Thank You Microsoft: Netflix Comes To The Mac

I was just about to cancel my Netflix account. After all, why should I pay the same price as those using Windows computers, who are able to watch movies streaming instantly?

In another sign of the crazy times we're living in, Apple users have Microsoft to thank for making Netflix streaming on the Mac possible. Netflix will be using Microsoft's Silverlight to bring their streaming titles to the Mac. Why Silverlight? Well, one of the reasons the launch of these titles on the Mac has been delayed has been the requirements from studios to ensure copy protection of the content. On Windows computers, Windows Media Player provides an adequate level of DRM to satisfy content producers. Since Windows Media Player hasn't been updated for the Mac in years, Silverlight became the next best option. Since Silverlight is cross-platform, it will be interesting to see if all Netflix streaming is deployed via Silverlight in the future.

If it isn't already obvious, Apple's own QuickTime has stellar video quality, but lacks DRM options for third parties like Netflix. If nothing else, this may make Apple consider a subscription plan more in line with Netflix price offerings. A small portion of the Netflix catalog is currently available on any platform, but within 8-12 months, we could see some interesting competition between Netflix and Apple's own rental options.

Hulu and Fancast: Apple TV alternatives

Maybe buying a box to connect to your TV AND then buying/renting TV shows on top of that initial expense makes sense to you. For 50+ years though, television has been viewed with commercial sponsorship, the trade off being that the shows themselves were free. If you're willing to put up with a few ads during your show, there are a few solid Apple TV alternatives. Today, we take a look at two: hulu.com and Fancast.com .

Run! It's another box to attach to the TV!

Today Netflix announced along with Roku a new streaming video box. The new product is $100 and allows Netflix subscribers with a $9/mo plan or higher, to watch streaming films instantaneously on their TV.

Advantages:
Instant start.
Cheaper than Apple TV
More titles

Dis-advantages:
Not HD (not yet, at least)
Requires Netflix subscription
Collection might be more quantity than quality

I say enough already. We may soon long for the days of one standard format: the DVD. While competition is generally a good thing, the streaming video / digital video marketplace is far too young for the types of battles that are taking place. Apple TV offers a smaller catalog than the new device, but focuses on newer releases. Roku doesn't do HD streaming. None of the movies are cross compatible from these two services, or other video boxes. Look at how the digital music scene exploded after the adoption of mp3 (and the associated piracy.) There are far too many restrictions, and far too few differences between the different set-top boxes to choose a clear winner. No solution is perfect, and unless the studios and tech companies can come up with a agreed-upon rental/purchase format, or at the very least, give all set-top box manufacturers the same rights, with blanket coverage of studio libraries for rental/viewing. Until then, this will continue to be one lucrative market with profit potential than return.

iTunes Movie Store: I am McLovin' BUT I'm not for keeps

When Steve Jobs announced on January 15th the addition of movie rentals to the iTunes Movie Store AND that all major labels were onboard I was extremely excited.  I saw this as the rebirth of iTunes and it's companion product, AppleTV.

I anticipated being able to rent any movie I wanted and if I really liked it I could simply purchase it.  I even went so far to think that I would be able to purchase the movie within 48hrs of watching it.

As it turns out my vision for the rebirth of the iTunes Movie Store has been far from reality.  There seems to be no method to the madness anymore.  Three different scenarios appear on the movie store: some titles you can only purchase, others you can only rent, and if you're one of the lucky ones out there, you'll have the option to do both.

I can understand that a new release may be available to rent before it's available to purchase.  I cannot understand why a new release may never be available to purchase and why there isn't some indication of this.  There is no way of telling if a title will eventually be available to purchase.  Would it be so difficult to add a line of test saying "available to purchase on . . .".  For now it seems that we'll have to guess and keep our fingers crossed.

But what about older movies or movies that were available before the rental feature went live?  For example, I can rent OR buy Kickboxer 4 (and who wouldn't want both options).  I know that I have both of these options because it's listed as "View Movie" on the Action / Adventure genre page.  The original Die Hard . . . only available to rent.  I'd like to have been at the meeting where the decision was made that View Movie would make sense and consumers would equate that to Rent or Buy.  This is just plain bad.  For a uncomplicated store, it's becoming more and more difficult to navigate, but what about the product pages?

One of the great features on the Music Store is the ability to see what other people purchased who also purchased the album you're looking at.  This feature has carried over, but now it's just inaccurate.  Some may say it's semantics, but I don't care.  If you're looking at the movie Independence Day (only available to rent FYI) you can see that "viewers also bought": The Fifth Element (a favorite of mine), The Matrix, Batman Begins, X-Files, and Aliens.  The punch line is that all of those titles are only available to RENT.  Apple seems to think that rent is synonymous with buy or the past tense, bought.

If you've been watching tDL Live, on Monday night at 9pm eastern, over the past few months I've been ranting about Superbad only being available to rent.  As it turns out I'm not the only one who is confused and unhappy about the state of the store.  Little_Man says, "...I highly reccomend u to buy this".  Sorry Apple, Little_Man is sending business elsewhere.  Joe Awesome says, "This movie, was the best comedy I've ever seen.  But the downside is that I want to buy this movie."  I agree Joe Awesome.  Unfortunately you can't, and Apple won't tell you if you'll ever be able to.  From comments on the first page of reviews alone, Joe Awesome and Little_Man are in good company . . . why can't we buy it?  More importantly why can't we tell when / if we'll ever be able to.

I'll save you some time . . . Don't visit the support page on Apple.com, it won't help.  Until further notice . . . Keep those fingers crossed.