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Netflix to Offer Movie Downloads
kev0153 writes "Over at CNN Money they are reporting on a story about Netflix offering a video on demand over the web service in '05. They are also eyeing the multibillion-dollar video game market. "We're playing it a little defensively, because if we lose the digital download market, you'll soon be hearing about the rise and fall of Netflix," said Netflix CEO Reed Hastings."
They are also eyeing the multibillion-dollar video game market video game market.
They must be eyeing it with both eyes.
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Someone will still be upset about the DRM and decide to crack it. Then again movies are harder to distribute then mp3s. At least high quality ones.
The servers with the porn titles better have some mighty good hardware.
The coolest voice ever.
They are also eyeing the multibillion-dollar video game market video game market.
Hmmm - so they are going to market video games inside video games? Wow - that's like, so cool!
I hear there's rumors on the Slashdots
but I don't want to download PS2 games on demand. They're freaking huge! I've only got 512 down, and it would take forever to download some of those four disk RPGs. But if I could make a backup copy...
EVERYDAY IS CATURDAY
I really wonder how they ever expect to have this idea profit, while shooting GB's worth of files constantly down the pipes, and if I can download it off bit torrent, why would I want to pay for it?
Cool idea, but some questions should be answered first
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Download speeds for files as large as full games and video are still too slow. Video download services are going to be a niche market until that can be improved. I hope netflix isn't staking their near term future on this.
Hastings expects that Internet VOD market is still relatively small, with relatively long download times for even those with cable or DSL Internet connections.
Is there a rental timeframe? Wouldn't it suck if your download didn't finish before the period was up?
"Just 5K more to go! Just -- "
"Sorry. Your rental period for 'My Pipes Need Cleaning' has expired. Thank you and please come again."
The coolest voice ever.
They're still developing their Video-On-Demand system. That probably should read:
They are also eyeing the multibillion-dollar video game market.
I supposed i'd have to know what netflix is before i can't hear of it's rise and fall..
MABASPLOOM!
Variety said the VOD offering will expand that to allow for up to three physical DVD or digital downloads at a time.
Yeah... how are they gonna restrict you to three downloads at a time? Good luck with that, my friend! As we've seen just today, no protection scheme will ever be anywhere close to secure.
Be happy. Nothing else matters.
They could just set the period to begin after the download was complete... but by then, "My Pipes Need Cleaning: The New Rod" would be out.
The coolest voice ever.
I guess they want to take on the currently established market leader....Kazza. I just hope Netflix edits out those annoying messages, the ones that say this is a screener copy only so call this number if you are not suppose to be watching this.
DVD writers probably have something to do with this. With the release of personal dual layer DVD writers, the world of (DVD) movie rentals will change.
All I got to do is hook my 42 Optical connections together and ill be blazing at.....142 kbs a sec from their servers. Damn.
Damn bandwidth throtling! GRRRRR
I don't think anybody can launch a Hollywood-movies-on-demand without having the cable companies on board. They can place servers closer to their users, and have the advantage of being able to allocate more bandwidth to themselves on their cable systems. They're going to have an advantage over any outside provider...
Is not announcing your product an entire year ahead of launch - giving your competitors plenty of time to catch up.
Case in point: Apple suprising everyone with iTMS - and than not getting a windows version out until all the other win music stores were released.
I read an article about 6 months ago where the Netflix guys said they weren't interested in the video game market. I'm glad they've wised up.
In the meantime, Gamefly is an excellent video game rental service. The pricing and service are almost identical to Netflix.
So I get a video on demand over the internet - and I assume that it'll stream and make use of my cache (or some other temp file). If I keep the cache/temp file, does that mean I can keep/own the movie??
Or will these guys have some kind of no-cache proxy in place?
You said "hardware."
(What? It was in the context of the joke.)
The coolest voice ever.
I'm already copying and burning DVDs from netflix as fast as I can get them. Game rentals will be awesome for my stock pile.
Getting ready for the day when everyones dead, except me. And the power is still on. Oh yeah, and my girlfriend will be there too.
Yea for piracy. I love piracy. It feels like I'm making money!
It won't be easy to pull all of this off. VOD is going to require a wholly new infrastructure and business model for them. Renting video games might be a problem too, when people start "losing" the games. A DVD probably runs about $5 in bulk... a game will probably cost them $30 or more.
