Netflix

Digital Media Bytes

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

What’s Up With Netflix?

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 … Read more

Netflix Still Contemplating Dedicated STB?

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 … Read more

Intelliflix Drops Game Rentals

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 … Read more

More Vudu Video-On-Demand Details

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 … Read more

Netflix Launching Original Short-Form Video

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 … Read more

Uninterested in A La Carte

Forrester Research just released the results of a survey showing that consumers don’t care that much about a la carte channels and wouldn’t be willing to pay very much for the privilege. I might not have agreed a few years ago, but here’s why my opinion has changed:

  1. Better shows on more cable channelsforrester-survey.jpg
    ESPN and Comedy Central used to be the only networks I watched on cable, but now I regularly tune in to FX, TNT and the SciFi network at the very least.

  2. On-demand viewing
    By ordering Netflix DVDs or downloading shows from the Web, I can get access to almost any content I want. If I wanted to drop my cable subscription, I’d virtually be able to get a la carte viewing through other distribution sources. (ESPN being the big exception)

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Supercharge Your Summer Television Lineup

It used to be that once the spring TV season ended, I’d pretty much shut off my TV and take a break for the next three months. Occasionally, I might check out a rerun, but by and large, the time between the end of basketball season and the start of football was always a TV wasteland for me.

Of course that was before TiVo. Once I got a taste of time shifting, I realized that my television season never had to end. Over the years, I’ve missed a lot of good TV, but between the TV syndication agreements and TiVo’s ability to automatically record every episode, the summer has turned out to be a perfect time to catch up on shows that I’ve missed. Whether it’s been going back and watching every single Twilight Zone or catching the X-Files a decade after it aired, TiVo’s season pass functionality has supercharged my reruns in a way, that was never possible before.

Some shows are better suited for summer TiVoing, but when it comes to episodic content, there is a downside to TiVo reruns. The shows aren’t always in the order that they originally aired and it’s almost always impossible to catch the first episodes. This isn’t a big deal for sitcoms and some reality shows, but when it comes to episodic content, it leaves you confused over the storyline and can spoil earlier episodes, you haven’t seen yet.

That is where my Netflix account kicks in. If I know that I really want to see a series that tells a story, I’ll use Netflix to make sure that I get to see it in order. If I’m not sure if a show will be interesting or not, I’ll record a couple of episodes on TiVo and test drive it before committing to watching the entire series. This has improved my overall television experience because there is always at least some fresh content that I can watch.

Over the last few years, the studios have also started releasing more and more new series each summer. It’s a chance for them to try out more experimental shows or concepts. A lot of these new shows are things that I probably wouldn’t check out during the normal TV season, but with a little extra downtime, I’m willing to experiment with new programs, even if there is a good chance they won’t be back again next summer.

So far there have only been a couple of the summer premiers, that have become favorites, but if I can find two or three decent shows to start following, it would be enough to keep me busy. Here are some of the new shows, that I plan on checking out over the next couple of months.

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