vmcNetFlix add-in enables Xbox 360 viewing of Netflix 'Watch Now' content
[Via Thomas Hawk's Digital Connection]
[Via Thomas Hawk's Digital Connection]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
vypergts @ May 13th 2008 8:29AM
This guy came up with the same thing a month earlier: http://www.anpark.com/index.php/2008/02/10/new-vista-media-center-plugin-mynetflix-beta/
JB @ May 13th 2008 8:47AM
Actually, vypergts, that guy didn't come up with the same thing. His doesn't allow the use of watch now on the extender (xbox 360), which is what the article is all about.
vypergts @ May 13th 2008 8:53AM
Ah, my bad. I haven't tried either yet but since I use MCE on my 360 I will definitely try vmc first.
Wes @ May 13th 2008 9:40AM
Seems like the age of digitally downloaded content is getting closer and cloooosseerrr. Better hurry and grab that marketshare more than 3-7% Blu-ray crowd before digital distrubtion steals it from you!
Nfinity @ May 13th 2008 11:24AM
Quite obvious ain't it. The only people in denial about this are Blu-Ray zealots :)
This year, SD DVD content will be streaming everywhere, next year HD will get into everywhere as they will already have full infrastructure working. By 2010 when Blu-Ray is supposed to START living, we'll have a cheaper and more convenient way of getting content.
No wonder many insiders are saying that Sony will ditch Blu-Ray in 2 years as they are also going digital through PS3.
What a sad thing because HD DVD could've been dirt cheap DVD replacement by the time for those without online capability. But unfortunately that's greed to ya. Kill a good thing to rip people off and then get that to die too, all because of greed.
Sad really.
dkrift @ May 13th 2008 6:22PM
Nfinity, seriously. Shut the fuck up.
Nfinity @ May 13th 2008 12:40PM
LOL.. hit the nerve eh? well reality hurts I guess.. and then when digital downloads are everywhere it will be how we somehow sabotaged Blu-Ray LOL. You just keep buying those $40 movies.. LOL
Michael @ May 13th 2008 3:17PM
@Nfinity
What you are forgetting to realize is that people like physical content. People like putting a disc into a machine, it has a sense of ownership that digital downloads will never have. People will pay a premium for that sense of ownership.
I know I will.
Also, all of these digital downloads lack additional content. Reviewers don't rate for special features for the fun of it, they talk about that stuff because the general population cares about that! Ok, so the high end techy guys often don't, but the Mom watching Disney movies with her daughter cares about seeing fun stuff for the kid to do on the disc... digital downloads do NOT allow for this, and most likely won't for a very very very long time.
Personally, I love additional content via special features. My favorite thing to watch on a disc is a good behind the scenes feature with interviews from the creators of the movie (writers, directors, producers, special effects artists, etc). I know my wife enjoys this stuff as well. Did you watch the blue screen feature on 300? It was incredibly awesome and that's not something you'd get on a digital download.
ChiWax @ May 14th 2008 2:02AM
@Michael
First records lost to cassette tapes. Next cassette tapes were blown away by CDs. CDs are losing more and more traction each year thanks to iTunes. Now iTunes, Amazon, and customer-challenged Netflix are jumping to streaming. This is the way the studios want it. They save a ton on production and shipping logistics. Titles are available instantly to just about everyone with a broadband connection. As broadband connections continue to grow along with upgrades in other network tech...this will only be easier and easier to do. Did I mention gas prices? Does anyone realize that the post-office has to fuel their trucks. Broadband eliminates that. The average consumer is laughing at hi-def discs. They don't want discs anymore. MP3s taught them they can have all of this stuff a different way. The more they learn about MP3s and the more people who learn, the less attractive any physical media will look to them. It's really up to the content streamers to make it more and more attractive for users to use the downloaded purchased content. But most likely like anything else digital...it will weed itself to near perfection.....it's happening...get used to it...Q
Michael @ May 14th 2008 1:06PM
@ChiWax
You completely ignored the second half of my comment where I talked about the extras. Are streaming downloads ready to provide interactive menus, are they ready to provide additional content? Not quite. In fact, I don't see that coming about any time soon either.
I agree with you that when it came to CDs, people (hesitantly) gave them up for MP3s, and once there was a worthwhile product to play them on (the iPod) digital storage for music became widespread. Again, it just gave them something to hold on to... you carry your iPod with you and you show it off. As I said, people want something physical. They don't care if the information is downloaded, they want to be able to hold it. You put your media on your media server or you PS3 or your Xbox 360 or your NewDeviceNotYetAnnounced and people still won't feel like they own it.
When they can carry their high def videos around with them in a way that will allow them to share the videos with friends, then there will be a mass exodus to digital downloads of video content. As for now, it's not going to happen. (iPod's screens are too small the the ability to share the videos on your friends HDTV in high def isn't there yet.)
Michael @ May 14th 2008 1:14PM
@ChiWax
To add to what I last said...
If I could store all of my high def movies in their exact quality (no additional compression) with all of the features and menus on some future iPod with 250 Terabytes of storage that allowed me to plug into the HDMI port of a receiver or TV and replicate the experience I get with my Blu-rays and HD DVDs, then yes, I would get behind downloads of movies taking over Blu-ray.
But not until then.
