Netflix likes to boast its hybrid offering — DVDs by post and Internet streaming — so it seems appropriate that someone would develop a Windows Media Center add-on to manage both.
Andrew Park has done just that. His MyNetFlix plugin for the Vista version of Media Center enables many aspects of a Netflix account to be accessed from within Media Center’s “10-foot” User Interface (suitable for viewing on a television) including browsing Netflix’s DVD library, editing your Netflix queue and viewing your rental history and DVD recommendations.
The ability to access Netflix’s Internet TV service “Watch Now”, however, will be of most interest to users who have a Vista Windows Media Center hooked up to their television or are using a PC as part of a home theater setup.
That’s the good news. The downside is that the “Watch Now” functionality of Park’s MyNetFlix plugin doesn’t work on Media Extenders for Windows Media devices (such as the XBox 360 or recently released hardware from D-Link and Linksys) because of software limitations, presumably related to Digital Rights Management (DRM). To access “Watch Now” on a television without connecting a fully fledged PC we’ll just have to wait for those promised Netflix compatible LG set-top boxes and televisions to hit the market later this year.
