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Netflix promises instant viewing for Macs
arstechnica.com — "While Netflix is committed to providing rental downloads to Mac users, the commitment depends solely on Apple, Microsoft, and the movie studios working together."
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- openthink, on 10/10/2007, -11/+2interesting. netflix also has extremely limited studio 1st run movies to offer direct to the home. studios aren't giving them anything big or commercial and won't any time soon. netflix is in some serious trouble and spin mode. would/will be great when they serve Macs; but by that time they may be out of business.
- tinker123, on 10/10/2007, -20/+25What about their paying customers like me who use GNU/Linux?
- FearlessFreep, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10Get a studio-approved, DRM-laden, viewer and you are all set
- Avian00, on 10/10/2007, -4/+6Why are people digging down tinker123? That's a valid question!
The answer, of course, is DRM and Windows Media. Netflix won't stream anything that's totally locked down. Plus, they've chosen to use Windows Media as their format. That is why it's so hard for Mac's, and that's why it will never come to Linux. Total rubbish in my opinion. All these movies (and more) are available on Bittorrent sites. If people want to pirate a movie, they're gonna go get a high-quality version, not a crappy-quality Netflix stream. They should just stream with Flash and be done with it. - SanTe, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5"What about their paying customers like me who use GNU/Linux?"
...or even versions of Windows other than XP SP2 would be nice. Win2K SP4 still works perfectly for me, and it has no product activiation headaches. - mseneschal, on 10/10/2007, -6/+9A Linux user that actually PAYS for something? Who are you?
- mikesown, on 10/10/2007, -7/+4Because the Linux market isn't big. I won't start a huge rant about why Linux isn't good for desktop use(see http://thoughtsabouttechnology.blogspot.com/2007/07/why-linux-has-failed-to-become-viable.html for that), but the fact of the matter is that there aren't a lot of Linux users. A company like Netflix wants to maximize revenue. Thus, they made a client for Windows first, since this already has an open DRM implementation and is the most widely used platform. Next, Mac is the next most used operating system, so they're developing for it. The fact of it all is that Mac bearly has enough users to warrent Netflix developing a client for it. Linux has nowhere near enough users to warrent developing a client for it. Keep dreaming. It won't happen until Linux has at least 5% of the desktop marketshare, which I don't see hapenning anytime soon.
- Avian00, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2It really pisses me off when people argue "Market Share" to say that Linux isn't good for desktop use. Think for yourselves people!! Just because everybody else is doing it, doesn't mean it's best! If you don't like Linux, come to the table with some valid arguments, but please shut up with this crap about how small the Linux market is. Give consumers a choice, and see what happens.
- stmiller, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2"Because the Linux market isn't big."
Most estimates show it is similar to OS X.
- Noelix, on 10/10/2007, -4/+3You're paying for the rentals, not the instant movie streaming. That part is free, son.
- eternal, on 10/10/2007, -6/+13I'm glad Netflix decided to open Mac support. I was always considering buying their service, but their lack of Mac support has always held me back.
- PathDaemon, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Unfortunately, this isn't going to help. I'm joyous that they care, but the bottom line in this article is that there are no studio-approved systems out there, and Netflix can't do ***** about it.
- mrjofo, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3Y'know, as a Mac user, you can opt for their Dee Vee Dee option, where they send you discs via the mail that will play on your Mac. :D
- dragon76, on 10/10/2007, -5/+1iTunes Movies makes anything Netflix does on Mac moot. As a Mac user I'm more likely to use iTunes to download movies, and I have.
- WiseWeasel, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3The difference is cost and renting vs. buying. Personally, there's no way I'm spending my money on downloaded movies from iTunes, as there's no way to burn them to DVD to watch on standard playback hardware. You can burn the music you purchase from iTunes to standard Audio CD, and use that on standard playback devices. Their purchased videos, however, are unacceptably crippled and locked down. I'm sticking with DVDs for the forseeable future (only because its DRM has been cracked, and I can make all the backups of my purchased DVDs I please, or convert to any number of standard video formats for playback on various devices). If I'm BUYING a movie, not renting, then I must have the ability to use it as I see fit.
- MacParrot, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1WiseWeasel, you are absolutely correct and I won't buy movies from iTunes until this is settled. The part that gripes me is that with Jobs owning 40% of Disney, you'd think THEY would at least offer DRM-free content.
- WiseWeasel, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3The difference is cost and renting vs. buying. Personally, there's no way I'm spending my money on downloaded movies from iTunes, as there's no way to burn them to DVD to watch on standard playback hardware. You can burn the music you purchase from iTunes to standard Audio CD, and use that on standard playback devices. Their purchased videos, however, are unacceptably crippled and locked down. I'm sticking with DVDs for the forseeable future (only because its DRM has been cracked, and I can make all the backups of my purchased DVDs I please, or convert to any number of standard video formats for playback on various devices). If I'm BUYING a movie, not renting, then I must have the ability to use it as I see fit.
