Oct 28, 2008

This Week In Digital Streaming: Netflix Joins Vudu Edition - Gizmodo

More good news on the streaming TV front.

For the past several week's we've been giving you Vudu's new release movie rentals in a handy list. This week, Netflix streaming clips join the mix. Given that Netflix has just signed to share Starz content, their formerly disappointing digital library is looking better by the second.

I canceled my satellite TV this summer and haven't regretted it. I watch TV over the Internet now. I either stream or download (depending on how attached I am to a show). Yea, early adoption can be cumbersome and finding streaming content can be patchwork these days. The choices are varied and the content is even more varied, usually depending on which production company has aligned with which on-line provider (e.g., Netflix, Apple, etc.). I exhausted the Netflix streaming content (at least the stuff I cared to watch) in a few weeks. I really like the Netflix player and the new Sliverlight-based one looks even better. I am glad to see more content and Netflix is aggressively going for more delivery methods through Xbox and now VuDu.

What gets me is how stingy the networks are with their content - at least in the US. This morning at the Microsoft PDC conference, the BBC demoed a prototype of the next version of their streaming player. It was gorgeous. The BBC's vision of personal and social program (e.g., show) scheduling was spot on! The thing that killed me was that the BBC post shows for streaming the day after they air. What enlightenment and sophisticated too. Only users in the UK can stream UK content. I really hope they lift that limit so I can catch up on Season 2 of "The IT Crowd". But really, modern, 21st century thinking. I also hope that someone from the US networks showed up at PDC which happens to be going on in downtown LA.

This Week In Digital Streaming: Netflix Joins Vudu Edition - Gizmodo

No comments: