RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Media Netflix streaming gets MGM, Paramount and Lionsgate

Certain titles are available to watch in HD on your PC/Mac; and on your TV via a Netflix Ready Device.

To watch in HD on your PC or Mac, you need the following:

• * Silverlight 3 or higher
  
• A screen resolution of at least 800 x 600
  
• A high-speed internet connection at time of playback (typically 5 Mbps or higher)

To watch in HD on your TV via a Netflix Ready Device, you need the following:

• An HD TV and component or HDMI connection from your Netflix ready device to your TV
  
• A high-speed internet connection at time of playback (typically 5 Mbps or higher)

I wonder if the Wii will look as good as DVD quality? The Roku looks like it costs about $70 maybe i should just get a low end blu ray that offers streaming?

I watched the Incredible Hulk pilot and the Big Lebowski today on Netflix.

CBS Programming Heads to Netflix
The content will begin appearing in April and include current shows such as Medium and Flashpoint, as well as hits from the classic library like Family Ties, Cheers, and Star Trek.

By Ed Oswald, Technologizer Feb 23, 2011 9:08 am

CBS said Tuesday that it had penned a two-year agreement to bring some of CBS' most popular programming to the service. According to a press release issued by the network, the deal is non-exclusive. This likely means CBS is actively searching other methods of supplying its programming to viewers, a welcome sign considering many of the networks have been reticent to offer their content outside of their own walled gardens.

The content will begin appearing in April and include current content such as Medium and Flashpoint, as well as content from CBS' classic library including Family Ties, Cheers, and Star Trek. CBS programming would be provided at no extra cost to Netflix users.

With the CBS deal Netflix becomes the only online entertainment service to offer content from all four major broadcast networks. Hulu comes close with Fox, NBC, and ABC on the service, but CBS still is holding out.

Mark Cooper, director of research for the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), says Netflix should have to pay into the Universal Service Fund.

"The Internet is not an infant industry anymore. It can certainly bear the burden of making sure that wires and the communications mediums are there," Cooper said.

Phone companies pay into the Federal Communications Commission's $8 billion telecom fund, which subsidizes phone service in high-cost and rural areas. They write off the cost on consumer telephone bills.

The FCC is trying to migrate the subsidies to fund broadband rather than phone calls this year. As it begins the overhaul, the question of who must contribute into the fund is heating up.

It would be "legitimate" to force Netflix and other high-bandwidth companies to contribute to the fund, Cooper, a longtime consumer advocate, said Wednesday during a panel discussion.

EXCLUSIVE: Video streaming juggernaut Netflix is becoming an original series player. In what is probably the biggest gamble in its 14-year history, I hear Netflix has outbid several major cable networks, including HBO and AMC, for Media Rights Capital's drama series House of Cards, executive produced and directed by David Fincher and exec produced by and starring Kevin Spacey.

Negotiations are still going on, but I hear Netflix landed the drama project by offering a staggering commitment of two seasons, or 26 episodes. Given that the license fee for a high-end drama is in the $4 million-$6 million range and that a launch of a big original series commands tens of millions of dollars for promotion, the deal is believed to be worth more than $100 million.

Ever since Liberty Media chairman John Malone in October drew a comparison between Netfix and HBO, industry experts have speculated whether Netflix would become the next HBO by venturing into originals. HBO, too, established itself as premium cable movie channel before hitting gold with original series that have now become its bread and butter. Netflix, which dominates the movie streaming market at 61%, had said in the past that it was not interested in branching into original programming. Until now.

Given the strong interest in House of Cards from multiple networks, observers had speculated that the project may get an episodic commitment, but a massive two-season order is pretty unheard of these days. Going straight to series itself is a risky proposition as attested by NBC, which recently tried it before reverting to the traditional pilot model. Besides the sandals-and-toga Rome, which was a co-production with the BBC, HBO has piloted all of its projects, including those with A-list talent such as Martin Scorsese/Terence Winter's Boardwalk Empire and Michael Mann/David Milch's Luck starring Dustin Hoffman. AMC went straight to series with The Walking Dead but with a modest six-episode order. Rome and Fox's CGI extravaganza Terra Nova started off with 13-episode orders. Snatching a high-profile project like House of Cards is certain to put Netflix on the map. But by committing to air and market a 26-episode original series, something it has never done before, it will also put the company to the test.