And I want to be sure to stress... I like streaming content as a replacement for the DVD, but in no way does it compare to or will it take over Blu-ray.
The article above actually peaked my interest because I am a fan of Netflix, and if I had a way to use their streaming video on my 360 I would very much enjoy the experience. (Unfortunately I don't have Vista or Media Server, so I'm not sure how this could benefit me.)
andrewgreene @ May 13th 2008 9:43AM
I've been running this for a couple of days and it works surprisingly well with the Xbox360. It took a couple of tries to get the extender set up, but it worked eventually. Looks like DVD quality or really close to it.
Larry @ May 13th 2008 9:44AM
This sounds like a cool idea. It makes getting a Media Center PC all the more attractive.
Johnny Venom @ May 13th 2008 10:55AM
We PS3 users get screwed once again! Dammit, it would be nice to have this on my system! C'mon Sony make with the deals already!
JakeB @ May 13th 2008 12:41PM
yes, plz do, i dont want to watvh 'Watch Now' Netlfix on a 24" screen but a nice 42" screen with surround sound and a couch.
Shut up all you Blu-Ray haters, im tired of hearing you complaining that you lost the format war. Take the loss and get over you you panzys.
Galicki @ May 13th 2008 11:06AM
Who's running Vista? Might as well have said works with VIC20.
mrhammerstein @ May 13th 2008 1:13PM
only 100 million or more...
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1079
Paul Fernandez @ May 13th 2008 12:21PM
Can someone explain why---despite my best efforts---the connection betwen my Xbox 360 Media Extender and my PC is so weak? My Live connection speeds are usually excellent (thanks to the latest Linksys Router); I can download a 1GB+ file in under 30 minutes when the network isn't clogged. But navigating throught the extender on the 360 is like wading through quicksand with cement shoes. I haven't gotten it to work correctly once, so I can forget about streaming NetFlix movies unless there's a fix I'm unaware of.
BTW, my PS3 has no trouble streaming/copying downloaded movies from my hard drive...when it decides to actually SEE my PC, ha ha! Any help will be much appreciated.
Mike @ May 13th 2008 1:23PM
Your Xbox Live connection goes straight to the router and takes off to the internet from there, no hassle speedy connection. Where as when you are in Media Center on the Xbox you aren't connecting to the internet. You are talking to your PC. If your PC has a million other task and programs running, wether they be open apps. or programs running in the background it's going to kill your performance. The Xbox has to pull everything from the PC, it doesn't do any of the processing on its own. The best way to overcome this problem is to have a dedicated Media Center PC. That is the set up I have and I have had nothing but stellar performance. No crashes or errors it works great. If you can't do that then just keep the system as clean as possible and close all apps. that you can.
Stephen Wong @ May 13th 2008 1:45PM
"when the network isn't clogged."
Paul, I think you answered your question right there. Are you connected via wifi or ethernet? If you're doing wifi, you'll find it pretty hard to get good video streaming from your MC pc to the xbox, since other peripherals are using it as well. Your best option would be to get two wireless routers, one for your peripherals (laptops, etc.) and one dedicated for your 360. That way your wifi signal won't be degraded for your 360. Try googling that.
As for streaming netflix, this is pretty sweet. Too bad I still haven't made the jump to vista. :(
Alex @ May 13th 2008 2:07PM
anyone know if there is something like this for Windows XP users???
Mike @ May 16th 2008 4:43PM
NetflixMC for xp and vista
daaper @ May 13th 2008 3:10PM
Nice work, MS. It would be sweet for the PS3 to get something similar, but I don't think I'd really use it until it streams HD. Still, start now and get all the kinks hammered out.
daaper @ May 13th 2008 3:11PM
oops...well guess the kudos don't go to MS. But my comments about the PS3 still stand.
ChiWax @ May 14th 2008 1:52AM
Thank you Engadget for mentioning Media Center. This story shows how easy it is to program an add-in for Media Center. I wish more people knew how well a 360 works as an extender of media center. And the standalones are great, but they really must be wired to avoid frustration. Thanks again Engadget...Q
mr.com @ May 14th 2008 12:06PM
http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2759&Itemid=1
A follow up to that, missingremote.com did a comparo of the available netflix plugins.
Paul Fernandez @ May 15th 2008 2:28PM
Thanks, Mike and Stephen for your helpful and intelligent responses. I don't have the space for another PC, but I suppose I could get a dedicated router.
Incidentally, I finally get quicker response times when surfing Media Center on the 360. Not sure exactly what I did, but the lag is gone. The only problem now, though, is that it doesn't recognize the Xvid files I have stored on my PC. Adding insult to injury, my PS3 used to be able to see and play these files, but now I get this "No media servers were detected" message each time I search, which makes no sense. And yes, I have it enabled in the XMB.
I'm afraid correcting one will negate the other, but if I have to choose, I'd much rather have PS3 wireless connectivity. It's interface is much smoother and intuitive. Um...help once again? Anyone?
Ordeith @ May 15th 2008 6:15PM
Unfortunately, the 360 doesn't currently do divx/xvid through the media center extender.
it WILL play the files, though, here's how:
Import the folder with your xvid files into your media player library.
On the 360, go to videos, change source, choose your PC.
on the PC, authorize your 360 to access your library.
on the 360, browse the videos and play.