January 4, 2008
Netflix rowing gently up the stream in 2008
Posted Jan. 4, ’08, 11:22 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Apple » Rivals
The stars have been aligning slowly, and 2008 may be the year the digital video truly takes off. Word of Apple’s purported video rental service has whetted appetites for the fast approaching Steve Jobs keynote, and other competitors are likewise jumping into the fray. The latest, rental heavyweight Netflix, who’s partnered with tech company LG to bring streaming HD rentals into your living room later this year.
With details scheduled to be revealed at next week’s Consumer Electronics Show, questions abound. It’s not known, for example, what devices will feature the Netflix integration, though suggestions encompass both LG’s hybrid HD-DVD/Blu-Ray player and wireless-networked high definition displays. The streams will not, however, be high-definition at first, and there may be limits on how many hours of content you can watch. Netflix had originally planned on making its own box, but decided that partnering with hardware companies was a better move.
Netflix certainly has the catalog to back up something like this, presuming all its licensing deals hold (not all content is available to stream with their current “Watch Now” feature). But if the LG devices sold are in the range of television and expensive optical disc players, I find it unlikely that most subscribers will shell out the extra money on top of their monthly fees.
1 Comments
Leave a comment
Recent Entries
About MacUser
MacUser is your source for news, info, and opinion about Apple, the Mac, and the iPod. Our dedicated team of bloggers covers everything that is relevant to Mac users — and, okay, some stuff that’s not quite relevant, but is still a lot of fun. (Plus, we've got columns by Andy Ihnatko!)
Subscribe/RSS
- Blog Posts
- Blog Comments
- Podcast (RSS) (iTunes)
Tip us off!
- Email: macuser [at] macuser [dot] com
Recent Comments 
- Aayush Arya on Wait...Spotlight can do that?!
- Be on Wait...Spotlight can do that?!
- D Jones on Wait...Spotlight can do that?!
- David M on Wait...Spotlight can do that?!
- Bob on U-Charge: like U-Haul, but for batteries. Except not.
- on Apple product placement debuts on video games
Categories
- Apple (173)
- Advertising (135)
- Events (198)
- Huh? (139)
- Humor (229)
- News (128)
- People (223)
- Rivals (334)
- Speculation (134)
- Steve Jobs (142)
- Stores (170)
- Apple TV (50)
- Business (374)
- Games (128)
- Geekery (409)
- Hardware (836)
- Accessories (53)
- Intel Macs (157)
- Ihnatko (18)
- Internet (379)
- Legal (194)
- MacUser (87)
- Money (153)
- Music (312)
- Podcasting (97)
- Photography (66)
- Security (205)
- Software (1368)
- Updates (457)
- Tips (324)
- Troubleshooting (172)
- Video (356)
- Windows (190)
- iPhone (174)
- iPod (560)
- iPod Accessories (87)
- iPod Software (56)
- iTunes (97)
- iTunes Store (376)
Archives
- May 2008 (109)
- April 2008 (234)
- March 2008 (217)
- February 2008 (215)
- January 2008 (239)
- December 2007 (169)
- November 2007 (164)
- October 2007 (187)
- September 2007 (167)
- August 2007 (195)
- July 2007 (152)
- June 2007 (223)
- May 2007 (243)
- April 2007 (286)
- March 2007 (288)
- February 2007 (250)
- January 2007 (266)
- December 2006 (244)
- November 2006 (293)
- October 2006 (307)
- September 2006 (250)
- August 2006 (268)
- July 2006 (288)
- June 2006 (293)
- May 2006 (297)
- April 2006 (351)
- March 2006 (366)
- February 2006 (110)
- January 2006 (107)
- December 2005 (23)
Mac Publishing Sites
Links
IDG NETWORK:
Saying not all Netflix content is available instantly is like saying not all Americans live in Rhode Island.