Still, it's great to see some innovation left in the dot-coms of the world....
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How can games be downloaded from netflix or any other place. For instance X-Box games have to ripped from the DVD and converted into a ISO using something like XISO. Then you have to burn it to a CD so that you can play it on your X-Box. Or you can FTP over to your X-Box which in either case require a mod-chip. Are they honestly expecting us to delete the game once we done "renting" it. I mean I'm not going to pay $0.75 for a DVD that I just burned a very good game, just to throw it away after a few days.
The other side is are you required to have a mod-chip on your gaming console so that you can download and play these games. In either case I think the gaming downloads will fail miserably but the movie downloads will be huge hit.
will they be starting abm.netflix? or maybe #netflix on some dcc friendly irc network??
I also reply below your current threshold.
Greencine already does this for select films. They do WMP streaming for Video On Demand (FAQ here). I can't say that I've tried it though, since I prefer watching movies on my TV than on my computer.
I can't say that I'm exactly super-pleased with Netflix. The past three DVD's that I've sent back haven't even arrived in time for the next weekend when they were mailed out on the previous Sunday and it's not even like I rent a ton of movies-- these three were over the course of 5 weeks!
And it failed miserably. They're going to have a very hard time convincing the MPAA and the studios to allow them to stream the content without some serious consideration to DRM.
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Whatever they try, they better watch out for Microsoft copying the idea.
Microsoft Windows Media Player with 99 cent downloadable songs and videos on demand!
"I know kung-fu" -Neo, The Matrix
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For video games within a video game, GBA's WarioWare is where it's at.
I will continue to rip my netflix movies and watch them when i want using the encoding I want. (OGM and OGG for audio). I would be interested in this service is the files were portable (ie multiple platforms and the ability to burn on to a DVD-r's). So far any of the pay-per-download movie service ideas I've seen require windows and require that you watch it on a computer. The market for people who want to watch movies only on a computer and are willing to pay for it is exteremly small.
To be honest, I can't see movies being so much quicker to license these rights to Netflix, even if it is larger than Greencine.
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I don't think anybody can launch a Hollywood-movies-on-demand without having the cable companies on board. They can place servers closer to their users
"Akamai" is not a four-letter word. It's a media delivery network. Apple has used it to distribute QuickTime trailers for feature films over the Internet. Netflix may contract with Akamai or with Conxion, who handles (or handled) Windows Update delivery for Microsoft.
Why the hell can't people spell Kazaa? I mean, it's 5 letters, 2 of which are uncommon.
Lion's Gate (LGF ) owns a majority stake in CinemaNow, the closest competition. LGF stock has been all over the place in the past few months due to Video-On-Demand deals with major studios. Unlike LGF, which grew from strength to strength after acquiring Artisan Films, is based in Hollywood, and has exclusive rights to several hundred movies as well as ties with the major players in the entertainment business, Netflix is more a rental mall for DVDs.
otoh, Netflix's CEO has been predicting his entry into the VOD market for the past few years, and they did trails with sample footage for most DVDs.
Competition's always beneficial to the consumer.
.. so you're saying the entire world, with the exception of the U.S. lives under a rock? Did you have to insult the person you're trying to inform?
click-clack, front and back. I'm not moving this car otherwise.
If they could make hi def versions of movies available for rent, i'd be down in a heartbeat. for download or whatever...
Great news with the video games. Depending on how it will work, it could kill off gamefly. Why pay to just rent games when you can also get movies, right? I'm wondering what quality the ondemand will be. Some how I dont think it would look the same on my HD 61 inch screen with 5.1. If not, I would rather wait the day it takes them to mail me my movies.
How did the MPAA not managed to shove similar legislation down our throats?
Has the video industry just not been successful at squashing Netflix via "senators-in-the-pocket", or are they actually embracing these rentals?
I can think of three companies that are offering, or have offered, major movies-on-demand. My university (Duke) had a distribution deal, no longer in effect, with a company called Cflix last year.
There was also a company that was forced out of business by the MPAA so they could push their own services. I forget its name.
Then there's Movielink, also being heavily promoted on college campuses right now. I believe it was started by one of the major companies.
Of course, I can remember Yahoo! Movies trying to do VOD four years ago, but they couldn't license anything big.
