Maybe the Netflix STB will be a TiVo after all.

Color me sedated. Too little, too late. Who the heck wants to watch movies on their computer? Not me! Not my computer-phobic mom either. But then again, she thinks Netflix is too complicated to begin with.

Has anyone actually stood up, raised their hand, and declared that sitting in an uncomfortable chair at their ikea computer desk is their preferred movie-enjoyment method!?

I feel the same about using television. I watch everything on my PC, usually doing other stuff on my other two screens. How anybody could possibly want to be restricted to a crappy low-res television where they can't do any multitasking whatsoever is beyond me.

Laptops, my friend..

I'm just curious how they're going to support a huge user base of streaming video consumers. 3mbit x 10,000 concurrent streaming viewers is 30 gigabit.

That is, if we have users with 3mb connections.

Consider the popularity of 1.5mb dsl and that most users will have to watch movies in a preview box. Grand indeed.

Unfortunately there are no laptops with the specifications I require in any decent price range. Especially none which have the sheer screen real-estate I use. At my computer is where I feel the most comfortable; Sitting for an hour or two in front of a TV is one of the most uncomfortable things I can possibly do, and even using a laptop while I'm there (of which there is one in the house) just doesn't quite feel right.

I don't think that its Netflicks' plan to have people watch movies at their desk, or even on a laptop. The problem with the consumer electronics/content deliver industry, is that they are each jumping the gun, racing to establish the living room/media center as a permanent fixture in peoples' v-side of the a/v experience. This is far from becoming commonplace. As consumers become more savvy about consumer electronics, their perspectives have driven a false demand for products which clearly aren't ready for market. Everyone is trying to get their foot in the door with regard to the potential multi-billion dollar market, which I believe is still about 10-15 Years off. I'm referring to an established system for disc-less delivery of filmed content. Storage-based media is not going anywhere 'till at least 2021. Netflicks: don't let Blockbuster scare you into doing something stupid. This town is big enough for the both of you.

Think about it: We've had pay-per-view for millions of years, and for SOME reason people still go to the video store, or go to netflicks. Music and movies are not the same. You cant apply the iTunes model to movies. iTv will fail. The netflicks download venture will also fail and so will every other company that tries to "control the living room." So, apple, Comcast, netflicks, Microsoft, Sony... everybody just cool it!

I've had my computer in the living room for years incorporating music, video, games, etc and connecting all of those to through my 42" HD Plasma TV. The addition of being able to watch a movie on a whim is a plus. Pricing will be the big issue for me though. If it's too much forget it, I'll just buy the DVD and add it to my library. I think it's the right direction but I wouldn't buy stock in the company yet.

question: is this included in dvd rental subscription or does it cost extra?

and then its only a matter of time before someone learns how to save movies from netflix onto their hdd for some serious pirating :) praise netflix!

In response to Ibelli's comment.

"Everyone is trying to get their foot in the door with regard to the potential multi-billion dollar market, which I believe is still about 10-15 Years off."

Watch the march of technology from the last 15 years to now. In 1992 the Internet was just getting it's just due from the media. And I'm sure that we all remember salivating for that 56k modem in computer magazines. My point here is that your timing is way off. Technology is going to march forward much faster than your giving it credit. And look at the newest item to hit the living room in years completely revamping what we see every night. HD TV. That one item is pushing people to take a look at their media centers and change them buying new items to hook up to their new HD TV's.

Lame. I've been thirsting for a Netflix streaming service for years, and now they announce this disappointment. You can't watch it on your TV. You can't watch it on Mac or Linux or a mobile phone or a PDA. You can't even watch it on your computer's media player of choice - it's in-browser. And in IE, no less.

If they were really determined to use a browser, at least deliver the movies as Flash video. Flash 8 video is extremely high quality, low bandwidth, and cross platform. You can even DRM the crap out of it if you want (and I'm sure Netflix would want) with Flash Media Server.

I love you Netflix, but c'mon. You could have done much better than this, and launched with a splash.

Planned Rentals v. Video on Demand - that's the real debate here. Which system will be easier to use, and first to get to the market with all titles in some slick fashion.

Netflix is definitely hoping to keep preference lists and rental in everyone's minds while lots of news of reaching for the living room continues from Apple, Microsoft, et al.

