last100 » Netflix

Netflix CEO: Web browser is television’s future

Steve O'Hear — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:10:48 +0000

Forget channel surfing, Web surfing is the future of television, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings tells CNNMoney.com.

In five to twenty years, says Reed, “the way that consumers will interact on the big screen will be similar to the way they interact on a laptop screen.” Instead of switching channels, they’ll visit online video destinations as the web becomes “the universal paradigm that’s gonna subsume and embrace the User Interface on all of these systems” [PC, TV and Mobile].

“In the long term what we’ll see is a web browser like IE or Chrome or Safari or any of these in the television, and the way that consumers will interact on the big screen will be similar to the way they interact on a laptop screen. That is with a web oriented paradigm and they’ll go to CNN.com or Netflix.com or ESPN.com as apposed to specific channels. So think of websites, over time, replacing channels… Over maybe 5 to 20 years.”

Full video interview after the jump…

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XBox 360 to support Twitter and Facebook. Who’s the biggest social network on TV now?

Steve O'Hear — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:56:12 +0000

Facebook on XBox 360

For a long time now, Microsoft has made the rather lofty claim that the company’s XBox 360 was the biggest social network on TV. For the most part that was in reference to XBox Live – the games console’s online service – and its integration with Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft’s cross platform Instant Messaging service (Windows, Mac and mobile). Yesterday, however, Microsoft announced at E3 that the XBox 360 will soon be adding support for two competing social networks – Twitter and Facebook – making the XBox 360 undoubtedly the most socially networked set-top box, but not necessarily a Microsoft-owned social network the biggest one on the television. I’m not sure how Windows Live Messenger user numbers and Facebook’s compare in terms of cross-over with XBox Live membership but it’s nonetheless significant that Microsoft has chosen to embrace two competitors.

Interestingly, the Facebook integration won’t be one way. Not only will XBox 360 users be able to access a Facebook application providing the usual functionality (status updates, view friends’ news feeds, photos etc), but XBox Live will also incorporate Facebook Connect so that various activities can be posted back to Facebook e.g. in-game screen shots and footage. The User Interface for the Facebook app could do with some improvement, reports Gizmodo, which isn’t surprising considering that the social network’s feature set is fairly extensive and is rooted firmly in the PC, making designing the perfect “ten foot” UI challenging.

In comparison, Twitter’s minimum core functionality looks much better suited to the TV (see screen shot) and, accompanied by the XBox 360 gamepad’s thum-board QWERTY add-on, could work quite well. Both services to be supported through a software update “this fall”.

Twitter on XBox 360

Other XBox 360 announcements yesterday of interest to last100 readers included improved Netflix functionality with full on-screen access to the service’s movie and TV show catolog, support for music streaming service Last.fm, and 1080p High Def content (download and streaming) through XBox Live’s newly branded video store now called “Zune”.

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Microsoft and Netflix bring streaming to Windows Media Center sans Extender support

Steve O'Hear — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:06:22 +0000

Netflix on Microsoft Media Center

It’s not the first time that Netflix functionality has been added to Microsoft’s Media Center software, but today the two companies released an official plug-in for the PC to TV platform.

Through a formal partnership, users of the Vista edition of Microsoft Media Center (not XP) can now access almost all of Netflix’s online features via the software’s TV-friendly “10-foot” User Interface, including browsing Netflix’s DVD library, editing their DVD and Watch Instantly queues, as well as stream movies and TV episodes from the company’s 12,000 strong library.

The resulting user experience is described as “slick” by Missing Remote, and “miles ahead” of existing third-party Netflix plug-ins. One glaring omission, however, is the ability to stream Netflix content to Windows Media Extender set-top boxes, which bridge the gap between the PC and TV via the same local area network to replicate the Windows Media Center experience and its content on a television. Instead, the only way to access Media Center’s Netflix functionality on a TV is to actually plug a PC into the television itself. That might be just fine for the hardcore Home Theatre PC crowd but for anybody whose invested in an official Microsoft-certified ‘Media Extender’. One word: Fail.

The reason could be technical (*cough* DRM) but is likely to be purely commercial. Microsoft and Netflix already provide a solution to enable ‘Watch Instantly’ streaming to a TV via the XBox 360. For the privilege, however, customers not only have to be on the right Netflix tier but need to take out a subscription to XBox Live Gold too.

