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Netflix Comes To Tivo, AppleTV, Linux
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Mon Dec 08, 2008 03:38 PM
from the long-time-coming dept.
from the long-time-coming dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Netflix on Tivo is officially out and leaving satellite users out in the cold. Tivo announced today that if you are a subscriber to both services then you can start receiving many Netflix titles on your Tivo for no extra charge. This is only available to subscribers with TiVo HD, TiVo HD XL and TiVo Series3 DVRs. The majority of Tivo's subscribers are probably Series 2 owners and will be forced to 'upgrade' if they want this new service but it won't be that easy for those on satellite. Tivo's current model lineup does not really offer a solution for satellite subscribers. The HD and HD XL are cable only and there is no sign of the Series 3 on their site." Another reader also writes to tell us that "Linux PC and AppleTV users are about to gain the ability to stream Netflix's movies and TV shows directly to their systems. Although Netflix's instant watch service only officially supports Windows and Mac, Boxee expects to release Netflix streaming support to the Ubuntu version of its free A/V media center software within a couple of days, and says that adding Netflix streaming support to AppleTV asap is its top priority."
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IT: Netflix Woes Mean a Gap In Shipments 239 comments
Loopback writes "It appears that I'm not the only one waiting for my NetFlix movies. It seems they are being bitten in the rear by their home-grown proprietary inventory management system. 'Netflix has been facing shipping delays and outages in its distribution centers for the last two days and is fumbling to find a fix. The tab is roughly $1.8 million to $3.6 million in revenue a day.'"
[+]
Nero Unveils LiquidTV, TiVo For Your Computer 156 comments
bigwophh writes to mention HotHardware is reporting that Nero has decided to try a new step forward for home theater PCs by bringing the TiVo service to your computer. The new LiquidTV / TiVo PC package includes a (USB-based) high definition ATSC digital/analog TV tuner, antenna, remote control, IR blaster, Nero's LiquidTV software, and a 12-month subscription to the TiVo service for around $200. You can cut that in half if you already have a compatible TV tuner. This is the first time that TiVo has licensed their intuitive interface for a PC package. In addition to the TiVo interface, the rest of the LiquidTV software package allows you to burn your TV recordings to DVD or transfer the videos to other computers, iPods, PSP, or "other mobile devices." This service is due to launch next month.
[+]
TiVo PC Could Be a Game-Changer 191 comments
An anonymous reader sends in an article by Andrew Keen (author of "The Cult of the Amateur") about TiVo's new TiVo PC, which he believes could seal the fate of advertising on online videos. Just as TiVo let viewers zap commercials on broadcast TV, TiVo PC — a TV tuner that can be plugged into a PC — will let Net viewers of the likes of Hulu.com and ABC.com skip commercials in the nascent medium of online video.
Keen believes that TiVo's business model involves (besides selling lots of $199 boxes) mining and selling the far richer stream of user behavioral data that TiVo PC will enable.
[+]
Apple: Netflix Extends "Watch Instantly" To Mac Users 205 comments
CNet is reporting that Netflix has opened up its "Watch Instantly" feature to Mac users (here is Netflix's blog entry). They accomplished this by using Microsoft's Silverlight technology on both platforms, abandoning the Windows Media Player solution that had been employed in the first, Windows-only, version. Silverlight's DRM capabilities meet Netflix's needs, apparently. Netflix warns that this is beta software. Mac users can opt in here, then watch instantly with Safari or Firefox 2+, with the Silverlight plugin in place. Movie selection is somewhat limited.
[+]
Science: Interest Still High In the Netflix Algorithm Competition 77 comments
circletimessquare brings us an update to the status of the million-dollar Netflix competition to develop a better algorithm for movie recommendations. We've discussed aspects of the competition since it started two years ago, but the New York Times has a lengthy overview of where it stands now.
