Good news, Vista Media Center PC users will soon find a new option under the TV+Movies tile, as Netflix Watch Instantly streaming access is added directly to the interface. The soul crushingly bad news? A post on The Green Button informs that this does not apply to Media Center Extenders, so cheapskates hoping to get around the Xbox 360's Gold Xbox Live subscription requirement are still going to need those plugins and workarounds. This should go over much better than the InternetTV beta 2, but we're disappointed Microsoft's vision of TV on Your PC (as pointed out on its accompanying blogs, videos and assorted paraphernalia indicates) doesn't allow users to stretch their PC back to the TV at will. 'til that changes, check the gallery and after the break to see what awaits in Media Center once the update rolls out over the next 48 hours.

Update: We checked with Microsoft, and confirmed that, at least for now, this streaming only includes the same content as the browser experience - so no HD. As far as Windows 7 and / or RC1 support? No word yet.

[Via The Green Button]

Gallery: Netflix on Vista Media Center

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We know, lots of you use Netflix. Whether your flavor is streaming, Blu-ray or plain old DVD there's something helpful that's been built via the company's API, including queue managers for iPhone or other mobile device, or websites offering a different level of organization for the Watch Instantly directory like InstantWatcher or Flicks-Now and to organize all those bits and pieces it's launched the App Gallery to let users see them and rate which are the best. Take a sec and check it out, there's only a dozen or so items listed so far but we wouldn't be surprised if there's already one that makes your rental experience a little easier.

[Via The Netflix Blog]

We're not saying it's all good news for Netflix, but even someone with our limited financial knowledge can tell that this quote from CEO Reed Hastings in its Q1 results means things are going pretty well: "We added more net subscribers than in any previous quarter in our history and grew year-over-year GAAP EPS by 76 percent." We don't have to know what GAAP EPS is (earnings reported according to generally accepted accounting principals, and in our Wikipedia-based financial opinion we're concerned this may not truly reflect the earnings of the company until we can evaluate the operating cash flow per share - but this isn't that kind of blog) to recognize the company has a hit on its hands with Watch Instantly, even while its biggest competition is struggling. After busting through 10 million subscribers in February, the company is up to 10,310,000, adding 920,000 to its ranks in Q1 alone. Other news from the earnings call: Streaming only subscriptions are still being "considered" but not planned right now, the company is rolling out a new machine to test discs for scratches and cracks, and the company's biggest threat, just like we discussed on the podcast, is the spread of rental kiosks. You can check the reports for the rest of the details but if, like us, you're more interested in finding out when more HD and surround audio are coming to the streaming service, you'll be disappointed, because they're not in there.

[Image courtesy of TooMuchNick / WireImage, via Hacking Netflix]

OS X aficionados looking for a media center alternative to streaming Netflix movies through boxee can now look to Plex. The just launched app plugs into Plex's frontend and (with Silverlight) installed) adds a slick front end that compares well to, and may even best those offered by other Instant Watch hardware and apps, though we can't tell from these screens if users can add movies to the queue through it. We're hoping Microsoft picks up a designer or two from this team to upgrade the Xbox 360 frontend, but meanwhile we'll give the latest beta version (0.7.14) of Plex Media Center a shot.

[Via 9to5 Mac]

For all Netflix Watch Instantly queues found lacking (possibly due to excessive swiping?), the company announced the addition of several MTV Networks properties including South Park (but not in HD), Dora the Explorer, True Jackson, VP and Spongebob Squarepants. Keen watchers of the recently added RSS feed have probably seen this content trickling onto the service recently, but that's no reason not to queue up a few seasons of each and kick back.

After a small but vocal amount of Netflix users got the world thinking that it was pulling a Comcast and putting caps on computer-based Watch Instantly users, the outfit's Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt has come forward to clear the air. He makes clear that Netflix's aspiration is to "deliver to everyone the best bitrate that their broadband connection can support," also noting that congestion "could affect some users, but not others, at some times, but not always." He also notes that different titles and encodes for different playback device types "may come from different CDNs or different servers at a particular CDN, so they may have different paths and different bottlenecks." We'd encourage you to hit the read link for the full explanation, but we're already seeing enraged Roku users bark back by his dodging of the so-called out-of-sync audio issue that's evidently still present. We'll go ahead and warn you, Netflix -- you can't please 'em all.

Depending on your choice of computing platform, possession of dedicated streaming hardware, and love of otherwise forgettable '80s films, Netflix's Watch Instantly service is either a godsend or a gimmick. Regardless, nobody likes arbitrary bandwidth caps, and that's what Riyad Kalla at The "Break it Down" Blog claims to have spotted, finding that Watch streams on his Xbox take multiple minutes to buffer, but that those on his PC (using the same connection) can take hours -- if they work at all. Doing a little snooping he found he was being capped to about 50 KB/sec per download thread on his PC, but if he spawned ten such threads he was able to get over 700 KB/sec. Something, it seems, is issuing a per-thread cap, but is it really Netflix? Or, rather, is it his Qwest DSL line doing a ham-fisted job of managing bandwidth? We've seen similar issues intermittently, but nothing consistent, so we're not quite ready to call this an internet-wide conspiracy just yet, but would love to hear about your streaming experiences lately.

