Hi, Brent here with some news about movies & TV episodes that are available to watch instantly. Today we announced an agreement with Starz Play that adds around 1,000 choices that you can watch instantly today, and will add another 1,500 by the end of the year. Movies include “No Country for Old Men”, “Ratatouille,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” “Superbad,” and more. You can see all the newly available choices here.
Recently we also added a lot of new CBS, Disney and NBC TV episodes including of CSI, NCIS, Numbers, Jericho, Hannah Montana and Heroes.
You can watch these online on your PC or your TV via a Netflix ready device. Netflix ready devices include the Netflix Player by Roku, which is available now, the LG BD300 Blu-ray Network player, which will be available in a few days, or the Xbox 360, which will instantly stream movies from Netflix later this fall. And, for all of you Mac users (of which I am one) 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.
Enjoy the new stuff, and let us know what you think.
213 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 1 – 200 of 213 Newer› Newest»I love you.
thank you for continuing to work for Mac subscribers. I'd like to buy a Roku but am unsure if my cable connection is continually good enough to avoid stutters during movie watching.
appreciatively...
Firefox users would love to be able to do the instant-watching thing. And DRM free watching of movies would make a huge difference. I won't install all the crazy software when it's clear that Youtube and Hulu is showing me movies just fine with no added software!
This is GREAT!!! Thank you so much for putting some good movies up on instant play. We appreciate it very much.
Just a matter of time before those in-the-mail DVD's become obsolete, isn't it?
If you're running Firefox and want to instant watch stuff, may I suggest the IE Tab add-on that is available at the Add On section of Mozilla.com. It tricks websites into thinking you're running internet explorer, and it works fine for Netflix instant viewing.
This Mac solution has taken far too long. Between Hulu and Itunes, I can watch what I want on a Mac, and using Firefox. I'm finally giving up my Netflix membership after many years.
Very welcome news!
Wake me up when you I can instantly watch on my Mac.
So what happen to all the stuff that is no longer available like 30 Rock, The Office season 3 and Heroes season 1?!? My Instant View queue had roughly 10 movies booted from it last night. Coincidently... It's really great that Netflix now has movies to watch that are worth a darn and that were actually released in theaters within the last year, but as for TV, the NBC picks have gone back to slim.
Why aren't these available now? It stinks having to get a disk to watch the last episode when it was available the night before. Thoughts?
As the lone Netflix subscriber who uses Linux exclusively, I just thought I'd chime in with my hopes that the OSX capabilities will pave the way for a Linux solution as well. I'm tempted to get a Roku box, but I'd rather just use the media PC I already have hooked up to my TV that use for watching things on Hulu, DVD, and whatnot.
Another option I'd like is the ability to use either a Wii or PS3 to stream. I own a Wii already, and the ability to stream Netflix content to a PS3 would give it the critical mass (netflix + Bluray + a few games I'm interested in) to make the investment worthwhile.
For a couple months, 30 Rock (and many other titles) had an expiration date of Sep 30. But a couple weeks ago the expiration date was removed, yet now they've expired anyway. Sad, because I stopped my rush to watch some of these shows because I figured they were now safe to let sit.
First of all, I just want to say how much I love netflix. Your customer service is nothing short of fantastic.
The whole "watch instantly" thing is a neat trick and I applaud you for increasing content (because frankly, the available movies right now are sub-par at best) but I would think that the vast majority of your customers still watch movies that come through the mail. Please, don't jepordize your buisness model by putting too many eggs in the "online streaming" movies buisness.
Great! I just ordered my Roku box!
This is awesome! I've had my Roku box for over a month & love it! Thank you for added new content!
"And, for all of you Mac users (of which I am one) 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."
Then you already know NetFlix is way too late and the Apple TV already fills that void - and NetFlix lose ground daily against it.
And the way you say that whole "of which I am one" ~cringes~ It's like saying "hey, some of my best friends are black!" Yes, it may be true and it may be genuine, but it really comes-off as cheesy and insincere at best and an outright offensive remark at worst.
I decided not to wait for NetFlix. Dumped the account - went Apple TV and iTunes. /Extremely/ happy with it.
