Netflix on Monday made announcements that favored both Microsoft and Apple and opened up a new audience for its streaming video service.
First, Netflix has started deploying Microsoft Silverlight to enhance the instant-watching component of its service. Second, that move opens the door for subscribers to begin watching movies and TV episodes instantly on Intel-based Apple Macintosh computers.
The Silverlight deployment, which will initially touch only a small percentage of new Netflix subscribers, is the first step in an anticipated rollout of the new platform to all Netflix subscribers by the end of the year.
“Instantly streaming from Netflix directly addresses the needs and wants of today’s Web users by providing on-demand, high-quality online video,” said Scott Guthrie, vice president of the developer division at Microsoft. “By using Silverlight, Netflix can deliver to its subscribers a higher-quality video experience on the Web, on more platforms.”
Cross-Platform, Cross-Browser
Silverlight competes with Adobe Flash and is designed to deliver cross-platform, cross-browser media experiences. Netflix expects its members who watch movies and TV episodes instantly to see immediate benefits, including a faster, easier connection and a more robust viewing experience.
A breakthrough in time-line navigation that improves fast-forwarding and rewinding is among the viewing enhancements Netflix is touting with the Silverlight player. The player also leverages PlayReady DRM, which is built into Silverlight, to play protected content on both Windows-based PCs and on Macs. That was not possible with previous-generation technologies.
Silverlight’s dynamic streaming provides a faster start and higher-quality video, adapted in real time to users’ connection speeds, according to Netflix Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt.
“Members who enjoy watching movies and TV episodes from the growing library of choices that can be instantly streamed at Netflix will be thrilled with this next-generation improvement of access and quality on a broader range of platforms, including Intel Macs and Firefox,”…