Despite its dominant position in the movie-streaming business, Netflix, which was just upgraded to "buy" by Goldman Sachs, has been feeling the heat from new competition, including Amazon.com, which last month announced it was entering the subscription streaming-media business, and Facebook, which last week announced a deal with Warner Bros. to experiment with streaming the studio's The Dark Knight directly through the social media service. In fact, on the day the Facebook/Warner Bros. deal was announced, Netflix's shares fell 6%.

Netflix has been looking to diversify beyond movies. The day Amazon.com announced its entry into the online video space, Netflix unveiled a $200 million deal with CBS for two years for nonexclusive rights to stream such shows as The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, Family Ties, Twin Peaks, Cheers and Frasier. Adding original series to the portfolio seems like a natural next step.

In August, Netflix shored up its core streaming business with a $1 billion, five-year pact for online streaming rights to movies from Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM. (It also inked a pact with Relativity Media, while renewal talks with early movie partner Starz, which has provided Netflix with access to Sony and Disney titles, are still ongoing.)

Meanwhile, MRC has built its TV business on a direct-to-series model with such projects as animated comedies The Life & Times of Tim and The Ricky Gervais Show, the short-lived series for the CW's Sunday block and the Lifetime comedy Rita Rocks, which went through pilot but in a two-pilot deal with the network guaranteeing that one of the pilots will go to series.

In his TV directorial debut, Fincher will helm the pilot for House of Cards, which is based on the book and British miniseries of the same name. Fincher is executive producing with Eric Roth, Joshua Donen as well as Spacey and his producing partner at Trigger Street Prods. Dana Brunetti. The political-thriller novel House of Cards, written by Michael Dobbs, a former Conservative Party chief of staff, is set at the end of Margaret Thatcher's tenure as prime minister and follows a British politician with his eye on the top job. In 1990, it was adapted by the BBC as a miniseries written by Andrew Davies and starring Ian Richardson. Fincher's adaptation, set in the U.S., was written by playwright-screenwriter Beau Willimon (The Ides of March).

For a company that's been criticized for hanging onto an old-school movie rental business -- DVDs and Blu-ray disks -- Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) seems to be surviving just fine. A year ago, Netflix stock traded for less than US$70 per share, while today it's been up well over $200.

Sure, it seemed to have taken a hit with the news that Facebook might start streaming movie rentals, but it's not like Netflix is laying down so competitors can kick the company around: Netflix is said to be working on acquiring the rights to an original TV series called "House of Cards" that would star none other than the Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey. It's this kind of investment and vision that spawned the company in the first place, and it's just the latest reason Netflix has managed to win over my respect, both as an Apple-appreciating consumer and a Netflix customer.

Meanwhile, the NPD Group has reported that Netflix now dominates the home video streaming market in the U.S. Netflix's share of digital movie units -- downloaded or streamed -- reached 61 percent between January 2011 and February 2011, followed by Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSK) at 8 percent and a three-way tie for third at 4 percent among DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) Cable and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL).

Wow.

Back to the rumored "House of Cards" show that might turn Netflix into a television production company. It doesn't matter if the show is even a good show. By doing so many things right, Netflix has captured the most important element of the TV world -- distribution, and more importantly, the habit of consumption. And if there's one thing we know about TV viewing, it's more about habit than finding "the best" content. As Netflix's 20 million customers increasingly turn to Netflix for finding video, that habit is going to drive a lot of eyeballs.

But What About Apple?

Sure, Apple gets all the attention with its iTunes and blockbuster movies and HD television show rentals, but when it comes to active watching volume, Netflix has an absolutely astounding lead: Six out of 10 digital videos watched are delivered via Netflix.

