Netflix / Hulu / Youtube >>> Xbox 360 Now!

[Artlover]

I suppose this could be worth using until the Netflix support arrives for 360.

It looks like it will be worth using forever, despite the offical support.

 

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/10/09/...ng-for-netflix/

 

If you have a silver (free) Xbox Live account, you won’t be able to stream movies from Netflix account when the “New Xbox Experience” drops this fall.

 

“I think it’s about adding value to the gold membership,” said Xbox director of marketing Albert Penello. “I mean, obviously, the partnership there — it’s a lot of bandwidth. Obviously, there’s the cost of the licensing on the Netflix side, so…you’re not really paying for the movie. On silver, you have to pay for the TV show or movie that you download. Here, you don’t, so the relationship in gold kind of takes care of that funny business.”

Eh.... What?

 

Licensing on the Netflix side? Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you still need to have a Netflix subscription to begin with? Or is MS planning on making Netflix access free to 360 Gold Live members? Don't understand the point they are making. If I have a subscription to Netflix, why do I have to pay for Gold service to access it?

 

Lot of bandwidth? Working off the previously held assumption that you had to have your own Netflix account, I was assuming the new dash would cause your 360 to make an independant connection to the Netflix server. From they way they are talking, it sounds like NetFlix is going to be streamed through the Xbox Live servers? Maybe THAT'S thats why I have to pay twice to access my content?

 

Edited October 11, 2008 by Artlover

[Lord Helmet]

Well, I'm not a big multiplayer person, so the gold membership does nothing for me. I'd rather pay for this than the monthly gold subscription fee that I'll never use. Plus, this software gives you NBC, CBS, FOX, and Netflix for a one time $40 fee.

[S1500]

I'll have to give those config files a try.

 

Of course, Friday night I want to play some vids again, and no mp3s showed up whatsoever, and the server string changed(showing percent signs where there should be strings). Yet videos work, yet the 2 videos I added stil don't show, even after a refresh. Ugh.

 

Wonder if a cronjob is in order to do daily updates of media when I add/remove stuff? Hmm

[moycon]

It looks like it will be worth using forever, despite the offical support.

 

 

Maybe not. I'm not sure what the criteria is for PlayOn to add to your list of movies that can play from Netflix but all I can get is 19 movies. Many are from my Netflix queue, but oddly, some are movies I rented months ago and are not longer in my queue. I've added more play on demand movies to my queue but they do not show up as playable. I've taken out my Username and password and added it back. No good. Unless this free trial limits the flicks that can be played to 19, or certain movies, then watching 19 Netflix movies on my 360 isn't worth it. I'll wait for Nov 19th and try out the deal they have since I already have a Netflix account and a Gold account. I'm guessing this whole deal is to encourage people to sign up for Netflix and to sign up Gold accounts. The reason Microsofts network blows Sony's network out of the water is because networks are VERY expensive and Sony is floating the bill right now. It's a safe assumption that part of this deal includes letting Netflix house servers on the Live network. Don't you think? At the very least MS would have to upgrade Netflixs network to handle the additional traffic. You didn't really think Netflix was just going to allow millions of Live subscriber to bombard their network with traffic did you? You could pay off your house with the money it takes to replace one router card. Some people have it in their mind you press a button to get bandwidth and it's free. Not true. Its extremely expensive. On top of bringing in new customers, usually companies like to do things to generate income. That's what keeps companies in business and in this case keeps MS's network updated and in a good working state. It is cool that there are several other options available for folks that don't want a Gold account though.

Edited October 12, 2008 by moycon

[Artlover]

It looks like it will be worth using forever, despite the offical support.

I'm guessing this whole deal is to encourage people to sign up for Netflix and to sign up Gold accounts.

From the same article I quoted..

“I think it’s about adding value to the gold membership,” said Xbox director of marketing Albert Penello.

Yup. That's all it is.

 

It's a safe assumption that part of this deal includes letting Netflix house servers on the Live network. Don't you think? At the very least MS would have to upgrade Netflixs network to handle the additional traffic. You didn't really think Netflix was just going to allow millions of Live subscriber to bombard their network with traffic did you?