Please understand - I am not trying to diss NetFlix here. I liked the service - really did as a customer (of which I was one) ~backatcha~
I am /REALY/ just trying to give genuine feedback in the hope you (NetFlix) know how slighted we Macintosh/OS-X users feel. But you aren't the only company that does that, so oh-well.
the stars content is good, but way too blury! made my head hurt. is this going to get cleared up?
You are a saint.
Hopefully the feature will:
Work with PPC Macs.
Work with Tiger.
Work with Safari.
If only the Play Instantly choices also provided the "special features" from the DVDs...
This is absolutely fantastic. Yet again, Netflix takes the #1 spot in my heart when it comes to customer service. I don't need cable anymore, just Netflix.
Oh, and I should add, I have a Mac. I bought a Roku box, but I'd honestly really, really love it if there was finally some Mac love.
And, for all of you Mac users (of which I am one) we’ve been busy working getting a solution that will allow you to watch instantly on your Mac.
What about us Linux users Netflix fans? We'd love to see some streaming videos, too.
Where is the CC/Subtitles support? Several online video companies are already supprting it, YouTube and Hulu.com
Come on Netflix, why are you behind the times?
Netflix:
I am in love with you.
Why can Hulu.com stream full movies and TV episodes in HD but Netflix streams a max of 480i?
I am still waiting for Linux compatibility.
Please netflix , work out a deal with the WWE.
if you guys can do what you did with starz play with wwe, watch instantly will ROCK!!
wwe 24/7 on demand + wwe legacy (wwe.com on demand service) + weekly wwe tv: raw, ecw , smackdown (of course those would stream atleast one day after they air on tv)
wwe has the highest rated programs on cable tv, and such a deal would surly benifit both netflix and wwe in major ways.
also a hbo and showtime deal would be awesome as well.
Interesting to see some other commenters noticed disappearing content. I watch exclusively on my Roku box, and suddenly my queue has been purged of its most valuable content. Like others, I noticed that the expiration dates had disappeared on some of the content, and I also assumed that the content was not going to expire. Very poor user experience. Netflix, please resolve this.
Glad to hear that Mac suport is on the way!
I think TiVo support would be great.
LOVELY LOVELY LOVELY news!!!
and - can you give us an update on when you will be streaming HD from the Roku.
and - as mentioned I so miss the special features.
Thank you. Keep it coming!
Tom
Geez, you add all this new content and reassure people you're walking on a Mac interface, and you're bombed with people wanting more.
I just wanted to say your recent moves are great, and I'm tickled to have bought both of my Roku boxes.
Keep up the good work. Licensing the Starz content was a brilliant idea, and really enjoy the modern TV shows.
Sorry, "working" on a Mac interface...
Why doesn't Netflix use Wine or Crossover Mac to port the Windows version?
Our family uses the Mac. We have come close to quitting Netflix and just watch things on hulu.com. Perhaps we will wait a little bit to test out this service.
I canceled my netflix membership today. Netflix stated in Aug 2007 (!!!) they were working on a Mac solution for streaming.
http://blog.netflix.com/2007/08/instant-watching-on-mac-firefox-and.html
And today, over a year later, you're still "working on it"? Hulu has great content, and it's free. Good riddance Netflix.
Ari - to each his own. I use Netflix for renting movies I haven't seen and possibly won't like. I'm not gonna pay per movie for something i might watch half of, or even not even get to (lots of NF discs sit here for more than a month). Hopefully you haven't blown a lot of good money on bad rentals. :) (Once you go subscription, you never go back baby.)
@lora - the drm+licensing situation is somewhat challenging on the Mac side. The only real viable solution available has been iTunes' Fairplay, and Apple ain't giving that to nobody. NF announced they wanted to support the Mac a while ago but sadly it appears that options weren't available or better ones did after they began working on it, so they had to start over.
I hope you didn't cancel *because* of this announcement. That seems silly considering how close it appears to be (within 3 months of now). The closer a promised delivery date is, the more reliable it is.
Oh yeah, and NF is more than a streaming movie company. You can still get lots of movies via mail that aren't on Hulu
END OF THE YEAR?? C'mon! Do NOT force me to cancel my membership because I REALLY want streaming capability on the mac. iTunes is looking really tempting right now for renting movies. I've learned to be patient using Netflix so I can wait 30 days to watch a new release streaming.
