What Microsoft Does Not Want You to Know About Netflix Streaming

TG Daily's Samantha Rose writes:

Earlier this week, Microsoft and Netflix announced that movie streaming will be coming to the Xbox 360. This could be a big deal. But if you are really interested in watching Netflix content on your Xbox, you don't have to wait and you don't have to pay twice. If you have an Xbox 360 and a Windows Vista PC, you have everything you need to stream Netflix movies already.

[PoSTedUP]

you already know.

[juuken]

I knew all along there was an easier way to stream movies from Netflix without the fees of gold membership.

Microsoft...how they amuse me by the day.

[GodsHand]

As long as people are willing to pay for it, Microsft will keep charging, even if some people know how to get it without the fee.

[TheColbertinator]

I did'nt realize this.Mainly because I am a hardcore gamer who goes online to play resistance(ps3) or cod4(360) or something.

[TheXgamerLive]

There would "NOT" be any fee's on Xbox live for Netflix movies.

It's easy to prove this, watch the friggin conference video.

Ya know what else cracks me up, all these fake wannabe sony b1tch girls posting on an Xbox thread, never fails does it.

Spin spin away girls.

[na2ru1]

bonus!

[captainjy]

Oh geezus, you Phonyites are constantly reaching for anything. Most people barely know how to turn the computer on let only setup a stream through their PC. Get real. And what you are really missing is that you can't share a movie streaming through your PC on Live like you can through the integrated service. And on top of these two things, it's just not as cool to stream through your PC. I have a Vista Media Center and configured my 360 as an extender and could have streamed Netflix, but why go through the hassle and bother, especially now that it's right on Live. You get what you pay for, as you POS3 people know with lagville POSN.

Stop posting this garbage and worry about your pathetic Dome and Trophies.

[LoVeRSaMa]

Thats a Shame.

[truth for gamers]

What about for the people who don't have Vista or a PC?, this is a stupid article

[The Wood]

i totally agree with 'truth for gamers'. The truth is MOST people who own consoles own a pc but not all of them have wireless or have their pcs in the same room as their consoles

[xJxdOggyStYLe]

is DUMB..no idea how it got approved and should be taken off

[KillJoi99]

First off this is old news. Second of all no one is stupid enough to have Vista, or if they do its very likely that their computer will/already has fried or they have simply downgraded.

[JsonHenry]

This is a no brainer. But how many people have a wireless setup and vista? Not too many that I know of.

[gta_cb]

.... obviously you havnt used Vista SP1. yes i have used both versions of Vista, i had problems in the first day when using the original version. but now been using SP1 for about 3months and everything was and is working fine.

[Megatron08]

I dont remember MS saying that you needed a gold account to use netflix I'd be very surprised if you did need a gold membership cause you never needed one before to buy anything off the marketplace.

Even if you did most people have a gold membership anyways to play games

[iHEARTboobs]

This is from the Netflix site:

"What are the system requirements to watch movies instantly on my PC?

You must have a computer running Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or higher, or Windows Vista; Internet Explorer version 6 or higher; Windows Media Player version 11 or higher; an active broadband connection to the Internet; 1.0 GHz processor; 512 MB RAM; 3 GB free hard disk drive space."

Netflix is cool and all but some might be disapppointed in the quality of selection if you are in fact receiving the same selection that has currently been available. It is nice to have, although I wouldn't suggest buying a membership to LIVE just for this.

Edit: Yeah, disagree and hide. Good job.

[deeznuts]

"What about for the people who don't have Vista or a PC?, this is a stupid article"

Then this article isn't for them, get it? When it says, this is for people with Vista PC, well if you don't, then ... drumroll ... article isn't for you.

See how that works? Now run along and play.

[player911]

Sure you can do a lot of things streaming through to a Vista machine but that doesn't make any difference with the netflix alliance.

The point of the new Netflix support is to have it directly on your 360 console and cycle through movies in your que. All you need is a netflix subscription. Who cares if you can hack it and slash it to work in some other, more complicated major.

Plus why stream a stream?

The Netflix support is to allow movies to be delivered without them having to shell out 2-way postage. It is a win-win-win.