And what about the millions of (and growing) non Xbox360 owners using their PC's to connect to NetFlix? I fail to see how a NetFlix subscriber using a PC, and a Netflix subscriber using a 360 is any different. NetFlix's user base is "their" user base. My paying Netflix is paying for access to "their" network and rights to content "they" provide. So what I use to connect to them should be irrevelant.

 

Besides, I'm pretty sure a large portion of the use is going to be by people who already have NetFlix accounts who had previously been using their PC's to connect, which means no realistic change in bandwidth since all they are doing is changing which device they are using, not doubling their use. Also, I kinda doubt that 360 owners are going to represent a huge increase in NetFlix subscriptions or that it would even cause a problem if it did. Because again, new Netflix accounts are created everyday by PC users.

 

No, it's pretty obvious that what you first touched on and what MS's Penello reafirmed is the reason. Trying to get more people to buy into Gold accounts, since as it stands, Gold doesn't offer much more then Silver beyond multiplayer gaming and getting demos a little bit earlier.

 

Would have been nice and convienent to have had access from the 360, but alas, I'll just keep using my PC w/TV out instead. MS can kiss my behind if they think I'm going to pay for a Gold subscription just for the privilage of being able to access content I'm already paying to access and can already access without the extra costs.

[moycon]

Also, I kinda doubt that 360 owners are going to represent a huge increase in NetFlix subscriptions or that it would even cause a problem if it did.

 

Explain to me again why exactly you think Netflix would be interested in this agreement if not to bring in new Netflix subscribers?

Would you expect a quote from an MS rep to include anything other than how the agreement pertains to Microsoft?

Microsoft has investors just like any other company. Microsoft is not owned by Netflix. If you hear a quote in regards to this deal from MS...it's going to focus on MS. That's what investors want to hear about. Of course MS is most interested in getting new Gold subscribers...again. Companies stay afloat by making money. That's how it works Artlover, that's why you start a company. You keep stating over and over what MS wants out of all this, but you want everyone to believe Netflix gets or wants nothing. Do you honestly believe this? You read a quote from an MS rep so now this whole deal is simply to get people to get an MS Live Gold account right? Not to be insulting...but are you drinking lots of beer while typing this?

 

Not sure I understand your crusade anyways. You haven't even seen what MS/Netflix is offering yet, so I'm curious why you're so quick to tell everyone this deal is not worth it to people. Maybe you should just wait and see how it compares to the free offerings available to folks. Hu? Like I and others have already stated. The PlayOn Netflix offering leaves a lot to be desired and personally I don't feel like the thought of having cables run from my office upstairs to my HDTV in the living room. I think you hit the nail on the head. It's about convienence. Some folks will pay $1 more for milk by getting it at a gas station down the street so they don't have to drive 3 miles to the grocery store. You'd rather drive to the grocery store. So be it.

Edited October 13, 2008 by moycon

[Artlover]

Also, I kinda doubt that 360 owners are going to represent a huge increase in NetFlix subscriptions or that it would even cause a problem if it did.

Explain to me again why exactly you think Netflix would be interested in this agreement if not to bring in new Netflix subscribers?

Fair enough. So it brings in more paying customers for them. Not sure what this has to do with Silver vs Gold accounts tho. Is the money a Silver user would pay them worth less or something?

 

Of course MS is most interested in getting new Gold subscribers...again. Companies stay afloat by making money. That's how it works Artlover, that's why you start a company.

Gee, really. I thought they all had farms of magical unicorns that pooped money.

 

Not sure I understand your crusade anyways.

Would you pay for the Home Shopping Network or QVC shopping channels if they were scrambled pay channels?

 

My objection is not wanting to, in a mannor of speaking, pay twice for something. Pay NetFlix for the account + Pay MS for the right to be allowed to access said account.

 

I don't even have an inherent problem with paying a reasonable fee for 360 support of NetFlix because I can see that it's a fair expectation given what is invovled. But I do have a problem with being limited to paying for an entire package of crap that I don't want, spending more then what the feature I'm using is worth. I can even see Gold users who don't care about NetFlix being upset by this as well. Subsidizing a "second" layer of paid subscription service they aren't going to use. Atleast now, if you're paying for Gold service, you have access to everything Gold service gives you. Which is kind of the entire point of paid subscriptions, right? Paying for a subscription service that offers as it's content another paid subscription service starts looking, well, like a rip off.

