Macs get Netflix streaming movies
Netflix’s streaming movie and TV service Watch Instantly has spent the past year irritating the red envelope crowd for not being compatible with Macs or Firefox.
Meanwhile, the Mac community founded more reasons to hate Microsoft when its Silverlight media player became the “official” Olympics online media delivery system, leaving Apple users to the leftovers on broadcast TV.
Here comes a break in the case: Silverlight now is streaming Watch Instantly movies to Macs — assuming they’re the newer-generation Intel-based machines. This move comes courtesy of the recent release of Silverlight 2 and Play Ready DRM, a digital rights management technology that allows the app to protect copyrighted content on any browser.
Mac users, of course, aren’t entirely thrilled because they would be downloading a Microsoft plug-in onto their computers. A non-Apple DRM with unknown potential issues isn’t exactly welcome, either.
Still, somewhere between here and the end of the year, Netflix expects to deliver its streaming content to subscribers with the Intel Macs. Some subscribers reportedly have the upgrade now. Both Safari and Firefox browsers can handle the job.
Netflix’s product unit chief Neil Hunt provided this bit of canned quotery in the Watch Instantly press release:
“Silverlight with Play Ready offers a powerful and secure toolkit for delivery of dynamic streaming, which offers faster start-up, and higher quality video, adapted in real time to users’ connection speeds, Members who enjoy watching movies and TV episodes … that can be instantly streamed at Netflix will be thrilled with this next generation improvement of access and quality, on a broader range of platforms, including Intel Macs and Firefox.”
Meanwhile, Samung agreed to provide Netflix movie streaming via some of its recent players, the BD-P2500 and P2550. Terrific. Now if Samsung can just get its players such as the notorious BD-P1200 to play major studio Blu-rays. Like, say, the highly anticipated new James Bond releases like “Dr. No.”
This means delivery options for Watch Instantly include some LG Blu-ray players, the Roku black box and, coming soon, the new Xbox 360 media delivery system.
Update: Jason Snell of Macworld.com reviews the Watch Instantly stream on a Mac, noting that the quality and quantity of the movies and TV shows has improved since the Starz deal. “Still, where Instant Watching shines is in its collection of documentaries, classic movies, and TV series.”
Also, Dan Frommer of Silicon Alley Insider weighed in. Bottom line: “The movie and TV streaming service from Netflix is “a good start and worth checking out if you’re a Netflix subscriber with a Mac.”
Netflix nets big movies for streaming
Netflix’s Watch Instantly streaming service finally has some A-list titles to go with all that musty catalog stuff and indie fare.
The newish content comes via licensing deals with Starz Entertainment, CBS and Disney.
New titles available under the Starz (Liberty Media) deal include “No Country for Old Men,” “Superbad,” “The Orphanage” and “Spider-Man 3″ — all well through their distribution cycles, but not bad for “free” — as in, no additional charge.
Watch Instantly streams movies and TV shows to Netflix customers with a regular DVD-rental subscription. Non-subscribers also can sign up for a Starz-only stream at $7.99.
Watch on a Windows PC or spring for a $100 Netflix box from Roku that brings the content to your TV via an Internet connection. Xbox 360 users with a Live Gold account will be able to access the stream via the game system’s redesigned multimedia interface. (Microsoft just dropped Xbox prices — do the math.)
Netflix said the long overdue Mac video streaming is coming “by the end of the year.”
Watch Instantly users apparently will get upcoming films at the same time as pay-cable viewers.
The Starz Play package does not include high-definition video. Starz’s chief flack told TV Week that there wasn’t sufficient consumer interest in online HD to make it worth worrying about.
The Starz deal already has delivered about 1,000 films to Watch Instantly, with another 1,500 in the wings.
Late last month, Disney and Netflix hooked up for TV fare such as “Hannah Montana.” Starz has a deal with Disney, so the Mouse House’s feature films will come to Netflix streams via that route.
Netflix boxes up free movies
Netflix’s stock forgot which way was down this week, spurting up on news that the DVD rental outfit would offer free streams and downloads of older movies via a new set-top device.
You have to be a Netflix subscriber (at the $18 rate) and you have to fork over $100 for the Roku black box, which is capable of HDMI video/optical audio hookup. You’ll need to run an ethernet chord or use the home wireless net.
Then comes “free” access to about 10,000 free movies, mostly older films and TV shows. That’s far less than the Netflix catalog for mail rentals, but it’s still a hell of a lot of content. The box even preloads movies that are on your DVD wish list.
Reviewers are crabbing about the tired selection of movies and series, but you have to be seriously lacking in film knowledge if you can’t find plenty to watch. I’d start with “The Killing Fields” and “Cool Hand Luke.”
Users interact with the Roku box via their usual Netflix online account interface.
Earlier this year, Netflix got the ball rolling on this forward-looking economic model with the first version of the Watch Now service, limited to Windows PCs. The big difference now is the movie fare goes straight to your TV. No geek intervention necessary.
Will I buy a box? Nah, at least not now. Do I want one? Yep.
Update: David Pogue, the New York Times’ populist tech writer, posted the first reasonable review of the Netflix/Roku box I’ve seen. He calls it “a flawed masterpiece.”
Pogue writes:
In the game of Internet movies, the Netflix Player is revolutionary. It’s the first Internet service that delivers movies to your TV without a per-movie fee — an incredibly strange, liberating feeling. It’s also the first that doesn’t require you to download or store your movie collection. …
Is the Netflix Player, then, the movie box the world is waiting for? Not quite. It falls short on the age of its movies, the smallish selection of good ones and the not-quite-pristine video quality. And as with all Internet movies, you don’t get subtitles, director commentaries or any other DVD extras.
But it comes darned close.
(Disclosure: Your Download Movies 101 host is a grumpy Netflix stock holder.)