Hasta La Gadget!

Time Warner Cable has accused Netflix of discriminatory behavior, unfairly limiting content to subscribers since it demands ISPs join its Open Connect delivery system before they get select 3D and Super HD movies. “While they call it ‘Open Connect’, Netflix is actually closing off access to some of its content while seeking unprecedented preferential treatment from ISPs” Time Warner Cable told Multichannel News, referring to the new high-bandwidth media types Netflix announced it would offer last week.

“We believe it is wrong for Netflix to withhold any content formats from our subscribers and the subscribers of many other ISPs” the ISP continued. “Time Warner Cable’s network is more than capable of delivering this content to Netflix subscribers today.”

The contention is around Netflix’s insistance that, if ISPs want to serve up its more bandwidth-demanding content like higher-resolution Super HD or 3D, they need to also opt into the (free) Open Connect scheme. That puts a direct pipe between Netflix and ISP, by co-locating a caching server – storing copies of the most frequently-viewed media – on site with the ISP’s own hardware.

Such a scheme saves Netflix on bandwidth costs. Super HD content, for instance, requires a 5Mbps connection; a current list of Open Connect-participating ISPs is here.

“Open Connect provides Netflix data at no cost to the location the ISP desires and doesn’t seek preferential treatment” CCO Jonathan Friedland told We hope TimeWarner will join the many major ISPs around the world who are participating in Open Connect to reduce costs, minimize congestion and improve data delivery to enhance the consumer experience.”

It’s uncertain whether the ISP will settle for complaining about Netflix’s policies, or if there’s a lawsuit in the offing.

[via GigaOm]

Netflix is discriminating against its customers accuses Time Warner Cable is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Netflix customers in the US will soon get a host of new shows coming their way, thanks to a content-licensing agreement between Netflix and two content providers, Turner Broadcasting and Warner Bros. Television Group. The deal means that tons of new shows from Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, TNT, and more, will be making their way to the streaming service as soon as late March.

Netflix’s exclusive Arrested Development production won’t air until later this May, so while eager fans are waiting for the show’s return, they’ll be able to catch up on shows like Adventure Time, Ben 10, the Green Lantern animated series, Robot Chicken, Johnny Bravo, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and TNT’s Dallas, which will join Netflix in January 2014, while the rest will come on March 30.

This licensing agreement comes just one week after Netflix announced an earlier deal, which focused primarily on live-action shows, and it appears that Netflix and Warner Bros. are becoming increasingly friendly with one another, which is both good for the two companies involved, as well as the consumers.

With the ever-increasing back catalog of TV shows, Netflix is becoming a dominant figure in the streaming media realm, hosting not only TV shows, but a respectable collection of movies as well. And every time the service makes another deal with a content provider, it becomes more and more tempting to cut the cable cord.

[via Deadline]

Netflix makes content-licensing deal with Turner and Warner Bros. is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It looks like Netflix users in the US will soon have quite a few new TV series to choose from as they wait for Arrested Development to make its big return in May. The company announced today that it’s struck a multi-year deal with Turner Broadcasting and the Warner Bros. Television Group that will see a variety of animated and live-action series from the Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. Animation, Adult Swim and TNT be made available for streaming. That includes the likes of Adventure Time, Ben 10, the Green Lantern animated series, Robot Chicken, Aqua Teen Hunger Force and TNT’s Dallas, the last of which is an exclusive deal that begins in January of 2014 — all the other series will be available starting March 30th.

Continue reading Netflix lands deal for Turner and Warner Bros. TV series beginning in March

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

Comments

In the world of DVD services that mail movies out to its customers, we can’t think of another service as popular and widely known as Netflix. Subscribers to its DVD-mailing service know a good time is a-comin’ when they spot that red envelope in their mailbox. But it turns out the postal service, you know, the people who are responsible for delivering your Netflix DVDs, have been discriminating in favor of Netflix mail compared to other similar services, like Gamefly.

Judges in Washington DC have ordered the Postal Regulatory Commission to end all discriminations against Gamefly, or at least “explain why treating GameFly differently than Netflix is reasonable.”

Apparently, the U.S. Postal Service has been manually sorting Netflix DVDs at no extra charge to the company, while other similar services, like Gamefly wasn’t shown the same favoritism, which could result in an “epidemic of broken discs.

We understand the movie industry is considered much bigger than the gaming industry, but showing that kind of favoritism to one company and not another when they both have identical services is ridiculous. We’re hoping the ruling changes how the postal service treats their DVD-mailing services and treats all of them with care.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: President Obama Signs Bill Allowing Netflix Users To Share Videos Through Facebook, Samsung Partners With Lionsgate To Convert Films Into 3D,

A new bill allowing Facebook users to automatically share details of the Netflix video they’ve just watched has been signed by President Obama, with express permission for each and every share no longer required. The Video Privacy Protection Act Amendments Act now means video viewing history can be shared without demanding written consent on every occasion, opening the door to automatic posts from video streaming sites like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Video.

The original act, passed into law in 1988, was designed to prevent intrusion of privacy. However, in the digital age, it also hamstrung providers like Netflix from offering automatic social networking integration in the US. Whereas Netflix offers a Facebook app outside of the US, for instance, until now it could not do the same for its US users.

The US Senate cleared the law back in December, though not without some tussling in November. One previous version saw it modified to demand police warrants before emails, Facebook messages, and other documents online could be read, but it was removed after concerns about how it could affect investigations.

Now that the Act has been approved by Obama, providers like Netflix are likely to swing into action with new sharing tools that allow greater integration with Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. Whether you actually want your friends to know that you sat through a five hour How It’s Made marathon is another issue, however.

[via The Hill]

Obama signs Netflix Facebook sharing bill is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.