 

It's also an issue that for a partnertship, both parties still operating completely independently and isolated from one another. Partnerships between companies are not an unusual. They generaly are, however, relatively transparent to their clients. Ford and Firestone have a partnership. But when you go to the dealer and buy a new car, you're not paying for the car as a seperate process at the Ford desk, then have to go to the Firestone desk to pay for the tires. The who gets what out of such a partnership are worked out amoung themselves, not dumped in the customer's lap to deal with.

 

How about approaching this differently. On Netflix, you have all the normal account options. But then they add a "add Xbox Live 360 support" for an extra few bucks month that would activate a flag on your associated xbox live account to unlock NetFlix access, regardless of what kind of Xbox Live account you have. How much extra per month this would cost would be dependant on how much the partnership is operationaly costing to do + a fair margin of profit for doing it to be split up between them in whatever percentage ratio they want. I could go for this as an opinion.

 

You haven't even seen what MS/Netflix is offering yet

If it requires my paying for a Gold Live account, I could care less. I have no interest in anything a Gold account offers, and there is nothing Netflix Live alone could possibly offer to make me subscribe to it (other then the entire NetFlix library being available to Gold users for free forever.)

 

It's about convienence. Some folks will pay $1 more for milk by getting it at a gas station down the street so they don't have to drive 3 miles to the grocery store. You'd rather drive to the grocery store. So be it.

Not exactly a fitting example. How about this one instead.

 

I don't have a problem with going down the street to the gas station and paying $1 more for that milk. I have a problem with going down to the gas station, paying $1 more for that milk, plus having to pay another $1 directly to the store owner on the side for the privilage of being allowed to buy my milk there.

[moycon]

You mistakenly believe that streaming blurry movies through Netflix is the only advantage of a Live Gold account.

It's not.

Its mearly going to be a perk....a small one at that, but still kinda keen especially if you already have both.

Maybe MS's offering will be more rebust than what the free streaming to your 360 programs offer?

Pausing...or rewinding...or starting off where you left a movie would be a big plus over some of the programs I've seen.

Heck maybe the quality is better because they have dedicated servers on the Live network.

At this point...who knows.

I will say this. If the streaming video through Netflix sucks, I'm not going to cancel my Gold account or my Netflix account.

I still don't get your beef.

Just stick with the free programs that allow you to stream movies. There's a bunch of them and at this point you don't know if they are any better or worse than what MS/Netflix are going to offer.

Edited October 13, 2008 by moycon

[Lord Helmet]

Maybe not. I'm not sure what the criteria is for PlayOn to add to your list of movies that can play from Netflix but all I can get is 19 movies.

 

The only movies that are available are those that you can add to your "watch instantly" queue. Every time you add a movie to your regular queue, if it is available as a "watch now" title, it will also be added to that queue. They stay there until you remove them.

 

This functionality will be exactly the same on the new dashboard from what I've read.

[moycon]

The only movies that are available are those that you can add to your "watch instantly" queue. Every time you add a movie to your regular queue, if it is available as a "watch now" title, it will also be added to that queue. They stay there until you remove them.

 

I have 168 movies in my queue total. Around 40 have the option to "watch instantly" on my PC. Only 19 show up in the watch instantly queue or on PlayOn via the Xbox 360 including at least two that aren't in my queue at all anymore (but that I had rented within the last 3 months or so)

I'm going to play around with my Netflix profile, maybe it's something on that side.

 

EDIT : Well I think I figured it out. You can manually add flicks to your instant queue by clicking on the movie description page, running your mouse over the "Play/Add to Q" tab until the option "Add To Instant" pops up below and clicking on that. I have no clue how those 19 showed up in my Instant queue. I never knew about that until today.

Edited October 13, 2008 by moycon

[beerfuzz]

I found that you can easily setup XBOX 360 or the PS3 with Hulu and Netflix and Youtube using the PlayOn Software. I spent couple days trying to figure out how to do it when I came across the site www.thefuzznetwork.com and found some awesome step-by-step instructions that helped me a lot. The first time I visited the site the information was a little vague.. but seems like there has been a huge effort to make it user friendly including videos and step-by-step instructions.