Missing Remote’s video demo after the jump…

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Netflix prepping PlayStation 3 and Wii support suggests job ad

Steve O'Hear — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:38:34 +0000

While Netflix streaming has been an XBox 360 exclusive for quite a while now, we’ve known for a long time that the video rental company harbored greater games console ambitions. CEO Reed Hastings said as much all the way back in October 2007, and Netflix has sinced followed up with a number of customer surveys exploring demand for PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii support.

More proof that Netflix is serious about widening support beyond the XBox 360 emerged today after a recent job advertisement on Monster.com was spotted seeking a lead engineer responsible for the company’s “gaming platforms” – plural.

The gaming platforms team is responsible for prototyping, testing and building the Netflix experience for gaming consoles. We’re tasked with bringing the latest generation of movie discovery and delivery technology to the gaming console platforms our growing subscribers use every day.

Internet TV news: BlackBerry, Blockbuster and TiVo, Netflix on PS3?

Steve O'Hear — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:22:37 +0000

A few Internet TV-related stories have been doing the rounds over the last few days that I’ve not yet had a chance to comment on. Here’s a quick catch-up.

BlackBerry to launch video download service

Research In Motion is close to launching a a full-episode television service for the company’s line of BlackBerry smartphones. An official announcement could come as early as next week at CTIA, reports NewTeeVee. Interesting tidbits include:

It will be an unlimited monthly subscription service for a fee
Once a user orders a program, the content will be downloaded in the background over Wi-Fi
Multiple broadcast and cable networks have licensed content for the service

As NTV notes, utilizing WiFi rather than 3G to deliver episodes to the phone enables RIM to bypass carriers, while at the same avoiding the inconvenience of side-loading content via a PC (iTunes style). Obviously it would be preferable to offer both options – WiFi and 3G – but that would likely mean sharing revenue, something that RIM, like Apple, is keen to avoid. As it stands, any direct paid-for content offering from RIM won’t sit well with carriers who still insist on owning the customer.

Blockbuster downloads coming to TiVo

Blockbuster’s On Demand movie rental service is coming to TiVo in the second half of this year, the two companies have announced. As part of the deal, TiVo set-top boxes will be sold at Blockbuster stores and via the video rental chain’s own website. This despite the fact that TiVo is fast becoming video download store agnostic, with Blockbuster joining existing services, Netflix, Jaman, Amazon and CinemaNow. The TiVo partnership is the latest evidence of Blockbuster playing catch-up in its move to expand into digital, following the lackluster launch of its own set-top box, and the more promising recent announcement that it is partnering with Sonic Solutions to reach portable media players, Blu-ray Disc players, personal video recorders (PVRs), set-top boxes, mobile phones and Web-connected television sets.

Netflix on PS3?

Despite having a close and successful relationship with Microsoft’s XBox 360, it looks like Netflix is still exploring customer demand to bring its ‘Watch Instantly’ streaming service to Sony’s PS3 games console. A recent customer survey talks up the possibility of purchasing a $9.99 Netflix disc for the PS3 to unlock access to ‘Watch Instantly’, presuming that you’re an existing subscriber of course. Were this to ever come to market it’s unclear if Netflix would need Sony’s approval – although I suspect they would – and it would also mean an end to XBox 360 exclusivity, something that Microsoft wouldn’t be too keen on. A lot of ifs and buts then, so we’ll see.

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Money talks: Netflix beats Hulu, Joost to secure “South Park” episodes

Steve O'Hear — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:24:30 +0000

It was only last week that I questioned whether Netflix had a large enough online video library to justify offering a streaming-only subscription plan, but with today’s news that the service has bagged itself a boat load of “South Park” content, they’re certainly putting their money where their mouth is.

The New York Times reports that Netflix beat competitors Hulu and Joost to a deal by offering a guaranteed cash payment rather than a share of future advertising revenue, the latter being a far less enticing proposition during this ad-shy economic downturn.

“There was no talk of ad splits or guarantees or advances, just a payment for a show Netflix seemed really happy to have,” Matt Stone, co-creator of South Park, tells NYT. “We’ve never given the show to anybody else to stream, but we like Netflix as a service. We use it.”

Revenue generated from Netflix, who have licensed the first nine seasons of South Park, will be shared 50/50 with the show’s production partner Comedy Central.

