Netflix Adds Details to Download Plan

[Damion Chaplin]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6344815.html?nid=2844' target='_blank'>http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6344815.html?nid=2844</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Netflix VP of original programming Eric Besner this week revealed some of the online rental service’s thinking on the movie download business, saying Netflix is planning to introduce a proprietary set-top box with an Internet connection that could download movies overnight."</i><br /><br />It's just a little blurb, but that doesn't make it any less exciting to me! I was just talking about this the other day. I imagine there will be a higher subscription price to include the download feature (or maybe there will just be a box rental charge). With any luck, we'll see a set-top box from Netflix later this year. Yay! :D

[Phoenix]

Now that's funny. I've been talking about this for a long time (and again just last night), saying that Netflix could cash in if they'd just come out with a set-top box with a great GUI and make their entire catalog on-demand.

I'm assuming they'd have it work just like a current membership - download and store only the amount of movies allowed according to a person's membership, and then when one or more are deleted, new movies automatically download right then or overnight (or whenever a person schedules it to) according to what was next in the queue.

They should make certain they have the vast majority of their catalog available, though (70% or more), before they launch. If they only have a smaller percentage of titles, this service won't succeed like they want it to. People won't pay the same price (or more) only to have to wait for months while Netflix increases its VOD catalog.

Too bad they can't be a part of the Comcast/TiVo partnership. Along with Netflix VOD, that would be the trifecta! But I'll take what I can get. VOD is where it's at.