Netflix to Offer Mac Video Streaming in 2008

[MacRumors]

AlleyInsider reports that during their Q4 financial results, Netflix confirmed that they were hoping to have a Mac web-streaming video solution available in 2008. An earlier Netflix blog entry from August had reported the same expectation. The core issue has been a lack of an available Digital Rights Management solution for the Mac:

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). I can promise you that, when an approved solution becomes available for the Mac, we'll be there.

Microsoft's Silverlight video technology appears to be the most promising solution which will support cross-platform (PC and Mac) DRM-encoded video. Silverlight is available in beta for Mac from Microsoft.

Netflix recently announced that they were expanding their streaming service to allow users to download an unlimited number of movies per month for a flat $8.99 fee. Later this year, they also plan on launching a set top box to allow users to watch streaming movies on their television. In contrast, Apple's movie rental solution offers $3.99/$4.99 24-hour rentals, and also offers a set-top box (Apple TV) to watch movies.

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[devilot]

Ugh. Figures this happens after I decide to close my Netflix account.

 

[overanalyzer]

I guess this means I can stop sending them weekly complaints/suggestions to add Mac support

 

[MacinDoc]

If the content is HD (at least 720P), and if they offer the service in Canada, I'm in!

 

[a1016neo]

Yah... As the Mac gains market share the more mac capable services there are

 

[McGiord]

Good...Good...

Apple really needs good competitors in the online video rentals market.
What I like from Netflix is their international and independedt films availability plus the fair monthly fee I pay.
This could force Apple to change its strategy and give us unlimited movie rentals for a flat fee.

Also I hope there is more online HD content.
________
mflb

 

[mac 2005]

********. If Apple can offer downloads of major motion picture studio-produced movies, then there is a DRM-enabled streaming solution for the Mac.

Netflix is being L-A-Z-Y. ****ers.

 

[SheriffParker]

********. If Apple can offer downloads of major motion picture studio-produced movies, then there is a DRM-enabled streaming solution for the Mac.

Netflix is being L-A-Z-Y. ****ers.

Did you even read the article? Apple won't license its DRM to Netflix... obviously since Netflix is a movie rental service and not a computer software powerhouse, they are having trouble writing DRM that the studios will approve.

 

[minik]

hmm.. I thought about canceling my Netflix subscription.

 

[shadowfax]

Ah, the sweet smell of competition. I hope this will drive Apple to better prices and terms on their rentals.

 

[kainjow]

This is great news. I watch their movies under Boot Camp and it works well. Not a lot of your typical movies are available, but they have added several seasons of tv shows, and there are a lot of documentaries and foreign films - stuff that doesn't require surround sound and an HDTV

 

[maknik]

Funny, I just tried Netflix streaming for the first time on my MacBook in Parallels. Sadly, while better than YouTube, it wasn't much better than Google Video quality, with lots of stuttering. I hope Bootcamp works a bit better until the Mac client comes out -- they have a surprisingly large catalog available.

 

[mambodancer]

Too good to last?

Hmmm...$8.95 for unlimited video streaming. That's a great deal and I'll be glad to see it for the Mac but how long will it be before the studios shut this down? They aren't making any money from this kind of deal.

 

[solipsism]

I'm glad there is competition on the Mac front for video downloads. This will push Apple to offer more options, at better quality,and lower prices. Though the current model is as cheap or cheaper than most cable VoD services, which is there more direct competitor here. Netlfix will still have its uses and I'll still rent from iTunes Store and keep my Netflix account.

MS needs a killer application for Silverlight to gain footing, this may be it. Is NBC still going to use it for there TV Shows?

Ugh. Figures this happens after I decide to close my Netflix account.

Then open it back up, it's not like there is a signup fee.

 

[peestandingup]

Netflix recently announced that they were expanding their streaming service to allow users to download an unlimited number of movies per month for a flat $8.99 fee.

I hate to nitpick, but this isn't proper terminology.

