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I'd love to see Apple approve a netflix streaming app, but I don't think it will happen because it would cut into itunes store sales too much.
 
If there's enough battery life and available bandwidth to watch a streaming movie on an iPad while flying cross-country, without paying an arm and a leg for the service, I'd give it a try. Airlines are experimenting with Internet access and pricing for it and I don't know whether or not all these pieces will come together.

Even Netflix streaming at home can get stuck buffering now and then. If it happens too often, count me out.
 
Hopefully this would also work with iPod Touch. And I already look forward to being able to watch Netflix content on an iPad. :)
 
I have a half-hour commute on CalTrain and most mornings I watch either a third of a movie or a TV show on my iPhone.

I'm not talking about watching a 1/3 of a movie...neither is Netflix. Watching a full, non-stop 1.5+ hour movie on a 4" diagonal screen over a wireless internet connection (when you have the connection) is not going to appeal to the masses...on many levels...and I summed this up earlier and not about to write a novel on the topic. Wanna watch a 24 minute tv show like Seinfeld on the tiny iPhone? Sure. Most people can tolerate that much time staring at the small screen.

Sounds to me like you have issues with your internet connection. You should not attempt to extrapolate your poor experience. Anecdotal evidence is not evidence.

Um, no. My connection is just fine thanks. I routinely pull at 18Mbs and higher via decent websites (Adobe or MS for downloads) and NNTP and other internet protocols. Don't be so quick to judge. There are plenty of forums that talk about Netflix's poor streaming from a technical point of view as well as their not-so-great selection in movies. And remember, not everyone has 20Mbit downstream...most people in the USA are probably at 5-10Mbit...and that's PEAK...your ISP is not giving you the promised downstream 100% of the time (for a bazillion reasons). Need more bandwidth than 5-10Mbit downstream (which is very likely for Netflix streaming)?...now ya gotta pay for it (if you can get it) from your ISP for an additional $10-$15/month. And let's not forget that you are NOT the only one on that WIFI network (unless maybe it's your house)...that's the big hole in this theory that 10 people will be sitting around Dunkin Donuts watching movies/shows over a free wireless 10Mbit downstream internet connection with 0 connectivity/buffering problems. Yeah, call me when that day comes.

The beautiful streaming video vision that Cox painted 10 years ago (do you remember all the tv commercials?...I do...) will...some day...be a reality for the masses. I don't see this Netflix endeavor being very reliable/viable/fun for 5+ years for the masses.

Just because you (like myself) have had some successes with new technology adoption doesn't mean it will be viable in the very immediate future for the average Joe Consumer to have access to, pay for, use, and enjoy.

In theory, Netflix's endeavor may be attractive to customers...hence the survey before spending hundreds of millions of dollars on technology, copyrights, marketing, and other stuff.

-Eric
 
I'm not talking about watching a 1/3 of a movie...neither is Netflix. Watching a full, non-stop 1.5+ hour movie on a 4" diagonal screen over a wireless internet connection (when you have the connection) is not going to appeal to the masses...on many levels...and I summed this up earlier and not about to write a novel on the topic. Wanna watch a 24 minute tv show like Seinfeld on the tiny iPhone? Sure. Most people can tolerate that much time staring at the small screen.



Um, no. My connection is just fine thanks. I routinely pull at 18Mbs and higher via decent websites (Adobe or MS for downloads) and NNTP and other internet protocols. Don't be so quick to judge. There are plenty of forums that talk about Netflix's poor streaming from a technical point of view as well as their not-so-great selection in movies. And remember, not everyone has 20Mbit downstream...most people in the USA are probably at 5-10Mbit...and that's PEAK...your ISP is not giving you the promised downstream 100% of the time (for a bazillion reasons). Need more bandwidth than 5-10Mbit downstream (which is very likely for Netflix streaming)?...now ya gotta pay for it (if you can get it) from your ISP for an additional $10-$15/month. And let's not forget that you are NOT the only one on that WIFI network (unless maybe it's your house)...that's the big hole in this theory that 10 people will be sitting around Dunkin Donuts watching movies/shows over a free wireless 10Mbit downstream internet connection with 0 connectivity/buffering problems. Yeah, call me when that day comes.

The beautiful streaming video vision that Cox painted 10 years ago (do you remember all the tv commercials?...I do...) will...some day...be a reality for the masses. I don't see this Netflix endeavor being very reliable/viable/fun for 5+ years for the masses.

Just because you (like myself) have had some successes with new technology adoption doesn't mean it will be viable in the very immediate future for the average Joe Consumer to have access to, pay for, use, and enjoy.

In theory, Netflix's endeavor may be attractive to customers...hence the survey before spending hundreds of millions of dollars on technology, copyrights, marketing, and other stuff.

-Eric

are you on comcast/cox?
 
I'm not talking about watching a 1/3 of a movie...neither is Netflix. Watching a full, non-stop 1.5+ hour movie on a 4" diagonal screen over a wireless internet connection (when you have the connection) is not going to appeal to the masses...on many levels...and I summed this up earlier and not about to write a novel on the topic. Wanna watch a 24 minute tv show like Seinfeld on the tiny iPhone? Sure. Most people can tolerate that much time staring at the small screen.