Dammit, somebody better come up with an MCE plugin for this when it rolls out, and fast. I want to watch this on my TV.

I always assumed they'd come up with an iTunes-ish downloading solution, where you'd have 3 movies watchable at a time. Let them download at night. I understand the DRM difficulties, but streaming is l4m3.

Plus, who wants to have to run Windows? They should be going after the technophiles and early adopters here, and that means Macs.

Once again, Mac and Linux users are left in the cold..
We really need somebody like Sun (i.e. sopmbody who doesn't sell Operating systems) to come up with a standard that they will license for a resonable price to everybody else. I am thinking something along the lines of the Motion Pictures expert Group (the creators of MPEG 1, 2, 4 etc..)

I just don't like surrendering all my rights to sombody who has a vested interest in selling me something else as well. That gives them way too much leverage.

Blame the Studios for the resrictions and use of IE and WMP .

DivX has a Burn to rent option with a New replaces old DRM scheme .

Oh yeah, I recently saw some really high quality flash streaming. People link up flash video with junk like Youtube but it can be pretty good quality. Might be a better cross-platform solution.

To those who were saying "Who wants to watch movies on a computer?"- you're nuts. I have a big old iMac that is bigger and better than any TV I have ever owned in my living room. I use it as my stereo and TV. I understand a lot of you have giant plasma screens an dwhatnot but for some of us the computer is the best screen in the house.

Bittorrent ftw.

I hope they eventually make it compatible with the Wii....

yesno says:
They should be going after the technophiles and early adopters here, and that means Macs.

Huh? 95% of all the power users I know either run Windows or a Linux distrobution of their choice (or dual boot both). The relatively closed nature of hardware upgrades on Macs inhibits power users. Maybe I am just missing your point, or just disagree on what a technophile and early adopter is. I do agree that Netflix should have made a better distrobution method than streaming via IE.

Olivier says:
We really need somebody like Sun (i.e. sopmbody who doesn't sell Operating systems) to come up with a standard that they will license for a resonable price to everybody else.

Sun does make operating systems, though not one that is "commonly" used.
[Sun - Solaris 10 Operating System]

Hasn't anybody noticed that many video cards have an output that can connect to a TV? And that your sound card's output can also be connected to your home theater system?

And ibelli -- the difference between this type of service and pay-per-view, or even current on-demand services, is the diversity of the library. when you can have even the most obscure title playing in 15 seconds there will be a demand. The "long tail" market is part of the reason people use netflix instead of going to the store now -- it's not just about not leaving the couch, it's about selection.

@Zlevee

Most people keep their computer in their office. It's inconvenient to carry it out to the living room and unplug everything every time one wants to watch a video.

Here's what I think Netflix should do if they could get the licensing and whatnot to work out (It wouldn't unless movie studios got a cut every time a film was loaned out, which I doubt Netflix wants):
They should offer a low resolution, low quality stream for free of the whole movie to any subscriber. This way, the viewer can preview the film. If he/she likes it, s/he can then order the DVD to watch on his/her big(er) screen TV.

now I really want fiOS

Not sure why people think this is 5-10 years off. Today I can download a full-length HD movie and watch it on TV through my Xbox and Xbox live marketplace.

If Netflix cannot do HD quality with an MCE plugin, I'll be very disappointed.

I think netflix is smart to take things one step at a time. Gradual rollout, small selection, gauge user response and ramp up as popularity builds.
Once it's a standard feature for all subscribers, maybe perhaps other playing options, download options, special software, and even hardware is OBVIOUSLY in the works.

Seriously, you'd think everybody assumes that netflix is t3h dum8 because they didn't do it in exactly the way they want.

In order to make money, they'll sell every single thing they can to a demanding public, but in order not to lose money, they won't pull a Sony and invest billions in hardware they may or may not actually be successful with.

Like others, I would want to watch movies at home in a proper home theater (even if it's not really as nice as a theater), not on a computer. Now, let me download them to my NAS and stream to my TiVo or straight to the TiVo and I'll be interested. I don't mind waiting a day or two for a movie to ship anyway.

If anyone is looking for a 4 week free trial rather than the 2 week trial than see this post...

[www.flexdeals.net]

I disagree that watching movies should be restricted to t.v. or movie theatres. I am disable and I don't get out much, so watching them on the computer is A-OK with me. thanks NETFLIX, HELEN BROWN