Hasta La Gadget!

Multichannel News is passing on word from “an industry executive familiar with Netflix’s plans” that the company is prepping an app for the iPhone and iPod touch (not to mention the Wii, which we’ve heard before) that would let users enjoy their Watch Instantly queues from the comfort of the small screen — likely restricted to WiFi, of course, because the mere thought of trying to stream a movie over a saturated 3G network is about as brutal as fingernails on a chalkboard. It’s a cute rumor; the overlap in Netflix and iPhone owner demographics has to number in the hundreds of thousands, so it’s easy to understand why the thought of catching up on Friday Night Lights on the road would go over well with the populace.

A couple problems here, though: first off, Watch Instantly doesn’t store content locally, which means you’ve got to maintain an internet connection to enjoy the show. Assuming the no-3G thing panned out — and rest assured, it would — who wants to be stuck in a coffee shop for hours on end because you want to finish out a movie you’ve started? Secondly, if there’s one thing Apple loves, it’s maintaining control of the media ecosystem; we’ll see hell freeze over before we’ll see Watch Instantly on Apple TV, so why would the iPhone be any different? Of course, there’s nothing stopping Netflix from creating a Watch Instantly app, but getting it into the App Store is another matter altogether — and barring some wild FCC ruling, we’re not seeing Apple letting that happen.

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Portable Video

Netflix rumored to be bringing Watch Instantly to iPhones, skepticism advised originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 06:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bad news first: there might be a bit more competition than you expected for that home theater giveaway. Good luck bringing down Netflix’s shooting star though, as if last week’s good news train wasn’t enough comes news that over a million Xbox Live Gold members have already downloaded and activated the Watch Instantly app since its NXE debut last November. That’s more than 10% of Netflix’s just announced 9.4 million subscribers who’ve already watched over 1.5 billion minutes of TV and movies through their consoles. They’re not the only ones happy, while streaming may be eating into DVD rentals, Xbox Live Marketplace rentals are up 174 percent year over year. The streaming library is up to 12,000 titles, with a “growing percentage” in high definition, for the rest of the celebratory details check the full PR after the break. Nothing left for us to say but congratulations and hey, if you get a minute, could you fix Nilay’s HD streaming on the Xbox? Thanks.

Continue reading Xbox Live tallies 1 million Netflix Watch Instantly activations, 1.5 billion minutes served

Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Xbox Live tallies 1 million Netflix Watch Instantly activations, 1.5 billion minutes served originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 03:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netflix seems to be doing things right when it comes to the streaming game, partnering with several hardware companies in an attempt to make its service more or less ubiquitous — a pretty sharp break from the proprietary hardware approach taken by most of its competitors. That means Netflix subscribers have quite a few choices when it comes to streaming, and we thought we’d put the ones available now head-to-head and try to crown a winner. The good news? There isn’t a mediocre choice out there. The bad? Well, read on.

Update: We shot another video to answer some lingering questions about the Roku player, check it below.

Continue reading Engadget’s Netflix HD streaming shootout

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Engadget’s Netflix HD streaming shootout originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Jan 2009 11:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It was really only a matter of time, but instant streaming from Netflix is finally getting piped straight to the tele. Until now, users needed an HTPC or a set-top-box / movie player that supported Watch Instantly, but we’ve received word that LG will debut the world’s first Netflix-enabled HDTVs this Spring. Details are pretty light, but we’re told that both plasma and LCD models will be unleashed; unfortunately, it’s not entirely clear if HD Netflix will be included and if the sets will / won’t be WiFi-enabled. Keep it locked here for anything more, we get the feeling we haven’t heard the last about these beauties.

Update: The AP is suggesting that the inclusion of the Netflix streaming feature (or, “broadband capabilities,” as it were) could add around $200 to $300 per set. That’s a pretty hefty premium for ditching the box.

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

LG to release first HDTVs that instantly stream movies from Netflix originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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