Um, no. My connection is just fine thanks. I routinely pull at 18Mbs and higher via decent websites (Adobe or MS for downloads) and NNTP and other internet protocols. Don't be so quick to judge. There are plenty of forums that talk about Netflix's poor streaming from a technical point of view as well as their not-so-great selection in movies. And remember, not everyone has 20Mbit downstream...most people in the USA are probably at 5-10Mbit...and that's PEAK...your ISP is not giving you the promised downstream 100% of the time (for a bazillion reasons). Need more bandwidth than 5-10Mbit downstream (which is very likely for Netflix streaming)?...now ya gotta pay for it (if you can get it) from your ISP for an additional $10-$15/month. And let's not forget that you are NOT the only one on that WIFI network (unless maybe it's your house)...that's the big hole in this theory that 10 people will be sitting around Dunkin Donuts watching movies/shows over a free wireless 10Mbit downstream internet connection with 0 connectivity/buffering problems. Yeah, call me when that day comes.

The beautiful streaming video vision that Cox painted 10 years ago (do you remember all the tv commercials?...I do...) will...some day...be a reality for the masses. I don't see this Netflix endeavor being very reliable/viable/fun for 5+ years for the masses.

Just because you (like myself) have had some successes with new technology adoption doesn't mean it will be viable in the very immediate future for the average Joe Consumer to have access to, pay for, use, and enjoy.

In theory, Netflix's endeavor may be attractive to customers...hence the survey before spending hundreds of millions of dollars on technology, copyrights, marketing, and other stuff.

-Eric


I have to agree with the other poster you do have some connection issue. It may not be with your ISP per se, perhaps the connections between netflix and your ISP OR maybe your ISP throttles netflix (many do and it's something to consider) because netflix works flawlessly even with a 760k dsl connection so if you truly have 20meg line there's no way you should have any problem with netflix, it should buffer in under a minute and play non stop through till the end. Many ISP's are sneaky about their throttling, temporary connections get passed through just fine such as downloading from the net, but known high bandwidth consumers such as netflix get throttled down to nothing, this makes the user think it's the service instead of the ISP and they drop the service, thus the ISP doens't have to deal with it drawing on them in the long run. Comcast was caught doing this with netflix and with p2p networks, I'm sure they're not the only ones doing it.

Also, just because netflix streams over wifi doesn't mean you're watching the movie ON the phone. The phone just becomes a portable portal for the service. You can walk your phone to your friends house and plug it into their TV to watch your netflix queue over there, or you can connect the phone to a projector to throw a larger image on the wall. In either instance you're likely at a home where you probably are the only person using the wifi.
 
I have to agree with the othe poster you do have some connection issue. It may not be with your ISP per se, perhaps the connections between netflix and your ISP OR maybe your ISP throttles netflix (many do and it's something to consider) because netflix works flawlessly even with a 760k dsl connection so if you truly have 20meg line there's no way you should have any problem with netflix, it should buffer in under a minute and play non stop through till the end. Many ISP's are sneaky about their throttling, temporary connections get passed through just fine, but known high bandwidth consumers such as netflix get throttled down to nothing, this makes the user think it's the service instead of the ISP and they drop the service, thus the ISP doens't have to deal with it drawing on them in the long run. Comcast was caught doing this with netflix and with p2p networks, I'm sure they're not the only ones doing it.

Right...I'm very aware of the ISP games as well as how many hops it is between Netflix and my house. :) But these points, no matter where the blame lies, is a barrier to adoption. The consumer doesn't want to be part of the finger pointing game (which is very true today in computer issues as well as home internet connection issues)...If Netflix says/promises the ability, it better be real.

My main gripes with Neflix streaming are/were:

1)Fastforward/Rewind was horrific...20-30 second delays when using. Playing non-stop seemed to work ok. Even if I paused it, to re-engage the movie would take 10+ seconds.

2)The video quality was bad...it looked terrible on my HDTV. It was not HD (and I know they don't claim it to be) but even at low def it was worse than any low def tv station that I get.

3)The selection of movies was real bad. This could be due to licensing/copyright concerns by the owners.
 
100% here.

I love netflix streaming, and would be all for it on iphone/ipad.

I need to find this survey.
 
Apple TV and Ipad please...

My Xbox 360 spends most of its operational time these days streaming Netflix, and my old bulky laptop pretty much hangs out in my bedroom these days because we use it to watch Netflix while in bed. Now, the Ipad would be a lot higher on my radar screen if I could use it to watch Netfix.

The most obviouse place for this would also be on AppleTV...but I don't think we will ever see Apple allow Netflix streaming on that device.
 
The iPad has nothing to do with bringing the future of streaming any closer.

You actually think it doesn't?

The amount of content that will be consumed on the iPad will be astronomical. Content providers (who implement streaming features) will certainly want to take advantage of the platform that everyone will be a) using and b) wanting to use.

From here on in, the iPad will play a role in nearly every major tech-related decision made by content providers.

