Netflix Mac Video Streaming Begins Testing

Adamo said:
DVD Player and VLC work fine.. ;)
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I mostly use Quicktime and VLC (mostly VLC). VLC can handle any format, I yet to trow something and it, that it cannot handle.

VLC for my videos
itunes for my music

Looking to get a new big screen LCD for the living room, may get a mini to accompany it.
 
synth3tik said:
I know Apple won't license their DRM and I am all for that, but this delay was not caused by Apple.

Finding out the VLC can stream video leaves another ave. that netflix could have taken, I just don't like that we wait this long and they say it is totally Apple fault.
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VLC doesn't do DRM either (AFAIK).
 
iSee said:
Who cares if it uses Silverlight, as long as it works?
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Bingo ...I'll use a Mac native MS product any day if it keeps me from having to boot XP in VMWare every damn time I want to watch something on Netflix.

Bring on the Silverlight!
 
zweigand said:
Bingo ...I'll use a Mac native MS product any day if it keeps me from having to boot XP in VMWare every damn time I want to watch something on Netflix.

Bring on the Silverlight!
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Funny how it took a Microsoft technology to bring a service to Mac. :eek:
 
Yeah!! Don't dis Netflix for Silverlight

First of all there's nothing wrong with Silverlight. Netflix must be using Silverlight 2.0 which is Intel only, that's no big deal, since Apple already implicitly gave the "Intel only" okay when they announced Snow Leopard was Intel only.

Back to Silverlight, Silverlight is fine. I've been watchin MLBtv from mlb.com all year hooked up to my 50" Samsung LED dlp tv and it's been awesome. You figured Netflix had to go with Flash 10/Adobe Media Player or Silverlight and they chose the one that has been "proven".

I don't know why people are dissing it so much it's a VERY small download, it installs easily, and "IT WORKS". Except when MLBtv servers collapsed under load on the last day of the regular season when the Mets, Brewers, White Sox, and Twins were all fighting to get into the playoffs, Silverlight performed just fine.

Now if Blockbuster/MovieLink would get on board with decent cross-platform solution, I could get rid of my windows partition. Blockbuster/MovieLink has way more movies rentals available for rent than iTunes, but their reliance on windows media player really sucks. Perhaps Silverlight will provide a transition strategy for them.
 
I'm pleased to hear this. It's a battle to get the player to work on a PC; you have to go through endless gyrations installing upgrades and patches to WMP; I Googled the problem to death looking for answers to questions. I expect the Mac incarnation to 'simply work.' That's the biggest advantage Mac has over the PC: Things simply work.
 
DaBrain said:
Funny how it took a Microsoft technology to bring a service to Mac. :eek:
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Funnier that it was Microsoft's proprietary DRM that MS refuses to make available for Macs that precluded the service to begin with. Now MS gets paid twice (once for the WMV version and once for the Silverlight version) by Netflix distribute online movies.

Going with a company that offers a solution that can only support some of you potential customers than paying that company again to support the rest seems a bit on the "fool me once..." side of things. But it is nice to see the service be available to Mac users. The cynic in me is waiting for the rub however. :(
 
phasornc said:
First of all there's nothing wrong with Silverlight. Netflix must be using Silverlight 2.0 which is Intel only, that's no big deal, since Apple already implicitly gave the "Intel only" okay when they announced Snow Leopard was Intel only.

Back to Silverlight, Silverlight is fine. I've been watchin MLBtv from mlb.com all year hooked up to my 50" Samsung LED dlp tv and it's been awesome. You figured Netflix had to go with Flash 10/Adobe Media Player or Silverlight and they chose the one that has been "proven".

I don't know why people are dissing it so much it's a VERY small download, it installs easily, and "IT WORKS". Except when MLBtv servers collapsed under load on the last day of the regular season when the Mets, Brewers, White Sox, and Twins were all fighting to get into the playoffs, Silverlight performed just fine.

Now if Blockbuster/MovieLink would get on board with decent cross-platform solution, I could get rid of my windows partition. Blockbuster/MovieLink has way more movies rentals available for rent than iTunes, but their reliance on windows media player really sucks. Perhaps Silverlight will provide a transition strategy for them.
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Finally, a sound voice of reason in this thread.
 
wtf apple get off your @ss!

