Technomaly » Netflix

Netflix Trades New Releases for More Streaming

J. Matthew Zoss — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:36:19 +0000

If you needed more evidence that streaming video will one day supplant physical media, you need look no further than Netflix’s recent announcement on its agreement with Fox and Universal. Following in the steps of a similar agreement with Warner Bros., DVD new releases from the studios will be delayed by 28 days – you won’t be able to rent them from the service until a month after they’ve been available for purchase.

The agreement is designed to help prop up declining DVD sales, but the real benefit for Netflix users is that the service agreed to the delays on the condition that the studios provide more streaming content for Netflix’s “Watch It Now” feature. In my mind, that’s a completely worthwhile trade. Then again, I have no intention of ever renting Avatar, the first film that will be affected by the delay.

Via Gizmodo.

Netflix Streaming Coming to iPhone?

J. Matthew Zoss — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:00:18 +0000

Tech companies often use online surveys to gauge interest in new features or products, and oftentimes these surveys lead to leaks of the proposed features. The most recent Netflix survey has leaked online, thanks to a very interesting potential feature that was mentioned: a new app that would bring Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” feature to iPhones. That’s a picture of the question at the left, and the full text is below in case you don’t like squinting.

For those of you who can’t be bothered to read multiple paragraphs, it comes down to this: You’d be able to watch movies and shows on your iPhone for no extra cost, provided that you have a Netflix account. However, you would only have access to the feature while connected to a Wi-Fi network, rendering the app pretty useless on a car trip and in many other situations. But even many planes have Wi-Fi now, so if this feature does come to pass I’d expect it to become pretty popular pretty quickly.

“Imagine that Netflix offers its subscribers the ability to instantly watch movies & TV episodes on their iPhone. The selection availability to instantly watch includes some new releases, lots of classics and TV episodes. There are no advertisements or trailers, and movies start in as little as 30 seconds. You can fast-forward, rewind, and pause or watch again. The movies & TV episodes you instantly watch are included in your Netflix membership for no additional fee.

Whenever you want to instantly watch content on your iPhone, your iPhone must be connected to a Wi-Fi network (such as one you might have at home or at work, or in public places like coffee shops, book stores, hotels, airports, etc.)

If this functionality were available, how likely would you or someone in your household be to instantly watch movies & TV episodes on your iPhone via a Wi-Fi network?”

Image and story source: Hacking Netflix

Netflix Instant Streaming Adding 5.1 Surround Sound and Captions

J. Matthew Zoss — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:00:19 +0000

Netflix’s instant streaming feature is becoming an increasingly popular part of the service, to the point that actually having to open an envelope can sometimes feel like an inconvenience. Fortunately, along with an ever-expanding library, Netflix is adding a couple upgrades to the feature this year. At an unspecified time in the coming months, Netflix’s streaming movies will be available in 5.1 surround sound and optional closed captioning. Technology site CNET originally reported that the service would begin offering movies in 1080p HD, but Netflix has since clarified that such an upgrade in picture quality is not scheduled for this year. We’d love to see that increase in picture quality, but it’s hard to complain about unlimited streaming movies in 720p for only nine bucks a month. Of course, if 1080p doesn’t arrive in 2011, we’ll probably start complaining then.

Source: CNET.com

The Ultimate Film Snob Tool: View Netflix Rentals By Neighborhood

J. Matthew Zoss — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 18:32:45 +0000

Img source: PC World

We humans tend to want to live near people who are similar to ourselves in some respect, whether its religion, ethnicity, socio-economic background or what have you. In demographic studies, this is called clustering. Some people tend to cluster by interest – such as when a neighborhood becomes known for a high concentration of working artists. The New York Times recently released a fun online tool that lets you discriminate against your neighbors based on a whole new criteria: what they rented on Netflix in 2009!

The interactive map offers 12 major urban areas, breaks down the top rentals by neighborhood, and allows the user to sort movies based on top rentals, metascore and other criteria. Play around with it a bit and you’ll notice some really interesting patterns. Acclaimed TV Mad Men was heavily rented in city centers, while the Idris Elba-fronted movie Obsessed was rented almost exclusively in African American neighborhoods.

Take a look at the interactive Netflix Map and see what people were watching in your neighborhood. I’m happy to say that I live in an area where movies like Milk and Burn After Reading top movies like Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Oh, and Los Angeles? You have terrible taste!

Netflix Comes to Nintendo Wii

J. Matthew Zoss — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:58:11 +0000

Image credit: Gadgetreview.com

There’s no question that Nintendo’s Wii console is one of the hottest tech items of the last several years. But I think it’s fair to say that a huge percentage of the consoles are doing little more than gathering dust right now. Fortunately, that little white box hooked up to your TV is about to get more useful. Like the Xbox 360 and the PS3 before it, the Wii will soon add Netflix streaming to its functionality.

For those of you without a Netflix account, the service offers online streaming videos in addition to mailed DVDs. These movie can be viewed on your computer or your television if you have a streaming-capable device hooked up. When the service is added to Wii consoles in the spring, it will require that a special Netflix streaming disc be inserted into the Wii drive and that the user has a valid Netflix account. Because the Wii is the only one of the three current game consoles that doesn’t support HD, streamed videos will be standard definition only. Still, even with a few limitations, anything that adds new functionality to the Wii will just help you justify the purchase to your spouse, who told you that you didn’t really need that thing in the first place.

Via New York Times.