So, in conclusion, this is nothing new, except maybe this time the advertising will get to the people who care (geeks). Most people don't want to watch a movie on their computer and can't figure out TV-out video cards.
I've been waiting for this for a long time. Blockbuster is trying to do this with their "Freedom Pass" ($15/mo), but their limited stock, policy of tying you to a single store, and unwillingness to allow you to check out movies or games interchangably has zero appeal to me. I've tried NetFlix before, and I liked it, but I don't rent enough movies per month to make it worthwhile. However, between games and movies, I could definitely justify $20, maybe $30/mo for buffet-style entertainment.
There are other attempts to provide movies on demand like Movielink or whatever, but I haven't heard great things about their qualities. How amazing would it be to have a pipeline of 3 to 4 movies downloading on your machine when you're at work, or hell, when you're at home preparing to watch one! And all for $20 per month. With high-speed broadband services, this is all possible. And this will all be arriving once I probably end up buying my first HDTV. I'll have a DVR, HDTV cable, and videos on demand through Netflix. I love this world! All we need now is antigravity & ZPE and I'm set!
They deliver DVDs and games to your door in under an hour. Order your movies or games online or by phone and they'll be at your door before a pizza would.
Their trick is they have vans driving around with all of their inventory inside. Talk about bandwidth!
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What are the odds that this service will work on Macs? Not good, I'd say.
I can just see the flood of all the "You have exceeded your limit" letters from Comcast now.
Good thing I have 6Mb DSL with SBC.
I decided not to do business with Netflix a while back, because they send spam. (That's not my page, but the guy who posted it apparently got the same spam messages I did.) I encourage everybody to avoid doing business with them until they stop abusing our inboxes.
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greencine > netflix
in this age of communication i'm just not getting through
Add an extra "on demand" shows menu which TiVo keeps updated with the latest and greatest. Start playing the video and it downloads and buffers the film as it plays. I'd have thought the cable companies would be dead keen. Course it'd only be feasable on something like DirecTivo, digital cable or fast ADSL.
Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
Sony is also looking to get in the downloading act: "Crucially Reeves [A Sony Big Boss] also mentioned Sony's 'ultimate goal' for PlayStation 3: 'To get into electronic broadband distribution'. By 2006, when Reeves anticipates that all of Sony's currently in-development hardware products should be available, Sony hopes users will have always available online access along with viable broadband distribution....This massive statement has huge potential ramifications for the industry at large and is likely to cause a storm among retailers, with the suggestion that Sony plans eventually to sell its games as downloads, cutting overheads, cutting out the middle men and, ultimately, cutting the cost to the consumer." http://www.plugincinema.com/plugin/news/newslist1. php
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For a service nearly identical to Netflix...yet also offering video games. Check out gameznflix.com. It is also a tad cheaper than Netflix. And they just signed the Dell Dude as their spokesman too. Competition...
More to the point, are the people moderating you stupid? Netflix doesn't rent out the DVDs you buy at Walmart, dumbass; they rent out the $100 rental copies that all video rental places are forced to buy. The bigger problem with renting out video games is that they have to ship out a potentially thick manual as well as the disc.
I've been using netflix for months and have yet to receive a single spam from them. I do get notes that they send telling me that the movies I ordered are shipped. I also get notes from them telling me that the movies I send back to them are received. Neither of these fall into the spam category, and I am happy to get emails like this so I know things are working properly. There is probably a checkbox on the sign up form that your friend checked that puts them on a mailing list or something. But I have never been spammed by them ever.
Ceci n'est pas une sig.
:wq!
While other people have tried similar ideas, no one has really brought it into the spotlight as successful, probably due to download speeds. However, perhaps if Netflix uses an improved transmission system such as the proposed FAST TCP, it will make the downloads a bit easier. Furthermore, we are seeing continuous increases in bandwidth by the broadband ISPs who are conforming to pressures of competition. I'm thinking with a 3 Mbps pipe, downloading several movies per week should be no problem, as long as your ISP doesn't mind.
But think about it: we're in the digital age of downloading everything. iTunes has shown to be a tremendous success, and it's only a short while before movies are all downloaded as well. Someone will have to nail the movie download market, and Netflix already has an enormous user population. While people rip and burn Netflix DVD's in a pipelined fashion, there would be no need for such efforts if you could, say, begin watching a movie that's still downloading after only, say, 15 minutes of starting the process. Why would people need to pirate DVD's if they could get whatever they want whenever they want? I'm a big fan of this system and will happily use it, assuming I have a very nice high speed connection.
