What is Digg?121 Comments
- SamMiller0, on 10/12/2007, -1/+24agreed, also IE only = lame
- PsychePsyche, on 10/12/2007, -5/+22Interesting. We'll see how Blockbuster counteracts this in the coming months.
- BLAM8, on 10/12/2007, -10/+26Blockbuster will reply by enabling IP videos of their stoner clerks saying "have a nice day, thank you for renting from block buster."
- mattsidesinger, on 10/12/2007, -6/+22XP only = lame
- diecastbeatdown, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14stop slowing it down for the rest of us you slack ass bastard!
- Thundercat1971, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Do you have to upload the movie back to them when you are done with it?
- SpacemanSpiff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12It will be available to all customers by June, not starting in June. They are rolling it out in waves of customers.
- rebelyell2k5, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14"they plan to expand the service to the livingroom"
they should hook up with Apple, and stream thier stuff to the appleTV. - l4wl, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Of course it's only gonna work in IE....ugh.
- EBFoxbat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10This is awesome. I wish it could download instead of stream so that I can have DVD(ish) quality even if my connection is slow.
Just like Amazon Unbox except not sucky.
Literally, I just re-uped for $18 a month because of this. Hope it doesn't suck. - digitalgopher, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Ok as a follow up, here are some screenshots of the experience so far (FYI - video quality sucks!):
main page: http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q237/digitalgopher/netflixmain.jpg
requires you to upgrade: http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q237/digitalgopher/netflixupgrade.jpg
then, clicking 'learn more' takes you to this page: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/10/privacy.aspx?locale=409&geoid=f4&version=10.0.0.4036&userlocale=409
movie page (for some reason, it does not let me take a screenshot of the video while it's playing): http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q237/digitalgopher/netflixsmall.jpg - nthpro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9This is a big deal. I'll be interested to see how this shapes the industry. If this does come to fruition I wonder if we will finally get that fiber optic to the door that we've been promised all these years. I wish Netflix all the luck but hope that this is horribly destroyed by DRM...which I could see happen.
- miriv365, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11Are they going to figure out a way to throttle your account with this type of delivery too?
- tf5bassist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9This is exactly something that Alex mentioned on the last Diggnation (macworld episode), and I think I agree. If I could just swap things in and out of a queue online and download that movie instantly, whatever service does that the best will have my business over all others. If it's best on the 360, then i'll go there. if netflix does it best, they'll have my business. again. if apple releases rentals through the apple tv (or even straight itunes), i'll be there.
Either way, it's going to be a damned great concept, it's just a matter of a company getting the experience dead-on right for the user. whoever does that first gets the marketplace. - gibb626, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9I'm a member of Netflix. I want this. I want this now!
Is there a way to make activation on individual accounts faster?
This sounds like the answer to my prayers! - TimmyGUNZ, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10"720p max resolution, what is this? 1995?"
Well since the overwhelming majority of HD content out there is in 720p, I don't see anything wrong with this. Sounds like you just wanted to make a "witty" comment and it backfired on you. - Harrison88, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Anyone know if there is anything like Netflix for the UK? It has to be half decent :P
- jbreckman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Do you honestly believe that they went with windows-only because they are lazy? Or do you think they just hate Linux and apple users?
Judging from what I looked at for their "netflix prize" contest, they do most of their development on Linux.
Right now, Windows can provide the "protection" that movie studios need in order to agree to this service. - jull1234, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9For *****'s sake.
- lewscroo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Finally, truly putting the Net in Netflix
- drdiesel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Knowing BB as I do, I highly doubt it'll be "in the coming months", they're so slow with new technoligy it'd be at loeast a year till you see anything from them.
- Room214, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I hear that. Deliver it through iTunes and you've got a winner
- magnakai, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Sadly, the most popular UK one (lovefilm.com) is a bit dodgy. Their customer service is non-existent, and the rate of faulty DVDs and low priority films is unacceptably high.
Most other ones that I've looked into are either lovefilm affiliates or have a relatively limited choice.
:( - BLAM8, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I don't mind DRM if it protects a system that is in the user;s best interests as well as the copyright holders. iTunes works, otherwise they wouldn't have sold so many songs and we'd still be doing the straight file share for all our songs. So does TiVo, series 3 price aside.
I hope this lives up to those experiences, too. - po43292, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4As long as they continue to snail mail the DVD's I'll be happy. I can only imagine the stream cutouts/artifacts that will happen on this!
- meamog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@joeshlub:
Actually, with iTunes selling billions of songs and now millions of TV/movies, the marketplace seems to think it's working OK. Most people seem to know what they're getting into with iTunes. - astrotrain, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Ugh is right... shame that most of the people running Windows in the world have been brain washed into
thinking that IE is "the only" browser on earth. - Stopher, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Now if they'll just let me stream to my XBox 360...
- mojaam, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Thought it was all good but soon as you start reading the article your interest goes down and down and down. They mention things like XP only, IE only, limited subcribers, limited titles, etc... so yeh, back to renting previous seasons of The Office.
- TimmyGUNZ, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Are you the reason "The Wire Season 1" on "long wait?" Return that ***** already! :)
- EBFoxbat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"Have you tried amazon.co.uk?"
Amazon was fine except one movie that wouldn't download. I got a refund and they revoked the license for that movie. Which apparently revoked the license for everything else I had downloaded. 5 days later it worked itself out but that still stinks.
