Netflix streaming movies will soon be available on Tivo and Xbox Experience. Previously, Netflix’s Instant Watch content could only be viewed on a computer or using a $99 set top box called a Roku.  Since Roku, Tivo and Xbox will pull all the content off of a standard broadband connection, cable TV service is not required.
We’ve been using Netflix’s Instant Watch service since it first launched in 2007.  At first the content was very minimal – mostly pretty unknown “straight to video” movies.  This has changed quite a bit in the last year.  Netflix has recently partnered with the STARZ movie channel and now offers more than 12,000 shows and movies which can all be watched for free.
Here’s a video demo of the Xbox Netflix interface:
Any downsides to Netflix Instant Watch? A good amount of brand new first run movies are not on it yet, so you may have to wait a day or two to get those in the mail on DVD. The fast forward and rewind controls are slightly clunky, although they do work pretty well once you get used to them. Also it appears that only the new Tivos (Series III and HD) and latest Xbox (Xbox Experience) will support Netflix.
My husband and I bought our rabbit ears and converter box the other day and tried it out. We were amazed at the picture quality!
We have an old computer hooked up to our TV as well, so we can stream shows from the internet straight to our set.
Even though our cable bill is only $23/month, there is no need for us to keep it around.
BYE, cable!
I’ve now streamed quite a few Netflix movies to a Tivo HD and 46″ Aquos. Quality varies, but has generally been acceptable. There’s pretty visible posterization sometimes. The quality indicator has always been at one notch below the highest. It seems to saturate our 3 Mbps DSL connection during streaming, pretty much killing all other Internet access in the house. Overall I think it’s a fantastic feature, although I’ve had a couple of Tivo crashes that I’m nearly certain were related.
hi i would love 2 know more since i just started school and have to pay out of pocket so i am lookin for ways to enjoy what i like and still pay little