nofilmschool » netflix

Netflix Streaming Loses 2000 Titles as Universal & MGM Licenses Expire

Dave Kendricken — Thu, 02 May 2013 03:27:29 +0000

While the phenomenon of title evaporation is nothing new to Netflix, one of the service’s most significant catalog losses will come with the expiration of licensing agreements with ~~Warner Bros.~~, Universal, and MGM. Starting today and continuing over the course of May, InstantWatcher tracks 1,794 previously available films that will no longer be streamed on Netflix. This news piggy-backs that of Warner Archive Instant, an offering that — very literal title notwithstanding — should be quite familiar to Netflix viewers. Click below for details on what perennial picks will be removed from the Netflix catalog, some additional info on Warner’s Archive Instant, plus what Netflix itself has to say about all this as well. (more…)

Netflix: 4K Streaming Within 2 Years, 'House of Cards' 4K Encodings This Year. Can Indies Benefit?

Joe Marine — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 05:54:48 +0000

Consumer viewing habits are changing, and companies like Netflix are at the forefront of the streaming revolution. So it comes as no surprise that they also plan to be at the bleeding edge when it comes to 4K. Netflix’s Chief Product Officer, Neil Hunt, recently stated in an interview that they expect to have 4K streaming within a year or two, with their original series House of Cards (shot on the RED EPIC) eventually getting 4K encodings. While it’s good news for anyone selling a 4K TV, is there a way independent filmmakers could benefit from all of this? (more…)

Is 'House of Cards' the Future of Television, or Simply a Forgettable Netflix Experiment?

Joe Marine — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 18:20:05 +0000

On February 1st, Netflix released the first 13 episodes of the first season of House of Cards, marking a potentially monumental shift in the way we watch content. By now it’s very likely a number of you have seen the entirety of the series starring Kevin Spacey. While it’s not the first original series for Netflix (that would be Lilyhammer), House of Cards is one of the most (if not the most) expensive television shows in history, and has attracted some of the biggest names in Hollywood — like director David Fincher. But will the experiment work, or will binge-viewing ultimately hurt those who produce content? (more…)

4K Arrives at CES 2013: Budget Westinghouse TVs, Netflix Streaming UHD, 20-Inch Panasonic 4K Tablet

Joe Marine — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 20:28:41 +0000

If you thought 4K was a buzzword at last year’s NAB, it was the real deal at CES this year. All of the manufacturers were out in force, and not just camera makers — everyone who makes a screen had a 4K display at the show. There were a couple interesting developments so far that might actually mean 4K comes to your home sooner rather than later, including much cheaper 4K TVs from Westinghouse, Netflix streaming a video in 4K at the show itself, and a 4K Windows 8 tablet from Panasonic. RED was also in attendance at CES, showing off their new tech and playing videos in their new highly-compressed but high-quality .RED format. Check out all of the latest developments below. (more…)

Think Your Encoding Job is Tough? Every Netflix 'Watch Instantly' Video is Encoded over 100 Times

Dave Kendricken — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 02:47:59 +0000

Netflix is undeniably a bargain for consumers. The variety of content it features is immense, even though instant viewing choices fluctuate somewhat frustratingly — but don’t expect the average consumer to be understanding about the rather ugly licensing problems that cause this. It’s hard to argue with the price, despite Netflix’s problems. The removal of its native social component, splitting DVD/streaming subscriptions, its sensory overload/option paralysis layout, and its lame payouts to creators are all issues to take with the service. That said, anyone who appreciates the engineering behind modern content delivery can respect Netflix’s ease of viewing — possible via multi-device integration, and, more vitally, the number of encodings each video must undergo for that famous ‘instant view’ ability. (more…)

The Tenuous Future, Mediocre Design, and Negligible Payouts of Netflix

Ryan Koo — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:26:59 +0000

For its future as a streaming only service, Netflix is reliant on deals with content owners, a situation which has the service being described aptly as a castle on quicksand. As evidence of its constantly-changing library, Netflix recently lost Starz content but today added Dreamworks Animation films to their library. However, Amazon also doubled their Prime library today (which at $79/year — including an unlimited free two-day shipping tie-in — compares favorably to Netflix’s $96 annual fee). Competition is heating up, but I can’t help but note one other thing about Netflix: the design of their website and most of their apps is, and always has been, mediocre at best. Which is to say nothing of the connection between the service’s benefit to consumers and its detriment to content creators. (more…)

No, It's Not April 1st: Netflix Drops DVD Service, Spinning It Off into New Brand 'Qwikster'

Ryan Koo — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 04:40:59 +0000

When Netflix recently raised prices and separated out their DVD-by-mail and streaming pricing, there was a minor revolt among users. So many cancelled their service, in fact, that Netflix’s stock took a 15% hit. Still, I don’t think anyone saw this coming: from now on, Netflix will only offer streaming titles. If you still want DVDs by mail, they’re going to come from a new brand: Qwikster. Wow. Here’s the announcement: (more…)

