NetFlix on XBox

While I’m not a huge fan of Microsoft (though I use their products), there is one thing that I think they’ve always done right: the XBox. This is especially true of the XBox 360, and especially, especially true of the new dashboard “experience” that Microsoft released for it mid-November. There’s plenty of articles elsewhere on this subject, but I thought I’d point out one new feature that is so brilliant that I’m shocked it hasn’t been thought of before. If you’re a NetFlix user, you’re now able to create an “instant queue” and stream movies through your XBox onto your TV… in HD… instantly.

Yeah. No more waiting for DVDs in the mail, or only getting one or three at a time – there are currently about 12,000 titles available for instant streaming, including TV shows such as Heroes. What’s better is that streaming these movies, anytime, however often you’d like, doesn’t count against your by-mail DVDs. For example, you can send in your DVDs back in the mail, and while you’re waiting watch whatever else on your XBox. Or, if you don’t have a Blu-Ray player, but you do have a HDTV and want to watch a movie in HDTV, just stream it!

For me, this means cancelling my Blockbuster Online subscription. It’s a little more than NetFlix, but after seeing that NetFlix has this, as well as an on-island distribution center, I think this is a no-brainer. Plus, I’ve been mad at Blockbuster lately because I’ve had a ton of DVDs in my queue FOREVER, and doubt I will ever see them. I originally signed up with them so I could exchange titles in-store as well, but that’s only 5 per month, but if I could get all these shows and movies streaming from NetFlix, that’s way better. I might even cancel my movie channels and other on-demand channels from my cable, especially since they don’t even work most of the time, as Time Warner blows.

Now, NetFlix, in an attempt to keep up with Blockbuster, has offered streaming movies to your PC for a long time now – but who wants to sit in front of a computer, or spend the time figuring out how to hook it up to their TV? This is the perfect solution for that, and I think NetFlix made a good move here offering this to XBox users.

Other new features in the NXE include Wii-like avatars, and a coverflow-esque navigation system that are pretty cool, but not too original. The funny thing is that most of these features were already available to savvy original XBox users who took the risk and added a modchip. This is interesting, because it shows that many ideas and possibilities are developed and thought of by hackers/crackers/modders.

However, the one downside to this is that it looks like Microsoft is trying to create an all-in-one console, that will serve as a complete media solution for the home – this could be a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on how it is carried out. I could easily see something like this taking the place of the cable box in the future, and TV stations broadcasting strictly online by making their shows available for download online, much like a podcast. (Some, such as ABC and NBC, already offer full episodes of select shows – why not just turn that into an RSS feed and point the 360 to that?) Not any time soon, but the day is coming when you’ll be able to see TV from anywhere, anytime, and the airwaves will be free for public access, or something else cool. And, with the rising popularity of video podcasts and broadband use, the internet/technological phenomenon of opening up competition to everybody (as we’ve seen with blogs, podcasts, cheap HD camcorders/software, etc) will further allow the common person with a great idea to let it be seen by everyone, instead of getting an agent, trying to get a network to pick it up, etc, which, even now, is nearly impossible. So if you’re looking to get into it, now is the time to start making your video podcast, before everybody else in the world starts to make theirs. In fact, there’s already plenty out there – I’d love to see them be available for viewing through the XBox on the TV.