...and figure out a way to combine AppleTV and the Mini and make HD (real HD) movies available so I don't have to buy stuff from other vendors!

i'm probably the only person in the US who has an HD tv with rabbit ears because i don't use it for television-i use my tv for movies but i've been waiting for an excellent medium for HD.

i don't want to spend $300 on a PS3 just so I can watch HD movies. the thing is, everyone that is waiting for Blu-Ray on any consumer Mac can forget it. it is not in Apple's interest to support physical media-they want you to buy stuff through iTunes. i'm sorry Steve Jobs but movies aren't like music, i don't WANT to own every movie that i've rented-give me a subscription model, give me true HD, and give me the ability to use internet apps with this device and i'll give you the money for the device AND the subscription and Netflix/Microsoft gets nothing.

or, keep dragging your heels and giving me no choice but to go with Netflix...either way.

jm
 
phasornc said:
First of all there's nothing wrong with Silverlight. Netflix must be using Silverlight 2.0 which is Intel only, that's no big deal, since Apple already implicitly gave the "Intel only" okay when they announced Snow Leopard was Intel only.
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Of course. I was trying to figure out why I had no problem running Silverlight on my PPC and yet Netflix would deem me unworthy. Now it all makes sense. I do wonder though - is there anything inherent to the PPC that would make 2.0 support development prohibitively expensive, or is it just a time-money issue?

Plus, it doesn't help that they last time I checked the Silverlight page was a month or so ago while it was still in beta. Good to see that development is continually progressing.
 
Silverlight has the quality and most importantly the DRM capabilities that Netflix and the movie studios required.

It is actually a very efficient and high quality plug in for safari.

For those that bash MS. Well they released a Mac version right with Windows. If not there would be no Netflix on a Mac PERIOD! Thanks Microsoft!
 
I think the reason why many Mac users are annoyed at this is that Microsoft seems to have to stick their grubby fingers in EVERYTHING, and companies always seem to side with Microsoft when it comes to streaming audio and video.

For instance: Nearly all online-only radio stations use Shoutcast/Icecast to broadcast. The only thing you need to play those streams is either iTunes or Quicktime on the Mac, XMMS on other UNIX-like systems, and Winamp on Windows. This is awesome, reliable, and just works.

However, commercial radio stations almost always send out their Internet streams with WMA. The result is you have to use kludgy ways of playing the stream on non-Windows platforms: Flip4Mac on Macs, and mplayer with closed-source libraries on Linux.

It just always seems that way. Smaller, independant companies tend to find non-Microsoft ways of doing things that work for everyone, bigger companies side with the beast.

I hate being forced to use a Microsoft product to use a service. Companies should embrace open standards. They tend to work better and there's no lock-in.

Even streaming Quicktime is more open than Microsoft Silverlight. You can play with with VLC, which is open source.

It's not so much that it doesn't work; a lot of us are just pissed at seeing MS's name stamped on everything when we spend so much time trying to get away from it.
 
iPhone?

Netflix is an awesome service, but they do seem a bit behind the times with streaming technology.

They're just getting around to a Mac-capable service, years late. And yet there is no mention of an iPhone-compatible service.

If they were on top of their tech game, they'd be there already.

Don't get me wrong - NetFlix has an awesome service, and they are truly innovators in terms of mailing DVDs around and on-line queue management. But their streaming tech is most certainly 2nd class.
 
Thanks for nuttin', Netflix

My dual processor G5 PowerMac is still a rockin' machine. This rapidly-approaching enforced (and untimely) obsolescence is really starting to annoy me.
 
Great news, but they REALLY need to include appleTV as well. Streaming would be great but I don't want to have to move my mac next to the TV.

Anyone heard if there's a way to get in on the testing?
 
Freis968 said:
So, the announcement seems quite vague, only a few lucky Netflix subscribers are able to do this until the end of the year when it becomes available? How do you get chosen to participate? I have been looking forward to this feature since I became a Netflix subscriber one month ago!
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I called and asked - it's a random rollout, in stages, and there's no way to be added to a waiting list, so we just have to wait out turn.
 
No G5 support!

This sucks. I have been using Netflix for 5 years and am pissed that I can't play movies on my Mac. Guess what I still cant.
 
So anybody one of the luck few?

Are any of ya'll one the special ones to get access to instant viewing on the mac? I can't access it - any comments on speed, quality, etc...?
 
I just re-subscribed Netflix days ago. Fired up VMware Fusion and checked out the streaming movie titles, there ain't many available. So far, I don't see the movie streaming that valuable, I will stick with the DVD/BR delivery method.
 
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