The question will not be: what are you offering? But rather: what are you offering for the iPad and Apple devices?
 
Flash who?

So Flash is essential for the "true" internet experience is it.

We've already realised that most flash games/interfaces won't work, even in the presence the (flakey, resource hogging, battery draining) plug-in as a touch device can't distinguish between mouseOver and onClick, so that's out of the window anyway.

We have Youtube and BBC iPlayer with flash alternatives already in place and Hulu, Vimeo and Netflix developing them. Along with the New York times providing alternative content to flash and Associated Press announcing the availability of their publications for the iPad, again before launch.

So it seems the future is very rosy for streaming video content and a 'full' internet experience on the 'pad - the big guns are already changing their delivery method and the device isn't even on the high street yet.

Good times.
 
The iPad has nothing to do with bringing the future of streaming any closer.

Simply not true. This device in homes will increase demand. We live in a supply and demand economic model. The iPhone and iPod Touch have almost single-handedly created the desire for hand held media streaming and true mobile internet, the 'Pad will do the same again, the difference being that this time the content providers don't want to be left out in the cold, or playing catch-up.

The difference here is that this device will be available without a contract, activation or credit check and is priced (here in the UK at least) at less than the iPhone, with it's limited choice of network providers.
 
You actually think it doesn't?

The amount of content that will be consumed on the iPad will be astronomical. Content providers (who implement streaming features) will certainly want to take advantage of the platform that everyone will be a) using and b) wanting to use.

From here on on, the iPad will play a role in nearly every major tech-related decision made by content providers.

The question will not be: what are you offering? But rather: what are you offering for the iPad and Apple devices?


Yep, I actually think so.

Internet streaming will move forward regardless of the success or failure of the iPad. The iPad is nice for some use purposes, but it is anything but the holy grail of streaming video consumption devices.

Get real, it's a 9.7" 4:3 display. Like that's really gonna drive people to stream video.

On the other hand, building in high quality streaming to every television, DVR, DVD/BluRay player, etc and outputting it onto a big beautiful 16:9 40"+ HDTV display at a cost that is less than the cable companies are providing and streaming makes sense.
 
So Flash is essential for the "true" internet experience is it.

We've already realised that most flash games/interfaces won't work, even in the presence the (flakey, resource hogging, battery draining) plug-in as a touch device can't distinguish between mouseOver and onClick, so that's out of the window anyway.

We have Youtube and BBC iPlayer with flash alternatives already in place and Hulu, Vimeo and Netflix developing them. Along with the New York times providing alternative content to flash and Associated Press announcing the availability of their publications for the iPad, again before launch.

So it seems the future is very rosy for streaming video content and a 'full' internet experience on the 'pad - the big guns are already changing their delivery method and the device isn't even on the high street yet.

Good times.

This. In 2010 and beyond, if your content doesn't play well with Apple devices you're not playing the game right.
 
Yep, I actually think so.

Internet streaming will move forward regardless of the success or failure of the iPad. The iPad is nice for some use purposes, but it is anything but the holy grail of streaming video consumption devices.

Get real, it's a 9.7" 4:3 display. Like that's really gonna drive people to stream video.

On the other hand, building in high quality streaming to every television, DVR, DVD/BluRay player, etc and outputting it onto a big beautiful 16:9 40"+ HDTV display at a cost that is less than the cable companies are providing and streaming makes sense.

No one is saying it is the perfect streaming device, some 'holy grail' - the point is that the device will increase demand. Where there is demand, there is supply and the iPad will continue to increase that demand.
 
Simply not true. This device in homes will increase demand. We live in a supply and demand economic model. The iPhone and iPod Touch have almost single-handedly created the desire for hand held media streaming and true mobile internet, the 'Pad will do the same again, the difference being that this time the content providers don't want to be left out in the cold, or playing catch-up.

The difference here is that this device will be available without a contract, activation or credit check and is priced (here in the UK at least) at less than the iPhone, with it's limited choice of network providers.

You're responding to my comment out of context to the original post.

Mobile internet, yes, streaming MOBILE content, maybe.

Streaming content, no way. Look how far it's come before the iPad was ever announced, and with Hulu, NetFlix, FIOS, HBO and others pushing it down the pipe, the iPad will neither make nor break it.

Some of you need to step outside of the little closed garden that is AppleTV, Mac computers, iPhone's, iPods and iPads - there's a lot of other stuff going on in the world that doesn't rely on Apple to exist, or even prosper.

I know it hurts for the true fanboys to think about that, but it's true.
 
Streaming is the future, and by the looks of it, it's already here. Thanks to the possibilities the iPad brings to the table.

No one is saying it is the perfect streaming device, some 'holy grail' - the point is that the device will increase demand. Where there is demand, there is supply and the iPad will continue to increase that demand.

Looks like you're back pedaling a bit, aren't you?

I'll refer you back to your first post which certainly implies a belief that, no flat out states that it is the iPad that is making defining the possibilities of streaming content in the future. It isn't. Streaming exists and will evolve with or without the iPad, but it won't be completely defined by it.
 
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