Netflix users don't "download" movies (like iTunes rentals), they stream it. I know download has different meanings to different people, but most view it as saving an actual file to your computer.

And the $8.99 flat fee doesnt just include streaming, which is how this makes it seem. Its their regular DVD "1 out at a time" service that they've had all along. Streaming was just thrown in for free.

 

[mambodancer]

Doubtful

Good...Good...

Apple really needs good competitors in the online video rentals market.
What I like from Netflix is their international and independedt films availability plus the fair monthly fee I pay.
This could force Apple to change its strategy and give us unlimited movie rentals for a flat fee.

Also I hope there is more online HD content.

Again, it has been said before but I guess it has to be repeated. Apple isn't alone in setting the prices it charges for the services they provide through iTunes. If they were, there would be no DRM and the prices would be lower. Remember, Jobs himself had said at one point he thought movies should sell for no more the $9.95. Couldn't do it because the studios don't want digital downloads to cut into their DVD sales.

 

[JPark]

...Remember, Jobs himself had said at one point he thought movies should sell for no more the $9.95. Couldn't do it because the studios don't want digital downloads to cut into their DVD sales.

Or possibly because Walmart doesn't want digital downloads to cut into their DVD sales.

 

[aLoC]

Apple should do a deal with these guys to let them use Quicktime DRM. We don't want them ending up using Silverlight, and then we depend on MS for our access to this service.

 

[mambodancer]

Exactly!

I hate to nitpick, but this isn't proper terminology.

Netflix users don't "download" movies (like iTunes rentals), they stream it. I know download has different meanings to different people, but most view it as saving an actual file to your computer.

And the $8.99 flat fee doesnt just include streaming, which is how this makes it seem. Its their regular DVD "1 out at a time" service that they've had all along. Streaming was just thrown in for free.

When I can download the movie from netflix and watch it on my iPhone, iPod, laptop or AppleTV then I'll be impressed. The problem with video streaming is in the quality of the internet connection you have and the "size" of the video window you choose to watch the movie in. If you increase the size to fill the screen, the images can become very pixelated and choppy and the video starts to drop frames.

I've used NBC's service HULU and the IPTV service Joost, both of which I recommend to watch streamed TV shows I've missed. I just wish I could download the shows and watch them without relying on a good, consistent high-speed internet connection.

And, now comes the news that Comcast maybe (actually is) throttling down bit torrent style internet connections. It takes little imagination to guess how they feel about people dropping their cable subscriptions and going all IPTV (I'm close to doing this myself).

One interesting side note regarding comcast high speed internet. I signed up for the highest speed service available packaged with Cable TV. When I got fed up with the quality of the cable service, I called Comcast and asked to have my cable TV discontinued in favor of only high speed internet. There reply was telling. I could do that but I would save only $5 a month (that, apparently is the value of cable TV) and, since it was no longer being bundled, I couldn't have the highest speed internet any more. They would drop the speed by about 33%! Hell of deal and great customer support but it shows how they feel about the digital world the rest of us are eager to embrace.

Here's the link from Boing Boing re: Comcast-

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/01/23/is-comcast-really-bl.html

 

[killerrobot]

Apple should do a deal with these guys to let them use Quicktime DRM. We don't want them ending up using Silverlight, and then we depend on MS for our access to this service.

I for one don't care if we have to depend on Silverlight...I already depend on VLC for almost all video anyways.
Once Netflix streams to Mac, my membership is back on.

 

[peestandingup]

When I can download the movie from netflix and watch it on my iPhone, iPod, laptop or AppleTV then I'll be impressed. The problem with video streaming is in the quality of the internet connection you have and the "size" of the video window you choose to watch the movie in. If you increase the size to fill the screen, the images can become very pixelated and choppy and the video starts to drop frames.

I've used NBC's service HULU and the IPTV service Joost, both of which I recommend to watch streamed TV shows I've missed. I just wish I could download the shows and watch them without relying on a good, consistent high-speed internet connection.