Please HURRY on the Mac solution!
So I've noticed that some series that were instant watch are suddenly no longer available. This is very disappointing, I now have to order the DVDs to finish this series? Now I am afraid to start instantly watching any other series.
The members complaining about disappearing content could alleviate the issue somewhat if they would view their instant queues more regularly and more carefully on the computer. From your Instant queue on the web site, look for a column on the right side of your instant queue that says "Expected Availability." Scroll your queue down and look for red text in that column. Text in that column always indicates the dates that a program will no longer be available for instant viewing. You need to pay attention to this and watch shows before they expire. What I do is move every item with an expiration date to the TOP of my Instant queue. This helps me remember when I'm looking at the list from the Roku box that those titles are expiring and will eventually disappear.
Netflix really can't prevent that from happening or undo it, as their license arrangements with the studios limit the window of time that a movie can be made available for instant viewing. They're not the villain here, it's the studios' licensing that limits them, so please be kind with your comments about expiring titles!
Just checked out some of the additional starz content. The newer titles are great. But I did notice the viewing quality was no where near as good as what Netflix has been offering. Has anyone else had this issue with Starz content? I have DSL and have been very satisified with Netflix viewing which has been very near DVD quality. I don't think I'll be watching too many Starz movies if they are all slightly blurry.
I can't believe how much grumbling there is about the lack of Mac and Linux support. Once I got my Roku box, I stopped being bothered that I can't access Instant viewing from my Mac. It's a great little device!
I have both Macs and PCs at home, but consider myself primarily a Mac user. Considering how I've never been able to get instant viewing to work from either my Windows XP machines, I believe it's wise that Netflix is taking its time to push out a solution for Mac users that works.
Another reason that Roku viewing > PC viewing is the user experience. I'd much rather watch movies from the comfy chairs in front of my TV than the office chair in front of my computer.
Some of you may have missed that the CEO of Roku announced last week that they plan to partner with other content providers to deliver content to the box. Between that news and the news in this blog post, I'd say there's never been a better time to plunk down the $99 and get the Roku box!
In response to anonymous dated October 1, 2008 6:01 PM:
I WAS watching the expiration dates listed in the queue. Expiration dates for several movies/tv shows were listed for a couple months, then a couple weeks ago, the dates disappeared. I assumed that meant that Netflix had renewed the licenses. But the movies went ahead and expired anyway without any warning. I know I can still get them on DVD, but it still is annoying that the expiration notification system doesn't work right.
moving forward is all good and well - but HEY what about us who don't buy new computers every few years! I went away for a month and on my return NO MORE PREVIEWS since you moved to Microsoft siverlight - only playable on Mac INTEL machines - geez that is how I picked my movies. This and the fact that there is no Watching Instantly YET - I'm considering leaving soon. since I can only guess at movies i don't now about - which is about 3/4 of choice. And, there was no where to comment on the site about this - so thanks for having a sort of forum here.
Increasing the watch now library is great. I've already run out of anything I'm interested in.
A Mac solution would be super awesome. I've been waiting and waiting!
WhooHoo! Finally a Mac solution!
This is for the condescending "anonymous". Either you are a NetFlix plant or you are trying your best to be helpful. Either way you are annoying. The mere fact that I or any other customer has to pay close attention and study every aspect of this service in order to enjoy what it has to offer is ridiculous. Instant Viewing is not a free service, I pay for it with my subscription. The expiration date feature no longer appears so your comments are lame at best. I too am a Mac user and could have plenty to complain about but I don't. That is why I bought the Roku. This is about offering the best possible product that is user friendly and worth every penny. So if your sensitivity level has risen due to the harsh nature of some of the comments left then I suggest you should A. Talk to your cohorts at NetFlix (if in fact you are a NF plant), B. Alleviate your sensitivity with concentrating on those soon to expire titles at the top of your Instant View queue and stop wasting your time on this customer service oriented blog, or C. Pay closer attention to something else and save your condescension for someplace else.
I had 2 episodes left of heroes: season 1 and now it is gone. I just started watching them last weekend and there was nothing about an expiration date. Very shoddy.