If you're not impressed by that kind of volume, how about Apple holding onto just a tiny 4 percent? I don't know how often I hear Apple haters grumbling about how Apple controls so much content and dictates pricing, but I'm sure this doesn't exactly add another proof point to their box of hate and fear.
The Netflix On-Demand Video Library Sucks

I don't think there's any real way around this point: The Netflix on-demand video streaming library sucks. It's packed with lots of really old titles, it's full of "B" and "C" movies, and there's a massive lack of hot new Hollywood blockbuster releases.

If this is true -- and it is -- how in the heck has Netflix managed to capture so much of the digital video market? There's no doubt that Apple employs some of the most visionary and audacious executives around, so how come Apple, with millions of iOS devices and Macs in the world, isn't in the decisive lead?

I see five huge reasons for Netflix's success:

1. Netflix movies aren't shackled by irritating digital rights limitations on playback times. If I want to rent a movie from Apple, for example, I'm stuck with a 24-hour viewing period. This means that if I start a movie, I have to finish it within 24 hours. In my world, I don't often have two full hours that I can dedicate to movie, start to finish. I get interrupted, and occasionally I sleep. I know other people who have similar problems: They start a movie but their small children wake up with a cough and congestion, and everything hits pause. By the time they get back to the movie the next night, they've run out of time.

For TV shows, Apple has upped the viewing period to 48 hours, which is much more doable. Still, this limitation is less about Apple and all about the digital video rights holders who don't really want you to rent movies and TV shows in the first place. They want you to spend a lot more money and buy DVDs. Or sell the content to cable channels or other networks for the rerun dollars such deals generate.

So even if I start a dumb movie on via Netflix, I have peace of mind: I can come back to it in the future and finish watching it, without having to pay for it all over again.
2. Netflix gives you a set monthly subscription price. Because Netflix is a subscription service, you don't run the risk of blowing out your media-watching budget. If you have kids, they aren't going accidentally rent $60 worth of cartoons, either. At the same time, because you've committed to a monthly investment (starting at $8), you're more likely to want to get use out of the investment. So you'll troll through the Netflix video offerings or see what you've got lined up in your queue.

Oh, and the queue, that's a fantastic feature. Apple's Wish List feature? Sucks. Sorry. Apple just doesn't get the idea that consumers would like to browse for content and create a list of what they might like to consume ... but not right then ... and then go back to it. Same goes for apps.
3. Playback devices and mediums are everywhere. Netflix has partnered with lots of other companies in order to deliver applications and devices that let consumers access the Netflix video streaming servers in the sky. You can play Netflix movies with your Xbox 360, PlayStation3, Nintendo Wii, with your computers, streaming set-top boxes, Blu-ray players, DVRs, with Windows Phone 7, with iOS devices like the iPad and iPhone, along with the Apple TV itself. If you want Netflix access, you can find it, without hassle, even on the go.
4. Older TV show seasons make fiscal sense through Netflix. What happens when you stumble upon a television series midway through the second, third, fourth or fifth season? You can catch old episodes that have been syndicated to other channels, slowing building up your knowledge of the characters and their histories. To do that via iTunes rentals can get expensive, and to buy DVDs, that's expensive, too. Relatively speaking, you cost per hour of enjoyment for hour-long dramas is actually pretty good, but still, the personal demand is usually pretty low. So buying or renting is tough to swallow.

But catching streaming episodes via Netflix is perfect for rounding out those odd moments when you want to be entertained. I've caught up on "Man v. Wild" and "Survivorman," and I'm toying with the idea of starting back to the first hour of the hit TV series "24." That's right, Jack Bauer back when he was young and more hopeful.
5. Netflix has lots and lots of kid-friendly content. Like the fixed monthly budget, there's lots of content that children can watch and it won't cost extra. Parents don't care if their daughters are watching old Mary Kate and Ashley movies if it's not costing them extra. But if the daughter asked to rent a bunch of dumb Mary Kate and Ashley movies at $3 a pop? No freaking way.

Similarly, kids can watch the same cartoons and movies over and over again (I have no idea what this does to their little brains), so buying movies can make a lot of sense. Still, there's only so many cartoons and movies that a parent on a budget can buy. Enter Netflix.