Bit by bit, the vast library of movies and TV shows available on DVD is making its way online. It's out there on the servers. We know where it lives. So why can't we get it onto those expensive big-screen TVs we talked ourselves into buying? Netflix, the king of snail-mail DVDs, may be the company that finally makes it happen.
You may not realize this, but if you have a Netflix account, you already have the ability to stream movies to a Windows PC at no additional charge. That service has been available since the start of the year for any subscriber paying the minimum $9 monthly fee for an unlimited account. Now, if you are willing to spend $100 on a gizmo called the Roku Netflix Player, you can watch those same movies on a TV with no fuss and no charge other than the hardware purchase.
The Netflix service is far from perfect, but it is likely to get better with time. And even with its flaws, Net¬flix's all-you-can-watch subscription model is sweet, especially when you consider the alternatives—namely, purchasing a movie download for up to $18 or paying $4 or so for a one-day rental from Movielink, iTunes, or a cable on-demand service.
The Roku is a small box that superficially resembles products such as Apple TV or Vudu. But while the setup is similar, the operation is completely different. Other services download the content to a hard drive for playback; Netflix is pure streaming.
I think it was obvious that Netflix would be entering the internet service film business. After beating Blockbuster with its innovative and convenient business of renting DVD’s by mail, now it makes one more step forward entering the internet service, but with one more innovation differentiating from other internet service offerings. Netflix is now bringing the internet service films to the TV screens. It is a great innovation because it brings more convinience to their customers. The only thing they need to improve right now is the quality of titles and make it easy for people to find what they want. I think that once these minor problems which can be overcomed easily are fixed and improved, this business will be a real success in the industry. Other internet service servers should look for innovation if they don’t want to run out of business, because not only the service is convinient but also the price is accessible and friendly.
20600642 entry #11