I'm just hoping they put up archives of Discovery Channel. Movies on Demand -- I love it!
What you mention is the first step in playing OFFENSIVELY. Apple being a perfect exemple.
Here, Netflix is playing defensively. They basically prepare for the worst while dissuading competitors. Think about it, VOD needs huge investments, is a risky shot, will not be a big market before 3-5 years, and there's already Netflix. Not exactly what I call a great investment opportunity for a competitor.
It would be nice to be sure of anything the way some people are of everything.
I think the old adage "never under estimate the bandwidth of a lorry load of backup tapes" applies in this situation.
Why on earth would anyone want to get their films like this when the cost of burning a DVD and sticking it in the post is orders of magnitude lower than pulling the same data over a domestic internet connection? What's a DVD cost to burn and post? A pound or so? And that gets you, what, 4GB? Well, to send that over a 25 pound per month 512kpbs ADSL line with a 50:1 contention ratio would cost nearly 40 quid!
We should be looking for more ways to use the throughput of the Post Office, not trying to port thier killer apps to an obviously unsuitable medium.
From RTFA, it seems that Netflix doesn't feel that this is something that they need to do to get more business or replace their current model. Instead, they seem to be doing this defensively. They can foresee a time when people would prefer to download the movies rather than get the discs mailed to them. They want to be sure to have the technology established as theirs when this happens.
I would also point out that that time may already be arriving. If I have a choice between going on a "Long Wait" queue or doing a six hour download that can occur when I'm not home or asleep... I think that I would do the download. Yes, a 6 hour wait, but without the mailing time or queued time. The next day I can watch my movie through my TV out (or a separate PVR machine; expect a Tivo version shortly after release, perhaps even before the PC release).
I think that a lot of people are getting confused between download then watch (which can be done now) and stream while watching (which requires extremely high guaranteed bandwidth). Stream while watching is only barely possible now and uses tremendous resources. Download then watch allows the resources to be spread out over time and can certainly be done now (heck, I once downloaded an episode of Sliders over dial up -- my burstable 1.5 mbps connection should do much better, even with a higher definition picture). Also, given the increasing market share of TV out cards (my video card came with it; even some motherboards come with TV out now) and PVRs, there is no reason to think that people will watch on their computer screens.
With downloads, returns are instant (just turn off the DRM enabling), and sending out just takes the download time. Short of adding a new warehouse that is closer to you, I don't know that they can fix the mailing system (which is mostly USPS). This is in fact one thing that they can do to fix your problem.
Unrelated to your issue, but won't this make them international as well? Any reason why anyone with a credit card couldn't get the downloads?
You're right, the E-mails you've gotten from them aren't spam. Doesn't mean they're blameless, though, as we're clearly talking about two different things.
Be who you are...and be it in style!
I supposed i'd have to know what netflix is before i can't hear of it's rise and fall..
This comment is derogatory plain and simple. If he really wanted to know what it was he would have googled "Netflix." This person is merely trying to relish in his own ignorance.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Lois, this isn't my Batman glass. - Peter
Several channels can be reserved. Users can make their selections the night (or several days) beforehand. The information gets uploaded. Then, the satellite company tallies up who wanted what. Presumably new releases will be asked for by more than one person.
The TiVo will know to turn into a specific channel at a specific time to record the requested movie. Users can also pay more for priority delivery. Say I want to watch LOTR but I don't care if I get it tonight, or the next week...so I can give it low priority. The company will send it out when it has spare bandwidth, or when a certain threshhold of users request it (thereby sending it to more than one person).
Sure there are kinks (bad weather in one area preventing reception, etc) but I think it's doable.
Netflix has an affiliate program, so your (and probably everyone else's) spam actually likely came from some lowlife attempting to drive traffic to his affiliate redirect page. This problem seems to plague just about every legit business with an affiliate program.
I like my women like my coffee... pale and bitter.
Which is why these business should be boycotted. They know full well that affiliate programs like that promote spam.
CEE5210S The signal SIGHUP was received.
i'm surprised no one has mentioned that greencine.com has had video-on-demand available to its members since last year, including adult titles.
...it's just chained up in a dungeon.