"The Netflix competition is still going strong, with a vibrant, competitive roster of some 30,000 programmers around the globe hard at work trying to win the prize. The Times provides a look at some of the more obsessive searchers, such as Len Bertoni, a semi-retired computer scientist near Pittsburgh who logs 20 hours a week on the problem, oftentimes with the help of his children. There's also Martin Chabbert in Montreal: 'After the kids are asleep and I've packed the lunches for school, I come down at 9 in the evening and work until 11 or 12.' The article gets into the history of the search algorithm Netflix currently uses, and explores the hot commodity called 'singular value decomposition' that serves as the basis for most of the algorithms in competition."
Submission: Netflix on Tivo is officialy out - by Anonymous Coward
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LG High-Def TVs To Stream Netflix Videos 190 comments
DJAdapt writes to tell us that LG has launched a new line of high definition TVs that will be capable of streaming Netflix videos with no additional hardware. This is just another in a long line of expansions from the once DVD rental service, which has expanded to the Roku set top box, Xbox 360, PC, Mac, and Linux platforms recently. "Piping movies directly to TV sets is the natural evolution of the video streaming service, said Reed Hastings, the chief executive of Netflix. "The TV symbolizes the ultimate destination," he said. That idea -- shared by Sony Corp., which already streams feature films and TV shows directly to its Bravia televisions -- is still in its early stages. Netflix's streaming service taps a library of 12,000 titles, while the company's DVD menu numbers more than 100,000 titles. Hastings expects that gap will "definitely narrow" over time, but he noted that DVDs maintain an advantage over streaming, which is that "they are very profitable" for film studios."
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Show Me The Titles (Score:5, Insightful)
That's great in theory, but the problem with Netflix is that the selection of movies that they let you stream is, shall we say... poor.
At least the good news is that they are opening up and trying to support as many distribution channels as possible. It's a pain to connect my laptop to my TV, just because by definition, a laptop is always on the go, and a TV connection means plugging and unplugging two cables each time (one for video, one for audio). It's just too much of a hassle.
That's why I eventually got an AppleTV: it's the best way to browse music on a HiFi system which has an HD TV attached to it (that is to say, 90% of the standard geek setup) - and it may even be able to display video content too :-) I wish they had called it iTunes TV, it would not have confused people so much.
Now my AppleTV will get more content from its Internet connection. All good to me. As streaming movies becomes commonplace, maybe pirates and DRM will not be such an obsession of Hollywood...
Re:Show Me The Titles (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Forever knight? (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Flamebait)
Re:Show Me The Titles (Score:5, Funny)
Hmm.....I see no mention of this being available for MythTV.
I'm not really interested in this streaming stuff. I'd much rather get a real DVD in the mail and watch it. Then, I also "back up" a copy for NetFlix too before I send it back. Just a favor to them for being such a great service.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Show Me The Titles (Score:5, Interesting)
They let you stream a lot of the Independent and Documentary stuff...
I have a feeling that this is pretty appealing to the Slashdot crowd. /got netflix this weekend.
Parent
Re:Show Me The Titles (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Show Me The Titles (Score:5, Interesting)
The movie selection doesn't matter as much because the picture and sound quality aren't as great as they are on the physical media anyway. If I want to watch a movie I'll wait for the BluRay to come in the mail and watch the magical 1008p hotness and hear the uncompressed audio.
For most TV shows that stuff doesn't matter. Do you really need to see The Office or 30 Rock in HD? I'm perfectly happy streaming those with no commercials to my xbox. I love it.
Parent
Re:Show Me The Titles (Score:5, Interesting)
That's great in theory, but the problem with Netflix is that the selection of movies that they let you stream is, shall we say... poor.
That really depends on what you're looking for.
No, the recent blockbuster titles aren't generally available... But there's tons of good sci-fi and horror, and lots of independent and foreign films, and tons of documentaries, and lots of old TV... Enough stuff that my wife and I make very good use of the streaming stuff.
Parent
Re:Show Me The Titles (Score:5, Interesting)
Just go to the boxee.tv site and request an invite. You'll be put on a waitlist, but you'll get a response. It may take you a while, but I got an invite only 2 weeks after I requested one. You can also register on the boxee forums and get technical information about the project, and I note a lot of people posting there are begging for invites. Anyone already in the Alpha test can invite their friends, which is part of the charm of the platform. Social networking is what sets Boxee apart from lots of other media center packages. Once you log into Boxee, you can see what your friends have been watching, and they can see your activity, recommend movies, TV shows, music, and all you have to do is click on the selection to launch it. If you reply to me here with a valid email address, I'll be happy to send you one, since the project gets even more interesting the more friends you have in the network. You can use a free throwaway account like Hotmail or Yahoo if you like. I need more Boxee friends!