My wife and I rent a few movies at least once a month. I own a 360 with Live Gold service. We've discussed getting a movie subscription to blockbuster or netflix... but haven't really moved on it. But after the announcement it is a no-brainer. We rented 2 movies the other day and it was $9.50 or something. That's a month's worth of movie downloads with this service.

And to the above: Live is free, you only pay for the Gold Service. So every xbox with an internet connection can still take advantage of this.

There is absolutely no negative side effect to having this new addition.

[Thugbot187]

This is a completely stupid article because Microsoft never said it was there service. They said it’s a partnership to offer Netflix, services through XBL. In addition it would allow for purchase of more movies for those that didn’t have Netflix service. I guess it’s out of the question to ask people writing or approving articles to have common sense.

@You don't need Vista to watch Netflix online...

[umair_s51]

THAT IS MICROSOFT FOR YOU FOLKS.PLEASE ENJOY !

[uie4rhig]

tbh i like the deal, but why only for Gold members? i mean you have to pay netflix members ship aside from the gold membership its just stupid.. and this article speaks truth, but its a nobrainer so stupid article, also you dont need Vista per se to use netflix, XP works fine..

but also i have got my personal netflix which is free, and works on my PS3 and if i had a Wii, it also worked on a wii.. it's called Veoh and YouTube and a gazillion other video sharing websites :)

so i think both this deal, and this article are the most stupidest things of its kind...

[Truplaya]

what? So instead of getting an xbox update i could buy a PC, Vista Premium, cables to connect it to my HDTV and get a netflix account?

What is this article on about? A PC with Vista and cable is gonna cost more than a 360, plus you probably cant invite friends in to watch the film with you.

i love how he says "I personally have been streaming Netflix movies for a while now, and I pay nothing for it, except for my Netflix subscription." (but what about your PC, copy of Vista and a cable to go to a HDTV in your living room, what that all free too?

[gaffyh]

If you've ALREADY got a PC with Vista, it's not gonna cost you too much. And pretty much all new PCs come with Vista...

[joemayo76]

I think truplayas point is that the writer is makin it sound like its cheaper to do it this way, yet the fall update will be free to download as well. So i wont have to pay for anything either this fall (given the obvious NetFlix membership) However me personally won't be using this feature. Just commented to get across the message across (that hopefully) Truplaya originally meant.

Although the intent of the writer i guess was to highlight a potential ability of the xbox 360 that many probaby dont know, the way the writer went about it is ridiculous, sounding like a pompous prick.
(although im not too sure if u NEED to have gold to use netflix on live)

THIS JUST IN!!! Guess what, who needs a console when u can play PC games on an hdtv with a vga input, all u need is a GOOD pc with a vga port out (or laptop) and a vga cable. :/

tada!!! u can now enjoy half life 2 or Crysis on a 60" Bravia :|

[kingme71]

Yeah, because it is just so easy for the casual market to setup the vmcNetflix plugin and integrate it with their Media Center before streaming it to their 360. For the technical, not so hard, but MS is making a play for the casual market who just want to click a button and start watching. They don't mind paying for convenience.

[HateBoy]

Good comment, bubbles to you, though you don't need any... Tech guys always asume everyone 1) has all the components needed for "the smart and free" way of doing things, and 2) that everyone has the knowledge to use those components. One has to remember that most people with an xbox 360 or ps3 never ever visit these kind of websites.

[kingme71]

Lol... thanks, I'll give you a bubble back :)

I always do an acid test. If I think my mother can do it, then it is casual, if not it's too hardcore. My mother has a snowballs chance in Hades of setting it up via a PC.

Funny story (although way off topic). My mother brought me her laptop and said it is just dead, just powers up and resets. She said she dropped a paperclip into the keyboard, but couldn't figure out how that would break it, especially since she had this great idea and used a magnet to scan over her keyboard and pulled out the paperclip within minutes :O

Ok, that was probably way way off topic :)

[chrisnick]

"It’s a prime example of a corporation merely taking advantage of the public with an attempt to charge for something that should be available to customers for free."........AGAIN.