Netflix Now Available on (Some) Android Phones

Ryan Koo — Mon, 16 May 2011 20:06:36 +0000

While Netflix has been available on iOS since last year, it’s been conspicuously absent on the arguably most popular smartphone OS, Android. By finally releasing an Android application late last week, Netflix is moving closer to their goal of being on every platform. But their Android release is a perfect example of the fragmentation issues plaguing Android, as their app is currently only available on five specific phones: (more…)

Get 5,000 Streaming Movies with Your Free 2-Day Shipping: Amazon Prime is Now a Streaming Service Too

Ryan Koo — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:16:55 +0000

Up until now, for $79 a year, Amazon Prime members got unlimited free 2-day shipping (and discounted $3.99 overnight shipping). Pretty straightforward. Prime now comes with an interesting twist, however: 5,000 streaming movies at no additional cost. While the catalog won’t give Netflix’s 20,000-title library a run for the money, it is an interesting entrée by Amazon into the unlimited streaming game. (more…)

Apple's Subscription Service, Google's One Pass, and What They Could Mean for Independent Content Creators

Ryan Koo — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:46:25 +0000

In the world of digital content distribution, things are changing so quickly that if you blink, you miss it. With iTunes and iOS, Apple is the 800 lb gorilla in the room, and ever since the iPad became the fastest-selling gadget in history, the elephant in the room (too many analogous animals in the room now?) has been magazine subscriptions. The iPad has the perfect form-factor for reading magazines — I personally like the Kindle more for reading books — but until now, Apple didn’t offer a standardized method of “subscribing” to a magazine. Until now. And as it turns out, Apple’s new subscription terms are going to govern far more than magazine subscriptions, but applications sales, video distribution, and more. (more…)

Netflix on Playstation 3 Goes Disc-Free, Adds 1080p and 5.1 Surround Sound

Ryan Koo — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:46:14 +0000

Big news out of the Sony camp on the PS3/Netflix integration, which is already pretty good: starting this coming Monday (Oct 18), Netflix will become a native application on the PS3, meaning Playstation users will no longer have to insert a disc to watch Netflix’s Watch Instantly content. On top of this, the new app will offer select content in full 1080p with 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound. These upgrades could make the PS3 the best Netflix machine under the sun (for now). Here’s the official word and a sneak peak at the new interface: (more…)

With the new Apple TV, Apple Decides the Living Room Can Wait

Ryan Koo — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:17:47 +0000

Yesterday Apple launched a half-dozen new products, including a new Apple TV. Apple is no longer a computer company; they even changed their name from Apple Computer to Apple, Inc. in recognition of this. But while they’re very clearly a mobile devices company, the question that’s been lingering about Apple since they launched their lackluster first-gen Apple TV is whether they are a living room company too. With the new device, we have an answer to that question: “no.” (more…)

Hulu Plus Squares Off Against Netflix

Ryan Koo — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 22:01:45 +0000

Hulu today announced Hulu Plus, a paid tier of their ad-supported service that puts them in direct competition with Netflix’s Watch Instantly service. While the bulk of Netflix’s business is still DVDs by mail, they are planning on gradually moving to streaming-only, at which point Netflix and Hulu (Plus) will essentially be the same concept. For example, to date Hulu has been restricted to computers; similar to Netflix’s present streaming service, however, Hulu Plus will be available on iPhones, iPads, PS3s, SamsungTVs and Blu-ray players, and more (Xbox 360 support, for example, is “coming early 2011″). Hulu Plus will run $9.99/month and grants subscribers access to more seasons of more shows; it also enables more HD (720p) content. Here’s the video: (more…)

The future of Netflix is in the hands of the studios (UPDATED)

Ryan Koo — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:27:07 +0000

100 million U.S. households have pay TV (inclusive of cable, satellite, and FiOS). 14 million households have Netflix subscriptions. If consumers move away from the current method of buy-in-bulk (i.e., pay for 500 channels even if you only watch six of them) and transition to an a la carte model (and an on-demand one), Netflix is one of many companies poised to take over market share from the cable companies (which, it’s worth noting, are also ISPs). However, in order to rent movies digitally Netflix needs one thing they haven’t needed in order to rent DVDs: permission from the studios.

Netflix (finally) goes HD on Macs and PCs

Ryan Koo — Fri, 14 May 2010 16:57:12 +0000

If you have a Blu-ray player, Xbox 360, or Roku HD you’ve been able to watch Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” streaming movies in high-definition for the last year and a half. If you’re a Netflix customer and don’t have one of these devices, however, you’ve been stuck with lowly SD. Word has come down from Hacking Netflix that the service is finally bringing HD streaming to the PC and Mac platforms, with half of available HD titles available to stream in HD today (the rest are presumably on their way).

Link: Netflix Goes HD on the PC – NewTeeVee