Parent
Re:Show Me The Titles (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Why bother (Score:5, Interesting)
I have a PS3 for Blu-Ray and can stream Netflix, Hulu, and other items straight from my PC using PlayOn ( www.themediamall.com ).
Too little, too late. Why take up the space on my PVR when I can live stream it from my PC?
Just my two pence.
Re:Why bother (Score:5, Interesting)
How about:
a. PlayOn isn't free
b. This is also a live stream that won't take up space on your PVR.
Parent
Re:Why bother (Score:5, Informative)
Too little, too late. Why take up the space on my PVR when I can live stream it from my PC?
Too little too late if you have PS3 or xbox360.
Millions of people don't have and don't want either.
Parent
Re:Why bother (Score:4, Interesting)
Take the Big 3:
Nintendo - Wii (Playon is building an interface for the Wii)
Sony - PS3
Microsoft - Xbox 360
Now what we need is numbers of the people that own Tivo boxes that also own any ONE of these three (or two if you just want to go current)
Realistically Tivo is fighting a diminishing game, and this comes from the owner of a Tivo HD. How many people own one of those 3 units above vs. a TivoHD? Which is cheaper, the PlayOn (30$) or TivoHD (300+ sub)?
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Nintendo - Wii (Playon is building an interface for the Wii)
Wii isn't HD, has limited storage, and has trouble with youtube sometimes. Its a fantastic console, but its not a great media center device.
Realistically Tivo is fighting a diminishing game, and this comes from the owner of a Tivo HD. How many people own one of those 3 units above vs. a TivoHD? Which is cheaper, the PlayOn (30$) or TivoHD (300+ sub)?
My parents and their friends, and millions of people like them, will never by a PS3 or Xbox360. The
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
The PS3 and the Xbox are game systems that can play TV. They are not 24/7 appliances like a DVR. A Tivo is on all the time, and everyone I know is familiar with how to use it.
If you're not a gamer, you will not be purchasing a game system to watch online Movies.
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I may be wrong though.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Netflix is on virtually everything, TiVo, Roku box, half a dozen Profile 2.0 Blu-ray players, everyone's PC, etc. I believe any "exclusives" Microsoft announced were temporary (as in "We want to be first with HD, for one whole week!"), if there were any at all - Netflix uses Microsoft's VC-1 and WMA codecs and DRM, so presumably "Netflix working on XBox out of the gate" was extremely easy compared to making it work for non-Microsoft platforms.
I would say I was disappointed by Sony throwing the hissy-fit
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
They removed ALL of their content from the Netflix streaming service until the period of HD exclusivity for the '360 ended. A pathetically childish that did little to damage Microsoft but did cause enormous resentment against Sony.
Re:Why bother (Score:4, Informative)
I don't get that: you have this teraflop machines sitting there (a f*cking CELL in the PS3 or a triplecore 3.2GHz PowerPC in the 360, /plenty/ of horsepower both of them) and still you need to stream stuff to it. Wouldn't it be much more economic to just install an application of whatever on that machine (integrated in the firmware or whatever) and have that do all the work? Streaming media to a PS3 or 360 makes them just a very expensive and overpowered video-out. I'd say: put all those flops to work!
As far as I know, these ARE local apps that are managing the downloading and decoding/playback process. Streaming data from the internet and playing back video won't tax these consoles, but what else is more CPU horsepower going to give you here?
Parent
No Series 2? (Score:3, Informative)
And I expect there are a LOT of people like this.
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Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
The hardware in the Series 2 simply can't do the work. Netflix is using a codec that isn't supported there.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The S2 has a pathetically weak CPU and no corresponding dedicated acceleration hardware.
It just doesn't have the horsepower.
