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Netflix Coming To Sony PS3
itwbennett writes "'Microsoft has always seemed rather enthusiastic when it comes to throwing around the word 'exclusive,' and here is another case in point,' says blogger Peter Smith. Netflix and Sony have announced that Netflix streaming is coming to the Sony PlayStation 3 as early as next month. Back in August, when Microsoft was rolling out its new dashboard update, one of the features it was talking up was Netflix streaming, says Smith, and it said, 'This exclusive partnership offers you the ability to instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix to the television via Xbox 360. Xbox 360 will be the only game console to offer this movie-watching experience...' Apparently, in Microsoft parlance, 'exclusive partnership' means 'we launched it first' and not 'we inked a deal with Netflix preventing this feature from appearing on the competition's hardware.' All this is good news for PS3 owners who can now sign up to be notified of Netflix availability for their system."
They did have an exclusive partnership for about 3 months.
Half of writing history is hiding the truth.
Power to the people! Is it an international feature at least ? I Have yet to see a video streaming service that works for non-US folk.
I'm a fan of Netflix streaming (to my Tivo HD), warts and all. But if you're not a fan of old movies and TV shows, it's probably of very little interest to you. Not all that much new stuff is available for streaming, and what is there seems to get cycled randomly in and out at the whim of the content owners.
The shortcomings aren't Netflix's fault, I don't believe - it's squarely due to the MPAA dinosaurs that continue to insist that the genii will fit back in that darn bottle if they just push harder...
#DeleteChrome
This is a non-story, it was exclusive to the X360 at the time. There is no difference than the umpteen movies (some of which Sony is undoubtedly behind) which exclaim 'only in theatres!' in their trailers.
Apparently, in Microsoft parlance, 'exclusive partnership' means 'we launched it first' and not 'we inked a deal with Netflix preventing this feature from appearing on the competition's hardware.
Isn't that what exclusive usually means? It makes a statement about the present, not the future. Exclusive interviews, for example, are seldom exclusive for very long. iPhones are exclusive to AT&T (in the US, for now). Some vehicle has exclusive feature X, until next year when they all do. Etc., etc...
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
I wonder if the "PS3" blu-ray disc which is connects to streaming movies via BD-Live would work on regular Blu-ray players?
The report on this this that I saw at ars technica said this is implemented using BD-Live. If that's right, then it means that any fully featured BluRay player could do it.
So Netflix will have effectively co-opted the next generation physical media installed base for their online distribution system. I think that's a pretty big deal compared semi-supporting one more console, don't you?
"The worst tyrannies were the ones where a governance required its own logic on every embedded node." - Vernor Vinge
This is only news to me if Netflix can and will start working in the UK and beyond. If the service can make a profit in the USA why not the rest of the world?
Not coming to Canada... unfortunately. *sigh* Linky.
I don't understand the statement "The service will not be available in Canada due to licensing agreements and other legal issues."
We can buy/rent most (all?) of the media coming out of the states off the shelves, no questions asked.
Perhaps someone like Walmart will have to come out with a streaming service, and bring it to Canada to open the floodgates. As much as I'm not fond of the huge Megacorps they tend to lead the way in for things such as this.
> "Exclusive" means "prevent from entering", "shut out"
Yes, that means an exclusive interview means that the interviewee never speaks to anyone else for the rest of their life.
You slashdot people are funny. You do know everyone else points at you and laughs, right?
from http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/26/netflix-ps3-disc-must-remain-in-system-until-2010-update/
Joystiq: Was the PS3 application developed internally by Netflix?
Netflix: Yes, with the help of the Sony team.
Can the Netflix application be installed to the PS3 hard dive from the disc? Or must the disc be inserted every time a user wants to access Netflix?
Yes, the Netflix disc has to be inserted every time to access the Netflix service.
Why not distribute the application via PSN download or firmware update, and then embed it into the XMB?
Again, the instant streaming disc represented the fastest and easiest way to let PS3 enthusiasts get Netflix on the PS3. Late next year we expect to have an embedded solution available for PS3s via a system software update slated for release through the PlayStation Network.
You'll have to have a special "netflix" blueray in for it to work, this is how they're getting around the 360-exclusive. apparently a WII solution is coming next year and etflix will also be coming to the PS3 desktop at that point (I assume that is because the 360 exclusive will be ending at that time).
Duh! I can't imagine why it takes the act of those controlling the rights of the movies to get anything done! Sure, Wal-Mart doesn't control the rights, but they have the power to make arrangements with those that do. It seems like the media companies fail miserably at extracting money from people by selling their products and instead chose to wait until some big name comes along and promises them lots of cash if they just listen.
The only slightly strange thing is that I thought Netflix was in with the rights owners, which makes me very confused as to why they can't make a deal to distribute internationally. Regardless, it seems like a no-brainier business decision to distribute IP internationally if there is demand. It doesn't take Wal-Marts CEO to realize that and want to act on it.