Amazon Unbox downloads a bit (usually 15% or so) depending on your transfer rate. That lets you watch it after 5 or 10 minutes (on a 3 mbps DSL). The movie downloads while you are watching it so you have a 15 minute or so "buffer."
Has worked fine for me (except that one movie). I have to say though, I had Amazon call me (yup some "Call me now" button on their site) they did and it worked. - jull1234, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3You know what, at least it's a step in the right direction. Eventually, Mac might be supported (who knows, maybe Linux, too), especially if the Mac market share continues to grow.
- SpacemanSpiff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The online movies you watch do not count towards your monthly total. Instead, you get one hour of online movie watching for each dollar in subscription you pay. e.g. If you have the $15 plan then you will be able to watch 15 hours worth of movies in addition to the physical DVDs you receive each month.
Full details here: http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2007/01/breaking_netfli.html - SpacemanSpiff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I think it negates the point. Now, if Netflix were to increase the price on his existing subscription, then he would have a valid argument.
It wouldn't be fair of me to ask Blockbuster to lower my fees simply because I don't live close enough to a physical store to return the movies I receive in the mail, would it? - cassusfett, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Now if only it was available for Macs.
- brlittle, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Tell them so. I made a point of letting them know this morning that if they shut me out of this service whilst making me pay for the infrastructure, I won't be a Netflix customer any longer. Perhaps they don't care. That's possible. But I've got a dozen referral credits to my name, an 8-year rental history and a queue approaching 500. If that doesn't make them pay _some_ attention, I suppose nothing would.
Speak up. - jbreckman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I apologize for misinterpreting you.
My sole point was that the Netflix guys seem to know what they are doing, and that superbenk said "there are so many cross-platform alternatives that are no more difficult to provide than proprietary Windows or even Apple codecs?" My point was that they probably went windows-only for a reason.
If you look at vongo.com on your Mac (I'm not on a mac now, so I can't get the message), they let you know that they designed their (very similar to netflix system) to work on a Mac. They said they put a lot of effort into it, and Apple decided to screw them over and didn't give them some rights to play videos. I wish I had the exact wording.
P.S. Also, as far as flash goes, aren't there ways to save flash streams for later use? If so, I doubt the movie industry would go for it. - username1201, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Na, I've been a member since early 2003 and mine says the same thing. I'm guessing it's a random roll out or based on some criteria we're not aware of. They're only enabling 1.5% today I think.
- VeganG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Hopefully they iron out the XP-only, IE-only kinks, but other than that, hooray for instant gratification.
- PLUMCRAZY, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2( @joeshlub: Actually, with iTunes selling billions of songs and now millions of TV/movies, the marketplace seems to think it's working OK. Most people seem to know what they're getting into with iTunes. )
Using this logic; Microsoft has never done anything wrong. Look at how many people are using their products! - jull1234, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I mean, you chose to become part of a small market segment, and you must have gone into it knowing that a significant number of mainstream services wouldn't be supporting your platform.
- simonrward, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Harrison88:
Have you tried amazon.co.uk? They do a pretty decent DVD rental service. Although I think it will be while before we get movies over IP - Butters66, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2So would you mac people be more happy if they charged an $5.00 for the use of this feature? My you are truly selfish people. My father would say you are cutting off your nose to spite your face. I thought all you hippie types were into sharing and the greater good? If it is free and 95% of the users can use it with no problems why would you want to stop that? If you are still against it, I hope you go get a blockbuster account or get an iTV and micropay for all your movies.
You paid and signed up for Netflix before this feature ever came about. Are you happy with the current service of delivering DVDs to your door? If not, complain about that. Don't complain about a new service. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I doubt it. I've been a Netflix member since January 2000 and I don't have access to this new feature yet...
Grr. - SpacemanSpiff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2ffdshow can enhance the experience, but I don't think it could be considered an upscaler.
http://www.htpcdigest.com/miscellaneous/ffdshow-tutorial.html - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@BLAM8
In terms of rental downloads, I think DRM is a good idea. However, when you 'buy' something for permanent use such as with iTunes, DRM is a horrible idea. There is a huge difference. DRM has its place in rentals, but not music or movie purchases. - dongiaconia, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It said my account is already enabled for it. Sweet. I know what I'm doing when I get home from work.
It gives you 3 groups chunks of movies:
Suggestions, Stuff in your Queue, and everything else.
IE only though. Bummer :( - clickwir, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Sounds like a beta plan. Call me when they can get some standardization and it's available on something more than just XP with IE.
When I can watch it in Firefox on Linux.... THEN we have a service worthy of the front page. - pr0t0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I think Timmy is on the right track. The only way I can see this getting to the living room is through a set-top internet appliance. I can't see how they would be able to offer movie companies a reasonable measure of security otherwise. Of course, someone will figure out a way to intercept the signal through a hardware device. The counter argument to which is, why would you bother if you can already download the movie at will? For sharing I suppose, but I don't know many who would.
And if a set-top box is in the offing, it would seem to be trivially easy for cable companies to create a similar offer. I have Time Warner Digital Cable which already has Movies on Demand and Pay-per-View. If they offered their catalog for an extra $10-15 per month tacked onto the bill, Netflix subscriptions would probably drop like panties on prom night. - msgyrd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I was watching CNBC this morning and Netflix's CEO was being interviewed. He said that this is a free service for all customers, up to 18 hours a month. I'm not a Netflix customer, so I don't know what this will cost you, but thats about 9 extra free movies a month that you can get on demand. Seems to be a decent addition to their services, even if you don't heavily use it.
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