DVD and Blu-ray may now be busy battling it out to be the movie format of choice, but in reality, streaming is the future, with physical mediums becoming secondary in years to come. Which is why Netflix knows it needs to be ready to evolve with the market.
Netflix Subscriptions
Currently, Netflix offers a dual subscription service – sign up for movie rentals by post and get streaming movies thrown in as a freebie. Via its ‘Watch Now’ feature, Netflix subscribers can stream over 12,000 movies over the Internet.
Netflix has been making big strides in becoming more of a player in streaming video. Already available to anyone with a PC and via some set-top boxes, recent months have seen Netflix moving onto other devices.
Multiple Devices
Last November, the New Xbox Experience arrived on the Xbox 360. As part of this, Netflix became available to all Xbox Live subscribers. If they already subscribe to Netflix, or take out a new subscription, that huge library of movies and television episodes can be streamed to the Microsoft video game console and watched on a television set.
Then in January, LG announced a new range of Broadband-enabled HDTVs. The televisions will ship with Netflix access included. This followed hot on the heels of the LG Blu-ray player which also comes equipped with Netflix access.
Becoming A Main Player
All of this shows how Netflix is trying to establish itself as a main player in the field of streaming video, and with good reason. The time will come when Broadband speeds and video quality catches up with the demand, and more people stream movies and television than rent DVDs and Blu-ray.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings stated:
“Right now, the power of the service is that hybrid message, the best of both. So we’re putting most of our wood behind that. But we recognize at some point in the long term, the streaming will be good enough that an appreciable number of people will find streaming is all they need.”
The Future Is Streaming
So Netflix will be looking to start offering a streaming-only subscription service in the future, possibly as soon as the end of this year or the start of next year. No details were forthcoming concerning prices but even the fact Netflix admits streaming is the future is a good starting point.
As well as getting the system in place and making sure the technology is up to speed, quite literally, Netflix will have to move towards offering more video on demand. Currently, the company offers 100,000 titles for rental on DVD, but only 12,000 for streaming over the Web.
