Microsoft has announced today that it will be bringing all 12,000 Netflix “Watch Instantly” streaming content videos to Windows Media Player in Vista.
Unfortunately for XP users, the on-demand service will not work with XP Media Center.
To use the content, you must be running Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate and be a monthly subscriber to Netflix. The videos are available through the Netflix app in Windows Media Player, under the “TV + Movies” category.
First time users will be asked to log in using their Netflix username and password and from there you can arrange your queue as well as search the vast library. You will also need Microsoft’s Silverlight video/animation plug-in to run the app if you do not already have it installed.
The move also allows Xbox 360 users to playback movies via streaming.
Adds Ben Reed, senior product marketing manager for Windows Media Center:
“The [lack of] of familiar controls, of pause, fast forward, rewind, that’s one of the pain points we hear from consumers about the myriad ways you can consume TV shows and movies online. Each one has a different search and discovery experience; each one has a different player; some work great full screen, some don’t.”
Result for: time users
Back in November, YouTube boss Steve Chen promised that the popular video sharing site would begin giving viewers the option to watch some videos in High Definition beginning in March.
As promised, the site has now begun to offer higher definition streams based upon the source file uploaded. The site also promises more videos coming over time.
Users have the option to see the higher definition streams by checking an option in their Account page. Select “always show me higher quality when available” or “never show me higher quality” depending on your personal choice.
The official YouTube blog had this to say about the new video quality. “Our philosophy is to make sure that as many people as possible can access YouTube and that videos start quickly and play smoothly”.
“That’s one reason why you don’t see us racing to call this ‘Super Duper YouTube HD’ because most people don’t want to wait a long time for videos to play.”
