want to watch a movie in their full size (well, letterboxed) glory at the best resolution with killer surround sound. The one place I don’t want to watch a movie is in a browser application.
Finally, there’s no mention in the Netflix press release on what platforms its movie streaming will support.
So, why is this interesting? I’m not really sure, to be honest.
LonerVamp (January 16, 2007 @ 12:40 pm)
Maybe the applet spawns a new window with nearly zero borders? Perhaps it fills the whole browser, at which point you can hit F11 and get rid of most of it?
Yeah, I’m grasping at straws there, and it still won’t replace viewing a movie in a real media center. There must be other plans to integrate at some point.
Grover Saunders (January 16, 2007 @ 3:15 pm)
Actually the press release says pretty clearly that they intend to move the functionality to “every Internet-connected screen, from cell phones to PCs to plasma screens. The PC screen is the best Internet-connected screen today, so we are starting there. ”
My worry is your last one. Nonetheless, even if I have to convert my media centers BACK to Windows, it would be worth it for this. This is THE killer app for netflix if it really works.
Fred (January 17, 2007 @ 3:26 pm)
I’m with Steve on this one. I spend a lot of time and money working to get the cleanest and highest resolution image possible on my set. I’m not willing to trade my emersive HD movie experience for the nerdy “hey that’s cool” experience of downloading video off the net. When I can get a 1080i/p signal from the net to my set without stuttering or artifacts then I’ll sign up, but not before.
Steve (January 18, 2007 @ 6:00 am)
I’m fine with 720p - which I can get using either the 360 or AppleTV to view.