Re: (Score:2)
Same here. I was interested when I first about the Netflix/TiVo deal, but not so interested as to go out and buy a Series 3. At some point I will upgrade everything to HD, but probably not any time soon on account of how there's no money, anywhere (I've only got so many chickens for barter).
Linux? Really? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
No, not really. This story has gotten huge legs on the internet, but if people would actually read the Boxee forum, it tells you that support for Netflix won't be included in the Linux version until Netflix releases a player for Linux, which is supposed to happen some time next year. Netflix support is only in the Mac version of Boxee (they are working on Apple TV, but the 1Ghz processor is just to slow to make it work).
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Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Uh no, I have firefox 3 on a 2 GHz P4 running XP SP2 with the latest version of Silverlight and the Netflix streaming works fine.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Not entirely true. I stream Netflix Watch Instantly selections in Firefox by using the IETab extension (it fools the server into thinking that you're using IE instead of FF). It works in Opera, too. Alas, only on Windows, though, not Linux.
You aren't using firefox to view netflix. IETAB actually runs IE in Firefox, so you're still using IE. Note the lack of Linux support on the IETAB page.
IETAB [mozdev.org]
Excerpt:
IE Tab, an extension from Taiwan, embeds Internet Explorer in a Mozilla/Firefox tab.
Emphasis mine.
Hurray for Boxee support... (Score:3, Interesting)
XBox 360 left out of summary completely? (Score:5, Insightful)
Netflix gets it.
Every streaming media provider so far that has arrived & failed has done so because they try to mimic the rental pricing model. They charge $3 a movie for 24 hours, and then wonder why sales are low. The thing is, people won't pay $3 for access to media they don't physically control.
Netflix is following the HBO OnDemand pricing model. $20 a month for unlimited access to anything in their ondemand streaming library. This is the pricing model people want when it comes to media they don't physically control. Since I didn't pay per-item, I don't mind that there are restrictions on use.
I've been using this service on the XBox 360 for the past few weeks and it's been exceptional. My only technical gripe is that it's limited to 2-channel audio right now, but otherwise there is nothing to complain about. Widescreen movies are displayed fullscreen on an HD set, 4:3 content is pillarboxed, the video quality is approximately on-par with DVD. As soon as they work out 5.1 it'll be perfect. The addition of TV series with new episodes that have just aired but are not yet available on DVD is just another perk. Selection is growing every day.
It's really fantastic if you've got the bandwidth.
I'm seriously thinking about canceling my satellite TV service / DVR and just running with 360 & Netflix. For just under $300 a year, ($50 xblive, $20/mo to Netflix), as opposed to the almost $1000 a year that most cable/satellite companies charge for HD service, it's a great deal.
Re:XBox 360 left out of summary completely? (Score:4, Informative)
That is series 2. Thats why Netflix is only on series 3, where the newer codec ARE supported.
Parent
Submission inaccurate (Score:5, Informative)
When will submitters like ScuttleMonkey RTFA they are submitting?
NetFlix isn't coming to the AppleTV version of Boxee, as the AppleTV is not powerful enough, as TFA states.
Silverlight? (Score:3, Insightful)
IIRC, this is using Silverlight. You need to install Microsoft's latest "active content" environment on your mac (or, eventually, on Linux) to take advantage of this. After avoiding depending on "active content" even on Windows (and avoiding a number of big virus panics) for a decade, I'm not about to start trusting them now.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Umm...you're not depending on it, you're using it for your movies.
Don't be picky. If you need it for material you've paid for, you're depending on it for that purpose.
Do you also keep Flash off your boxes?
Adobe's track record for security and reliability is not perfect, by any means, but their basic design is not inherently insecure, andI have flashblock so I can control what flash components are given an opportunity to execute.
Microsoft's track record for security and reliability in this area is so bad th
MCE 2005? (Score:2)
Or, what about a MythTV plugin? Or XBMC?
Hackish (Score:5, Interesting)
I got two Xbox 360s, two AppleTVs. One set for myself and the wife, the other for my 10-yr old.
My options:
1. transcode content and watch it on the AppleTV. Takes time, and my Turbo.264 hardware encoder is a piece of crap, the new Handbrake works much better without even relying on the dongle. Parental controls are awesome, and content is organized very well.
