It’s been a long wait, but today the Xbox 360 finally gets access to Netflix’s Watch Instantly library courtesy of the “New Xbox Experience” update. To partake in the streaming video festivities you’ll need a Netflix account (the 1 disc unlimited $8.99 plan at the minimum), and an Xbox Live Gold membership. Once you’ve updated your console, you can set up the console with your Netflix account by selecting the Netflix icon in the Video Marketplace. Simply download a small application to your console, confirm the authorization code you receive on the console via the Netflix website, and you’ve got full access to your Watch Instantly queue.
The entire process is [...]

Netflix Watch Instantly is now available for Mac users like myself. Last night I watched the first 10 episodes of 30 Rock while I did some last minute web work before my trip to London. I know the service doesn’t have a lot of movies, or even a lot of good movies, but I definitely see the potential. About 50 of the films on my 360 film-filled queue are available instantly. You have to Opt-In to the Mac Beta program, download and install Microsoft Silverlight. So if you’re on a Mac and have a Netflix subscription, go check it out!

Netflix has begun testing its Watch Instantly movie streaming service for the Mac. Microsoft’s Silverlight will allow the rental company to safely DRM the 12,000+ movies and television shows now available on their instant streaming service. Netflix claims that Sliverlight provides “breakthrough navigation for fast-forward and rewind.” Wow. No details on when this service will be rolled out to all Mac customers. Obviously most of the Netflix library isn’t available for instant streaming (for instance, only 50 of the 374 movies in my queue), but it’s a nice extra service for regular Netflix customers. Full press release after the jump.

Samsung has announced that Netflix customers will now be able to instantly stream Watch Now movies on select Blu-ray disc players. The coolest thing about this announcement is that some customers can use their existing Samsung Blu-ray players. For no cost, both the BD-P2550 and BD-P2500 can be upgraded for the Netflix Watch Now functionality. The press release reads:
Instantly streaming movies and TV episodes from Netflix on the BD-P2550 and BD-P2500 is done through a wired broadband connection and a Netflix Queue-based user interface. Netflix members visit the Netflix Web site to add movies and TV episodes to their individual instant Queues. Those choices will automatically be displayed on members’ [...]

Netflix has begun to alert subscribers that a price increase is required for those who wish to rent Blu-ray movies. The surcharge is a result of the additional cost of the next generation format, which sometimes is double that of DVD. The good news is that the surcharge is only $1, and allows you unlimited Blu-ray access under the same rules of your existing netflix account. I was expecting this to happen eventually, but I believed the cost would be a lot more. Bravo to Netflix for keeping it affordable. Thanks to /Film reader sean d for the tip.
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“Dear Sean,
As you may know, Blu-ray movies are more expensive than standard [...]

I’ve been complaining about Netflix’s Watch Instantly feature’s lack of Mac compatibility for a while now. Even earlier this week when the company announced they had signed a deal to stream thousands of Starz movies on-demand, I was left angry that I wouldn’t be able to use the service, even though I’m paying for a membership. Good news Apple users, the official netflix blog says:
“We’ve been busy working getting a solution that will allow you to watch instantly on your Mac. So hang in there - we’ll have something for you by the end of the year.”
So just hang in there a couple months longer…

We all knew this was in the works. The future of media is on demand / digital, and not HD DVD or Blu-Ray. Everyone knows this to be true. And now Netflix has officially announced they will be offering Internet Movies On-Demand. No, this isn’t a lame movie download service like the ones you’ve seen in the past. This is something that will revolutize the way you watch movies.