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Roku rolls out Amazon Video-On-Demand support

Steve O'Hear — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:31:33 +0000

No longer limited to Netflix support-only, today Roku announced that its $99 set-top box, following a software update, can now be used to rent and purchase movies and TV shows from Amazon’s Video-On-Demand (VOD) service.

Amazon VOD (US-only) has a library of over 40,000 movie and TV titles, with new releases offered on the same day they are released on DVD, something that Netflix is currently unable to match, instead focusing more on back catalog material offered as part of a fixed monthly subscription that also includes traditional DVD rentals by post. In this sense, the two services both compete and complement each other, depending on how much and what kind of content customers want to consume.

The Amazon tie-in also takes advantage of the e-tailers’ expertise in ‘cloud’ computing. Since the Roku digital video player is only capable of streaming not downloads, purchases are stored on Amazon’s own servers, making it possible, for example, to begin viewing a movie on the PC and then continue on the TV via a Roku set-top box.

Video demo courtesy of NewTeeVee after the jump…

Amazon VOD on the Roku from Chris Albrecht on Vimeo.

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Too early for a streaming-only Netflix plan?

Steve O'Hear — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:33:56 +0000

I thought it was a bit of a non-story when Netflix CEO Reed Hastings first mentioned that the company would at some point in the future offer customers a streaming-only subscription – 2010 was mentioned as a possible time frame – as frankly it’s kind of obvious that one day this will be case. The DVD format won’t last for ever, although it’s not going away any time soon, and is gradually being replaced by on-demand Internet delivered video. This week the company’s Chief Financial Officer Barry McCarthy echoed Reed’s comments, saying that a streaming-only plan will be launched in the “foreseeable future”.

However, while Netflix certainly has the distribution for a streaming-only service – Windows, Mac, set-top boxes, Blu-ray players and Microsoft’s XBox 360 games console – I’d argue that it doesn’t yet have a large enough streaming content library alone to pull in many additional subscribers.

Just 12,000 titles are available on-demand, compared with 100,000 for DVD rentals by mail. For now I still believe it’s Netflix’s hybrid offering that makes it so attractive, something that Reed himself has repeatedly talked up.

“… since a good deal of content will be available only on DVD for some years, a hybrid offering like ours is differentially compelling to consumers in comparison with any online only offering.” (Reed, Q3 earnings call 2007)

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The numbers say it all: why Netflix went exclusive with XBox 360

Steve O'Hear — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:11:33 +0000

In a joint announcement, Microsoft and Netflix have put out some numbers on the success of Netflix’s ‘Watch Instantly’ Internet TV service on Microsoft’s XBox 360 games console. 1.5 billion minutes of Netflix content has been streamed, with a total of one million Xbox Live Gold Members activating Netflix on their accounts. Considering that Netflix on XBox only went live three months or so ago, that’s pretty impressive by anybody’s measure.

To put things into context, however, Streaming Media’s Dan Rayburn has done some interesting back of the envelope math:

Based on Netflix’s own published technical details, Rayburn says that its Content Delivery Network (CDN) partners Limelight Networks and Level 3 combined have delivered nearly 25 million GB of data.
While 1.5 billion minutes of streaming content is “a huge number”, it still pales into insignificance compared to traditional DVD rentals. “If we use the numbers Netflix has on their website, they ship around 730 million DVDs a year. If we use an average of 120 minutes per DVD, Netflix ships roughly 88 billion minutes of video in the mail”, writes Rayburn.
And in terms of 1 million XBox Live Netflix activations, Rayburn offers up a caveat. “Keep in mind that does not mean one million unique consoles since every Xbox Live account can contain multiple profiles or members.”

Nonetheless, these numbers demonstrate that the XBox 360 is by the far the most important set-top box or other Internet-connected device for Netflix’s Internet TV strategy (aside from the humble laptop, perhaps).

“That really comes as no surprise considering that to date, Microsoft has sold nearly 14 million XBOX 360 consoles in the U.S., which is far more than the Roku, TiVo, Blu-ray players and broadband enabled TVs combined”, says Rayburn.

It also explains why ‘Watch Instantly’ on XBox 360 remains a games console exclusive for Microsoft. So don’t expect Netflix to team up with Sony’s PlayStation 3 or Ninendo’s Wii anytime soon.

