Netflix to Offer Movie Downloads?

By Ed Oswald | Published July 12, 2005, 4:51 PM

A technical glitch exposed what could possibly be a new download service from online DVD rental service Netflix. The glitch has appeared on some users' account information pages under a section for a "Netflix Player" with the option to register a player and name the "box."

TiVo, meanwhile, has begun to show off a beta version of a new movie download service at recent community gatherings, and it had signed a deal with Netflix in late September to bring movies on-demand to its subscribers.

Some have speculated the Netflix "box" may be a TiVo, as the registration page asks for similar information to what TiVo units ask for.

Further fueling speculation, another user discovered a new Netflix genre called "Downloadable," which has two sub-genres -- foreign and drama.

No additional information was available on the Netflix Web site.

Netflix is also hiring a director of product management, who will be tasked with developing a new Internet delivery model for movies. The responsibilities would include "coordination of internal design and development teams, outside vendors, manufacturers, and partners."

A request for comment from Netflix was still outstanding at press time.

Comments

View comments by with a score of at least

Watching movies by means of physical media is doomed, plain and simple. I already know one of the largest physical ditributors of entertinament media in the industry, has been laying people off left and right, and in the background, investing millions in beverage companies. Their sales of media have steadily delined over the past several years as in some cases they are being outsold by Wal-Mart of all companies. I know all this, because my wife used to work there, she quit becuase the workload got less and less, and morale was decreasing every day.

Score: 0

|

Picture & article of the glitch: http://www.hackingnetfli...07/glitch_exposes_.html

Score: 0

|

I would really like to try this video-on-demand service. Sounds nice and very convenient.

However, I have some worries. As the author of FlixQueue, a queue manager for Netflix, where does this leave me? Now I know that video-on-demand won't displace their mail-based service yet, but at some point it will...

Score: 0

|

it seams like the service is only available on tivo which already is a fee-based service so its not like all netflix users will switch right away. I think you'll be ok until netflix makes its own box or makes deals with cable companies.

Score: 0

|

EC's Kroes to US senators: Mind your own business on Oracle + Sun

If the AP is accurate, the EU's antitrust chief just told the United States Senate that any merger that takes place in the world is more her affair than theirs.

What does AT&T's 'Mark the Spot' app say about service quality?

That's a question for Betanews readers to answer in comments to this post.

Windows fix for TLS security bug still forthcoming, won't be Tuesday

Anyone looking for a fix for last month's discovery of a potentially serious security hole in TLS and SSL may have to wait until everyone is ready to act together.

Google rolls out real-time search, Near Me Now, extended personalization

Over time, searches from PCs and mobile phones will grow even "more personalized." But what about user privacy and search results that give you "the truth"?

Betanews Podcast: Rupert Murdoch and the buying stuff online problem

We'll have a more difficult time paying for online news if the underlying protocol for online payment has a big gaping hole in it.

Not the first, not the last, technology predictions for 2010

Carmi Levy | Wide Angle Zoom: The real truth is probably that what went around in 2009, will come around to haunt us next year.

Google Goggles: Hands on with the Shazam of the Real World

Google today unveiled Goggles, its visual search lab for Android devices that identifies objects by sight.

Microsoft: Windows 7 Family Pack wasn't 'pulled,' it just sold out

If you hurry, you may still be able to find the last Family Pack upgrade editions hanging around retail store shelves, but probably not so much online.

Clever iPhone game returns after being bumped over a name dispute

The game's simple concept and multitude of platforms and puzzles manage to pull off a retro, 8-bit style that's reminiscent of an old Atari game given a modern makeover.

Intel's marriage of CPU and GPU not ready for prime time

Although there will be an Intel component this month that can compute and plot in parallel, Betanews was told today, it won't be based on Project "Larrabee."

An alternative to Research in Motion's enterprise e-mail? There's an app for that

Good Technology today released an iPhone app compatible with its enterprise e-mail solution.