James Delahunty
25 Mar 2008 17:15
Netflix, one of the worlds best known DVD rental services, has revealed that it has been surveying its subscribers to analyze the level of interest in streaming Netflix movies to the Xbox 360 console directly over the Internet. Because the Xbox 360 console is connected directly to a television set in normal use, it allows Microsoft to offer a video download service that has a huge advantage over others that work only with computers.
Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey revealed the surveying efforts on Monday but declined to say whether or not it should be taken as an indication that both companies will announce a partnership soon. He did say however that Netflix is interested in delivering movies to its customers "in as many ways as possible."
While Netflix already announced a partnership with LG Electronics to produce a Set-Top Box to stream movies directly to a television, a deal with Microsoft or Sony to integrate the service on either company's consoles would immediately provide a large installed base of compatible hardware, and guarantee tens of millions of further units to be brought to homes in the near future.
Netflix suffered a tech failure yesterday that affected many areas of the company's service. It's website was down for hours and some distribution points came to a halt, delaying the expected delivery of many customers' due rentals. The service returned to normal today.