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Internet TV partners: Intel and Adobe, Roku and Amazon, Netflix and LG

Steve O'Hear — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:33:34 +0000

With the Consumer Electronics Show just around the corner, it’s traditional for companies to push out a flurry of pre-show announcements, hopefully clearing the way for more exciting news. Today, a number of industry players announced partnerships relating to getting Internet content onto the TV – a theme that will, once again, be prevalent at CES.

Roku and Amazon

Roku’s set-top box will soon be adding support for the streaming version of Amazon’s on-demand video service. Previously, the hardware was a one trick pony, with Netflix ‘Watch Instantly’ functionality only. From the press release: “Beginning in early 2009, the Roku Player… will offer access to Amazon Video On Demand’s more than 40,000 commercial-free movies and television shows enabling Roku customers for the first time to watch new release movies titles instantly.”

LG and Netflix

LG and Netflix’s partnership isn’t new but it’s taking a new turn hardware-wise. This time, LG is to bypass the set-top box altogether, adding Netflix streaming support to new range of Internet connected TVs.

Intel and Adobe

Flash video coming to a TV near you if Intel and Adobe have their way. The two companies announced that they are collaborating to bring Adobe Flash to Intel’s Media Processor CE 3100, a chip designed for set-top boxes, Blu-ray Disc players, digital TVs and other consumer electronics. This is expected to pave the way for “richer and more seamless Web-based and video viewing experiences”, according to the joint press release. It’s more evidence of Intel’s intention to further spread its wares beyond traditional PCs, and in particular new Internet-connected TVs — see Deja vu: Internet ‘widgets’ coming to the TV in 2009.

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TiVo gets its Netflix fix

Steve O'Hear — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:04:21 +0000

The roll out of TiVo’s support for Netflix’s ‘Watch Instantly’ Internet TV service is now complete, reports Zatz Not Funny. As of today, “TiVo Series 3, HD, and HD XL subscribers who also partake in an unlimited Netflix plan will be able to stream a wide variety of video content at no additional cost.”

Dave Zatz’s verdict:

While the hybrid Netflix+TiVo interface isn’t as snappy as my Xbox or Roku boxes, receiving Netflix digital video on a DVR – a primary television set-top box – is extremely significant. Also notable, this represents the first time TiVo has facilitated high definition Internet video.

Dave’s only real complaint is that there’s not enough compelling content available through Netflix’s streaming catalog, something that should improve over time.

As I noted when Netflix first made the announcement, adding support for TiVo marks an impressive six months for the company in which it has delivered on its promise to bring its Internet TV offering on to many devices beyond the PC: Netflix streaming is now available on game consoles (Microsoft’s XBox 360), set-top boxes (Roku), DVRs (TiVo) and Internet connected DVD players (LG and Samsung).

Check out ZNF’s video demo of Netflix on TiVo after the jump…

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New XBox 360 games carry Netflix streaming promotion

Steve O'Hear — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:00:43 +0000

More Netflix news…

Netflix is promoting trials of its ‘Watch Instantly’ streaming video service with select Xbox 360 games, reports Streaming Media’s Dan Rayburn.

In a joint marketing effort with partner Microsoft, a 48 hour ‘Gold’ pass to XBox Live that includes the Netflix promotion, can be found in the box of US retail copies of the newly released James Bond game, although access to Netflix on XBox 360 won’t be available until later this month when the previously announced Dashboard update is rolled out. Rayburn says this is the “the beginning of what is expected to be some massive marketing efforts by both Netflix and Microsoft for the new service.”

When the two companies first announced a partnership, in which XBox 360 users who are also subscribers to Netflix will able to access the latter’s video-on-demand service through their consoles, I wondered what kick back, if any, Microsoft would be getting. Aside from potentially shifting more XBoxes or signing up more of its users to the paid-for version of XBox Live (needed for Netflix access), would Microsoft get a share of revenue generated from Netflix subscriptions? While I thought that was unlikely, the fact that trials to Netflix are being advertised inside of select XBox 360 titles opens up the real possibility that Microsoft may be receiving a commission for new Netflix sign-ups generated through the joint promotion.

Rayburn also speculates that Netflix will eventually offer a streaming only subscription tariff that doesn’t include DVD rentals – “I would not be surprised to see Netflix offer a package for those users who only want to get movies via the XBOX 360, Roku, TiVo or some other device” – although he does concede that this may not happen for up to two years.

Image credit: Dan Rayburn

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