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Netflix begins testing Watch Instantly on the Mac

by Mat Lu Oct 26th 2008 at 11:30PM

Netflix has been talking about bringing its "Watch Instantly" movie streaming service to the Mac for a long time, and now Engadget is reporting that they're finally beginning to roll it out. The "Watch Instantly" service allows unlimited Netflix subscribers to stream about 12,000 TV shows and movies to their computers (or set-top devices), but has been limited to Windows PCs since the service first appeared.

Ironically, this is being made possible thanks to Microsoft's Flash-wannabe Silverlight browser plugin. As we noted way back in 2007, the holdup was the need for Microsoft DRM on the streaming videos and the new Silverlight-based player incorporates Microsoft's Play Ready DRM.

Unfortunately, the initial roll-out is limited, but Netflix expects to bring "the new platform to all Netflix subscribers by the end of the year." Sadly for PPC owners, it will be limited to Intel Macs. Nonetheless, it's great to see Netflix finally coming through on the promise of Watch Instantly for Mac users.

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Netflix has been talking about bringing its "Watch Instantly" movie streaming service to the Mac for a long time, and now Engadget is...
 

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madprof44

Just tried it on my new MacBook Pro, the screen of which by the way I think is the best ever on a laptop. The quality was well below DVD, something like watching a VHS recording that's been sitting in the sun for twenty years. Made it five minutes through a BBC show - from a series that looks great on DVD and fantastic on Blueray - and just turned it off. The pictures was awful compared to what's available on iTunes or an XBOX 360. And you can always order the far superior hard media from Netflix. What's the point? Once again the future is here, it's just unevenly distributed (to quote William Gibson). Netflix got left out of the queue.

November 09 2008 at 10:20 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Marino

I just bought the ROKU. A hundred bucks and I can watch movies without tying up my computer. But I'm missing portability...

October 31 2008 at 8:01 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
paul

It's about time! Despite the naysayers here, I love Silverlight. MLB.com uses it to stream live baseball games, and it works great. No lag, no choppy frames.

October 27 2008 at 4:05 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Andrew Carson

Forget if you like it or not....HOw can I SiGn Up?!

October 27 2008 at 3:33 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bob

Aside from all of the Silverlight bashing here, does anyone have an account that has been granted access yet? Just curious...

October 27 2008 at 12:39 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Bob's comment
(01)

I agree...I found Silverlight fine and pretty impressive when I was watching Olympic coverage, and can't see why this is a bad thing for anyone. As far as "MS only wants you to develop on a PC for Silverlight" how about Apple only allowing you to develop for the iPhone on an Intel running 10.5? I have one and could easily upgrade, but it's not like the comparison doesn't make both companies look bad.

October 27 2008 at 2:10 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Steve

Whose heinie do you have to kiss to get on the test list? :)

October 27 2008 at 12:29 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Steve's comment
Jack Chance

a few days ago i tried and it didn't work.
But today i tried and it worked.

It seems like they have pretty much opened it up to all members now.

Go take a look.

November 11 2008 at 2:38 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jamus

Not a fan of Silverlight. Period.
Even off the subject of the whole "attempting to lock in the web like they locked in the desktop thing", I have not seen a single thing from Microsoft that shows they want to honestly make this into a true crossplatform tool. Sure, they can shovel Silverlight down your throat on the consumer side, but what about on the actual content creation side? Last time I checked, Microsoft kept those tools heavily tilted towards Windows with very little available for Macs.

October 27 2008 at 9:23 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
gear

Last week Netflix added this feature to my Samsung DVD player. Its pretty nice and considering that I have a Netflix queue full of "very long wait" movies. Its nice to have some movies to watch.

I wonder why so many of the Netflix discs are falling into the "very long wait" category these days, wasn't like that a year or two ago. Between that and these (currently) free downloads, it sure seems like they are trying to push people to get into downloading movies.

Is it cheaper for Netflix if we download movies rather than having Netflix send us the movies? Are they transitioning (the mindset) of their customer base?

October 27 2008 at 9:11 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to gear's comment
CZ

Your wait time depends on a few factors, including your proximity to a distribution center, the popular trends in your region, and the types of movies you choose. If you pick all new releases, then yes- You'll have to wait.

I rarely have a long wait because there's a distro in my town, and because I rarely bother getting the newest releases. I keep myself about two month behind on new releases, and I'm not fond of 75% of new stuff anyway. The classics are where it's at.

I love Watch Now and the Roku Netflix Player. Having this on my Mac will be nice... I'll be able to watch movies at work!

October 27 2008 at 11:10 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jack Chance

are you kidding?
it is way way cheaper for netflix to stream than it is to ship. Postage is likely the most expensive part of netflix's business. Not to mention replacing scratched DVDs and sorting and shipping.... etc.

There was a point where netflix was treading water, but now it is doing really well. I think the 'watch instantly' is a big factor.

I think the economy tanking is another factor. Netflix is way cheaper than going to the movie theater and cheaper than buying discs. And cheaper than cable. It is probably the most effective entertainment dollars you can spend. I think it has a chance to give the iTunes store a run for its money.

November 11 2008 at 2:36 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Adrian

No PowerPC support = blows.

October 27 2008 at 8:01 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Adrian's comment
Joseph

Ebay it and put the money towards an intel.

October 27 2008 at 7:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Howie Isaacks

Silverlight??? I'm not going to download that crap. I will just do without this feature.

October 27 2008 at 7:00 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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