Netflix confirms what we knew to be the holdup in bringing “Watch Now” streaming movies to OS X:

A key issue for delivering movies online is that the studios require use of DRM (Digital Rights Management) to protect titles. And that’s our holdup for the Mac - there’s not yet a studio-sanctioned, publicly-available Mac DRM solution (Apple doesn’t license theirs). I can promise you that, when an approved solution becomes available for the Mac, we’ll be there. I’ll also say that Silverlight 1.1 looks like a promising candidate - but that its DRM isn’t likely to be fully available until 2008.

For a demo of what a Netflix Silverlight solution might look like click here. But, if you’re not interested in waiting until ‘08, perhaps you heard Microsoft’s DRM has been broken — Netflix titles and can stripped and archived. Lastly, speaking of 2008, Netlflix is working on a solution to provide direct Firefox streaming early in the year.

(via Hacking Netflix)

A periodic roundup of relevant news…

• Netflix Watch Now Movie Archive Hack: Brent Evans
• Third Generation HD DVD Players Get Official: Engadget
• Watch Out For Wireless High-Def TV: CNET
• OpenMoko Neo Dev Kit Unboxing: Gizmodo
• Billboard Hot 100 Chart To Include Online Streaming: paidContent

The Netflix website has been down over 12 hours. Crazy!

The Netflix web site is temporarily unavailable.
It is anticipated that the site will be available again at 1:00 PM Pacific time.
We apologize for any inconvenience this causes you.
Please visit us again soon.

I don’t suppose this means cool, new features are being rolled? Probably not… they would have mentioned it to buoy their plummeting shares.

According to an Engadget tipster, Netflix has been conducting focus groups for two set-top box prototypes. The Watch Now-receiving hardware would reportedly clock in at $50 (composite & S-Video) or $100 (component & HDMI) — Which strikes me as extremely affordable… if they can pull it off. Though, I’d still prefer to have fewer boxes and can think of several other platforms I’d rather see this functionality land on.

(Spotted on TiVo Lovers)

Intelliflix, a Netlix competitor, used to differentiate themselves by offering video games and “mature content” - in addition to standard movie rentals… Well, they’ll still offer the adult stuff.

Intelliflix eliminated the game offering for new customers in June of 2007. Due to the continually changing market for games and game consoles, we made this decision in order to focus our resources on providing the highest quality movie rental experience for our customers. Intelliflix customers that had a Premium membership prior to this change will be grandfathered in, and thus still be allowed to rent games as part of their plan.

Gamefly is still a mail order video game rental option, though neither Davis nor I would recommend them. Blockbuster Total Access provides one (or two if you’ve been around awhile) gaming coupon a month, but that requires a store visit. Good thing I’ve got so many Live Arcade and free game demos to choose from on my 360.

Vudu is in town (NYC) and Gizmodo was given a briefing. Back in April I heard the Vudu video-on-demand box would land at a price point competitive with AppleTV ($300-$350). However, Giz now reports the device will be launched later this year “somewhere under $500.”

Vudu will have a few things going for it such as a large library of thousands of flicks, instant playback of content, and a rich yet simple interface. But that $400 - $500 price point (plus the cost to rent or buy movies) will be hard to overcome in a marketplace where everyone’s cable or satellite provider offers video on demand - plus multifunction devices like the Xbox 360, AppleTV, and TiVo also provide movie downloads. Additionally, HD purists (who have the motivation and disposable income needed for this device) will balk at the upscaled 480p content (without even seeing it). And the fact is, the economical Netflix snail-mail DVD rental solution is still working well for most. I may spontaneously order a flick on Xbox or TiVo, but the bulk of my movies (and TV shows) are delivered via Netflix.

Netflix continues to extend their reach by purchasing and distributing content. They’ve primarily stockpiled indie and foreign flicks, but now they’re expanding into custom short-form video via a NBC Universal deal:

“‘I Love This Movie!’” will be available for instant watching at the Netflix member Web site,” said Robert Kyncl, vice president of content acquisition at Netflix. “As part of a three-series content partnership between Netflix and NBC Universal Digital Studios, ‘I Love This Movie!’ is the first short-form content to premiere on our service and provides Netflix subscribers with unique and entertaining recommendations for classic films.”

2-3 minute I Love This Movie episodes will be distributed later this year through the Windows-only Watch Now service and via an embedded web player on the Netflix site. Given the topic and length, these don’t amount to much more than advertising… Perhaps Netflix’s partnership with NBCU will lead to more creative content going forward.