- tmrini, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I assume you mean always since they announced online movie viewing stuff recently. It's not like the rest of the service hasn't been working since, well, forever. Assuming you had a web browser on your Mac and a DVD player somewhere.
That said, I do look forward to when my wife can watch some stuff she wants to on her laptop (aside: I'm so lame she found out about online movie viewing before I did). - sych0, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1What the hell are you talking about? You know netflix is a dvd-by-mail service right, with a "bonus" online feature right?
- aduzik, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1How about Apple TV? That would be quite a coup if Apple partnered with Netflix to provide downloadable rentals straight to your TV. The Netflix service is pretty great as-is, but this would be absolutely amazing.
- diggface5000, on 10/10/2007, -7/+1Does anyone know if any of the other companies (blockbuster for example) let you stream the movies outside of IE?
- alpha2omega, on 10/10/2007, -14/+3Less than 4% of the US Market is jumping for joy right now, I'm sure.
- santaliqueur, on 10/10/2007, -2/+13The other 96% is scanning for spyware and praying for no blue screens.
- maexus, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8Actually, we are.
- jun2san, on 10/10/2007, -0/+24I think it's funny that the post above this is
"Cable companies are facing a huge bandwidth crunch." - Piedramente, on 10/10/2007, -9/+1what you only get 3 "instant" videos per month?
lame...- maexus, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5They give you your time in hours, so it depends on the plan you get. Honestly, this isn't set to replace their video rental service so don't exept unlimited viewing. That' a lot of bandwidth to shell out. This is more of a way to get you by until your next movie arives.
- mrjofo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3You get X number of hours for every X dollars you pay per month. I pay 18, so i get 18 hours.
- danielman94, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Uhh, not really. Like mrjofo said, the number depends on how many dollars a month you pay. It's actually pretty useful, especially for watching tv shows, and they added it for free, so yeah.
- hexydes, on 10/10/2007, -0/+43"...the commitment depends solely on Apple, Microsoft, and the movie studios working together."
Well I don't see how this could possibly fail... - ethicalhacker, on 10/10/2007, -3/+4What about on the Wii? That would rock!!! Netflix needs to support all browsers or they won't make it in the post optical disc era.
- zdiggler, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2"Most" people don't even know that their WII can be hooked up to the net. Most of them don't.
- yeahbuddy, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3It's about time Netflix decided to wake up and smell the coffee. *buys more AAPL*
- shanepardue, on 10/10/2007, -1/+11No reason to bash Netflix. Every money-making corporation is going to start out providing for the majority of people before they reach the minority. I'm a linux user and am used to being neglected by many companies so this was not a surprise to me, but I still enjoy Netflix's rental service and believe it's the best out there.
- FearlessFreep, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5The real problem isn't tech, it's that Apple doesn't have an 'approved' (read DRM friendly for the studio's likes) viewer that they will license to NetFlix. Same thing facing Linux.
- skellener, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5What's wrong with delivering content like on a DVD? There's already copy protection on it. I don't see the problem. The studios release DVDs with the same protection today even though it's been cracked along time ago. They still sell like crazy. Just let me download the same content legally. BFD. If I paid for it, where's the problem?
- mseneschal, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1If everyone thought like you we'd still be listening to 8-track tapes.
- evildemonic, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I think you missed his point
- WiseWeasel, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1The problem here is that these movies are supposed to be rentals, where you only have access to it for a limited time. With physical DVDs, they can be assured that you only have the movie for a limited time, since you have to send them back their disc when you're done. Theoretically, since the DVD discs have copy protection on them, you shouldn't be able to duplicate them before sending them back (a point that fails miserably in practice). For downloaded movies, however, you don't send them back a disc when you're done with it, but instead, it must be inactivated so that you no longer have access. This means that the playback device must have some method of expiring and deleting the downloaded movies in as secure a method as possible. Short of this, the studios (understandably) won't agree to license their works for this type of distribution. Obviously, with DVDs, the cat is out of the bag with regards to copy protection, but their original intention was to make it so the content on it is copy protected, and that was the base assumption for all the distribution agreements based on it (so you can't just say "hey, they distribute DVDs with ineffective DRM, why can't they do that for downloads too"). The whole problem with this view is that DVDs would likely never have been so popular had the DRM actually been effective.
- mseneschal, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1If everyone thought like you we'd still be listening to 8-track tapes.
- FearlessFreep, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4Buried as 'inaccurate' because 'wishful thinking' wasn't an option. The article does not say anything about Netflix promising anything, only that they would like to but the licensing issues get in the way and it may be resolved at some time in the future, maybe
Note: I am a mac user and netflix subscriber and irritated about the situation so would love for this to work out, but that's not what the article is saying - zip000, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4How about working with Firefox!
