Over a month ago Netflix announced the roll-out of a video streaming featured we have come to dub “Watch-Now”. “Watch-Now” is a Netflix feature that allows you to watch Movies/TV Shows on the “fly” without the need for downloading the content first. Downloadable and On Demand (not necessarily Comcast) content will rule the future as the 360 Video Marketplace and Vongo have proven thus far. Netflix timing is impeccable as they are in dire need of making a change to their business model if they hope to survive the future.
Netflix will enable all accounts by July by way of enabling 1 million customers per month (since Jan). Netflix enabled my account early so I could bring you this review, so let’s get started.
To check and see if your account is enabled, simply log into your Netflix account to see if the “Watch- Now” tab is available. Click on the “Watch-Now” tab and download the Netflix Movie Viewer. Click on “Netflix_Movie_Viewer_Installer.msi” to install the support needed to watch the titles. Once the viewer is installed, all titles are played back in “Internet Explorer 6” or higher. Firefox browser is not supported and you must meet the minimum requirements for playback.
The most important part of the minimum requirements is the speed of your internet connection. Netflix provides a tool for measuring your internet connection on the right side of the homepage for “Watch-Now”. After the tool runs the test it will provide a rating for your connection: High (1.6 to 2.2+ Mbps, Good (1.0 Mbps) and Basic (500 Kbps).
The movie selection is not bad with roughly over 1000 titles with more on the way throughout this year. Movies are categorized in the usual manner: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Documentary, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Television, etc. You can browse through the available titles after selecting a genre or you can search for a specific title. Titles are even sorted by “Movie Studio”. Once you locate the title you wish to view, select “Play”, the title will buffer and then start playing back within 30 seconds.
Movie Playback is near DVD quality via the “High” rating and is almost as good as Vongo’s video quality. All titles can be instantly viewed in Full Screen. Strangely some older movies (Jason goes to Hell) are presented in the widescreen aspect ratio while some newer titles such as the Matrix are presented in the 4.3 aspect ratio.
“Watch-Now” is an excellent way for Netflix to adapt in the rapidly changing digital content landscape. The addition of “Watch-Now” is very welcome and takes some of the edge off of having to wait for a title to arrive in the mail. My girlfriend had been bugging me daily about when the feature would go live and I was thrilled to get her off my back a few days ago (never should have opened my mouth until the feature was enabled on our account). The best part of “Watch-Now” is that the feature is included in your monthly rental fee therefore Netflix is providing an additional service at no additional cost to us consumers.