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Netflix hands out big bucks to improve recommendations system

by Darren Murph posted Dec 11th 2008 at 6:26PM


There's no doubt that Netflix is always toiling away in an attempt to improve its online rental service, but rather than tasking its own whiz-kids to do the impossible, it has established a potential $1 million prize for any individual or team who can "improve upon the complex Netflix movie recommendation system by 10-percent." The second annual competition just concluded, and for the second straight year there was no million dollar winner. Instead, BellKor in BigChaos took home $50,000 with a 9.44% improvement. According to team member Dr. Hunt, "hitting that last [small bit] is less of a dash to the finish line and more of a tough slog to the peak of Mt. Everest." Kind of makes you wonder, though -- what else is going on behind Netflix's doors?

[Thanks, Seth]

Netflix API open to all: let the developing begin

by Darren Murph posted Sep 30th 2008 at 7:55PM


Good news, developers of the world -- the Netflix API will be open to all starting tomorrow. As of October 1st, absolutely anyone can self-signup by visiting the read link, and while details are a tad sketchy at the moment, it sounds like this could hold some serious promise. The API itself allows access to data for 100,000 movie and TV episode titles, is completely free and (most importantly) allows commercial use. In other words, it's kosher if a bright developer out there somewhere feels like "creating an iPhone app to sell for $0.99 (Netflix's words, not ours)." On the technical side, the API includes a REST API, Javascript API and ATOM feeds, and it also uses OAuth standard security "to allow the subscriber to control which applications can access the service on his or her behalf." It's time to get creative, folks.

The 13 Netflix DVDs still featuring ARccOS copy protection

by Darren Murph posted Aug 11th 2008 at 4:27PM


We hoped that we had pretty much heard the end of Sony's ridiculous ARccOS copy protection -- which added in corrupted sectors in order to prevent copying (and legitimate playback in a myriad of players) -- but sadly, not all wishes are granted. Dave Zatz noticed an announcement on Netflix's website which spells out the remaining DVDs in which ARccOS is still in play, with 007: Casino Royale, Black Christmas, The Grudge 2, Pursuit of Happyness, Stranger than Fiction, The Holiday and a smattering of other halfway popular titles in the mix. It also shows the list of players known to be affected by the DRM, so you may want to take a peek before renting any of the aforesaid titles. Thanks, Big Content!

Poll: Do you still visit the store for movie rentals?

by Darren Murph posted Aug 7th 2008 at 9:45PM


After reading a somewhat shocking survey here recently which found that most Americans saw in-store renting as a fading habit, we began to wonder if those sentiments were reflected by the actions of our readers. Of course, even Blockbuster is making moves to protect itself should people resort to by-mail / online rentals en masse, so it's not like folks aren't already going to the store less often. How do you get your rentals the majority of the time? By walking to your mailbox? By utilizing that broadband internet you pay so dearly for? Or do you still enjoy taking the family out to your local rental store at ~$4.00 / gallon?

[Image courtesy of Boston]

Do you still visit the store for movie rentals?

Is Roku's Netflix Player living up to your standards?

by Darren Murph posted Jul 5th 2008 at 4:07AM


This week's installment of How Would You Change over on Engadget Classic involves the first dedicated set-top-box to enable Netflix streaming right to your TV. Did you pony up $99 for one of these things? If so, head on over and let the world know if that was a good move.

Roku serves up Netflix Player source code

by Darren Murph posted Jul 2nd 2008 at 11:28PM


Hope you're not too sleepy, you hacker you, 'cause we've got a juicy one coming your way. No sooner did we find that the Netflix Player would be streaming content from other players in the industry later this year than Roku opens up the source code vault. You heard right -- the GPL code has now been posted for the world to see, meaning that there's just one link standing between you and umpteen delicious tarballs. Mmm, tarballs.

[Via Hack-A-Day]

Roku's Netflix Player to stream content from other "big name" providers

by Darren Murph posted Jul 2nd 2008 at 7:47PM


Roku's Netflix Player got off to a hot start after launching just over a month ago, and apparently its creator has big plans for the plainly designed $99 box. According to a recent report over on Forbes, Tim Twerdahl, Roku's vice president of consumer products, has affirmed that a routine software update would be hitting later this year to enable content to be fetched and streamed from other "big name" providers. Regrettably, the conversation ended there, so there's absolutely no telling which "providers" he's referring to. Still, we're certainly intrigued by the idea of this thing becoming more versatile in the coming months, but wouldn't the name have to be tweaked at the very least?

