Netflix preps DVD-less movie streaming service
Coming to PS3 too
Netflix is to launch a streaming service that is not linked to its Lovefilm-style North American DVD-by-post package - and it could be coming to the UK first.
Reed Hastings, Netflix's CEO, announced the upcoming service during last week's third-quarter earnings conference. He said that “for competitive reasons” he couldn’t confirm in which country the service will launch first.
However, he did indicate that it won't be the US, a nation he believes is too wedded to the DVD. Netflix currently offers movie downloads in the US, but only to punters who sign up to its all-you-can-eat DVD mail plan.
Netflix wants to “prove their model” before offering an expanded service around the globe, website Read Write Web said, and so will probably roll it out on a country-by-country basis.
In related news, Netflix has also signed a deal with Sony that will see films and TV shows streamed through the PlayStation 3.
A formal launch date hasn’t been confirmed and it appears that the deal only applies to North America – for the time being. Further information about the upcoming service is available online.
Netflix already streams movies to Xbox Live subscribers. ®
COMMENTS
Hooray PS3 streaming movies
Hopefully it will bankrupt or at the very least really piss off those muppets at lovefilm :-)
If they offer unlimited downloads for a good price I'd sign up too. Never watch adverts again. Oh and sky could kiss my hairy ass too. Hurry up Netflix. Yeah as swaygeo says. Need proper buffering from the off and pretty please HD.
Netflix Instant Downloads
"Netflix currently offers movie downloads in the US, but only to punters who sign up to its all-you-can-eat DVD mail plan."
That's not true, Netflix offers instant downloads to ANY subscriber, it doesn't matter which plan you're signed up for, if it is all you can eat or one at a time.
Yay!!
I've been waiting for this service to become available in the UK. If there is some sort of sensibly priced unlimited option and a good sized library then I'll be signing up and selling my DVD collection...
...oh and can I have it all in HD please?
...and can they use some sort of magical CODEC / compression thingy that means it wont get to the crucial bit of the film and then kill my joy with buffering (like iPlayer)?