2. stream content from the mac into the 360 with Connect360. Looks almost identical to #1, without having to transcode. Only thing that sucks is navigating through a lot of content, and there are no parental controls.
3. watch netflix on the mac. Not good enough.
4. watch netflix on the mac on the Parallels 4 side. Not good enough (almost can't tell it apart from #3).
5. watch netflix on the 360. It frickin rocks. Having to go to the website to add to the queue is a minor annoyance but not the end of the world.
6. Renting content on the 360. Works very damn nice, only a bit slow to start if it is HD content. Could use more variety.
7. Renting content on the AppleTV. Also works very nice, but sometimes it takes weeks for new content to show up. They do release at least something every week, but mostly so it looks like they are alive.
I have also used boxee on the AppleTV, and while in theory it worked, it was sloppy and it screwed up with the menu hierarchy. After an hour of playing with it I was annoyed enough to delete it.
I like how the streaming on the 360 works because it takes exactly zero tampering with the 360 to make it happen. All you need is a media pc, or a mac running software impersonating a media pc. Adding boxee to the appleTV was simply scary.
What I really want is for Apple to do exactly the same thing that was done to the 360, add a menu entry for Netflix with a SIMPLE way to authenticate the device (the way this was done in the 360 was just beautiful, just a short, easy to type code) and not a damn thing else.
Satellite Netflix seems unlikely for a while (Score:2)
... due to bandwidth issues. Satellite bandwidth is limited and WAY oversold. A bunch of customers downloading Netflix movies individually (in direct competition with the satellite companys' premium services) would saturate it - along with their individual bandwidth caps.
A multicast-anything-anybody-ordered / catch-on-the-fly / maybe-fill-in-errors-with-unicast mode would solve the bandwidth problem - and could potentially be integrated with the satellite carrier's own transmission of the same movies to s
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can I use firefox for vewing netflix instant yet? (Score:3, Interesting)
It's great and all that they have included so many extra platforms, but can I use firefox on my windows box to view the content yet? Am I still forced to use IE?
DirecTV Customers Not Entirely Left Out... (Score:4, Informative)
From a press release several weeks/months ago:
"DIRECTV and TiVo will work together to develop a version of the TiVo® service for DIRECTV's broadband-enabled HD DVR platform. The product will support the latest TiVo and DIRECTV features and services, including TiVo's Universal Swivel Search and TiVo KidZone. TiVo will develop the new HD DVR for an expected launch in the second half of 2009."
So right now we're locked out but the landscape will improve in the future.
Tried it Out Last Night (Score:3, Informative)
Linux Netflix support delayed till 2009 (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
It has nothing to do with the Dish lawsuit, you could never get Tivo on the Dish system.
The issue is that they lost the contract with DirecTV when Murdoch bought it and started pushing the DVR that his other company(NDS?) owned and built.
But Mommy, *Tommy* got a new toy! (Score:5, Insightful)
This is bullshit. I have two series 2 tivo's and have been a subscriber for years. I purchased them both with lifetime service. Now I am supposed to buy new hardware and pay monthly so I can use netflix?
Let's see. You paid for lifetime service, and a product you didn't pay for that runs on hardware you didn't buy is available now, and since you don't get it, you complain? Your TiVo still works and your lifetime service is still providing data. In fact, it is likely you are getting more than you originally paid for (i.e. there are new features which *have* made it to Series 2 TiVos).
For (not) the last time, people, the fact that someone else may gain an additional unexpected benefit does not mean that anyone who did not get the additional unexpected benefit is being slighted! You do not *lose* anything just because someone else has a shiny new toy.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Exactly.
One thing a little bothersome to me is that the summary mentions TiVo HD and TiVo HDXL only working with Cable. Not true. Yeah, they won't work with satellite, but they work fine for over the air signals also (like those new digital ones that are showing up).
Both have two tuners, each of which can record from any of the current sources at the same time, (so record 2 OTA, 2 Cable or 1 OTA and 1 Cable show, which watching another pre-recorded show and downloading a movie from Amazon ... not bad for