[Kleptic]

I don't use Netflix, my wife and I have total access from blockbuster...but I would assume you can do this on the PS3 too right?...i stream video from my PC to the PS3 all the time...so you could stream a Netflix vid too I would imagine, although I don't know the codecs for Netflix downloads...

but crap I didn't know MS was charging anothef fee for this...I thought it was just cool if you had a netflix account you could now access it through your XBL account...getting rid of the middle-man (the PC)...this is total crap...can't say I am surprised though...

[bosels11]

It surprises me not - This has been Microsofts MO since Bill Gates started the worst company ever started.

[captainjy]

Kleptic, your wife should leave you because you are obviously very uninformed. MS isn't charging anything more on top of an Xbox Live Gold membership and you obviously have to have a Netflix account. See, when you have over 20,000 items in market, unlike the POSN that has 12 items, it's worth the money. And quite honestly, if you can't afford $3 a month or less for gaming, you shouldn't own a console. It's just that simple.

[Dir_en_grey]

I was also a little confused, so you need to have a Gold subscription + Netflix fee to stream? Or can you just pay for Netflix and stream with Silver also?

[ry-guy]

It is one of the new added "perks" of being a Gold Member.

Edit:

How do you disagree with this? It is a fact you have to have a Gold membership in order to use their new Netflix streaming ability through Xbox Live.

[qwertyuiopasdfghjkl]

What's this Net Flix you speak of? A service in which you pay for DVD's? ho ho ho! That is rich!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but can you stream your own files to the 360? Like save avi, mp4 files and such to the HDD and play them? When I had my own 360, it wouldn't let you do this...

[titntin]

"It’s a prime example of a corporation merely taking advantage of the public with an attempt to charge for something that should be available to customers for free. "

Ouch!!! Thats damning stuff..

As pointed out, its the convienience that will be appealing to many, and there are some who won't have a Home PC setup like that required.

[RAM MAGNUMS]

m$ had a pretty good movie selection already until Sony did it better & beat it.
I thought netflix idea was a waste. Now I know I'm right.
whats to stop netflix from becoming
ps3 compatible?
we have the Internet & please don't tell nobody but sometimes I pirate free movies straight from my ps3.
no xtra cost or hidden fees!
why watch movies you pay for buffer on your hd screen.
I wish I was nervous about the deal but I'm not. There's nothing special about it other than being another scam!
undecided buyers, you have been warned.
stay far away from a xbox360. Far & away!

[cloudman]

WHAT IS SHE SAYING?

[GodsHand]

MURDER!

[icarus1970]

I had Netflix for a brief time earlier this year and was able to stream content to my PC - but it was not the full 10k+ movies/shows, etc. that can be mailed. The streamable content was older movies, shows, etc. Not sure if this has changed - but if this service offers all of the DVD's in their library to be streamed, that's pretty good.

[RealityCheck]

My understanding is that it will be the same as the current downloadable Netflix selection, called Instant Queue. It is like you said older movies; it's a bit like a clearance bin.

[RAM MAGNUMS]

how are you gonna split the m$ points?
why not just get a USB stick with a movie downloaded from the ps3 & send it to your friend or just download to your Psp movies that you own, hd movies?
this netflix scam is redundant.
so many alternatives & you are choosing the most expensive, riskier, temporary route.
that's stupid.
people are right, the install base of xbox360 couldnt manage money to save thier wiistyle life.
its your money, burn it for all I care just don't make excuses for it by saying yay, now me & my friends have a reason to pay for live & that's watching movies together.
that's just really stupid & I feel sorry for your loss.

[KingME]

Now, the only reason to pay for live is to watch movies? Dude, you really need to lighten up. I would love to see some of the stuff that you spend money on that people would say is a complete waste.

It's a question of preference. Being that I am already a gold member and has been since I bought my 360, the netflix thing is just more gravy on my mashed potatos :). Additionally, it's not the only reason to get a live gold membership, it another reason to get it in addition to the many reasons that already exist.

But, you're obvious hardcore PS3, so it's really a waste of time talking to you about it anyway.