I was pretty pissed at having to use Explorer to use the Watch Now option....that was until I saw how little there was that I actually wanted to watch. - TimmyGUNZ, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I'd like to see them work out a deal with the Xbox Live Marketplace where you can stream movies from their library right to your console. XBLM really has hit the nail on the head with HD (and non HD) digital delivery and a Netflix partnership seems like the best move for everyone involved. Besides, I think more people would get use out of the steaming service if they could have it go right on their TV rather than their PCs.
- mseneschal, on 10/10/2007, -3/+5Yankees suck
- TimmyGUNZ, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Wow, bitter? You must be a Blue Jays fan.
- TimmyGUNZ, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Wow, bitter? You must be a Blue Jays fan.
- mseneschal, on 10/10/2007, -3/+5Yankees suck
- nphase, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2We've seen in the past how heavily DRM digs into the OS. Even if they do come up with a way to have MS' DRM solution playable on the Mac, I will most certainly not be a subscriber of Netflix instant viewing service. I don't want my new mac to turn buggy and defective a la windows
- adizzy615, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1From what I have read in the past, netflix will probably using silverlight for movies on demand some time later this year. http://visitmix.com/Blogs/Joshua/neil-hunt-of-netflix-on-silverlight/. Silverlight on macs/windows, safari/ie/firefox, and soon linux (moonlight).
- e68895f, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1"and soon linux"
since it is not supported by microsoft, the word soon means a lot here. Also keep in mind that silverlight is only for window xp / vista on pc:s....- adizzy615, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Silverlight supports OS X (not sure what which versions) right now. If you have a Mac, you can view silverlight apps.
- yoshihama, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1If they're going that route, I'd much rather see them using Adobe Flex, since the only thing the client would need would be Flash Player 9, which is supported on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
- e68895f, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1"and soon linux"
- geekee, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Wow, the description in the post is terrivle. Stupid fanboys.
FTA
"A key issue for delivering movies online is that the studios require use of DRM (Digital Rights Management) to protect titles. And that's our holdup for the Mac - there's not yet a studio-sanctioned, publicly-available Mac DRM solution (Apple doesn't license theirs). " - dillibob, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3what about those using firefox? or have they fixed that already?
- yoshihama, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Nope, not fixed. I had previously thought that the Instant Viewing feature didn't work on my computer because I was using 64bit XP and I got a message that said "System not supported". With a little digging I found out that by "System" they meant that my Firefox browser wasn't supported. The good news is that the IE Tab extension for Firefox has it working just fine now.
- deleuex, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2All we need now is Joost to make this same promise for Power PC macs and it would make alot of people happy
- peterman81, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0meh, parallels.
- dcbowe, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1If Apple can work out a deal, like they did with YouTube, to get netflix integration on the AppleTV, I just might wet myself
- HarleyQuinn, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1This is a perfect example of the consumer being screwed by DRM. The studios dictating what we can do.
As a Netfilx user what is the difference if I get a DVD then RIP it? To say they can't bring watch it now to a Mac or Unix platform "because of studio approved DRM" is ludicrous.
What the studios and everyone else fails to realize if ALL content was ON DEMAND anytime via your normal "paid for / subscription" outlets (Cable, Sat, Netfilx, iTunes) the majority of people would use those services rather than screwing around trying to obtain things illegally. If you make make media available, convienent and "at a fair price" everyone is happy. - RandoTheKing, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0What about instant viewing for firefox users?
PS: Most of the instant view movies suck anyway... - idano, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1It's funny, I just signed up for Netfilx the other day and was bummed when I could what a movie on my Macbook. I said oh well and fired up Parallels and watched the movie on Windows XP - on my Mac.
What's the big deal? - sgglynn, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I plan on never canceling my netflix. I have so much hated for Blockbuster (Worked there for 4 years) and Blockbuster Online are just trying to force out netflix so they can raise their prices. Just like they did with stores, a video game rental is now like $9.00, wtf, they were $5.29 back when there was competition, yeah, prices of games go up, but N64 games were still like $50 back then) They will do the same thing with blockbuster online if netflix goes out of business.
- RandoTheKing, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Netflix isn't going anywhere anytime soon
- RossPelton, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Microsoft doesn't want to release it for powerpc macs? So do they want their customers to buy new macs?
- jenhorne, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Even though I can just fire up Parallels and watch the video, I'd like it if it were available to us mac users natively. Running parallels eats up a lot of processor for me, and I'd rather not have to do that. I saw the video of the Netflix CEO a few months ago promising native mac support and support for other browsers such as Firefox, but since then I haven't heard any news, which is disconcerting because I am paying the same fee as a PC user, yet I'm not getting the same features.
- radioraheem, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2buried as inaccurate. netflix isn't promising anything here, just passing the buck (rightfully so, but still buck passing nonetheless)
I'd love to see them do it though.
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