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Netflix to stream movies through Xbox 360?

2 June 2008 14:01 by Andre "DVDBack23" Yoskowitz | 9 comments

Analysts at Wedbush Morgan Securities have reported that there is the likely possibility that Netflix will strike a deal with Microsoft to stream movies through the Xbox 360.

The report came after the investment banking firm looked through comments made by Netflix management. If the report turns out to be true, the popular online rental service would be able to stream movie directly to million's of consumer's gaming consoles.

"As we have speculated in the past, we believe that one of Netflix's partners is Microsoft. We arrive at this conclusion based upon Netflix management repeatedly mentioning 'Internet enabled video game consoles'," said a Wedbush Morgan statement.

"While there are three such consoles, only one - Microsoft's Xbox 360 - has a sufficiently large installed base to make sense from a streaming partnership with Netflix."

"The competitive advantage of such an alliance is clear: Netflix customers who are Xbox Live members will have the ability to stream online content through their Xbox 360s directly to their televisions. The ability to do so is available without the Xbox 360, but requires a measure of technological sophistication and a high tolerance for failure," it added.

The "measure of technological sophistication" would most likely involve Roku's new Netflix set-top box which allows users to stream movies to their TVs using Netflix's Instant Watch feature.

In January, Netflix gave a survey to subscribers on whether they would like the possibility of having movies streamed to their consoles.

Permalink to this article | Topics: Consoles Gadgets

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Discuss this article!
Stu_dent (Newbie) 2 June 2008 14:42
*Quote:* While there are three such consoles, only one - Microsoft's Xbox 360 - has a sufficiently large installed base to make sense from a streaming partnership with Netflix." Surely the Wii has a install base similar or even greater than the xbox360 worldwide and even if this is only relating to the US im pretty sure the Wii will soon overtake the Xbox360 if it hasnt done it already! Seems like a really good idea to me, like getting a rental without having to leave your seat....which is always so much better! Wouldnt really work here in the UK, what with our crippled internet infrastructure and heavy internet capping I'd rather go down to a good old brick and mortar store and do it the old fashioned way, probably would get to watch the film that evening to lol! [ + quote]
Pop_Smith (Senior Member) 2 June 2008 14:53
*Originally posted by Stu_dent:* Surely the Wii has a install base similar or even greater than the xbox360 worldwide and even if this is only relating to the US im pretty sure the Wii will soon overtake the Xbox360 if it hasnt done it already! Yes, the Wii has a much bigger installed base then the XBox 360 but the XBox360 seems much more "Adaptable" to add such features as streaming than the Wii. [ + quote]
chaos_zzz (Junior Member) 2 June 2008 15:32
before => xbox 360 cools down while watching movies somewhere else after=> red light blinking while watching movies somewhere else i dun really see the advantage here ... :S [ + quote]
sk8flawzz (Member) 2 June 2008 16:25
Interesting... Stream HD movies and maybe I'll subscribe! [ + quote]
JOHNSTARR (Member) 2 June 2008 17:03
This is just a ploy to give all pre-dual heat sink the RROD so they have to buy a new one. Until the plague is over they don't need to entice peeps with this. Premium 360 Benq 1.3 XBOX 1.4- Zenium Chipped 300 Gb Maxtor HD [ + quote]
SProdigy (Member) 2 June 2008 19:45
Makes sense since the DRM scheme Netflix uses works with Windows Media Player on PC platforms (you can't stream movies on a Mac just yet.) I would think they could integrate the features easily, since the Xbox is basically a retooled Windows PC for gaming. I'm surprised MS would allow this, since it may take away from rentals on Live Marketplace. I doubt the Wii could handle streaming, or even a buffer. Nothing against it, but I have all of the free channels downloaded and 4-5 WiiWare/VC games, a dozen Miis, and about 20 gamesave files, and my system memory was already full! (The Nintendo Channel alone took up over 300+ blocks for the channel and save files!) Nintendo needs an external solution, or open up the SD card slot for channels and games, in order for it to even be considered. [ + quote]
b18bek9 (Member) 2 June 2008 20:58
I cant wait to figuring i have both netflix and a 360...Saves me from having to stream from my pc....And the wii i doubt could handle the streaming due to lack of performance might not be next gen but its got its ups and downs like the ps3 and 360. Plus i wont have to buy those marketplace rental one time watch movies which are stupid if i pay for a movie i should get to keep it so netflix i see as a place u rent movies so works for me free and i dont have to buy marketplace movies. [ + quote]
bdoggie08 (Junior Member) 3 June 2008 11:41
thank god no fanboyism comments here, whew..lets keep it that way too. [ + quote]
algtz1 (Member) 3 June 2008 11:54
I'm wondering if this also applies to view on demand. With any Netflix account, you can instanly watch movies from their VOD library and have unlimited access to it. If this feature will also stream to the xbox,then I am all for it. [ + quote]