[mcgrawgamer]

don't have the technical know how, nor do they care to download files and executables to be able to stream netflix to the 360 now. If someone really wanted they could have a brower on their 360 via the media center extender. What's easy to us tech heads and hardcore gamers is not so easy to the casual gamer. netflix streaming to the 360 is simplified with the new process and most people like simple.

This article is lame

[Captain Tuttle]

That's why this is a big deal. It lets the average Joe do it. And if you're a Gold member and already belong to NetFlix, why not?

[PimpHandHappy]

inviting a freind to watch a movie with you when your in two different places is soooooooooo fukn stupid

part of watching a movie with a freind is having good company over to enjoy yours or there TV's and COMPANY

i would have never thought of this. Inviting a friend over to my GAME SYSTEM so he/she can enjoy a movie with me is not the same as having them sitting next to you!

its a complete joke

[thekingofMA]

i know you don't like the 360 and you're trying to make a possibly convenient feature seem poor, you should realize there are times when you can't always have people over to watch a movie with you on the couch...

while company is always great, what if you're in a different state, country, or continent from them? are you going to buy an airplane ticket just to watch a movie with them together instead of "partying up" and just talking during the movie?

[bym051d]

Not sure what the point is. My PC is in my study. My 360 is sitting on top of my HDTV.

Slam dunk for me.

[themyk]

you can also pay a one time fee of 100 bucks and get the netflix box.

u'll get the exact same thing. and you wont have to get a wii60

[FPS nut]

Come on this ais a trash article full of BS and is only meant for one thing. You don't have to pay twice, you pay for Live and Netflix anyway, this just gives your exsisting Netflix account and adds it to your 360. Netflix offers instant click and watch movies, TV shows, and documentaries with zero downloads or wait time, all in high quality SD/HD. Yes you can do the same on a PC but try and get your whole family to bunch around the PC to watch a movie. This is just a negative attack by a fanboy who is jealous of the service. What that fanboy should realy fear is a MS/Netflix merger, because that would give MS a video distribution service that rivals Blockbuster.

[Bladestar]

Actually I use Netflix on my PC and also use Media center to use nextflix using a plug in... but the solution is kind of cumbersome and requires your PC to be on at all time.. not to mention the extra bandwidth you waste sending data from the internet -> PC -> xbox 360...
now you your xbox 360 can run netflix movies independently of your PC... not to mention even people without PC or media center...

Kind of stupid trying to spin this into bad news because all xbox 360 are media hubs and integrate with all PC media centers...

a while back when the plug in was posted in an article here and how the xbox 360 could be use with PC media center the leg humpers were saying, "but... you need a PC and Media center to do it".. now that you don't they are b!tch!ng still?

Here is one thing for you... with your PS3 you can't run Netflix with your PC, or media center or by itself... while xbox 360 owners have 3 ways of doing it.. how that for bad news?

how about the feature that PimpHandHappy mentioned? The ability to invite friend on your xbox 360 to watch netflix movies you are watching... and they do not have to have netflix.

[Ps3Fanboy777]

Do what you wish though its your money.

[Kleptic]

you're right bladestar...everything you just said makes perfect sense as to why you would want to pay for two subscriptions of a single service...

thats 3 things you have to pay for...XBL...Netflix for your home (you ever want an actual dvd, and find the pathetic list of dl movies netflix offers offensive)...and netflix for your 360...awesome...

and yeah...who on earth would want to waste the 'bandwidth' of your home network by streaming this stuff back and forth...did you seriously just say that?...I think you did...

face it man...MS did what they always do...asked you to pay for things that you shouldn't...what would have been cool is if they said 'hey, part of your gold subscrition now allows you to access your netflix subscription through xbl and your 360'...nope...they said buy something else to do what you could already do anyway...

[Kleptic]

wait...does this Netflix stuff come with a gold subscription?...i am reading conflicting reports on it...some are saying you have to pay an additional Netflix subcription exclusive to the XBL version of the service...some are saying it comes with a gold subscrition of xbl, with no additional fee...which is it?...