[Via Silicon Alley Insider]

ReelTime to offer streaming movies from Walt Disney Studios

by Darren Murph posted Jun 30th 2008 at 8:04AM


Disney already made crystal clear that it was planning on dishing out a few films of its own via the internet this summer, but a recently inked pact between it and ReelTime will give Disney fans one more outlet for viewing content. In the agreement, it's noted that ReelTime Rentals will "provide popular video on demand rentals as they become available from The Walt Disney Studios, including new and classic titles from Walt Disney Pictures, Disney-Pixar, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures and Miramax Films." And judging by that screen capture above, we'd say ReelTime isn't wasting any time putting its newfound partnership to good use.

The mystery of Netflix's queue system gets tackled, throttling all but confirmed

by Darren Murph posted Jun 28th 2008 at 3:57PM


C'mon, everyone that actually pays attention has Netflix figured out by now. During the trial period (or shall we say, honeymoon phase), Netflix is eager and willing to rush you any new releases you have on your list, while being even more ready to "receive" your disc back just as soon as it hits the firm's local distribution hub. After you've shelled out for a few months, you'll notice that those discs are magically taking a day or two longer to be received by the company, and those new releases you're craving are suddenly taking days (or weeks) to arrive. So, is throttling a reality? The folks at Sound & Vision Mag delved deep to find out, and while the company claims that "96%" of customers receive their movies next-day, there is an algorithm that works against you if you're a notorious new release grabber. Additionally, it was affirmed that "the more you work your membership, the less likely you are to get the new stuff." As everyone with Blockbuster can attest, the story isn't really any different over there -- we 'spose that's just how life goes when you're the 4%.

VUDU's v1.5 firmware update brings along costly rental extensions

by Darren Murph posted May 30th 2008 at 7:59AM


One thing's for certain: VUDU doesn't let a firmware update get stale. Just two months after v1.3 hit the scenes, v1.5 has already been detailed / spotted. The big hitter in this update is the Discounted Extended Rentals, which enables users to extend the viewing window of a 24 / 48-hour rental within seven days after the conclusion of the original rental. Once extended, you get the same "privileges" as before -- you can store it for up to 30 days with 24 / 48-hours to watch it once you've started it. The rub is the pricing: you only get $2 off when extending $5.99 HD rentals, $1 off most everything else and $0.50 off of $0.99 rentals. Oh, and you can only extend once. Other changes include full-screen trailers, parental controls for browsing and revised sort functionality. Check the read link for the full changelog, and feel free to twiddle your thumbs waiting for the update to be passed on to your STB.

[Via Yahoo]

A look at VUDU's high-definition movies

by Darren Murph posted Feb 1st 2008 at 9:07PM


Just a day after VUDU started pushing out its long-awaited v1.2 software update, a kind user has whipped up a spreadsheet documenting all 65 HD flicks that are now available (or will be shortly) for renting. Truth be told, we're not exceptionally impressed with the list, but hey, to each his / her own. Hit up the read link to take a peek at what you're missing out on (or what you're about to have access to).

[Thanks, Brian S.]

Netflix bringing streaming rentals to Macs, game console next?

by Joshua Topolsky posted Jan 24th 2008 at 11:40AM


Recent announcements on iTunes rentals certainly caused a stir amongst the neglected Mac-masses, but it looks like the online rental game is about to get a little more cutthroat for fanboys and fangirls everywhere. According to a new report (and backed up by an earlier blog post), streaming content for Netflix subscribers is headed to Mac screens in 2008 -- if everyone has their way. During the company's Q4 earnings call this week, the snail-mail service hinted that this would be the year that streaming rentals would come to Mac users due to the advent of DRM options that play nice with Apple's gear (namely, Microsoft's Silverlight technology). Combine this with news that the company plans to offer all-you-can-eat online rentals for $8.99 a month, its intentions to bring a STB to market with LG, and a possible game console partnership -- well, it all adds up to stiff competition for Apple and other challengers, despite what they say.

[Via Mac Rumors]

Read - Netflix: Mac Streaming Coming This Year
Read - Instant watching on Mac, Firefox, and more

Poll: So, are you buying an Apple TV now?

by Darren Murph posted Jan 19th 2008 at 12:00PM


Although the MacBook Air sucked the proverbial wind out of the Apple TV relaunch sails, we here at Engadget HD still find that aspect of Steve's keynote quite intriguing. At first listen, we were blown away by the promise of "HD downloads with Dolby 5.1 audio," but after digging in a little further, we found quite a bit of red tape stuck to those lofty claims. Still, many HD aficionados didn't give the original Apple TV a passing glance due to its general disregard for high-definition content, and while the so-called Take 2 effort isn't an HD junkie's dream, it's far and away more appealing than what we were dealing with just last week. So, dear readers, now that Cupertino has taken the first step and recognized the desire for easy to obtain downloadable HD content, are you biting?

So, are you buying an Apple TV now?





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