Can't wait for the Mac support!
Dear Netflix team-
You're wonderful. Mac support has been a long time coming and I can barely contain my excitement :) Thanks!
Sorry giantbluerobot, no connection to Netflix. Just a savvy, satisfied customer who digs the Roku box.
The expiration date feature continues to work fine for me. If you're not seeing it, maybe you don't have any titles in your queue that are expiring? I'll give you some examples to try from my queue that are expiring: 54, Rain Man and Honey I Blew Up the Kid. Put those in your queue and I bet you'll see dates. If you don't, you should probably contact NF.
Mac is nice, but what about Linux? I have been waiting for a Linux version for quite a while now.
I had to shut down my Netflix membership when I moved to Mexico, because they don't service Mexico. That wasn't a big surprise, but still a bummer.
I was thrilled when I heard that Netflix was going to offer an online service to customers. I thought I'd soon be reinstating my subscription, until I learned that the service isn't yet available for Macs. I'm going to go ballistic if Netflix FINALLY gets viewing up and running for Macs, only to have it be limited to viewers living in the United States.
And another thing, why is it that everyone is more eager to fault Apple for not releasing their DRM than they are to blame the studios for insisting on DRM in the first place?
"END OF THE YEAR?? C'mon! Do NOT force me to cancel my membership..."
Really, you waited this long for a Mac solution, they start (vaguely) stating when it might be ready and then you want to cancel?
Um, ok.
I tried watching one of the Starzplay movies and found the quality to be really poor. The other Netflix instant download movies are of quite good quality. If it's a choice between watching Starzplay movies or waiting for the DVD, I'd have to choose waiting for the DVD.
Heroes Season 1 goes missing?? Arrrrgh! Why no notice or communication on the titles that just disappeared?
I really appreciate and love the new content...but I'm left with a cold feeling after the titles I was watching went *poof*.
Condescending "anonymous": We are both correct, the expiration information is still present and you are still annoying.
Linux (or platform agnostic) please...
Brent, I represent a software firm that has a codec that loads in Java and can instantly open the Mac market for you. I would love to show it to you. Contact me thru google gmail with this name.
I've been holding off on getting a Netflix account because of the lack of Mac support. It's nice to hear that's coming soon.
craig where were you a year ago? :)
This is great news. Even better news would be an AppleTV or Playstation3 solution. If a real solution is going to be here within the next two months, does that mean a beta should be showing up sooner?
I'm dying to see:
Mac support
Firefox/Safari/Chrome support
PS3 support
AppleTV support
Thannnnk you!!! *hugs and kisses*
Glad to hear you're working on a mac solution. Please make it compatible with PPC machines.
I second the last comment... Please don't leave out non-Intel Macs!
Glad to hear that Macs will feel the love soon.
When will the Wii get streaming Netflix?
When do us Wii users get the love?
Your Mac support has been way too slow in coming, but I'm happy to hear that it may actually become a reality.
Giantbluerobot - you're a major tool.
Finally a step in the right direction, but this is absurdly slow progress. Two years just to make it work with Macs?! Are we going to have to wait two more for Linux? A streaming service should work in any modern browser on any modern OS right from the start. Everyone else gets it; so why not Netflix?
AWESOME. Thank you SO, SO much! I love it. I can't wait 'til you have it available on the Mac and on the XBox. Yay Netflix!! <3
Great, but its no good to me blurry. I contacted netflix and they tell me it’s my internet provider. A little common sense please. Its always worked fine and the other movies work fine. The new stars content does not… and netflix on line rates my speed at the highest on there scale. Frustrating!!!! And it was a 30 minuet phone call trying to find problems with MY computer!! Annoying! If anyone from netflix reads this stuff please see there are people having this issue and please fix it! Thanks!
This is just amazing. I can't wait for the fall update to be release so i can stop having to connect the laptop to my hdtv. IT will be much more convenient!
Awesome and as Mac user, I'm stoked. What I'm thinking of doing is getting a Blu-ray player or Playstation 3 to get blu-ray in the mail and get a Roku for Standard Definition content. I don't really watch that many movies, so having the option for streaming video on-demand when I really want to watch a movie is great option.