Update: Based on the volume of "It's working just fine for me" comments both here and elsewhere it seems safe to say that if there is a conspiracy at work here, it's not Netflix's.

[Via Slashdot]

Considering that we've already heard whispers of price premiums for streaming content, we suppose rumors of a dedicated streaming tier aren't that far fetched. In a recent report from Bloomberg, Netflix Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings was quoted as saying that by 2010 (that's next year, y'all), consumers may be able to opt for a streaming-only package that would provide access to Watch Instantly content alone. Reed realizes that in order to maintain its current level of success, it has to "nail" the streaming aspect. No doubt, we certainly envision the streaming portion becoming more popular in the coming years, particularly if it can strong-arm studios into providing new releases for download. Sadly, he didn't talk pricing, but Netflix never has been one to gouge its subscribers, and we get the feeling it wouldn't just start on a whim in 2010.

[Via Yahoo! Tech]

Slow down, Watch Instantly fans, both HBO and Netflix are at least claiming there have been no talks about setting up a "premium tier" resembling a question posed in a recent survey. Multichannel News confirmed with Netflix the survey was real so we'll keep a seat open next to Starz just in case, so hey, if Showtime or epix is looking for a partner we've got a great idea for you.

Bad news first: there might be a bit more competition than you expected for that home theater giveaway. Good luck bringing down Netflix's shooting star though, as if last week's good news train wasn't enough comes news that over a million Xbox Live Gold members have already downloaded and activated the Watch Instantly app since its NXE debut last November. That's more than 10% of Netflix's just announced 9.4 million subscribers who've already watched over 1.5 billion minutes of TV and movies through their consoles. They're not the only ones happy, while streaming may be eating into DVD rentals, Xbox Live Marketplace rentals are up 174 percent year over year. The streaming library is up to 12,000 titles, with a "growing percentage" in high definition, for the rest of the celebratory details check the full PR after the break. Nothing left for us to say but congratulations and hey, if you get a minute, could you fix Nilay's HD streaming on the Xbox? Thanks.

If you're one of the many streaming Netflix Watch Instantly videos through your Xbox 360, take a sec and download the special contest gamerpic and get entered to win a brand new home theater system plus Xbox accessories. On Xbox Live and for some reason not already streaming Helvetica in HD? Sign up for the trial, download the gamerpic and enter, if you don't then the only one you're hurting is yourself.

[Via Joystiq Xbox]

PlayOn's media server software -- capable of streaming Internet video from YouTube, Hulu, CBS, Netflix, CNN, ESPN and others to your PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 or other DLNA compliant hardware via a PC -- is finally out of beta. Going official means the trial period resets to 14 days for all users, keeping it after that will require $29.99. So tell us, now that Netflix streaming is implemented, bugs have been stomped and Wii support on the way, is it worth the one time payment to keep this service?

All week, we've seen stats, figures and speculation based on Netflix's earnings call leaking out, and here's a few more interesting notes gathered from around the Internet for those not glued to their speakerphone Monday. Checking in to the party was always talkative analyst Michael Pachter, suggesting that the Xbox Live / Netflix combo could bring more than 1 million gamers to Netflix over the next year, with the service becoming a "gold mine" for the video rental company. At the same time, while CEO Reed Hastings touted "millions" served by Watch Instantly streams, the number of Blu-ray subs rose to 700,000, up from 500k at the beginning of December. Whether you count that as a victory for digital distribution or old school discs, those still checking their mailbox will be happy to know the company is testing Saturday shipping in certain regions...as long as the USPS keeps mailing six days a week.

Read - Netflix testing weekend shipping
Read - Netflix: Blu-ray adoption slow than Internet movie streaming adoption
Read - Xbox Live is proverbial gold mine for Netflix says Pachter

Oh c'mon -- you had to know this was a possibility, right? As Netflix's Watch Instantly service becomes more viable and its library expands, more and more users are going to start tapping into those servers for instantaneous enjoyment. Eventually, suggests Cowen and Company analyst James Friedland, all that instant gratification could lead to more costs, and not surprisingly, it'll be the end-user paying up. As an increasing amount of subscribers use the online streaming feature, Netflix is asked to shell out more cash to studios for the content. Friedland predicts that "the company will charge an extra fee for the service [if it] starts to squeeze profit margins," just like it already did with Blu-ray Discs. We get the feeling most customers wouldn't balk at another $1 per month charge so long as the instant library started to include new releases, but if not, who knows what the backlash would be.

Okay Yahoo!, we're sorry we teased, we give up, you win. After what certainly seemed on this end to be an endless run of HDTV manufacturers announcing support for the Widget Engine today -- and serving up a hefty slap in the face to Microsoft and others who've been moving the Internet to TV movement for some time now -- all we can do is look over the carnage. Signed up on the app side of platform formerly known as Konfabulator are content providers like eBay, MySpace, CBS, Blockbuster OnDemand (in its first off-2Wire MediaPoint appearance), Netflix, Showtime, USA Today and Twitter, while the Widget Development Kit has opened up to developers interested in putting their apps on the screens of millions. Hardware should street starting this spring from the likes of Samsung, LG, Sony and Vizio leaving the biggest question mark as how the competition and their clumsy external boxes can possibly respond.