[shikwan]

* Old article
* Dumb article
* Freeware tool has issues the arthur evidently doesn't want you to be aware of.
* Freeware tool doesn't let you share the movie with up to 7 friends.

[Nevers]

article will make the front frakin' page... This info has been available for a long time and as pointed out by many above me if this is supposed to be a cheaper way... if you don't have the PC, software, cables, proper television, and technical know how I have to disagree.

I've done my service and labeled this LAME!

[KingME]

First off, there's millions of people out there that don't have a mediacenter PC. Second, why didn't "miss opinion" address the party feature that the new update is going to have with netflix (Watching streamed movies with a friend). Third, what type of quality are you going to get when you stream a stream (stream from netflix, then streamed again form you mediacenter PC to your 360.)

I guess it goes like this: "I don't like Microsoft, so let's attack netflix for teaming with them." right? People are always trying to get something for free, and then they b!tch and whine that it doesn't carry the quality that they also wanted for free.

"But it is somewhat ridiculous on Microsoft’s part to act as though they have stumbled upon some miracle"

How did MS act as if they have stumbles upon a miracle? All they did was announced a partnership with netflix and integrate it with xbox live. The funny thing is, if you were to walk up to this samatha person and ask her to show you how to do it, you'll probably find out she's a MAC user and the info she printer was second hand from some dude in the office and that she doesn't even own a vista PC...lol

Anyway. I'm reporting this article as "LAME"

[tojfs7931]

is built into Vista premium and ultimate so yeah everyone who has a vista pc has media center.

[KingME]

Wait one second...

Just like the article, your comment is not totally true. There is also these version of vista call vista home and vista business, Which "Doesn't have the built in MediaCenter. So, not everyone that has vista have access to a mediacenter, please stop mis-informing people unless you're just mis-informed yourself.

Additionally, the majority of PC owners are using Windows XP. So perhaps this feature had them in mind...Naw, no way right?

[pow3r of t3h c3ll]

That they are gonna f*ck you yet again.

Well no sh*t its M$!!!

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[bosels11]

Dont you love getting disagrees when your perfectly correct. Only ones that disagree are Xbots. I am not so much a fan of Sony, its just that MS is such garbage, and they have ripped customers off since 198? whatever. Thats why I HATE their company and dont buy any of their products. Someone take more bubbles away from me, it hurts my feelings - yeah right!

[A-ROD]

Microsoft strikes again! lolololollolololollol roflcopter

[JasonXE]

the reason people were going bonkers. They wanted to see how will the party system will work with it for watching movies in a group.

[Bigpappy]

They don't have to bootup the PC and log into Netflex. They can turn on the 360, click on Netfex and start downloading. You are really not paying twice for netflex unless you get a 360 gold account just for this feature, and even then it is $50/yr and you don't need to buy a new PC with vista, just to watch movies on Netflex. Sony should and this to PSN. A lot of people already use Netflex. I am going to get a 60G 360.

[redki]

It cost $59.00 for 1 yr of netflix plus a Live Gold $49.00 1 yr subscription = $108.00 - Free Netflix with Live Gold Subscription=

One Payment for Both $49.99!!! :)

[TheXgamerLive]

They already stated there'd be "NO" fee's for using netflix on Xbox Live.

NONE!!

[ry-guy]

Sorry but you are wrong. You will require both an Xbox Live Gold membership and a Netflix Membership in order to use this service.

Official Press Release:
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/c...

Netflix's Blog about it:
http://blog.netflix.com/200...

Quote from the blog:
"Active Netflix and Xbox Live Gold memberships are required."

[TheXgamerLive]

Yes, you need memberships lil girl. So stop crying, wow.

[ry-guy]

You do know I own a 360 and not a PS3 and you do know I am extremely excited about this partnership. No crying at this keyboard.

Obiviously you are missing the HIDDEN charge here. Of course it will not cost you anything to utilize the service except that you have to PAY for a Netflix account. This is not a service you can use free-of-charge without having a Netflix account.

[GameOn]

Maybe they should have said "at no additional cost"

it would have stopped all this arguing about a nifty new feature.