I installed Silverlight on my media PC (a Mac mini) only because of Netflix streaming, and that with great reluctance. I'll be more than happy to ditch it and just use the PS3 for streaming.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Tivos can also do the netflix streaming..
....but they can't play dvds or bluerays. nor are they available for that occasional use as a game console. And I also don't subscribe to cable, so...
...and there was always that place where it paused between layers, about an hour in to a movie.
I have yet to see a DVD player that doesn't pause when going between layers. Just a fault in the technology itself. I wouldn't be surprised if the PS3 still did this with the dual layer DVDs that you own.
"I don't have a blueray player yet. I know, what year is it?"
Well, it's 2009 and nobody I know has a Blu-ray player. It's just not getting adopted at a fast rate, so don't feel bad.
I don't like to sit. Sitting is for people who like to sit.
Unfortunately, the right to distribute via the internet is not the same as the right to distribute physical copies. It is a much larger legal hurdle than physical one.
When you're afraid to download music illegally in your own home, then the terrorists have won!
Sadly, it's worthless to the majority of the world. What a non-story.
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
using a product called PlayOn from http://www.themediamall.com./ Yes, PlayOn does cost money, one time fee of $20-$30, but then I can also stream Hulu, CBS, CNN, etc. to my PS3, Wii or my DirecTV DVR or a bunch of other things as well. There is a trial version available. The only downside, it's a Windows app.
Give a hand, not a hand-out.
I hear ya. I'm a 40-year-old married man, and I just picked up a PS3 on eBay for less than 200 bucks (with a 10% off coupon I had sitting around in my e-mail).
I play one game: the latest NCAA football from EA with my redneck buddies. My wife is happy now, because I don't have to always go sit with them across town to play them now.
But hey, it can stream all the stuff on my Mac from the other room, and now it can stream Netflix, too.
It's more than a game console, and always has been...it's about providing a mass interface to the cloud or whatever.
I wonder if this is one way the RIAA/MPAA are trying to force their copyright laws onto Canada? Not allowing online streaming services like this until they adopt the US DMCA type law.
Isn't Canada on the US list of countries that doesn't have good enough copyright laws? It works both ways though. Defying Gravity is not airing in the US but is in Canada. I can't access any of the Canadian sites that are streaming the remaining episodes from the US.
There's also such a thing as a Timed Exclusive. Microsoft seems to like those this generation. Things like bioshock, Ninja Gaiden
I have yet to see a DVD player that doesn't pause when going between layers. Just a fault in the technology itself. I wouldn't be surprised if the PS3 still did this with the dual layer DVDs that you own.
You've had some bad luck, then. Only the earliest DVD players have that problem. Anything newer changes layers fast enough and buffers far enough ahead to avoid having to pause. Personally, I've never seen a DVD player that does have the pausing issue. I've only heard about it.
Countless "exclusive" 360 games are released on the PC a few months later. It's a marketing gimmick to get consumers to believe that their system is the only one to offer service X or game Y when those same products will be available shortly on another system.
Sorry if I'm being ignorant, but is there a chance this will be available in Europe? I understand the regular netflix service of mailing DVDs to you is only available in the US, but are there any obstacles to making the streaming service available elsewhere?
This is not a new capability. I've been able to get Netflix streaming to my PS3 using a upnp server (MeidaMall PlayOn) running on my PC. Not only does it stream Netflix, it streams Adultswim, Cartoon Network, YouTube, HGTV, NBA, NFL, Hulu, Spike and many internationl channels. It even streams Pron sites like YouPron and RedTube. This has been out for two years so this is not a new capability. Additionally, I've been able to run all of these web streamers through the Ubuntu install on my OtherOS boot on PS3, including Divx. No big deal and I won't be using a disc just to watch a low quality stream.
Bioshock was never exclusive. It was out on the PC at the same time as the 360.
"16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
windows and Xbox is exclusive as far as I'm concerned. You get to buy the game for Microsoft or Microsoft. Netflix was never exclusive to xbox either you could get it on PC.
It's only non-trivial if you're looking to buy a console to stream Netflix. If you're already using Live then it's a complete non-issue.
Now people with both consoles have an option. People who just have a PS3 don't have to pick, and this changes nothing for people who just have a 360.
BluRay players will become more common, regardless of how PS3s do. BluRay won the HD war. Stores are stocking BluRay discs, right down to the Walmart and Costco level. Disney is selling kits containing both BluRays and normal DVDs. And they are being advertised heavily.
A PS3 is just a convenient way to get a BluRay player, especially if you already have a game you want to play as well. (The game controller makes an awkward BluRay remote, though.)
There is a fine line between recklessness and courage... -- Paul McCartney
The BD-Live implementation, rather than a proper PS3 installed option, may have been chosen to circumvent the 360 exclusivity agreement, which would remain technically intact.
...UNLESS the people with a 360 don't want to pay $50/year for Live.
-Styopa