Give me AppleTV support and I'll be happy. I don't need another device and I go to netflix to watch things on my TV, not my computer.
Can't wait to see it on my Mac. Here's another vote for AppleTV support, perhaps through Boxee for starters.
Like at least one of the commenters above, I canceled my Netflix membership this week. My media center box--the only computer I use to watch movies and TV shows--runs on Linux. Netflix has yet to even acknowledge its Linux customers, much less give them a satisfactory answer as to when their needs will be met. Writing blog posts is not enough, Brent--you need to read the comments as well, and respond to them frankly and directly. Where is Linux support?
i too hope for ppc mac support. when i bought my new mac i hooked my mini to my hdtv, so i could use it for watching movies via netflix at some time. watching it at a computer is not quite the same, or on my 12" windows laptop like i've done.
Mac is the way to go. Netflix has seen the light (not silverlight). Even NBC dropped that junk.
MacSoftwareList.com
Of course - I canceled my Netflix account today at 11am because of your complete lack of information since 2007 about your Mac support....and 2 hours later you post this...
Heh - Guess since the economy is tanking and all, that "other" 6 -10% of the market ain't looking all that bad now.
Actually, putting the watch instantly on the Wii would also bring in some more people....
APPLE TV COMPATIBILITY!!!!
I watch everything via AppleTV or my iPod. IF you can't support that, there's no point doing it.
Thanks
Rip with Handbrake and watch on AppleTV. Thats the best way for Time-Shifted viewing.
I recently decided to decrease my netflix subscription to 2 a month because of free video elsewhere on the internet, as well as the technology issue that caused a shipping delay: http://blog.netflix.com/2008/08/netflix-shipping-delay.html
I chose not to cancel my subscription and was disappointed to find that the credit to my account for the shipment delay was lower than expected because it was based on the change in subscription rather than more reasonably being based on the subscription I had when the error occurred.
Today when I logged in to my account, the main page said:
"16 new titles
in your DVD Queue are now available to watch instantly!
We've added them to your Instant Queue"
When I visited my instant queue, I found "Not available with this plan" next to every single one of these movies. I suppose this might encourage some users to upgrade their subscriptions, but it only annoyed me and made me even more set on remaining at the lesser subscription while using other sites like hulu.com for a better--and free--alternative to your watch instantly service.
Linux support please. I've been a Netflix customer for many years and have been waiting for Linux streaming since day 1. My media centers run linux (other than my XBMC original Xbox), there isn't a Windows or Mac box in my house at all. Please bring streaming to all operating systems!
As a Mac user, I ask, "which year?"
Calendar year 2008?
Some Netflix fiscal year?
Thanks to everyone who championed Mac access on Netflix! Keep up the great work. Booo on Netflix for taking so long to come up with a solution - also booo on Netflix for pointing the blame at Apple in the FAQ as the reason why it doesn't offer compatibility. It has more to do with their solution provider than Apple.
Please make the viewer compatible with Firefox! Netflix is the only time I ever even open Internet Explorer anymore.
Cool, Mac streaming support plus Blu-ray may finally get me to join Netflix.
The Roku box is the best $100 I've spent in recent memory. LOVE IT. Love it even more now! Thank you!
I'd be happy to beta test. I give good feedback.
Awesome job adding all the stars current movies. Adds a ton of value to the watch instantly.
Keep up the good work!
You guys a netflix rock! The innovation seen over the past 6 months leaves me stunned. I will easily eat thru my 250GB per month on my Comcast connection. This means that I can go back to basic cable :->
Wonderful update! I've been waiting for a better selection of watch instant titles. Please keep it up!kh
Thank you for adding Mac support! I have friends who left Netflix just because Mac streaming was not supported. Glad to see it won't stay that way forever.
When will Heroes: Season 1 be available to watch online again?
Contact me with any details on how i can watch Heroes: S1 Online because i would like to watch them online instead of waiting for them in the mail.
I see I am not the only one to notice that with the add, you removed some good content.
I was in the middle of my Instant queue,and it is basically wiped out.
What happened to the content that you had before? Now I have to wait for those DVDs to come up and rebalance my queue.