And, now comes the news that Comcast maybe (actually is) throttling down bit torrent style internet connections. It takes little imagination to guess how they feel about people dropping their cable subscriptions and going all IPTV (I'm close to doing this myself).

One interesting side note regarding comcast high speed internet. I signed up for the highest speed service available packaged with Cable TV. When I got fed up with the quality of the cable service, I called Comcast and asked to have my cable TV discontinued in favor of only high speed internet. There reply was telling. I could do that but I would save only $5 a month (that, apparently is the value of cable TV) and, since it was no longer being bundled, I couldn't have the highest speed internet any more. They would drop the speed by about 33%! Hell of deal and great customer support but it shows how they feel about the digital world the rest of us are eager to embrace.

Here's the link from Boing Boing re: Comcast-

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/01/23/is-comcast-really-bl.html

I was just clarifying. Im not partial to either service really. Although I will say that if 24 hours is all you get to watch a movie on that iPod/iPhone, whats the bloody point?? And my Netflix streaming looks great actually. Have you used it??

Comcast has always offered that top tier internet plan (and also for discount) when bundled with TV service. Here's what to do. Call them back & tell them you want the "Limited Basic Service" cable TV plan. Its $13.50 & they DO NOT advertise this service & they will give you . This way you get the discount & the top tier internet plan.

Seriously, this is what I have.

 

[marketwall]

Apple's movie rental solution offers $3.99/$4.99 24-hour rentals

Apple's movie rentals start at $2.99. $2.99 for Library titles, $3.99 for new releases, and a dollar more for HD.

I don't want to pay a monthly subscription, so Apple's solution is better for me than Netflix. Also, I'm not keen on using on using Microsoft's Silverlight. It should be available for Mac eventually, but Microsoft doesn't have a good track record of maintaining their cross-platform compatibility. And since Silverlight for Mac is an afterthought (still not out of beta yet), updates will probably always lag far behind the Windows platform.

 

[digitalnicotine]

I love the Netflix streaming, and use a cheap PC laptop pretty much exclusively for that and a few other PC only things (I use my mac for everything else). They used to allow a certain number of hours of streaming, depending on your plan, but they went unlimited about a day before the Mac Conference this year. I keep Netflix because I get Blu-ray rentals, so the streaming just sweetened the deal. Now I'm thinking I like what I see so far with the iTunes rentals, and will probably use that to rent movies that are wait listed on Netflix.

Curious if other Netflix users have had any issues with getting cracked discs in the mail? I've gotten 3 in the past 30 days, and it's extremely annoying to have to send them back and wait for them to send a working version. If that continues, it may cause me to switch wholly to iTunes.

 

[aLoC]

I for one don't care if we have to depend on Silverlight...I already depend on VLC for almost all video anyways.
Once Netflix streams to Mac, my membership is back on.

It's just that MS are so slow to release updates. So imagine OS 10.6 comes out and breaks Silverlight. If MS takes a year to update it, it's no Netflix for a year.

 

[cswallow01]

Not Sure, If People Realize This, BUT....

Even if Netflix, Movielink or CinemaNow utilized Silverlight or Flash for movies on the Mac, there's just one little issue...

THEY AIN'T NEVER GONNA TOUCH THE IPODS!!!

So anyone's dream of utilizing a Netflix To-Go type service is dreaming, less Apple wises up and decides to play nice & fair with their iPod line-up.

Then everyone will be pushing for DRM-Free Movies!!! Ha-Ha! Good Luck!

Maybe they can SDK something for the iPhone/iPod Touch, but I think the iPod Nano and iPod Classic is more like... HALF PAST NEVER!!!

I guess the Starz Vongo deal fell through with Apple.... I thought they were in negotiations like 2-3 years ago. The only thing I thought was standing in the way was the DRM, for it... Now we have FairPlay 3, with rental/subscription capabilities and nothing has happend...

Intriguing!!!