Watching streaming Netflix movies directly into a TV.

As if any additional proof were needed, the recent news that movies rental Hollywood Video was shutting down is a further evidence of the ever increasing popularity of Netflix, the Online movie rental company. The business model of Netflix has struck a chord with consumers for the convenience and ease of use. And now the model is getting even more convenient with the possibility to watch movies from Netflix vast catalog, directly streamed to your TV screen bypassing a computer. That is possible with a small portion of Netflix catalog and with help of set-top boxes or other
TV-connected hardware that allow these movies to be played directly on a TV, according to the Wall Street Journal. The most popular of those are the Xbox 360, TiVo digital video recorders, Play Station 3 game consoles and the simplest and least expensive, the Roku.


For more, see Netflix.com

TiVo Premiere set-top box to offer Web search alongside TVs listings.

Earlier this week, digital video recorder maker TiVo, announced plans to begin selling a new set-top box called TiVo Premiere that will put regular program listings from cable and satellite companies on the same page as related material culled from the Web, according to the New York Times.
The new device will work by pulling alongside regular TV listings of a particular program, all related materials found on the Web, be it merchandises on sale on eBay Amazon, old episodes for rent on Netflix or Blockbuster and videos from YouTube.
The new device is set to go on sale in April and will be available on the company Website and at selected retailers like Best Buy. According to the New York Times, the new device will be available in two versions.
Their is a basic one that stores 45 hours of high-definition programming and will cost $300 and a second version called TiVo Premium XL that can store 150 hours worth of programming at a cost of $500. On top of the cost for the set-top boxes, TiVo will charge a monthly fees for the service starting at $12.95, New York Times said.

For more, see the NYTimes.com

Netflix adds Starz movies to online streaming service.

Netflix Inc struck a deal last week with Starz Entertainment that will add about 2,500 movies, television shows and music concerts to Netflix's actual library of about 12,000 videos available for online viewing. The deal is the latest in a series that Netflix has been making to help boost its online movies offerings (see previous post) The new deal will cover the rights to stream movies from Disney and Sony corp with titles such as "Superbad", "Ratatouille", "No Country for Old Men" etc. These movies and more are already available online through a service called Starz Play that Starz provides to other partners like Verizon who offer the streaming to subscribers for a monthly fee. But Netflix subscribers of one of its unlimited plans will get the new movies from the new deal, free.

For more, see Reuters.

Netflix teams with CBS and Disney to stream TV shows.

To add to its online library of Television shows available to its subscribers, Netflix just struck a deal with CBS and Walt Disney Co. The new deal covering shows ranging from CSI to Hannah Montana will allow Netflix subscribers to watch them over the Internet a day after they originally aired on TV.
The new deal comes on top of Netflix one year old program that let monthly DVD rental subscribers paying $8.99 or more, watch television shows and movies online at no additional cost.

For more, see bizjournal.com

Hannah Montana on MadTV



For more, see portfolio.com