Anon who wants to wait for Heroes to be available online.
1) You do realize that if you just stick Heroes in your queue, you'll (likely) be watching it before it becomes available for streaming again.
2) How are they going to contact you if you posted Anonymously?
The new content is blurry for me as well...
Several posters have mentioned how blurry the new content is and I would whole-heartedly agree. I can't really watch it - it makes my head hurt.
Also, why did you cut so much of the content that was already available for streaming? Some excellent stuff has disappeared without any real notice... I'm pretty bummed about the whole thing.
Guess I'll just stick to snail mail - the online streaming just isn't worth it anymore. :(
I'm excited to see all the new content.
But, has anyone noticed the bad compression on nearly every new title. My connection will only allow 2 out of 4 dots - so, half quality I guess. This has not been a problem in the past, 2 out of 4 has looked pretty good. The new titles though, are soft and and nuanced colors are lost at this stream quality.
What's the deal?
I am still disgusted that there is no Linux support for netflix, its not like its rocket science, its just laziness by netflix. I don't even know why I subscribe anymore, all I do is watch the instant watch now since there are no good movies out and even fewer on the horizon. At least they could throw us a bone and act more like hulu, at least you get HD support and they support linux/mac/windows and anything else that can use flash.
While I was excited to see all of the new content, I agree that becuase of the very poor picture quality I would be more likely to wait for the DVD than watch these titles instantly. These Starz movies seem to be only a notch above YouTube quality.
Hopefully that will improve?
Whomever navigated the deal with Starz deserves a raise. I love the comment from the starz President who doesn't seem to understand that they had just given away the store, When he said he does not think new online services would conflict with Starz’s traditional distribution over cable and satellite networks. “Over the next several years we clearly don’t expect to see people leaving their big televisions and big screens to watch Starz Play. This is a complimentary service,” he said. Yeah okay, keep on telling yourself that.
I've found so many movies that I want to watch... I don't know where to start. Marry me? =)
Please also consider AppleTV support
I like the instant-watching feature, and I use it a lot... but what about
those netflix users (including me)that have Firefox? iPhones and Playstation 3?
Thanks!
Way too fuzzy, looks like a good thing has been broken. please fix...
Can't wait for instant viewing on the Mac! Have been waiting for this...
For those who complained about the shows mysteriously disappearing from their queues, I just noticed that the following 4 NBC series which were dropped from my Instant queue at the end of October have reappeared this morning:
The Office: Season 3
30 Rock: Season 1
Heroes: Season 1
Friday Night Lights: Season 1
^^^
I should have said "end of September," rather than "end of October."
You added new content. But you removed content also. I am disgusted. You removed all 5 or 6 seasons of Dick Van Dyke. Several movies from my instant que are now unavailable. It's bait and switch. Now that I purchased the device to watch Netflix on my TV you change the menu on me. I'm going to cancel. And yes I will tell ALL my friends. Nice Going Netflix.
I can't beleive 42 movies from my instant que are no longer available. Netflix without warning removed them form the available titles. The instant movie titles are the lamest bucnh of B and C grade movies I have ever seen, it's unbeleiveable, and now there are 42 less of my titles than before. I wish I never signed up for Netflix, I want my money back for the Roku Box. You baited me in to buying a box with an instant que that no longer exists. I hope there is a class action suit against you. NETFLIX SUCKS and it's a DISHONEST.
You said it...."And, for all of you Mac users (of which I am one) 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.'
Now I'm gonna hold you to it...me and my mac will walk on over to apple tv if you don't meet your own deadline.
Thanks for your consideration...
If the quality issue is not cleared up soon. I might just find other ways to get my content digitally. This will undoubtedly result in me dropping my Netflix account.
Please fix the horrible quality.
If the quality issue is not cleared up soon. I might just find other ways to get my content digitally. This will undoubtedly result in me dropping my Netflix account.
Please fix the horrible quality.
I would simply like a response that shows the Netflix has realized that the Wii exists.
Observation:
Besides the instant view movies that Netflix has just provided (which is great) I also notice alot of my current instant queue movies disapearing, for example many of the stand up comedy (Lenny Bruce, Jeff Dunham, etc..)
Question: