Today’s question was lifted straight from the ZNF comments. And I promise this will be the very last mention of Netflix movie downloads for quite some time. In regards to getting Netflix content onto a television screen (rather than a PC monitor), Josh wondered:

Couldn’t you do this on a Wii?

I don’t have a Wii (yet), so I again enlisted the help of my buddy Matt…

I tried to stream a movie through the trial version of Wii’s beta Opera browser (Internet Channel), but to no avail. I thought I could get a movie up and running on a television in front of a couch, but video isn’t enabled… at least for now. Regular sites/content/pics work surprisingly well, but no video. It will be interesting to see if we’ll be able to get video content when the final pay version is available this spring. I’ll keep you posted…and will look around a little more on this.

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I’ve been actively trying to get access to Netflix’s new online movie service. My first email response from customer service:

I appreciate you inquiring about “Watch Now� feature, at this time we do not have any information on this feature. I have enclosed the list of plans that are available.

Their response to my second query a few days later:

We appreciate your interest in our new instant viewing feature. At this time, we are enabling members to the program in stages. This is to ensure the best possible experience for all participants. We currently plan on making instant viewing available to all Netflix subscribers by June of 2007. We are currently unable to add subscribers to this program on demand.

Frankly, this irks me. Not because I’ll frequently use this service, but because it’s less than ideal customer service — either enable everyone who asks, or call it a beta and let folks apply. Well, it looks like I got the back-door blogger hookup through their PR department because I’m live now. Though, I suggest everyone who wants access to keep the pressure on Netflix Support to encourage a shift in policy.

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I wasn’t one of the lucky 250,000 to receive Netflix’s new movie download service, but my buddy Matt got the hook up. Matt and I go way back and he’s always kept me current on the video game industry. As roomies in college he made sure we had 3DO and the Japanese Nintendo 64 months before US release… not to mention the Sega Saturn and the first Playstation, plus a huge Mitsubishi monitor to game on.

Anyhow, Matt’s Watch Now tab is active and he spent some time playing around with it:

It works fine — easy installation, no interruptions during the stream. Video quality is good. But the library of titles SUCKS right now (all old stuff). And uhhhhh, sitting at my desk to watch a movie… sucks too. Kinda cool overall, but I don’t see myself using this. I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it better!

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For some time Netflix has indicated they would announce their download strategy in January… and here we are! Initially, they will offer about 1,000 streaming movies (via their web page, Windows PC required) at the rate of 1 hour of video for every dollar you spend on monthly Netflix service. Depending upon your available bandwidth, quality can scale up to near-DVD quality. Deployment begins today and will be available to all customers by June.

Netflix has come up with quite an innovative pricing strategy. In its current form (PC-only viewing), I’m not sure how many new customers they’ll acquire… But perhaps this service will limit some (high profile) defections to Blockbuster. Though they’ve introduced a pricing inequity issue with a staggered roll-out: Mike gets “Watch Now.” Dave does not. We both pay the same, yet his service is now superior to mine. Netflix better be prepared to activate everyone who requests the feature or risk alienating customers.

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The Mercury News is reporting that on January 3rd, Lycos filed a patent lawsuit against TiVo, Netflix and Blockbuster over their use of recommendation technology. The article doesn’t give the exact patents that are alleged to be violated, but a quick scan of Lycos’ patent filings shows patents 6775664 and 6308175 as the most likely candidates.

Patent 6775664 was originally filed on Oct. 22, 2001 and describes a search method that uses a user feedback system to provide “collaborative feedback data for integration with content profile data in the operation of the collaborative/content-based filter.”

Patent 6308175 was filed on Nov. 19th, 1998 and according to the patent, it covers technology whose “filter system compares received informons to the individual user’s query profile data, combined with collaborative data, and ranks, in order of value, informons found to be relevant. The system maintains the ranked informons in a stored list from which the individual user can select any listed informon for consideration.”

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Let’s face it, there are only so many hours in the day you can actually watch TV. I consider myself a huge TV nut and certainly do my best to boost up the national average, but even with my voracious appetite for film, I still can’t keep up with everything that is being produced right now, let alone all the good films that have been made in the past.

Add to this distractions from the internet, real life, my poker habit, and this little thing called work that I’ve actually got to do once in a while, and it’s clear that something has to give. Because we’re limited by time, consumers are forced to choose between not just what we watch, but how we watch it as well.

In a great post highlighting the smackdown between DVDs and DVRs in competing for our attention, The One Eyed Man Rules, covers the various reasons behind why the DVR has replaced the DVD in his life. Among the advantages are the problems that come up when his kids use DVDs as frisbees, the speed at which it takes for you to boot up a DVD compared to the ease of hitting a button on a DVR and having your programming right there, and being forced to watch a bunch of crappy Disney ads vs. being able to fast forward past ads on a DVR. (more…)

A periodic roundup of relevant news…

• Philips cranks out Windows Vista Media Center remotes: Chris Lanier
• BBC to offer free show downloads for the US: BBC
• Hands on with Akimbo’s new RCA box: GigaOM
• Walmart bundles adult content with Zune: Fox Chicago
• Arrington dumps Netflix for Blockbuster: TechCrunch
• Purchase a TiVo Series3 for as low (ha) as $511: TiVo Lovers