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Opt-in to get Netflix Watch Instantly Now

We noted a little while back that Netflix is finally bringing its Watch Instantly streaming TV and Movie service to the Mac. They began by rolling out the service slowly and it wasn't initially available to all Netflix subscribers. Now, however, it appears that there's a way for all Mac-using Netflix subscribers to get in on the action.

The Netflix blog has instructions that will allow you to activate Watch Instantly on your Mac via Microsoft's Silverlight browser plugin. It is worth noting that if you switch over to the Silverlight player you must use that on any Windows machines you might have as well, which means that you'll have access to less streaming content (at least at the moment) than the old Windows Media option. Also, as VentureBeat notes, you're limited to a total of six devices for streaming content, which includes both computers and stand-alone set top boxes. Nonetheless, if all you want is to get Netflix's Watch Instantly on your Mac, there's pretty much no reason to wait.

[via Engadget]

We noted a little while back that Netflix is finally bringing its Watch Instantly streaming TV and Movie service to the Mac. They began by...
 

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iyou

@JJ: I'm wondering the same thing. I'm in Canada. A former Netflix subscriber when I lived in the States, so I'm wondering if I can just reactivate my account and start using the service. My guess is that it won't work unless you use a IP spoofing proxy service like the Anchorfree.com's free Hotspot Shield that gives you a US IP address. The problem with that service is that you're limited to something like 3GB bandwidth per month. I think there are services out there that give you a bigger download allowance, but they ain't free.

I asked this question yesterday at Gizmodo but didn't get a response. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

November 03 2008 at 10:16 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Sean (Double Crown Records)

I just get a black screen - it still works fine with IE in Parallels, but I just get a black screen that says "done" at the bottom of the browser screen (in both Firefox and Safari). I tried to redownload and reinstall Siverlight, but it still doesn't work - any ideas (also Firefox and Safari are both updated).

November 03 2008 at 5:04 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
William

Important Note: There is no way to OPT OUT!

I just got off the phone with NetFlix and this is a one way street. You can NOT go back to Non-Silverlight streaming after you opt in.

Don't opt in if you use PlayOn with your PS3 (or other player) as you will not be able to use PlayOn once you opt in as it's not compatible with Silverlight streming yet.

November 03 2008 at 9:06 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Khyros

I assume you can only subscribe to Netflix if you are a US resident?
I'm located in Spain.

November 03 2008 at 8:11 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Cosjr

I've watched three movies this weekend on my Mac, in Safari, full screen on a 21" dell monitor. Great picture. Good sound. Good movies. Not a single glitch in the whole matter. I'm happy. Finally. Thanks Apple. Thanks Netflix. Thanks Microsoft.

November 03 2008 at 5:33 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
artifex

Will either choice affect my ability to watch on my 360 when it rolls out? Because I suspect the 360 may require the older Windows Media stream.

November 03 2008 at 3:29 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bakari

Unless you're movie freak, the selections of movies for instant movies is really not all that good. None current or really big box office hits show up in the selections. Pretty much the same movies you get from your cable service.

November 03 2008 at 1:12 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jon

I'm not a current netflix subscriber, but with this announcement I'm now considering it. Could someone give me an idea of what kinds of movies/tv shows are available for streaming?

November 03 2008 at 12:27 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Jon's comment
netflix subscriber

You can sign up for a free trial for a couple weeks and check out the entire library of discs (which is awesome) and the smaller library of watch instantly titles. From my experience, watch instantly works in a pinch, but the real value of the subscription is in their vast selection of DVD titles.

November 03 2008 at 11:18 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
freshyill

OK, black screen in WebKit, which makes no sense. I get an error with every movie I try to watch in Safari.

SUCKS.

November 03 2008 at 12:12 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
freshyill

I think I just opted in to an empty black screen. No movies playing over here.

November 03 2008 at 12:10 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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